Blog Tour/Review: The Perfect Fool by Bethany Zohner Herbert

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The Perfect Fool, by Bethany Zohner Herbert
2015, 288p, Clean Medieval Romance
My Rating=5 Stars
Source: Received a copy from the publisher for an honest review



Plucked from the streets to become a court jester, Farrago’s life couldn’t be better, especially now that he’s flirting with scullery maid Thea. But when Thea turns out to be a queen in disguise, Farrago may become as much a fool in love as in his occupation. This medieval tale is filled with romance, humor, and twists that will keep you guessing to the last page.

This was different than what I've been reading lately and I loved it!  

Farrago lives in the streets and his life changes when he attends a festival and becomes fascinated with the Court Fool. He steals something from him and gets caught. The Fool gives him the opportunity to become his apprentice instead of turning him over to the soldiers. The Fool's name is Fendral and he teaches Farrago a lot over the years.

Fendral falls in love and leaves one night and Farrago becomes the official Court Fool. He's good at his job and life is going well. He realizes he cares for the scullery maid, Thea, the same night she is taken to the neighboring kingdom because it was just discovered that she was the lost princess (even though she was clueless about her true identity). He decides to go after her, even though it's a huge risk and he will be put to death if he's caught.

I enjoyed Farrago's voice. He's funny and sarcastic. He's led by his heart and sometimes that gets him in trouble. In his adventure to get Thea back, he crosses paths with some interesting characters. He first meets up with Kazim, who is also trying to win Thea's heart but has a different motive than Farrago. Farrago quickly learns that Kazim will make a dangerous enemy if he finds out Farrago's true intentions so he puts on an act for him. He entertains Kazim which keeps him safe for a while. 

Oaf is the Court Fool in the other kingdom and he is also dangerous. He toys with Farrago at times. He was unlikable and cruel and I found myself wishing for bad things to happen to him.  He had a different way of dealing with the king's councilors than Farrago did and it was interesting to see how those differences affected each of them. It was also interesting to see what happened to him. Farrago also meets an adorable little girl named Ana who quickly figures out his true identity and calls him "Jug-oh man!"

There's a lot more to this story than I thought there would be when I first started reading it. It took some twists and turns and I love how it ended! Throughout the book, Farrago didn't get off easy at all. Plenty of bad things happened to him and because of who he was, he had a good attitude the entire time. Being entertaining was ingrained in him and he never stopped, no matter what circumstances he found himself in. This is a quick, fun read. I loved the author's writing style and look forward to reading more books by her in the future!

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About the Author:

Bethany Zohner Herbert was born in Salt Lake City, and aside from a short amount of time living in England and the South, she is back in her native Idaho where she grew up. She has been a fan of books since before she could write. She earned her Bachelor’s in creative writing from BYU-Idaho and her Master’s in literature and writing from Utah State University. When not coming up with weird stories, she likes participating in and teaching Zumba, making crafts (silly ones like puppets) reading, and dating her husband.