Twelve-year-old Princess Rowan wants to be the Royal Monster Hunter, not the future Queen. She is a fighter – brave and impulsive – and not a natural diplomat like her twin brother Rhydd. Although she resigns herself to her traditional role, a tragedy changes this path and Rowan sees herself not only training to become the Royal Monster Hunter, but also confronting the most dangerous creature in her realm – a gryphon. By killing this creature, she can keep another clansman from taking the kingdom and earn her place in Clan Dacre’s monster hunting lineage. In this action-packed fantasy, readers meet kids with extraordinary skills, cool weapons, and fantastic beasts as they tackle one dangerous monster encounter after another. It will take all of Rowan skills, plus the help of monsters and other unlikely allies along the way, to try to complete this impossible task.
Princess Rowan is not your typical princess – she is brave and tenacious. This is a great read for middle grade readers who like action and fantasy. While some of the character interaction is a little stilted, the plot is fast paced and engages the reader. There are lots of interesting creatures and clan traditions to discover and the first-person narration gives a lot of detail for the reader to place themselves in the adventure.
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* I got this book for review from the publisher*

I thought this book was so refreshing and I love it. I thought this book was prefect. I loved how this book tackled some of my favorite story elements including twins, creatures, adventure and fun! I really had a had time putting this book down. I grew to love rowan so much. I also adored all the characters we met. I thought the pacing of this book was so solid and one that I loved. I just adored this read and will be waiting for book 2! ( )

* I got this book for review from the publisher*

I thought this book was so refreshing and I love it. I thought this book was prefect. I loved how this book tackled some of my favorite story elements including twins, creatures, adventure and fun! I really had a had time putting this book down. I grew to love rowan so much. I also adored all the characters we met. I thought the pacing of this book was so solid and one that I loved. I just adored this read and will be waiting for book 2! ( )

Twelve-year-old Rowan would give anything to be the Royal Monster Hunter when she grows up but because she is two minutes older than her twin, Rhydd, she is destined to be Queen and he the Monster Hunter. At least until a tragic turn of events causes them to reverse places. Now Rowan must prove herself in a fight against a gryphon in order to appease rival clans in the kingdom and in order to do so she'll go on a quest to recruit a trainer. However, nothing on her quest is straight forward and along the way she'll assemble a group of friends and creatures who will be vital to her success.

Very charming fantasy novel for middle-grade readers. Rowan's kingdom is full of both fascinating creatures and political intrigue appropriate for the audience. If I were the right age for this book, I feel like I'd desperately want a jackalope just like Rowan. The novel is well written and I definitely gasped a time or two at some of the twists and action sequences. However, this adult reader won't be seeking out the rest of the books in the series. That said, I think the target audience would be eager to devour all of Rowan's adventures. ( )

I've enjoyed many of Kelley Armstrong's books, especially her young-adult novels. This one is aimed at the middle-school level and is a charming and fun adventure story. The main characters include royal siblings -- a princess who would rather hunt monsters than prepare for her destined role as queen and her brother who is better at diplomacy than slaying beasts as he was raised to do. As the title suggests, there is also a whole menagerie of fantastical creatures featured in this novel. ( )