Pigsty Princess (Misfit Monarchs Book 1) by Nancy S. Brandt

Pigsty Princess (Misfit Monarchs Book 1) Reviews

• 
  Ben Langhinrichs

  I have to start by admitting I knew very little about this book when I picked it up, aside from the title and the cover. I thought it was a romance that had something to do with fairy tales, which sounded great.
  
  But instead, it had to do with royal intrigue. More than that, it had a whole bunch of stuff about Elemental powers, something way outside my comfort zone. But here is the magic of a well written book. It took me a bit to get oriented, but the characters were strong and I was curious, so I kept reading and kept getting more hooked.
  
  The story is rich and complex, with layers of intrigue arguing both for and against royalty being assigned to the "most powerful". The family dynamics shine through in intriguing ways, and even when I was fairly sure how some things would turn out, others sprang up to surprise me. I particularly liked the final resolution and how it developed.
  
  A really fine story, more than a romance (though there is nothing wrong with just being a romance), and a gripping story to the end.
• 
  Nancy Brandt

  I'm the author. Of course I love it.
• 
  Shelley Maethyn

  It is always a joy to read a well edited book. Initially, the title, Pigsty Princess, made me wonder what kind of fantasy adventure I chose to embark upon. The story surprised me. Great character development coupled with an engaging story line, and I chewed through this tale in only a few days. I highly recommend this coming of age piece, and look forward to picking up the next book, The Questionable Queen. Excellent work
• 
  Mari

  Right after I read this book, I gave it three stars and decided to check back in later for a review. The author 'liked' my rating, which in itself is weird as a reader to get responses from the author but I would probably be the same way. However, I'm not sure the author would have done that if they knew the three stars was a gift. I didn't exactly hate it, but I had some issues with the plot and writing style, so maybe I should have given it two, but I was feeling kind.
  
  When I originally read the plot for this story, I thought it sounded like a fun, quick read that had a little bit of everything and would be a nice break from heavier reading material. I was right for the most part and it started out like it was going to be pretty good, but it fell flat and didn't really land on its feet.
  
  I love simple little fairytales and started out really liking the premiss of this book. However, once the main character (it's been long enough that I remember what happened but not the exact names) got to the commoners' area, I felt very little actual development happened. I felt that there were very few interactions between the main character and love interest that the reader got to actually see. There were instances mentioned that they were together, but for some reason the author thought we should stay with minor characters and hear about it later. They somehow "fall in love" to the point that she's willing to sleep with him all of a sudden, when to me it seemed that they had had maybe one close, personal encounter where he wasn't looking down on her. The characters didn't really seem to have a lot of interactions and connections in the first place. I understand the author wanted to have plenty of emphasis on the rebellion and everything, but the two main characters fell back a bit.
  
  My biggest issue was definitely the scene where they go off to just do it. That's literally a better a description of their "intimate" moment together. She cries and gets upset because he doesn't want to sleep with a woman he barely knows...how dare he be a wholesome guy...but then she finally convinces him. Don't you feel all warm and fuzzy inside too? Just an awful way to go about it. And the fact that that's the source/restoration/control of her power. I don't think much needs to be said by how atrocious that idea and scene was.
  
  One minor thing that was annoying was all the different names that the characters had. Each person had at least three different names, whether they were their actual names, nicknames, pseudo-names, etc. Just keep it to two at the very least.
  
  The ending was sort of blah, not much to comment on. The storyline had a lot of potential but in my opinion just wasn't thought out enough and given the attention it deserved. Work on those details and what they mean to the reader. You as the author know them very well--make us just as familiar with them.
• 
  Gemma

  I wish some areas like the challenge, or the fallout afterwards were more fleshed out. Everything else in the book was quite detailed except these parts.
  
  I really enjoyed the book and read it in 2 days...now on to the next installment :D
• 
  Samantha

  Loved the book! Can't wait until the next installment. The author creates a detailed and wonderful magical world.
• 
  R.A. McCandless

  Nancy S. Brandt’s “Pigsty Princess (Misfit Monarchs Book 1)” deals heavily with fantasy and romance genre tropes, drawing from a modern view of past concepts of power and position. Readers may have trouble with the use of stock characters, or the sometimes-confusing introduction of so many minor and non-characters, especially when they are accompanied by house/family and titles.
  
  Brandt’s romantic story revolves around “Progenna” Mariana and pig farmer Orlando of Talla. Mariana, born to the highest royalty, lacks the one thing that matters in Valborough—magical powers. She’s termed an “Insensitive” as compared with those who have the ability and are “Sensitive” to elemental magics. Orlando, capable of sensing the magic in others, is a noble’s bastard and renounced his station after witnessing his king commit an atrocity. Mariana, due to her Insensitivity, is rejected by all other marriage prospects, and instead is given by her father to the elderly and seemingly evil Pir Leo Valentine. She, of course, runs away, but having never really spent time out of the palace or the care of her servants, is completely unprepared for the trials of daily life in the real world. Orlando finds the injured Mariana in the forest and realizes that there is more to her than others have suspected, which seems to be the major draw between the two.
  
  Of course, once together, Mariana and Orlando find themselves confronted with dramatic turns and plot-twists. While the idea of Sensitives and Insensitives is an interesting one, the double play on Mariana’s position goes some way to understanding how aloof, inconsiderate, and unsympathetic she is through most of the story. Brandt may have overplayed this concept, although she tried to balance it with Orlando as a kind of heart-of-gold Robin Hood, robbing from nobles with his band of Merry Men is on a noble quest to pay the ransom on captured soldiers who otherwise would be left to rot by their king. She’s certainly pretty enough, and Orlando is definitely of the dreamy-but-capable hero variety.
  
  In “Pigsty Princess (Misfit Monarchs Book 1) Brandt’s story relies a little too much on stock characters and plot points to achieve her “happily ever after.” When not overly confusing with the names, families, and titles of various characters, the pacing of the story is fast and easy enough to follow, and fans of the genre are sure to find something they enjoy including romance, magic, and intrigue in a fantasy setting.
• 
  Wildchildeditor

  Pigsty Princess by Nancy S. Brandt tells the tale of a princess, Mariana, who lives in Valborough, a land where magical powers-Elemental Sensitives-are everything to the nobility. The law of the land states that the person with the strongest Sensitivities rules. But, unlike the rest of her siblings, Mariana has no magical powers. She is "Insensitive". Since only commoners have no powers, when Mariana is of marriageable age, none of the young noblemen will marry her. Her parents are fine with this. They don't want her to marry any of the young noblemen for then she might find out the truth.
  
  Mariana is spoiled as one might expect from a princess. Because of this, I had a hard time connecting to her in the beginning. However, as the story progressed, and her world crumbled around her, she evolved into someone more relatable and likable. There were still flashes of that snobbishness from the beginning, but this made her growth more believable. It took her a while to outgrow her "flaws" and actually see her snobbery.
  
  Orlando is a dreamy hero. The Robinhood of Valborough and the bastard son of a nobleman, he has renounced his highbrow heritage. At one time, he was a soldier who fought for the crown. This experience opened his eyes and set him on a crash course with the king. He's also a Sensitive.
  
  As one may expect, when the two come together, there's a bit of… drama, which eventually concludes with an HEA…my favorite kind.
  
  The only thing that distracted me were the multiple points of view, some from minor characters. But this is fantasy, and fantasy novels often have several viewpoints.
  
  However, magic, romance, intrigue, and fantasy do make for an entertaining story.
  
• 
  C.L.

  This is an interesting take on the rags to riches fairytale. Mariana isn’t actually a princess, though her parents are the king and queen. Since she’s an “insensitive,” which means she doesn’t have powers, she can’t be in line to rule. Mariana has a thing for Darius, and is hoping to make it an official relationship. Unfortunately, her parents would rather marry her off to Pir Leo, an old man who is frankly pretty creepy. Also, her beau thinks he can “do better.” Rather than be stuck in a marriage against her will, she runs away and ends up meeting up with a man who previously robbed her.
  
  The book goes into the etiquette and tensions of courtly life in strong detail, which all has to do with these characters’ powers. The more powerful they are in various ways, the higher they are able to ascend, basically. I also like the contrasting perspectives of the ex-soldiers and the royalty. I’m looking forward to reading more books in the series.
  
• 
  Crystine Fujimoto

  A lovely read.
  
  I enjoyed the story and the well developed, flawed characters. The Princess started off as a naive, unmarried, not even in the succession and spoiled 17 year old Princess who ended up a still partially naive,17 year old Queen.
  
  The only problem I had with this book was the title. She never even fed the pigs let alone knew what a pigsty was! I don't even think she went outside to see them. Just because her new husband claimed to be a pig farmer doesn't necessarily make her a Pigsty Princess. I guess alliteration wins above making sense.
  
  I would recommend this book to those who enjoy coming of age YA stories, immersing themselves in a medieval world with new royal titles and magic abilities, and a dysfunctional, royal family.
• 
  Susan Dayley

  Pigsty Princess was a refreshing fairy tale, with an original plot. Mariana is royal, but not accepted. At dinner, she must sit far from the highest rank of her father, the king, young men don’t want to dance with her, let alone marry her, and her parents want to arrange her marriage to an old, ugly, lustful man. Her choices are few, so she decides to run away, leaving her life of privilege and wealth, but finding a life of value. Pigsty Princess kept me reading, sometimes until the early hours of the next day, or until my phone battery ran out. With bandits, and rebels, and royals, and commoners, and hiding, and palace intrigue, and ambition, and compassion, and a bit with pigs, and more of magic, and especially, with love, Pigsty Princess didn't disappoint.
• 
  Sinmisola

  Any genre of romance gets me happy and excited and I was glad to read Pigsty Princess by Nancy S. Brandt. At first, though, the names and titles got muddled up in my brain but as soon as I was able to identify the main ones, I moved along.
  The book is about a princess who had “abilities” that could threaten her father’s throne and to ensure she never took over the throne, she and everyone else was made to believe she had no abilities, which made her equal to a commoner in her times.
  The story develops nicely, and I found myself thinking about the plot long after I’d finished reading.
  From the start, I suspected the “rogue” would fall in love with her and was happy to see this happen.
  In all, I’d recommend the book to lovers of romance and fantasy.
• 
  Elysa

  Good read
  
  I loved the world building and the characters. Not crazy about the title, but the story is well written and totally entertaining. Looking forward to the next Misfit Monarchs book.
• 
  Jade

  I really enjoyed this book. I was hooked from the first page. I eould have given it 5 stars but I felt the king needed to talk to his daughter himself and that felt a little un finished. Otherwise it was a great book