classysmarta's review against another edition
emotional
funny
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
sabregirl's review against another edition
5.0
I just LOVED this novel. It's such an interesting take on the Cinderella tale, strike that it's an ORIGINAL twist on the Cinderella tale. The only bad thing that I can think about it is that it was fairly predictable. When the middle of the novel came around and everything was on the plate it wasn't hard to see where things were going. But that does not detract from the loveliness of the book.
Poppy is a great heroine, she was mentioned a lot in the first book being the strong one out of the girls. This delves deeper into her personality and you see that while she has strength that scaring effect of the dancing curse lingers. Her constant nightmares hint that curses aren't as easily forgotten once they are through. It'll be interesting to see the outcome of all of that in the last novel. I liked that Poppy had a much deeper level to her. She grew throughout the novel which was great to see, in the beginning she was just a tough girl, but as things grew worse the cracks appeared but it worked out of for the best.
The love hexagon or what ever it turned out to be was adorable. The slightest hints that things were happening were nice. It had some of the funnier moments that's for sure. I loved the knitting was still around. The fact that it helps ward off evil is too funny.
Poppy is a great heroine, she was mentioned a lot in the first book being the strong one out of the girls. This delves deeper into her personality and you see that while she has strength that scaring effect of the dancing curse lingers. Her constant nightmares hint that curses aren't as easily forgotten once they are through. It'll be interesting to see the outcome of all of that in the last novel. I liked that Poppy had a much deeper level to her. She grew throughout the novel which was great to see, in the beginning she was just a tough girl, but as things grew worse the cracks appeared but it worked out of for the best.
The love hexagon or what ever it turned out to be was adorable. The slightest hints that things were happening were nice. It had some of the funnier moments that's for sure. I loved the knitting was still around. The fact that it helps ward off evil is too funny.
missmegs13's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
3.75
bak8382's review against another edition
3.0
It's been three years since Poppy was forced to dance every night,[b:Princess of the Midnight Ball|3697927|Princess of the Midnight Ball|Jessica Day George|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1275738366s/3697927.jpg|3741438], and she hasn't danced a step since. Now she's been sent to Breton to encourage good relationships between the kingdoms. There she is befriended by visiting Prince Christian, and she's being waited on by sullen and accident prone Ellen, an earl's daughter who has fallen on hard times. Once again Poppy finds herself fighting against an evil magic.
Princess of Glass is fairly decent escapism reading with it's fresh twist on the Cinderella story. Poppy is a much feistier heroine than her sister Rose from the previous novel, but Christian is not quite the hero I imagined for her. He spends most of the book lost in a magic stupor that makes him think he's in love with Ellen. Meanwhile Ellen's true love interest Roger proves to be made of tougher stuff, and he might actually be a better match for her. I have no idea what he sees in Ellen because she's whiny and unappreciative throughout most of the novel, and I find it hard to believe that it was all caused by magic.
Princess of Glass is fairly decent escapism reading with it's fresh twist on the Cinderella story. Poppy is a much feistier heroine than her sister Rose from the previous novel, but Christian is not quite the hero I imagined for her. He spends most of the book lost in a magic stupor that makes him think he's in love with Ellen. Meanwhile Ellen's true love interest Roger proves to be made of tougher stuff, and he might actually be a better match for her. I have no idea what he sees in Ellen because she's whiny and unappreciative throughout most of the novel, and I find it hard to believe that it was all caused by magic.
zenithharpink's review against another edition
4.0
Another compelling read from this series, I honestly don't know which I enjoyed more.
This is a super interesting take on Cinderella! I was completely fascinated, and loved that Cinderella isn't automatically the "good guy," with everybody simply falling at her feet. There was more suspicion, more intrigue and it was really well done!
George does an excellent job of a striking a perfect balance between sufficiently fleshing out a story and dragging down what is a superficial fairytale-these are not 5 page original stories that are turned into 500 page epics. In that regard, they are absolutely refreshing.
The characters are all very enjoyable, though some were a bit underplayed in my opinion, they felt real, and their chemistry resonated with me. Except for the last 5 pages, which felt very rushed, this was a diverting, light, read that I fully intend to enjoy more than once!
I recommend this book to readers looking for a great fairytale retelling, those looking for a light read, or any young readers that are just getting into chapter books. This is well paced, light and diverting.
This is a super interesting take on Cinderella! I was completely fascinated, and loved that Cinderella isn't automatically the "good guy," with everybody simply falling at her feet. There was more suspicion, more intrigue and it was really well done!
George does an excellent job of a striking a perfect balance between sufficiently fleshing out a story and dragging down what is a superficial fairytale-these are not 5 page original stories that are turned into 500 page epics. In that regard, they are absolutely refreshing.
The characters are all very enjoyable, though some were a bit underplayed in my opinion, they felt real, and their chemistry resonated with me. Except for the last 5 pages, which felt very rushed, this was a diverting, light, read that I fully intend to enjoy more than once!
I recommend this book to readers looking for a great fairytale retelling, those looking for a light read, or any young readers that are just getting into chapter books. This is well paced, light and diverting.
thebookshelfofrat's review against another edition
5.0
Finished this book in one sitting. Absolutely brilliant for a lover of fairytale retellings like me! I love the way Jessica Day George uses fairytale 'plotholes' in order to make a different, slightly darker spin on the story. For example, if Cinderella was wearing glass slippers, wouldn't they, well, hurt? And why did the fairy godmother help Cinderella? Loved all the characters, especially Poppy, who happened to be one of my favourite princesses from the previous book.
Also, like the last book, it has knitting patterns.
YES, knitting patterns.
Win. :)
Also, like the last book, it has knitting patterns.
YES, knitting patterns.
Win. :)
sarahelainereads's review against another edition
2.0
Not my favorite of the series, did not really feel the chemistry between Christian and Poppy.
It felt rushed and unexplained.
Reread 8/9/17
It felt rushed and unexplained.
Reread 8/9/17
scribesprite's review against another edition
5.0
I was excited to read another book from George but I was bracing myself for a little disappointment because it was a retelling of the Cinderella story and there are so many that I wondered how many takes can one fairy-tale have? But I could take pleasure in it anyways and the main character is not the 'Cinderella' it's Poppy, one of the twelve dancing princess from [b:Princess of the Midnight Ball|3697927|Princess of the Midnight Ball|Jessica Day George|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1275738366s/3697927.jpg|3741438]. Seeing the Cinderella story unfold by an outsider’s eyes was nice.
Poppy is a twin somewhere in the middle if I can remember right, but she flys solo in this one. She and her other unwed sisters are sent out to smooth things over in other kingdoms because they think the twelve sisters are at fault for past princes' deaths and think the sisters are witches or something. The take on this one is different in the way Cinderella's (or in this case Eleanor’s) godmother isn't the sweet old woman that you remember from the Disney movie and that maybe ‘Cinderella’ was deceived.
Princess of Glass has some of the elements of Princess of the Midnight Ball like there is some knitting but not as much. It seems most all books by George have something to do with thread or cloth making; like this one and the one before it have to do with knitting, [b:Dragon Slippers|669570|Dragon Slippers|Jessica Day George|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1176954453s/669570.jpg|655608] it was embroidery, and [b:Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow|1210754|Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow|Jessica Day George|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1266745129s/1210754.jpg|1199129] I think there was a loom though that might be wrong. I actually contemplated whether I should take up knitting, I think I could be good at it but now I’m veering off the book. The story switches point of view from Poppy, to the Prince, to Eleanor. The prologue has the godmother’s point of view but that is the only time her POV is presented. I like the character of Poppy and it was fun to read her. Prince Christian is endearing, no complaints there.
The ending was done wisely and fitting. I think it would be a great idea if there were books about the rest of the princesses but that might take awhile.
Poppy is a twin somewhere in the middle if I can remember right, but she flys solo in this one. She and her other unwed sisters are sent out to smooth things over in other kingdoms because they think the twelve sisters are at fault for past princes' deaths and think the sisters are witches or something. The take on this one is different in the way Cinderella's (or in this case Eleanor’s) godmother isn't the sweet old woman that you remember from the Disney movie and that maybe ‘Cinderella’ was deceived.
Princess of Glass has some of the elements of Princess of the Midnight Ball like there is some knitting but not as much. It seems most all books by George have something to do with thread or cloth making; like this one and the one before it have to do with knitting, [b:Dragon Slippers|669570|Dragon Slippers|Jessica Day George|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1176954453s/669570.jpg|655608] it was embroidery, and [b:Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow|1210754|Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow|Jessica Day George|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1266745129s/1210754.jpg|1199129] I think there was a loom though that might be wrong. I actually contemplated whether I should take up knitting, I think I could be good at it but now I’m veering off the book. The story switches point of view from Poppy, to the Prince, to Eleanor. The prologue has the godmother’s point of view but that is the only time her POV is presented. I like the character of Poppy and it was fun to read her. Prince Christian is endearing, no complaints there.
The ending was done wisely and fitting. I think it would be a great idea if there were books about the rest of the princesses but that might take awhile.
lumos_libros's review against another edition
4.0
When I first heard there was going to be a companion novel to [b:Princess of the Midnight Ball|3697927|Princess of the Midnight Ball (Princess #1)|Jessica Day George|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1312063284s/3697927.jpg|3741438] I got so excited I didn't even bother to find out what the next book was going to be about. I'm glad I didn't because I might have been turned off that it's a retelling of the Cinderella story. It's hard to make this original, but the author did a good job of making sure the story stayed fresh and yet keep true to the heart of the retelling.
This time around Poppy (one of the twins from the previous novel) is the main character and though I don't recall much about each sister, Poppy definitely stands out in her own story. Poppy, just like her other sisters who are unmarried, are sent to be guest in other countries to show unity and no ill will. While in Bretoner she will stumble upon sinister plans from the Corley, but she has already been through one curse can she live to tell tale of this one?
Poppy is a perfect character for this retelling. She's levelheaded, fun, a shark at cards, and bright and just the right character to help solve the mystery of what is happening to Eleanora/Ellen/Lady Ella (no kidding she has that many names in the book). The Eleanora character with the three names annoyed the heck out of me for most of the story, though in the end I understood why she acted stupid, it would have been nice to like her more from the beginning. The retelling is told from a kind of outsider perspective since Poppy is not the actually Cinderella. It makes the reader experience the story from another angle. There of course has to be a prince, in this case his name is Christian and he will get entrapped into the Corley's plan as well.
I'm glad the author made sure to kind of gradually recap what happened in the previous book without it distracting from this story, because new readers wouldn't probably understand why Poppy had such a hate for dancing when she is so good at it. Throughout the book I was just anticipating how they all were going to take down the Corley, but this is where the book kind of fell flat to me. When I read it I thought ...that was it? In Princess of the Midnight Ball the ending was more intricate and I had expected something similar here. Other than that though I do recommend it highly to fairytale lovers.
I wanted to mention that at the end of the book Jessica Day George gives instructions on how to knit some of the items mentioned in the book. That is neat of her to do that, but too bad I don't know how to knit!
This time around Poppy (one of the twins from the previous novel) is the main character and though I don't recall much about each sister, Poppy definitely stands out in her own story. Poppy, just like her other sisters who are unmarried, are sent to be guest in other countries to show unity and no ill will. While in Bretoner she will stumble upon sinister plans from the Corley, but she has already been through one curse can she live to tell tale of this one?
Poppy is a perfect character for this retelling. She's levelheaded, fun, a shark at cards, and bright and just the right character to help solve the mystery of what is happening to Eleanora/Ellen/Lady Ella (no kidding she has that many names in the book). The Eleanora character with the three names annoyed the heck out of me for most of the story, though in the end I understood why she acted stupid, it would have been nice to like her more from the beginning. The retelling is told from a kind of outsider perspective since Poppy is not the actually Cinderella. It makes the reader experience the story from another angle. There of course has to be a prince, in this case his name is Christian and he will get entrapped into the Corley's plan as well.
I'm glad the author made sure to kind of gradually recap what happened in the previous book without it distracting from this story, because new readers wouldn't probably understand why Poppy had such a hate for dancing when she is so good at it. Throughout the book I was just anticipating how they all were going to take down the Corley, but this is where the book kind of fell flat to me. When I read it I thought ...that was it? In Princess of the Midnight Ball the ending was more intricate and I had expected something similar here. Other than that though I do recommend it highly to fairytale lovers.
I wanted to mention that at the end of the book Jessica Day George gives instructions on how to knit some of the items mentioned in the book. That is neat of her to do that, but too bad I don't know how to knit!