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“Sophia, Princess Among Beasts” is about a princess who is quite pampered and protected by her warrior father. She, however, sees herself as a champion of the kingdom’s impoverished because she takes food to them weekly, living up to the legend of her mother.
One day, escorted into the village by the king’s guards, she finds that the villagers are sick and dying of “Seep,” a plague. While there, to her surprise, she is pelted with dung by a rebellious teen named Rafael. This outrageous act lands Rafael in the dungeon.
Sophia finds that she is intrigued by his brashness and visits him behind her father’s back. That night her father is murdered by an assassin who snuck into the castle. Meanwhile, Sophia falls ill with the plague.
Now, she is no longer a princess, but a queen. Will she survive to attain her title? Will she be worthy?
Here’s where the story, by James Patterson with Emily Raymond, takes a fantastical turn and plunges the reader into an unknown world of mythical beasts and alternate dimensions. The creatures are eerily familiar to Sophia. She recognizes them from a favorite book.
What’s to happen to the princess now? Who will save her, or must she save herself?
I’m a huge fan of anything with Patterson’s name on it. So, when I came across what looked like a fantasy novel with Patterson and Raymond as authors, I scooped it up. His novels provide great lunchtime entertainment and are easily read in bits and pieces. The storyline is not so complex that you can’t bear to stop, and you can start reading again with little concern about forgetting what was happening when lunch was over last time. It is a fun read. The characters can be a bit baffling, but they seem to disappear as quickly as they arrive, so the story moves steadily to the end.
Put this on your reading list if you like a light fantasy with monstrous creatures and assassins. The story doesn’t require a lot of contemplation about alternate worlds and other dimensions.
Tip: Don’t spend too much time trying to picture the beasts either. Just read and enjoy!
Linda Kleiber, circulation supervisor for Dr. Clarence V. Cuffee Library, has been with the Chesapeake Public Library for 14 years and with the Dr. Clarence V. Cuffee Library since its 2007 opening. Books have been central to her career. She has worked in every type of library and even a bookstore. She moved to Virginia in 2000 from Montana. She loves everything about Virginia, and it thrills her to be part of a library system so focused on customer service.
Recent library additions
Weekend Scoop
Adult: “The Queen Next Door: Aretha Franklin, an Intimate Portrait” by Linda Solomon, “No One Is Too Small to Make a Difference” by Greta Thunberg, “The Death of Superman: The Wake” by Louise Simonson, “Finding Chika: A little girl, an Earthquake, and the Making of a Family” by Mitch Albom, “I Really Needed This Today: Words to Live By” by Hoda Kotb, “Grit & Grace: Train the Mind, Train the Body, Own Your Life” by Tim McGraw, “Spy” by Danielle Steel, “Genesis” by Robin Cook, “Murder, She Wrote: A Time for Murder” by Jon Land and Jessica Fletcher, “Where Winter Finds You: A Caldwell Christmas” by J.R. Ward, “A Madness of Sunshine” by Nalini Singh, “The Peppermint Tea Chronicles: A 44 Scotland Street Novel” by Alexander McCall Smith
Teen: “Sabrina the Teenage Witch” by Kelly Thompson, “Confronting Disinformation” by Elizabeth Schmermund, “Guardians of the Pines: The Windborne Series” by Laurel Wanrow, “Eight Will Fall” by Sarah Harian, “Children of Virtue and Vengeance” by Tomi Adeyemi
Juvenile: “A Very Short Entirely True History of Unicorns” by Sarah Laskow, “Yummy Yoga: Playful Poses and Tasty Treats” by Joy Bauer, “Caught!: Nabbing History’s Most Wanted” by Georgia Bragg, “A Place for Everything” by Sean Covey, “Attack of the Zombie King” by Tommy Greenwald, “Frozen II: The Deluxe Junior Novelization” by David Blaze, “The Cloud Kingdom” by Katrina Charman, “Don’t Tell the Nazis” by Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch, “Unicorn Training” by Amanda Brandon
Picture Books: “Angelina Ballerina and the Tea Party” by Katharine Holabird, “Star Wars Creatures Big & Small” by Calliope Glass, “What Makes Me Sad” by Heidi Howarth, “The Big Book About Being Big” by Coleen Paratore, “Taking Care of Your Unicorn” by Eric Braun
Downloadable: OverDrive: “Rising Strong: How the Ability to Reset Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent and Lead” by Brene Brown (e-audio), “Unsub: A Novel” by Meg Gardiner (e-book & e-audio), “She Came to Slay: The Life and Times of Harriet Tubman” by Erica Armstrong Dunbar (e-audio), “Such a Fun Age” by Kiley Reid (e-books & e-audio), “Would Like to Meet” by Rachel Winters (e-books & e-audio), “Reputation” by Sara Shepard (e-books & e-audio), “Meg & Jo” by Virginia Kantra (e-books & e-audio), “The Sacrament: A Novel” by Olaf Olafsson (e-books & e-audio), “The Plot Against the President: The True Story of How Congressman Devin Nunes Uncovered the Biggest Political Scandal in U.S. History” by Lee Smith (e-books & e-audio), “Catch and Kill: Lies, Spies, and a Conspiracy to Protect Predators” by Ronan Farrow (e-books & e-audio)
DVDs: “Abominable,” “Ad Astra,” “The Goldfinch,” “Downton Abbey,” “Rambo: Last Blood,” “The Orville (Season 2),” “Jojo Siwa: Sweet Celebrations”
Music CDs: “Thank You, Mister Rogers: Music & Memories” by Fred Rogers, “Hunk-Ta-Bunk-Ta Holidays Songs and Stories That Celebrate Global Light” by Katherine Dines, “Bad Vibes Forever” by XXXTentacion, “Fully Loaded: God’s Country” by Blake Shelton, “Liberated 548” by Pitbull, “I Wanna Thank Me” by Snoop Dogg, “Thanks for the Dance” by Leonard Cohen, “Fine Line” by Harry Styles