The Princess of Baker Street
Mia Kerick
Published by: Harmony Ink Press
Publication date: January 22nd 2019
Genres: Contemporary, LGBTQ+, Young Adult
“Always wear your imaginary crown” is Joey Kinkaid’s motto. For years, Joey, assigned male at birth, led the Baker Street kids in daring and imaginative fantasy adventures, but now that they’re teenagers, being a princess is no longer quite so cool. Especially for a child who is seen by the world as a boy.
Eric Sinclair has always been Joey’s best friend and admirer—Prince Eric to Joey’s Princess Ariel—but middle school puts major distance between them. As Eric’s own life takes a dangerous turn for the worse, he stands by and watches as Joey—who persists in dressing and acting too much like a Disney princess for anybody’s comfort—gets bullied. Eric doesn’t like turning his back on Joey, but he’s learned that the secret to teenage survival, especially with and absent mother, is to fly under the radar.
But when Joey finally accepts who she is and comes to school wearing lip gloss, leggings, and a silky pink scarf, the bullies make her life such a misery that she decides to end it all. Eric, in turn, must decide who he really is and what side he wants to stand on… though no matter what he chooses, the consequences with be profound for both teens, and they’ll face them for years to come.
Is there a chance the two teens can be friends again, and maybe even more?
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I am not usually venturing into books that involve LGBT characters, mostly because I found out I have difficulties in relating with the characters and their emotions. However, „The Princess of Baker Street” was a beautiful surprise. I didn’t even realize how time flew by and how much my time spent with Eric and Joey captivated me.
It was interesting for me to discover that the book is not told by Joey, but Eric – Joey’s best friend. It was refreshing to see how Eric deals with the changes in his own mind and heart and his reactions to Joey’s. So even if you may not be a reader of books involving LGBT, it’s easy to relate and I think having Eric narrate the events is one major plus.
Two best friends, a strong friendship being altered by time and passage to teenage – that’s one way of expressing what the story is about. There is so much more to it. We have Eric dealing with his personal struggles, dealing with losing his fantasies from childhood (his escape world) but also we have Joey – in search of identity, facing changes and facing bullies. There is so much depth to all the scenes in the book and so much to learn.
All in all, this is a story that changed me, it left a mark on my soul and I would gladly reread it. It’s revealing, but not in a hurtful or shameful way. It reveals how much a friendship can change, how strong one has to be to face the world, how freeing the truth can be. I loved it! 5 stars!
Author Bio:
Mia Kerick is the mother of four exceptional children—one in law school, another a professional dancer, a third studying at Mia’s alma mater, Boston College, and her lone son, heading off to college. (Yes, the nest is finally empty.) She has published more than twenty books of LGBTQ romance when not editing National Honor Society essays, offering opinions on college and law school applications, helping to create dance bios, and reviewing scholarship essays. Her husband of twenty-five years has been told by many that he has the patience of Job, but don’t ask Mia about this, as it’s a sensitive subject.
Mia focuses her stories on the emotional growth of troubled people in complex relationships. She has a great affinity for the tortured hero in literature, and as a teen, Mia filled spiral-bound notebooks with tales of tortured heroes and stuffed them under her mattress for safekeeping. She is thankful to her wonderful publishers for providing her with an alternate place to stash her stories.
Her books have been featured in Kirkus Reviews magazine, and have won Rainbow Awards for Best Transgender Contemporary Romance and Best YA Lesbian Fiction, a Reader Views’ Book by Book Publicity Literary Award, the Jack Eadon Award for Best Book in Contemporary Drama, an Indie Fab Award, and a Royal Dragonfly Award for Cultural Diversity, a Story Monsters Purple Dragonfly Award for Young Adult e-book Fiction, among other awards.
Mia Kerick is a social liberal and cheers for each and every victory made in the name of human rights. Her only major regret: never having taken typing or computer class in school, destining her to a life consumed with two-fingered pecking and constant prayer to the Gods of Technology. Contact Mia at miakerick@gmail.com or visit at http://www.miakerickya.com to see what is going on in Mia’s world.
GIVEAWAY!
Lilly's Book World 
Lilly- your review is profound- there is nothing more an author can hope for than a reaction like this to her book. You allowed my characters to open your heart in a new way. It is why I wrote The Princess Baker Street. Thank you for this wonderful review and for hosting me today.
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Thank you so much 🙂 I was really impressed by the story and the approach on both characters 🙂 congratulations for writing such an emotional book ! 🙂
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