Review: Princess For Hire by Lindsey Leavitt

Title: Princess For Hire

Author: Lindsey Leavitt
Published: Egmont UK (1st Feb 2010)
No. of Pages: 328
Grade Rating: B

When an immaculately dressed woman steps out of an iridescent bubble and asks you if you'd like to become a substitute princess, do you:
a) run
b) faint
c) say Yes!
For Desi Bascomb, who's been longing for a bit of glamour in her Idaho life, the choice is a definite C--that is, once she can stop pinching herself. As her new agent Meredith explains, Desi has a rare magical ability: when she applies the ancient Egyptian formula "Royal Rouge," she can transform temporarily into the exact lookalike of any princess who needs her subbing services. Dream come true, right?

Well, Desi soon discovers that subbing involves a lot more than wearing a tiara and waving at cameras. Like, what do you do when a bullying older sister puts you on a heinous crash diet? Or when the tribal villagers gather to watch you perform a ceremonial dance you don't know? Or when a princess's conflicted sweetheart shows up to break things off--and you know she would want you to change his mind?

Princess For Hire is a sweet, light hearted read about Desi Bascomb, a girl with an obsession for old Hollywood stars and who is also seeking a little glamour in her life. Younger fans of The Princess Diaries will love this!

This book is aimed at younger readers and I'm sure will be positively received. The plot is fun, unique and sparklingly original as told from Desi's perspective. This is extremely easy to read and had me from cover to cover within a few hours. I totally loved the premise and the creative ideas that Leavitt has managed to portray, especially the Royal Rouge makeup compact and the ancient Egyptian explanation for the background of the hiring agency. It was definitely something that I had never read about before but undoubtedly thought it was extremely cute and entertaining!

The story started off fairly quickly and had the reader submerged in the world of princesses immediately which I thought was suitable for the audience. I also have to say that I thought the setting for the story, Idaho, was a particularly brilliant backdrop. As it is mostly inhabited by cows and small shopping areas it particularly emphasised the glamour of the agency and was a fascinating contrast. Also, I haven't read one YA book set in Idaho so it was a pleasant first for me.

The characters were also nice additions to the story. Even though teamed with her own problems, I didn't find Desi very complex and couldn't really sense many feelings from her even though she complained alot about her life. She was easily likeable, just not entirely great. The supporting characters like Meredith and Lilith were interesting with double sided personalities which take a turn for the best and worst at the end of the book.

I can't say I have any major issues with the book. In places, it may have been a little too fluffy for my liking and sometimes the humour felt forced. This was probably to do with the fact that I tend to read books with an older audience but I can see great appeal towards younger readers. Overall, I completely reccomend Princess For Hire, for a few hours of escapism!