The Princess Fugitive by Melanie Cellier

But their romance is very sweet and helps pull the book along, and Hans is such a good guy, if he wants to marry a semi-evil princess, then all power to him.

Less believable is the unwavering loyalty and undying love of her personal bodyguard, Hans, who believes in her capacity for good long before she believes it herself, and before she’s really demonstrated it. Princess Ava is very believable as a princess raised to be cold, calculating, and cruel by her power-hungry father and who only begins to realize how limited those characteristics really are when she’s on the run and has to make friends and allies. The idea of Red Riding Hood as the wolf isn’t a new one, but it’s done here very well with a deeply flawed protagonist who is increasingly self-aware of her shortcomings and seeks to remedy them and seek forgiveness and redemption. I felt she could have done more, with her friends being a more supportive role.** spoiler alert ** As reimaginings of fairy tales go, this was very fun. The only aspect that let me down is how little she does in the trials. But the most heartwarming part is the friendships Ava makes along the way. The love story is wonderful! It builds up throughout the book and it left me wanting more. She has to learn to think of others before herself and learn the true meaning of forgiveness. She has to work to change herself.–Not the strength of her character, but the selfishness, anger, and cruel aspects of herself. I absolutely loved the symbolism involved in the story. The first book, while I enjoyed it, does not even come close to this installment. This story is filled with so many complex character arcs that link to other books in the series. YES! It is rare to come across a good villain to hero story. Ava has to start making decisions on how to protect herself, but most importantly…her people who will be at the mercy of cruel ruler if she does not succeed.

They catch up with a merchant caravan, but danger follows them. It could only be her father or brother who would try to assassinate her, so she and her loyal guard, Hans flee from the danger. One night, she foils an assassination attempt. When her mission to marry into the kingdom of Arcadia fails, she heads back to her home. Everyone loves a good villain to hero story, right? This book stars Ava, a princess who has been trained since birth to be a weapon, especially utilizing her looks. The political intrigue from the first book The Princess Companion flows right through to this book. The Princess Fugitive by Melanie Cellier is the 2nd book in The Four Kingdoms series and is a retelling of Little Red Riding Hood.