Review: Princess Floralinda and the Forty-Flight Tower by Tamsyn Muir

Princess Floralinda and the Forty-Flight Tower
Tamsyn Muir
Release: November 30, 2020
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When the witch built the forty-flight tower, she made very sure to do the whole thing properly. Each flight contains a dreadful monster, ranging from a diamond-scaled dragon to a pack of slavering goblins. Should a prince battle his way to the top, he will be rewarded with a golden sword—and the lovely Princess Floralinda.

But no prince has managed to conquer the first flight yet, let alone get to the fortieth.

In fact, the supply of fresh princes seems to have quite dried up.

And winter is closing in on Floralinda…

Review:
I'm not quite sure what I was expecting when I picked this novella up but it was definitely not what I read. This book read like a Gail Carson Levine novel but with a mean streak. It started out like so many fairy tale retellings and then proceeded to turn so many of the tropes we've come to expect of story of a princess trapped in a tower on their heads. 

I kind of really loved this messed up fairy tale! The story begins with Princess Floralinda being stranded in the tower by a witch to whom setting challenges is an art form. At first, Floralinda is hopeful that she will be rescued quickly by a prince. But as days and weeks pass and the dragon on the first floor's kill count increases, her hope begins to wane as she gets dirtier and dirtier and sick of the food the witch left. There comes a point where Floralinda has to make a decision on whether she's going to stay in the tower or try to rescue herself. And that choice dictates the rest of the story and it is a doozy and more than a little bit macabre. Which, truth be told, is very on point for the author of Gideon the Ninth.

This is a novella so I'm not going to tell you anymore about the plot. It's a story I believe that you should go into not knowing much about. It made the story intriguing and enjoyable for me. 

I listened to the audio of this novella on my commute to and from work and would highly recommend it. It is narrated by the always amazing Moira Quirk who also narrates most of Gail Carriger's Parasolverse books as well as Tamsyn Muirs Locked Tomb series. I would highly recommend listening to it if possible. Moira Quirk's narration takes an already amazing story and elevates it to mind-blowing.

ARC provided by the Publisher via Netgalley

   

  4 / 5 Stars