The Enchanted Forest Chronicles by Patricia Wrede

The Enchanted Forest Chronicles by Patricia C Wrede were recommended to me by my good old friend Diana. There are 4 books in the series: Dealing with Dragons, Searching for Dragons, Calling on Dragons, and Talking to Dragons. I must say that all of these books were absolutely delightful!

Dealing with Dragons introduces us to our heroine Cimorene, a princess who is unlike ordinary princesses. She finds normal princess behavior and topics of study very boring, so she goes out and becomes a dragon's princess. She cooks and cleans for a dragon named Kazul while uncovering a plot by wizards to steal magic from the dragons.

In Searching for Dragons we meet the king of the Enchanted Forest, King Mendenbar. He goes off one day for a walk in his forest and discovers that part of the forest is dead and has been completely stripped of it's magic. He decides to go speak with the king of the dragons (who is now Kazul) which is where he meets Cimorene. Kazul is missing, so Mendenbar and Cimorene go off to find the dragon king. They discover that wizards have captured Kazul and are again trying to plot to steal magic and take over the world. By the end of the story Mendenbar and Cimorene fall in love and get married.

Calling on Dragons is told from the perspective of a witch named Morwen, to whom we were introduced back in the first book. She is good friends with both Kazul and Cimorene and helped rescue Kazul in book #2. In this story the wizards have stolen King Mendenbar's magic sword, an extremely powerful tool that protects the forest from the wizard's repeated attempts at thievery. Morwen, Cimorene, a magician friend named Telemain, Kazul, 2 of Morwen's cats, and a giant-blue-donkey-with-wings-that-used-to-be-a-rabbit set off to find the sword. Meanwhile the wizards infiltrate the castle and capture Mendenbar.

Our final story, Talking to Dragons, takes place years later and is told from the perspective of Daystar, the son of Mendenbar and Cimorene. While Mendenbar has been locked away in a magical prison set up by the wizards for the last 16 years, Cimorene has been teaching and raising Daystar. She sends him off on a quest with his father's sword without telling him about his heritage or what he is supposed to do. Daystar meets many interesting characters during his travels in the Enchanted Forest and is eventually able to use the sword to help rescue his father from the wizard's prison.

I loved reading these stories. I think they are intended for 10-year-olds so the writing style is very easy and fun. I particularly love the author's sense of humor that is throughout each story. The writing frequently pokes fun at the traditional fairy tales where the princesses wait to be rescued by a noble prince or knight. Overall I found these books to be clever, funny, and highly entertaining. Definitely would recommend to everyone!

4.5 out of 5 stars