The most recommended prince books

Best known for its famous quote “To be or not to be.” Shakespeare’s masterpiece Hamlet revolves around the struggles of life.

I find this piece inspiring —not because of the question of suicidal ideation but—because of how it is written. Shakespeare manages to put an entire existential crisis into such a concise statement. I wish I could write quotes like that. Also, Shakespeare’s 5 act structure, although from theatre, builds the backbone of my books.

The language is witty, stating so much in between the lines. What I find most inspiring about it as an author, though, is that Shakespeare managed to appeal to a broad mass by providing entertainment to the simpler folks while addressing sensitive political topics and philosophical questions for the intellectuals.

I love fantasies flavored by fairy tales, and Nettle & Bone is certainly that, with a strong feminist backbone.

Speaking of bones, it starts out dark, in a mysteriously ravaged landscape where a dog is being constructed of bones, which made me nervous. Dark is one thing, but I have my limits, and they end well before quite dark and never go anywhere near relentlessly dark.

But Bonedog turned out to be a very good boy, and the story quickly developed into a quest featuring three seemingly impossible tasks for the stalwart heroine, and I settled right down. Enter the demonic chicken, and I was going wherever this endearingly peculiar group led me.

Nettle & Bone is such an enchanting, hopeful book that I recommend it to fantasy (and chicken) fans to the point of being annoying.  

I’ve always loved Moorcock’s work – I find his writing can be quite beautiful stylistically, even while he’s telling a compelling story. The Knight of Swords is the first in the Corum series, two trilogies, which is also part of the eternal champion multiverse. (It’s actually Moorcock who coined the term “multiverse” in a novel he wrote in the 60s.)

I prefer Corum to his arguably more famous other protagonist, Elric of Meliboné. Corum is significantly less emo and whiny than Elric, and I also really enjoyed the allusions to Irish mythology. But both of these characters are examples of what Moorcock calls the eternal champion – a hero that emerges whenever the universe experiences imbalance. This hero appears in many different realities, the multiverse, and is set the task of righting the balance between Law and Chaos.

If you like high fantasy and you haven’t read Moorcock, you really… show more.

I stumbled onto this book on Amazon and the hook intrigued me: What if America had a royal family instead of a president? This alternate reality story set in the present day follows Princess Beatrice and her two siblings. As Beatrice gets closer to becoming queen, she feels the intense pressure and it affects her friendships, family relationships, and her love life. I’ve also read the second book in the series, which had some surprising plot twists. While this is actually a young adult novel, adults will enjoy it also. It’s a bit soapier than the other novels on my list, but a tantalizing read.

I personally like this book because there are very few picture books representing two women falling in love and getting married. This book celebrates two women, a courageous maiden who attends a royal party, and while there, she ends up finding love with the princess.

This fairytale is written with themes of acceptance and love. 

I don’t read many memoirs, but I found Harry’s story incredibly captivating.

I decided to pick it up after reading an essay by his ghostwriter, and I’m so glad I did. Often heartbreaking, but filled with lightness and humor too, it’s a book that I genuinely couldn’t put down. Harry’s journey made me laugh, cringe, cry, and want to scream at the page. Brilliant.

Jude Duarte, a human girl living in Faerie, is a cold-hearted ball of ambitious rage. Never have I rooted for a character so much.

Although picking fights with the clever and cruel Fair Folk is not pragmatic – on the surface – when the choice is between waiting for a random death on a bully’s whim or fighting back with every weapon at her disposal, Jude will always fight. I may have cheered out loud when she stabbed an enemy who broke into her bedroom and then stuffed his body under her bed until she could bury him. She does what she has to do to survive–and, in the end, to make Faerie a (slightly) better place.

Holly Black’s writing is so poetic, so smart, so sharp, like a honed fairy blade. She is a master.

This one is just a good, fun read, great if you’re on vacation or want to read something entertaining.

Amir is one of many princes who lives with his myriad of royal brothers to basically be a spare. He and his brothers are given whatever they want, except their freedom.

Depending on who’s alive at any given time, the potential heir to the throne can change, so it’s not uncommon for factions to form and blood to be shed. But when this happens a little too often, Amir must figure out who’s killing off everyone.

With a great story and intriguing mystery, this one’s definitely worth a read.

When my roommate suggested I read The False Prince, I did not expect to be drawn in and read the entire 5 book series in a week. What’s a sleep schedule?

Sage is the kind of character that can keep everyone guessing…including the reader, even though you are reading from his point of view. He is guarded and defiant. As he is being sculpted to be what someone else wants him to be, he remains spitefully himself, even when it might mean his demise. He might not technically be a spy, but he embodies everything I love about the genre.

Sage has an unwavering knowledge of who he really is, and I can only hope I can have that for myself someday.

I really loved the female main character. She was so witty and strong. I recommend this book to be paired with my own because the FMCs are similar, but the story is complex. The emotional energy of the book was also complex, and nothing is black and white, which always makes for a more fun read.