The Decoy Princess

When I had an opportunity to review Kim Harrison writing YA fantasy under a pseudonym Dawn Cook, I knew I had to take it!

Marguerite Gavin as a narrator was perfect, creating saucy, vibrant characters and keeping it fun. At first glance, The Decoy Princess reads like a lighthearted, easy YA fantasy book with a spoiled, self-entitled princess as a heroine, but don't be fooled. There is darkness here, a fair amount of bloodshed, and some very difficult choices.

Princess Tess is a young, boisterous 20 year-old, who dreams of meeting and marrying her own prince Charming and ruling their country together happily ever after. She sees nothing strange in her teacher raising her tolerance for poison from a young age and instructing her on how to show more use poisonous darts and a deadly whip (in case of assassins) among other non-princess skills.

Then a potential future husband, prince Garrett, arrives ahead of the schedule, and her parents have no other choice but tell her that she is not an actual princess, - she is her decoy while the real thing grew up in hiding so she won't get assassinated.

Since that announcement everything goes wrong. Tess loses her beloved parents, Prince Charming turns into a raving psycho, and his captain relentlessly chases her across the country in the name of some secret devious political machinations.

Armed with a few darts, in a company of a charming card cheat, Tess needs to use everything she learned over the years to find her teacher with the real princess, and hopefully save her country from the usurper.

Expect sparkling dialogue, secret appreciation of wide, muscly shoulders, nefarious schemes of get rich quick, and some awesome thinking on your feet among an exciting palace takeover.

Tess was a great heroine, and I had nothing but admiration for her stubbornness and clever problem solving decisions. Duncan was a total charmer, and I still don't know what to think of wily Jack... I had some issues with hazy explanations of the great conspiracy, but perhaps everything will get clearer in Princess At Sea, - the next book in this series. Enjoyed it, definitely recommended! show less

The Decoy Princess by Dawn Cook was a lively, fun fantasy read with a strong female lead and an interesting, layered plot that revolves around both a royal coup and a mysterious game being played by secretive players who see everyone as pieces to be moved or sacrificed as needed.

Princess Contessa has been raised as a proper princess with lessons in decorum, diplomacy, and politics as well as fashion and shopping. She was also trained in how to protect herself by Chancellor Kravenlow and carries various easily hidden weapons including knives and venom-laced darts. But her world comes crashing down when, on eve of her betrothal, she is told that she actually isn’t the real princess, but a decoy raised in public so that the proper heir show more could be raised safely in secret. Before she can come to terms with this revelation, her betrothed, the evil, power-hungry Prince Garrett, kills the king and queen, tries to hold Tess a prisoner and sends out a force to kill the proper princess. His plan is to marry Tess and control the kingdom. The pampered princess now finds herself on the run, being hunted by Garrett’s strange Captain of the Guard, Jeck.

I really enjoyed The Decoy Princess, it drew me in with it’s many twists and turns. The moral ambiguity of several characters keeps the reader guessing and makes the story unpredictable. Romance was kept to the minimum and nothing was as it seemed which makes me eager to pick up the sequel. show less

{First of 2 Decoy Princess duology. YA, fantasy} (2005)

Tess, the princess and heir to the throne of Costenopolie, is excited that she is finally about to be betrothed at the late age of twenty. She is the subject of a prophecy of conquest which means the royal families of the surrounding countries regard her with either wariness or avarice and which has seen her grow up as the target of many assassination attempts. Although she knows she will be marrying out of duty to her kingdom she hopes the man she will marry is at least intelligent and somewhat good looking. Initially pleased to discover that handsome Prince Garrett seems to fulfil these parameters, she’s then shocked to discover that she is not the real princess but a decoy for show more the assassins.

And then we, the readers, slowly discover that there is a story behind this story. Unpeeling the layers of it had me hooked.

There is a hint of romance running through the book. Though she’s stolen chaste kisses from the sons of nobles, Tess has been sheltered as a princess; though she takes a look if a male character removes his shirt, this is YA and nothing more salacious happens.

I felt that the real princess seemed to adapt to her role surprisingly quickly - but, as the story is narrated in the first person, maybe that was Tess’s perception of her. It was interesting to see the ‘chosen farmboy’ trope from the other side of the table and observe Tess’s take on the princess as well as the princess’s feelings about Tess.

I already have the next one lined up from the library.

4 stars show less

For twenty years Tess has been raised in the palace, calling the king and queen her parents and being groomed in diplomacy, etiquette, and politics. But when her betrothed arrives early, she discovers that she is not actually Princess Contessa of Costenopolie - she is a beggar's child who has been raised as a decoy to fend off the assassins determined to destroy the princess because of a prophecy surrounding her.

Soon the prince of Misdev shows his true colors, and Tess must employ all of the wit, strategy, and self-defense the chancellor taught her in a secret apprenticeship to save her own neck and her kingdom from the overt threats and the shadowy undercurrents surrounding them.

I enjoyed this fantasy novel. Though at times it seemed show more as if Tess was too good at everything she did (and sometimes annoyingly contemptuous of those less well-trained than she), Tess exhibits enough real, conflicting emotion to make her seem human despite her abilities. She is drawn to the card cheat Duncan whom she picks up along the way, but she's also frightened of him. She's angry at her parents and the chancellor for lying to her, lost without a sense of identity, but also throughout occasionally embracing her new life -only to withdraw again. She's drawn to a man who's trying to use her for his own purposes or kill her - she's not sure which. These conflicting desires and miseries realize the character as a twenty-year old and makes her much more relatable.

The strong female character maintains her femininity throughout the book (particularly her obsession with being clean) which sets her apart from most fantasy heroines who tend to seem fairly androgynous.

I enjoyed it and am looking forward to the next one, but I'm not sure if it's going to be a keeper. I may need a re-read to decide. show less

This was startlingly good. I was expecting a YA novel about a downtrodden princess who has to contend with a bratty replacement in her ex-parents' affections, etc. Instead, I got a book about an interesting young woman who has to contend with upheaval in her life (of which not really being in line for a throne is the least of her problems) and tantalizing glimpses of the ideas of politics behind a throne. Are royalty ever actually in charge? Who really manipulates world events? Happily it wasn't all politics--enough adventure and such to keep it interesting, and teasing glimpses of potential magic involvement. I also greatly enjoyed the fact that the main character doesn't fall miraculously in love with a hero, but meets some show more interesting men who each have their own appeal. Yes, there were some issues with convenient timing, the author has problems writing action, and she was bizarrely fixated on her main character wanting a bath and being dirty throughout her adventures, but all things I could live with. I think I'll pick up the sequel. show less

Dawn Cook turns some fantasy tropes on their ear with this book, wherein Princess Contessa, raised to privilege and meeting her betrothed, finds out several disturbing facts: one, that Prince Charming is actually a cruel and murderous sociopath, two, that she's not the princess but a gutter-born decoy planted to draw off myriad assassination attempts, and three, that the power in her world doesn't lie with the throne, but with a secretive sect called "players". The political undercurrents are particularly well done, and Contessa is an independent heroine whose self-discovery along the way is a pretty thrilling read. A cracking good adventure and a great start to a new series.

This is the first book in Cook’s Princess duology. Dawn Cook also writes as Kim Harrison. I enjoyed this fun fantasy adventure novel. The book is very YA in tone and is mostly about the heroine figuring out who she is (both in an actual and more philosophical sense).

I listened to this on audiobook and it was decently done. It wasn’t my favorite audiobook because I didn’t like the voice the narrator used for Tess and found it distracting. I never really got used to it. I would recommend reading this on in paperback rather than listening to it.

Tess has been raised as the crown princess of Costenopolie for her whole life (at least as much of her life as she can remember). However when a neighboring kingdom makes a bid for the throne show more through marriage Tess finds out she’s just a decoy.

This leaves Tess reeling. She is fleeing for her life and desperate to do what she can to help her people and kingdom...except they aren’t really her people or her kingdom now...so where does that leave her? Tess is an interesting heroine; she has mad ninja-like skills from her training but is also strangely naive because of her sheltered upbringing in the castle. This gets her into trouble more than once.

I really enjoyed our heroine and her struggles with her own identity and purpose in life. They were easy to relate to and fun to read about. There is a lot of action and adventures in this book as well. There is some romance but it is fairly light and not a huge part of the story.

Overall I enjoyed this YA fantasy adventure and plan on reading the second book in the series. Tess is a fun heroine and entertaining. I would recommend to those who enjoy YA fantasy adventure “princess” stories. show less