A review by bak8382
Princess of the Midnight Ball by Jessica Day George
3.0
This is a quick read (I read it in a day), and it is an interesting take on the Twelve Dancing Princesses fairy tale. The story focuses on both the eldest dancing princess, Rose, and a soldier, Galen, turned gardener who she meets while he is working in her late mother's garden. Rose is so startled by Galen's appearance that she ends up getting a dunking in a pond and spends the next few months continuing to dance while battling pneumonia. Galen becomes determined to help them even as princes begin to die after trying to learn the girls secret and the girls are accused of witchcraft by the church.
From the flap copy I was expecting Rose to be much more proactive and feisty, but instead she languishes for months with pneumonia even though several of her younger sisters recover quickly. Galen on the other hand was a strong character, pushed the action forward, and could knit extremely well! I liked that the author brought in the accusations of witchcraft as it gave the story a bit more action and felt like something that could have actually happened. Overall the book was able to hit all the elements of the original story ( at least as much as I can remember of it) while fleshing it out with original additional characters. If you liked this one I would recommend reading her other fairy tale retelling, Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow.
From the flap copy I was expecting Rose to be much more proactive and feisty, but instead she languishes for months with pneumonia even though several of her younger sisters recover quickly. Galen on the other hand was a strong character, pushed the action forward, and could knit extremely well! I liked that the author brought in the accusations of witchcraft as it gave the story a bit more action and felt like something that could have actually happened. Overall the book was able to hit all the elements of the original story ( at least as much as I can remember of it) while fleshing it out with original additional characters. If you liked this one I would recommend reading her other fairy tale retelling, Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow.