Actually...no. Friesner writes dichotomies. The first one has "princess" in the title, (Nobody's Princess, Sphinx's Princess, Spirit's Princess, Deception's Princess) and the second is usually related to the girls place in her myth (Helen of Troy=Nobody's Prize, Nefertiti=Sphinx's Queen, Himiko of Japan=Spirit's Chosen). I started reading them as an undergrad and even did a report on Spirit's Princess since it had just come out.
In some ways they are cliche girl-power books, but at the same time there is enough historical fiction and quirky personality to keep someone engaged. I love myths, the fact that these myths are rooted in history is just bonus. To be honest, I had just finished up Percy Jackson and the Olympians (I still haven't finished Heroes of Olympus yet) and was looking for something along the same lines. I didn't think I'd like Nobody's Princess since as a rule, I don't like Helen of Troy...seriously that woman caused more problems than she was worth (not that Paris is off the hook). However, Helen was the prissy princess she's usually portrayed as. She was an unwed, unengaged teen. She was quirky and wanted to be a hero. She didn't like Jason. Were there cliche's I didn't like? Sure, but overall I liked them.
Also, the only two Princess Diaries (not the Meg Cabot ones) I owed were for Mary Queen of Scots and Cleopatra the VII. And considering both of those girls have equally cool myths and facts means I was willing to look at Friesner's books (the two about Nefertiti were already out by the time I started looking).
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