Rating: 4 out of 5.

This was such a cute and cozy YA fantasy that I smiled the entire time I read it. Ellinore is only 17 years old but has the best questing record of anyone in the kingdom. But, it’s all built on lies and Ellinore is tired of being a fraud. After she wins another quest, she shocks everyone by officially retiring at the royal feast. She goes home only to find her twin brother Zig has gambled his life by betting that Ellinore can retrieve the horn of the mythical Elder Beast, an almost impossible quest.

Instead of retiring to a nice quiet life, Ellinore sets out to save Zigs life. He tags along, determined to help her save his life. Before they get far, they are joined by Aven, her biggest rival and Prince of the Kingdom, an ambitious young girl determined to become an adventurer, and a magical bard set on finding out the true story of Ellinore’s quests. What could possibly go wrong?

As the group bumbles along on their adventure, they face real life and death situations and yet somehow figure out a way to pull themselves out of danger. They are a hot mess and their victories aren’t pretty, but they work and each time one of the group saves the others, their confidence grows. The snark between Ellinore and Aven is fun to read. It’s so clear that they are into each other and yet think they are being so smooth. Each fears revealing their true feelings and their awkward interactions will hit you in the feels.

The author does a great job building the disparate group who start out having their own goals and reasons for questing into a fierce found family that are each other’s ride or die. The underlying theme of the book is loving yourself just the way you are and not getting caught up in trying to be what others expect of you. Each character has their own arc in achieving this goal.

This was just a fun book to read. It has great characters, interesting dangerous animals, and a dragon named Dave. What more could you want?

I received a complimentary e-copy of this book from Simon and Schuster Children’s Publishing and NetGalley. All opinions are mine.