The Hero and the Crown by Robin McKinley

Although she is the daughter of Damar's king, Aerin was never fully accepted as royalty. People would whisper the story of her mother, the witch-woman, who they said charmed the king into marrying her, and Aerin turned into an awkward young woman, persecuted by many in the court. But none knew her hidden strength and courage until she became the hero her kingdom desperately needed.

Loved the resolution of the love triangle although I've seen it get a lot of hate. The only thing I would have changed would have been the amount of time Aerin spent with Tor after returning before the proposal. The first half of the book is spent establishing Tor and Aerin's connection and then the next half is spent with Luthe. So by the time they're getting married I've almost (but not quite) forgotten why I love Tor and Aerin together.

Aerin, the daughter of a witch and the king she bewitched, lives a lonely life, derided by her countrymen, scorned for her lack of gifts. Somehow she takes an elderly, broken-down warrior horse and heads off to kill a small dragon. In the process, she finds her life.

It was grueling to read the parts of the story where Aerin faces the enormous dragon, burning off her hair, scarring her. It felt, for some reason, more difficult to read than stories of men facing dragons. I do not know why.

I don't know what children would make of this story. Big vocabulary. Tragedy. Love.

But I liked it a lot. Aerin learns much from a mystical mage, falls in love with him, and yet chooses to leave him to save her people, her ungrateful, cruel people.