I would highly recommend the Enchanted Forest Chronicles by Patricia C. Wrede (here's a link to book one). It basically starts out with a princess who doesn't want to do "proper princess" things...she's engaged to be married to someone she hates, so she runs away to be a dragon's princess. After all, it's "proper", so her parents can't complain. But she gets to do what she wants. There's also fun fantasy stuff thrown in there. They are my go-to books if I'm feeling sick. The later books in the series follow the same world/characters but have a different main point of view.

Hope that helps!

P.S. Also, no parent death!