I got this ARC (advanced reader copy) softcover at a local Savers thrift shop. It's about a number of princesses through history, from different locales and situations, including some born-to-rule types, some married-into-the-job types, at least one fake princess, and other variations. As per the subtitle, "without the fairytale endings", many of these women did not have happy endings - but some did remarkable things, and a few managed to end on a high note.

I'd read about many of these people before, but others were new to me. Mughal queen Durgavati was a 16th-century warrior queen in India; Njinga of Ndongo was a 17th-century princess in West Africa who kept a harem of male concubines; La Malinche was an Aztec princess who sided with the Spanish, leading to much controversy as to whether she betrayed her people to save herself, or tried to use her influence on Cortez to prevent bloodshed. And there's much, much more!

I left this book in the Little Free Library on this warm day; hope someone enjoys it!

[See other recent releases in NH here.]

*** Released for the 2018 Royalty release challenge. ***