“Prince Dustin and Clara: Secrets of the Black Forest” by Daniel Lee Nicholson

Prince Dustin and Clara: Secrets of the Black Forest (Volume 2)
Daniel Lee Nicholson
Fossil Mountain Publishing (2019)
ISBN 9780998619132
Reviewed by Alyvia (age 11) for Reader Views Kids (10/19)

“Prince Dustin and Clara: Secrets of the Black Forest” by Daniel Lee Nicholson is the second book in the Secrets of the Black Forest Series.

The world the author created is wonderful with dark scary creatures, really evil wizards and a Mouse King. Which yes, is along the same story line of the” Nutcracker,” but so much better.

Prince Dustin, Bronson, a beaver, the General, which is a Sheppard dog of the royal guard, and Clara must find Princess Sugar Plum before Egon the Mouse King does something horrible to her. The group of friends find themselves going through the black forest with all these terrifying creatures they barely escape from, and the Ladies of Tanzer Lake which were not friendly and very scary on their journey to the castle where Princess Sugar Plum is being kept by Egon and Clara’s Uncle Herr Drosselmeyer . Who by the way has a dark secret, that you would never have expected.

I think my favorite character in the book would be, Clara, who is so fun, brave and adventurous. She wants to help her friends no matter what.

My two favorite parts were finding out Clara’s Uncle Herr Drosselmeyer’s secret and when the group was chased through the Black Forest by the scorpion type creatures. I really think it was kinda gross that the Mouse King would have eaten them if he could. I guess that showed the reader how evil the Mouse King was.

Even though this is a standalone book, I feel you would know more about the current situation of this story and the characters better if you had read the first book as well.

“Prince Dustin and Clara: Secrets of the Black Forest” by Daniel Lee Nicholson is an epic adventure that once you start reading, you can’t put down. I loved everything about the story, from the magical kingdoms to the brave characters and even the really scary creatures. The part when they were in the water and the creatures were swimming around them in the fog, was super creepy. This is a great adventure story for kids ages nine and up.