My Top 5 Favourite Bookish Princesses

Posted May 24, 2023 by Brin in Memes, Top 5 Wednesday / 3 Comments

Top 5 Wednesday was originally created by Lainey @ GingerReadsLainey – you can join the Goodreads group HERE

My Top 5 Favourite Bookish Princesses

Happy International Tiara Day! In honour of this worldwide holiday, this week’s Top 5 Wednesday topic is to list five bookish princesses that should receive some special treatment and spotlight on this day. I haven’t taken part in T5W for absolutely ages but I really liked the idea behind this week’s prompt so I think its past time I started doing this on the regular again. So, saying that, here are my picks!

1. Bitterblue from the Graceling series by Kristin Cashore

I really love Bitterblue as a character. Out of a series full of amazingly strong female characters, she stands out. First a princess, later queen, she takes her responsibilities seriously, and helps her nation heal after the cruelty of her father King Leck. I love this series and I definitely think that Bitterblue is a character worthy of being in the spotlight.

2. Cleo from the Falling Kingdoms series by Morgan Rhodes

Cleo is perhaps the character that grows the most in this series (tied with Magnus). I love how she starts off as a spoiled, pampered, and sheltered princess but becomes a strong ruler in her own right. She’s just a great character, princess or not.

3. Cinder from the Lunar Chronicles series by Marissa Meyer

I dithered between picking Cinder or Winter (both princesses in this amazing series) but in the end I had to give it to Cinder. She is such a strong and able heroine, who has to overcome a lot throughout this series. I’m always a sucker for the secret royalty trope!

4. Tamir from Tamír Triad series by Lynn Flewelling

Tamir is a great character who grows up not realizing her true destiny. Without giving too much away, Tamir is secretly the heir to the throne, changed by magic that hides her true self. This is such a powerful series, one I really must re-read again soon.

5. Contessa from the Princess series by Dawn Cook

This is like the opposite of the hidden royalty trope since Contessa actually is a literal decoy – a poor orphan raised by the King and Queen in place of their daughter who has been hidden away to keep her safe. I loved this short series and Tess is a great protagonist and deserves some credit after being lied to all her life but she still steps up and fulfils her duty.