SRP Review: Miss Scarlet’s School of Patternless Sewing by Kathy Cano-Murillo

Disclaimer: The reviews I post on The Self Rescue Princess won’t be the usual style of book review that talks about all the points and elements of a novel. My intention is to focus on heroines that I believe exemplify the spirit and character of a self-rescuing princess or are on their way to achieving that status.

Now on to the review:  (I won this book in a Goodreads giveaway)

Miss Scarlet’s School of Patternless Sewing is filled with the self-rescue princess types. Two that stand out in the book are Scarlet and Mary Theresa. At first, I didn’t like Mary Theresa and wondered what kind of princess she would turn out to be. Yes, she was a self-rescuing princess but took it to such an extreme that she was controlling of everyone else around her. She showed that a woman can try so hard to rescue herself that she place all of her personal relationships in danger.  There are times when a self-rescue princess must relinquish some control and learn how to enjoy life.

I loved taking the journey with Mary Theresa. She struggled to find a balance between being herself and allowing others in her life to be themselves … without fearing it would take away from who she was.  The character of Mary Theresa brought that home the fact there is a balance between being a self-rescuing princess and a damsel in distress, a characteristic that is good and empowering can turn into one that is unpleasant and harmful if a person is not careful. Mary Theresa came into her own in the story and in the end, she landed up being my favorite character.

Scarlet is a self-rescue princess who is chasing her dream and doing whatever she can to make it happen. She allows no one, including boss and family, to stand in her way nor will she wait around for anyone to cheer her on. If she needs cheerleaders, she’ll find her own or else become one for herself. At times, her single minded focus put other areas in her life on hold and was a detriment to her health. I liked that Scarlet stood up for herself and didn’t allow others words or actions to put a damper on her enthusiasm or make her second guess her goals. Scarlet learned some important lessons about herself, her family and … well, there’s more I want to say but am afraid that it will spoil the book. And I don’t want to spoil Scarlet’s journey for anyone.

 What I loved most about Miss Scarlet’s School of Patternless Sewing was that all the characters showed that there are many ways for a woman to show confidence, have a life filled with purpose and — to be a self-rescue princess.