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The Blackfly Kingdom’s 12-year-old Crown Prince, Nero, has been blessed by his fairy godfather with the magical gift of charm. Despite being a royal of the most hated region in the Seven Kingdoms, Prince Nero uses charisma to influence those around him to see his way . . . for the most part.
King Schwartz of the Blackfly kingdom has appointed Prince Nero as the head of damage control. That means that Nero must act reactively to fix all of his mother’s mess-ups. But keeping Queen Ash under wraps and out of trouble is a full-time job. This time, Queen Ash has kidnapped St. Nicholas for a ransom. And it’s almost St. Nicholas’s Day!
Nero’s fairy gift only works so far when it comes to Queen Ash, and even worse, Nero’s gift comes with a huge catch: he is constantly getting lost. Having no sense of direction and mucking up every map and/or compass that he touches makes it hard for Nero to keep up with damage control and makes it difficult for him to prove his worth as the future king of the Blackfly Kingdom.
Can Prince Nero keep his mother from doubling the Blackfly Kingdom’s debt? Can he save St. Nicholas before St. Nicholas’s Day? Or will the Blackfly Kingdom be kicked out of the Seven Kingdoms once and for all?
Laurel Decher creates a wildly whimsical world in her Seven Kingdoms Fairy Tale series. In this second book, readers are allowed a more in-depth look into the Seven Kingdoms and the magic which encompasses the land. However, with this new glimpse into Decher’s narrative world, the reader is at times overwhelmed. With every chapter, we are introduced to new policies, new committees and new modus operandi’s which blur the rules of the world. Because of this, the reader is left taking the author’s word that the plot is logical, instead of harboring any understanding of how the story is pushed forward.
That being said, The Crown Prince Nero is a wonderful protagonist and the predominant reason for my 3 out of 5 star rating. Nero shows cunning, forethought and problem-solving skills that the reader would not anticipate from a 12-year-old protagonist. Decher also parallel’s Nero’s literal inability to find his way to his feeling of being lost in his quest to be worthy of the Blackfly crown. Although this was refreshing to find in a children’s book, Decher often under-estimates the intelligence of her readers by over-explaining the symbolism in this work.
Overall, LOST with LEEKS was a fun read. I would recommend this novel to any young reader with an interest in magic, humor and pseudo-realities.
Buy LOST with LEEKS and other Seven Kingdom Fairy Tales here