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

The Twelve Dancing Princesses

By Jenni James

Twelve princesses, one gardener, and a mysterious secret…

As the castle gardener, Aleck is paid well, has his own room above the stables, and he is able to support his mother and younger brothers and sisters. Why would he risk it all for one girl?

For weeks now, Princess Cascadia and her eleven sisters have awakened each morning to swollen feet and tattered dancing slippers without any recollection of what happened. Why would someone do this to them? The king calls all the worthy men in the land to come and help solve the riddle of the twelve dancing princesses. The man who is able to sort the mystery will be allowed to choose one of the princesses to wed.

Cascadia immediately turns to Aleck for assistance. If anyone can help her, she knows it is him, and she knows of no man she would rather marry. But will Aleck be able to unravel the mysterious happenings and save the kingdom before those behind the scheme succeed?

So as you may have gathered I tend to read any and all books that Jenni James writes because I am enamored with fairy tales. That being said, this one isn’t my favorite of hers. There are much better retellings of the twelve dancing princesses, my favorite is Entwined by Heather Dixon. This is basically a rehash of the original tale with very little character development and not too much going on except for getting through the plot. It was fine as a read but to be utterly honest, it is a forgettable read. If you want my opinion for Jenni James try Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast or Rumplestiltskin so you know what her best looks like.

This gets a 2.75 out of 5

Wildwood Dancing

By Juliet Marillier

High in the Transylvanian woods, at the castle Piscul Draculi, live five daughters and their doting father. It’s an idyllic life for Jena, the second eldest, who spends her time exploring the mysterious forest with her constant companion, a most unusual frog. But best by far is the castle’s hidden portal, known only to the sisters. Every Full Moon, they alone can pass through it into the enchanted world of the Other Kingdom. There they dance through the night with the fey creatures of this magical realm.

But their peace is shattered when Father falls ill and must go to the southern parts to recover, for that is when cousin Cezar arrives. Though he’s there to help the girl survive the brutal winter, Jena suspects he has darker motives in store. Meanwhile, Jena’s sister has  fallen in love with a dangerous creature of the Other Kingdom---and impossible union it’s up to Jena to stop.

When Cezar’s grip of power begins to tighten, at stake is everything Jena loves: her home, her family, and the Other Kingdom she has come to cherish. To save her world, Jena will be tested in ways she can’t imagine—tests of trust, strength, and true love.

I have heard a lot of love for this book and was just waiting for the right time and mood to read it. I was not disappointed. IT was a sort of mix of the Twelve Dancing Princesses, and The Frog Prince, except it was so originally done, you can only catch a passing resemblance to this stories. It was great story-telling. The choice of setting the story in Romania was awesome, though I was miffed with the names and even with the pronunciation guide, I still had difficulty and found it halted the flow of the story. Other than that the girls, of which there are only 5, are well fleshed out and individual, which is rare to find outside of the heroine of the story. The fairy realm is beautiful and the dwarves and other creatures were just as mystical. I was reminded of all the images that stuck in my mind as a child about fae creatures and was transported there with them. There is much about love and sacrifice, honor and choice. It’s got some great gems in it about where our choices lead us, and the love story was not straight-forward and predictable. That was my favorite part. I got a bout of dread when vampires showed up—but no worries. They are not even named as vampires, but “night people” (though they totally were vampires) and they are as nightmarish and eerie as they should be. No sparkles! It was a wonderful story full of magic and a little mayhem, and mostly a test of courage and ingenuity for the characters. Highly recommend this, not only to people who like re-tellings, but people who enjoy a good fantasy.

I give it a 4.25 out of 5

Princess of the Midnight Ball

By Jessica Day George

Rose is one of twelve princesses forced to dance through the night in an underground palace. The key to breaking the spell lies in magic knitting needles, and invisibility cloak, and of course-true love.

This story is pretty straightforward. It’s the retelling of the 12 dancing princesses, curses, love, evil monsters, etc. While not being something utterly fantastic and new, this was fun to read. The protagonist, Galen, was easy to like with his knitting and general kindnesses. Rose, the eldest princess is fairly typical for a princess, but is greatly more in depth as a character than any of her sisters, who tend to blend into the background with all their flower names. This is a sweet little love story/adventure. It’s fun for entertainment.

I give it a 3 out of 5-it’s average.