Review: Of Crowns and Cantytowns

I somehow misplaced my ARC for Of Crowns and Cantytowns by Kirsten Fichter, and by the time I recovered it, the book was already out. Better late than never, right? This book is a gender-bent retelling of The Prince and the Pauper from Beyond the Bookery's Twist of Tales series. Does that mean it's basically just a novel of Barbie as the Princess and the Pauper? Well, not exactly. The story itself is very different. However, the book is chock-full of references to the Barbie movie, especially in the first few chapters. There were so many direct quotes from the film that it got a little distracting at first, but they tapered off once the story got rolling.

Princess Sarina is sick of her royal life and wants to start over. Why? There's no specific reason. Like most princesses, she simply wants to be free to see the world without being confined by her royal duties. When she meets a peasant girl named Cait who looks almost identical to her, she stages an "accident" and runs away, forcing Cait into her role. She is discovered by Alec, Cait's cousin, who has a difficult time believing that she's really the princess at first. Together, they uncover a slave trading scandal and must work together to stop it, meeting numerous companions along the way.

Sarina is a difficult character to root for. She is immature, petty, and not very bright. Although she grows over the course of the book, I was more interested in learning Cait's story, which apparently would have made the word count too long for this series if it had been included. While Sarina's silliness makes for an overall light-hearted tone, the book deals with some surprisingly dark themes, including the slave trade and the king's many off-page executions. Sarina must come to terms with the darker aspects of her kingdom during her time outside the palace walls and foster that knowledge to become a better monarch.

The book is a light read with its heavier themes only mentioned and never described in detail. In fact, a lot of the most interesting parts of the story, including Cait's experience as princess, seem to happen off-page. Still, the references to both Barbie as The Princess and the Pauper and "Puss in Boots" made fun additions that added levity to the more serious parts. Alec has an interesting backstory as a runaway marquis who missed a series of major life-changing events his family went through in his absence. His story parallels Sarina's as a cautionary tale about the dangers of running away from your responsibilities.

Overall, Of Crowns and Cantytowns is a cute and cozy gender-bent Prince and the Pauper retelling with a silly protagonist and her amusing pet mouse. The sensible Alec balanced Sarina's silliness well, though it took him a bit longer than it should have to realize that she wasn't his cousin. The scattered references to the Barbie movie and "Puss in Boots" fairy tale are a lot of fun to look for as well. I'd recommend this book to someone looking for a lighter read with relatively low stakes.