Entwined

By Heather Dixon

Come and mend your broken hearts here. In this retelling of the classic tale “The Twelve Dancing Princesses,” the eldest princess must fight to save her family—and her heart—from an ancient dark magic within the palace walls.

Just when Azalea should feel that everything is before her—beautiful gowns, dashing suitors, balls filled with dancing—it’s taken away. All of it. And azalea is trapped. The Keeper understands. He’s trapped, too, held for centuries within the walls of the palace. So he extends an invitation.

Every night, Azalea and her eleven sisters may step through the enchanted passage in their room to dance in his silver forest, but there is a cost. The Keeper likes to keep things. Azalea may not realize how tangled she is in his web until it is too late.

So, I may have read this 2 or 3 times already since I first discovered it early in 2014. I adore this version of the Twelve Dancing Princesses because it is more than just a fairy tale and a romance. It’s about family and what loss can do to a family. The relationship between the girls and their father is central to the story and one that fascinated me and had me cheering for them all. Each of the girls has a distinct personality, though it still is a whirlwind to try and distinguish the younger girls from each other, though this is the absolute best version I’ve ever read for really disentangling the sisters so they don’t meld together. Azalea is a wonderful protagonist, and you can just tell she’s the eldest. Bramble is so stubborn and headstrong that she either makes you laugh or cringe at her antics. The characters are so dear that you’ll be in love with all of them come the end of the novel and the resolution to the curse that comes upon the princesses in the form of a malicious man they know as Keeper. And what fairy tale is complete without a prince? Okay, Mr. Bradford isn’t a prince, but he should be! I love him, and there are other love stories in here than just Azalea’s too! Oh this book was delicious to read. Major love Heather Dixon. I fist bump you across the internet.

This gets a 4.5 out of 5

P.S. Heather has an awesome blog that you should go check out. She is my kind of people. go to http://story-monster.blogspot.com