Once a Princess (Sasharia En Garde) [Paperback]

Sherwood Smith (Author)

Book Description

Series: Sasharia En Garde | Publication Date: April 28, 2009

Swashbuckling in a magic world-L.A. style! Sasharia en Garde! book 1. Sasha's mother, Sun, was once swept away from a Ren Faire to another world by a prince-literally-but there was no happy ending. Sun's prince disappeared, and a wicked king took the Khanerenth throne. In the years since, Sasha and Sun have been back on Earth and on the run. Mom and daughter don't quite see eye to eye on the situation-Sasha wants to stand and fight. Sun insists her prince will return for them one day; it's safer to stay hidden. Then Sasha is tricked into crossing the portal to Khanerenth. She's more than ready to join the resistance, kick some bad-guy butt, and fix the broken kingdom. But.is the stylish pirate Zathdar the bad guy? Or artistic, dreamy Prince Jehan? Back on Earth, Sun is furious Sasha has been kidnapped. Sun might once have been a rotten princess, but nobody messes with Mom! Warning: This title contains a kick-butt mother-daughter team, a wicked king, a witty pirate with an unfortunate taste for neon colors, inept resistance fighters, a dreamy prince who gallops earnestly hither and yon, and a kick-butt princess in waiting.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Sherwood Smith is the author of a number of science fiction and fantasy novels, including the "Wren "series for Young Adults, the Exordium novels (with Dave Trowbridge), the recent "Atlantis Endgame," a novel of the Time Traders series (with Andre Norton), Solar Queen novels (also with Andre Norton), and many others. She lives south of Los Angeles.

Product Details

• Paperback: 280 pages
• Publisher: Samhain Publishing (April 28, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 160504170X
• ISBN-13: 978-1605041704
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #268,857 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Neon Pirates and California Princesses!, May 21, 2009

By 

L. H. - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Once a Princess (Sasharia En Garde) (Paperback)

First of all, ignore the cover of this book. It's not a bad cover exactly, but when I look at it, I think "chick lit" or possibly "contemporary urban fantasy," neither of which this book is, and if you read it hoping for either of those things, you'll probably be disappointed. It also looks like Sasha's shirt says "Got Booty?" which is kind of funny, but really just the result of a poor font choice distorting what her shirt really says - "Got Books?" On the plus side, I think they got Sasha's hair totally right.

This book is the first half of the "Sasharia en Garde" story. I would NOT recommend starting this book unless you also have the sequel, Twice a Prince (Sasharia En Garde), ready and waiting to be picked up as soon as you finish; this book ends right when the story really gets going!

Now, on to the review. Without giving too much away, Sasha, a princess born in the kingdom of Khanarenth on the planet of Sartorias-deles, has lived the last fifteen years of her life on Earth in California. Although a princess from another world, she doesn't act like it. On Earth she's a waitress who loves to read fantasy novels; they remind her of home. Sasha and her mother, Sun, or Atanial as she is known on Sartorias-deles, were forced to flee to Earth because of political unrest when Sasha was a child. They spend the next fifteen years constantly moving, changing names, and hoping that if and when someone comes for them from Khanarenth that it's Prince Mathias, Sasha's father and Sun's husband, and not one of King Canardan's people.

Sasha is sucked back through a portal to Khanarenth, against her will, by a couple of resistance fighters. There she learns that her father has been missing since she and her mother fled to Earth. Sasha's kidnappers want her help to find him. Sasha has her own ideas about what she wants to do though.

As soon as Sun realizes Sasha has been taken, she returns to Khanarenth herself with the intention of rescuing Sasha. She ends up a "guest" of King Canardan - as attractive and charming as she remembered him, he's still scheming and determined to hold on to his ill-gotten throne at all costs.

While Sun plots a way out of Canardan's clutches, Sasha ends up on a pirate ship with Zathdar, the fashion-challenged, but kind of attractive, pirate.

What follows are sword fights, intrigue, some heavy-duty attraction, and even a little bit of magic!

Overall, it's a light, fun read. Fans of Smith's Crown Duel (Crown Duel / Court Duel) (also set on Sartorias-deles) will most likely enjoy this book as well.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great and fun story, September 8, 2011

By 

Laura Milburn (Santa Cruz, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Once a Princess: Sasharia en Garde! book 1. (Kindle Edition)

This is a great story line. If you're looking for a gooey, sappy romance novel, this isn't for you. If you're after a good read without all the "extras", if magic, pirates, royalty, and travel between worlds piques your interest, give this one a try. Yes, it ends kind of mid-story, but don't many good series end the individual books that way? Aren't series known for cliff hanger endings to get you back for more? It's a good ploy, all the better, as it works so well. Don't we just hate not knowing what happened next?

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Plot hard to swallow and end unsatisfactory, February 7, 2011

By 

Lia - See all my reviews

This review is from: Once a Princess (Sasharia En Garde) (Paperback)

First of all, be aware that this book cannot be read as a standalone novel, unlike other books by the same author that form part of a series. It basically cuts off in the middle of events without any closure whatsoever, presumably so you buy the sequel. Why they did not publish the two books in one is a mystery to me as they're not all that thick, but I felt cheated by this trick.

The story and the characters are fun enough, if a far cry from Smith's other books like the Crown duel and Inda series, but the plot is rather superficial. Again and again I found myself thinking that the author is asking for a lot of suspension of disbelief from me.

Spoilers!

What I found hardest to believe is that a prince could have a double identity as a pirate admiral and even ends up fighting his own men, thinly disguised with a bandanna and colourful clothes. Not one of them recognizes his face? And nobody in the prince's entourage notices he's absent an awful lot - as he has to be playing pirate? As they say, if more than one person knows a secret, it's a secret no more.

End of spoilers

In conclusion it's an okay read if you're not looking to engage your brain too much, but if you're a critical reader, I'd recommend the Crown duel series instead (Crown and Court duet). Also keep in mind that you have to buy two books to get a story that could easily fit in one!