The Gist
The twelve princesses of Wesfalin are under a terrible curse and have been since the day they were born. They must dance from dusk until dawn every night, and they are powerless against the horrible creature that holds them to an unfair contract. Galen is a foot soldier who has just returned victorious from a bloody war. Both parents dead, Galen heads to Bruch, the capital of Westfalin to see if he can find work with his aunt and uncle until he can find another place to stay. Back at the castle, the princesses wear out their dancing slipper every night, and their father is not happy. Getting work as an under-gardener for the King’s gardens (with his uncle as the head-gardener) Galen hears of the slipper scandal first-hand. He notices the princesses’ exhaustion especially when the eldest princess, Rose, falls ill and does not recover for three months. Prince after prince arrives at the palace in hopes to solve the mystery of the worn dancing slippers and win the hand of one of the princesses. One by one the princes fail and one by one they mysteriously die. Galen isn’t rich or nobly born like all of those princes were, but he has a feeling he can discover the princesses secret and free them from their curse.
What We Think
Reviewed by Dream Catcher
The twelve princesses of Wesfalin are under a terrible curse and have been since the day they were born. They must dance from dusk until dawn every night, and they are powerless against the horrible creature that holds them to an unfair contract. Galen is a foot soldier who has just returned victorious from a bloody war. Both parents dead, Galen heads to Bruch, the capital of Westfalin to see if he can find work with his aunt and uncle until he can find another place to stay. Back at the castle, the princesses wear out their dancing slipper every night, and their father is not happy. Getting work as an under-gardener for the King’s gardens (with his uncle as the head-gardener) Galen hears of the slipper scandal first-hand. He notices the princesses’ exhaustion especially when the eldest princess, Rose, falls ill and does not recover for three months. Prince after prince arrives at the palace in hopes to solve the mystery of the worn dancing slippers and win the hand of one of the princesses. One by one the princes fail and one by one they mysteriously die. Galen isn’t rich or nobly born like all of those princes were, but he has a feeling he can discover the princesses secret and free them from their curse.
What We Think
Reviewed by Dream Catcher
Number of Pages: 280
Well, first off the title itself isn’t too enticing. But I read it because I liked the other books this author has written. So there. It was pretty good. Nothing to rave about, but still it wasn’t bad. It’s a fairytale retelling of the Twelve Dancing Princesses, with weird twists added in. The characters and the plot were pretty good in my opinion, but there was one thing I didn’t like at all about this book. And that was all the religion. There were bishops and other clergymen prancing around everywhere. Granted, they were mostly antagonists in the story. I thought I’d just warn all those who don’t want to read about the church. Don’t get me wrong, the book is certainly not based on religion, but there is a lot of talk about religion (the cross, God, Jesus, ect.). Just thought I’d warn you. But if I could get through it,I’m sure most people can get through it. Moving on, the plot, though not the most original (because it was based off a well-known fairytale) was entertaining. I love fairytale retellings, especially when the author adds something new and unexpected to the story. Like with this story. I’d always imagined the twelve dancing princesses danced willingly. Here, it’s their curse, and Galen would be their hero if he was able to free them from it. I really liked the idea of this story. The characters however were portrayed a bit awkwardly at times. Galen, though extremely polite, often winked and joked where he should not have joked. It was like he was polite under-gardner then BOOM flirtatious suitor. What happened? I have no idea. But most of the time he was a pleasant protagonist. There were so many sisters, also. Throughout the story you learn all of their names, but by the end I only knew a fraction of them. She mostly focused on four or five sisters, and left the others out for most of the time. It was a little weird. Overall though, I enjoyed this book and think it was worth the read. It’s a good book to read when you don’t want to read something overly complicated or heavy. Light, but interesting.
Well, first off the title itself isn’t too enticing. But I read it because I liked the other books this author has written. So there. It was pretty good. Nothing to rave about, but still it wasn’t bad. It’s a fairytale retelling of the Twelve Dancing Princesses, with weird twists added in. The characters and the plot were pretty good in my opinion, but there was one thing I didn’t like at all about this book. And that was all the religion. There were bishops and other clergymen prancing around everywhere. Granted, they were mostly antagonists in the story. I thought I’d just warn all those who don’t want to read about the church. Don’t get me wrong, the book is certainly not based on religion, but there is a lot of talk about religion (the cross, God, Jesus, ect.). Just thought I’d warn you. But if I could get through it,I’m sure most people can get through it. Moving on, the plot, though not the most original (because it was based off a well-known fairytale) was entertaining. I love fairytale retellings, especially when the author adds something new and unexpected to the story. Like with this story. I’d always imagined the twelve dancing princesses danced willingly. Here, it’s their curse, and Galen would be their hero if he was able to free them from it. I really liked the idea of this story. The characters however were portrayed a bit awkwardly at times. Galen, though extremely polite, often winked and joked where he should not have joked. It was like he was polite under-gardner then BOOM flirtatious suitor. What happened? I have no idea. But most of the time he was a pleasant protagonist. There were so many sisters, also. Throughout the story you learn all of their names, but by the end I only knew a fraction of them. She mostly focused on four or five sisters, and left the others out for most of the time. It was a little weird. Overall though, I enjoyed this book and think it was worth the read. It’s a good book to read when you don’t want to read something overly complicated or heavy. Light, but interesting.
Real Teen Rating~ B : Read it, but there’s no rush.
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