I spent about ten minutes in an AP World class learning about ancient Sparta, and I somehow know more about it than the author seems to. I figured that the author might have some pacing issues, but perhaps we'd finally get to see the heroine that the fact of the book claims we "can't help but root for". Still, I decided to give this novel a chance. Forget about the bow hunting she's apparently so good at, they barely spend three pages on that particular skill. She stays on the horse for a few minutes without falling off - we're supposed to tally this as a "victory" on her part - and beats her brothers in a sword fight, but that's about it. Both of which we never see her absolutely excel in. Up until that point (and well after), Helen is whining about how she's somehow on the same playing field as her brothers and other male peers because she had a few years of sword training and maybe a week or two of horseback riding lessons. You don’t even need to read the back to know that’s what you’re in for when you take a look at the cover, with a woman in a dress with knife in belt and a title like “Nobody’s Princess”, you know it’s a girl power cash-in. The book is the story of a princess who decides to defy social norm by becoming a warrior. Because that's when I put down the book and genuinely started to wonder when our main character - Helen - was actually going to, you know, do something.
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