Monday, November 02, 2009

Once Upon a Week: Reivew: Princess of the Midnight Ball by Jessica Day George


Today marks the start of Once Upon a Week! It is the brainchild of Nessie from Today's Adventures. I love fairy tales, so I was in for sure. Today's assignment was to review a fairy tale! Music Munday will return next week, but at least this is a book about dancing and you need music to dance...

A tale of twelve princesses doomed to dance until dawn…

Galen is a young soldier returning from war; Rose is one of twelve princesses condemned to dance each night for the King Under Stone. Together Galen and Rose will search for a way to break the curse that forces the princesses to dance at the midnight balls. All they need is one invisibility cloak, a black wool chain knit with enchanted silver needles, and that most critical ingredient of all—true love—to conquer their foes in the dark halls below. But malevolent forces are working against them above ground as well, and as cruel as the King Under Stone has seemed, his wrath is mere irritation compared to the evil that awaits Galen and Rose in the brighter world above.

Captivating from start to finish, Jessica Day George’s take on the Grimms’ tale The Twelve Dancing Princesses demonstrates yet again her mastery at spinning something entirely fresh out of a story you thought you knew.
I love reading fairy tales and fairy tale re-tellings! This book just came out this year and I have been seeing it around the blogosphere, but I wanted to wait until either the library bought it or it came out in paperback. Luckily, the library bought it and I jumped at the chance to read it. I am so glad that I did! The best part of it all is that its dark atmosphere made it perfect for this time of the year. I was surprised by that because I didn't go into it looking for a dark tale. I went into it to see how George decided to retell one of my favourite fairy tales.

I found this book really good. I knew roughly what was going to happen, but that didn't take away from the story at all! George adds just enough to make it a fresh story, but at the same time stays true to the original. By the end of it I really was caught up in the characters and the story. It was magical! Galen was a believable hero. He wasn't too over the top, but he wasn't too meek either. Rose was a wonderful damsel in distress. I hate to say that, but she was trapped and didn't really see a way out of her situation. Her and her sisters had tried various ways to break the curse, but it didn't work out for them. They needed Galen to change things up and save the day.

Even if you are familiar with the story, you should still give this a read! I am glad I did!

10 comments:

  1. I love re-tellings of fairy tales too! This one sounds really good!

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  2. The cover alone of this one makes me want to buy it. I've been eying it on Amazon for a while! Glad to know you enjoyed it :-)

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  3. Great review! I'm so excited to read this!

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  4. Got to get this book! I love fairy tales as well, and you sparked my curiosity.

    Thanks for the review!

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  5. Anonymous12:00 PM

    Awesome review, this one sounds really good! I've actually never read the fairy tale it's retelling, so it would be a whole new experience for me. I might have to pick it up!

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  6. This one really looks good. And I love that gorgeous cover!

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  7. I've been wanting to read this one. The Twelve Dancing Princesses was one of my favorite stories as a kid.

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  8. Awesome review! I must say, I only heard of this book today. I love the sound of it though, sounds amazing - and I don't know the original. Thanks!

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  9. Haven't heard of this but it's definitely going on my list.

    I've been thinking of picking a Grimms story and reading all the re-tellings I could find on it lately. For some reason I think if I do it will be Snow White though...

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  10. Hazra: Re-tellings are great! I enjoyed this one.

    Aarti: I love the cover, too. I am so glad that I finally read it!

    Nessie: Thanks! I hope you enjoy it!

    Leya: Hope you enjoy!

    thekams: It would be interesting to hear thoughts on someone that didn't know the original story, so that they didn't know what was supposed to happen...

    Britt: It was good and it does have a great cover!

    Misty: It is worth a read!

    Jo: Thanks!

    Jenn: That would be a lot of fun!

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