Customer Reviews

Princess of the Midnight Ball

5 star:		(59)
4 star:		(46)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

If you are familiar with the Grimm fairy tale The Twelve Dancing Princesses, then you already know the main plot points of this retelling. Author Jessica Day George adds depth to the story of the young solider charged with finding out why the kingdom's 12 princesses wear out their dancing shoes every night by setting it in a place with magic even darker than the original.

Galen makes a fine hero, he's a noble orphan who knits and is kind to old ladies (traits which serve him well as the story progresses). He's taken in by his uncle, the King's gardener, and that's how he meets the cursed Rose and her sisters. Galen and Rose are the only characters that we ever really get to know beyond one defining characteristic - the other 11 sisters run together in a haze of flower names and are treated more as a group than individuals. The romantic elements of the story were also a bit thin, even for someone like me who isn't necessarily a fan of romance.

Despite knowing the fairy tale, I found this retelling adequately suspenseful and read eagerly, rooting for Galen to break the curse and usher in a happily ever after. 3 1/2 stars

I have always been a lover of fairy tales. One of my favorites from childhood has always been the story of the 12 Dancing Princesses. So, I was excited when this book caught my eye during a recent trip to Barnes and Noble.
The story begins as Galen, a lifelong soldier despite his youth, is returning home after the completion of a war which has lasted 12 long years. Orphaned and alone, he seeks out his Aunt and Uncle. Galen's uncle is employed as the royal family gardner, and offers the hard working youth a position in the family firm. It is in the gardens that Galen first meets Princess Rose, the eldest of 12 royal princesses, and finds himself swept up in an unexpected adventure as he tries to free Rose and her sisters from a powerful curse.
There are many things to like about this book. Galen, the hero, is a charming character, and not just because he is an accomplished knitter. I was rooting for him to succeed after the first few pages. I found Galen's history particularly interesting. The author also did a nice job of including many of the details from the original fairy tale that I know and love. The story flows along quickly, and there really never is a lull in the action. Young adults will likely appreciate this retelling as it provides a handsome and dashing, yet kind and sensitive hero, and some wholesome romance. The character of Princess Rose is also no fainting blossom waiting to be rescued. She and her sisters all seem to be doing their best to save themselves.
I did find the writing at times a bit disjointed. At some points, I found myself noticing particular sentences that didn't seem to flow very well. For example the author described a character as, "he was so very much not happy." I'm not usually such a picky reader, as I prefer to lose myself in the story, but at times the authors voice seemed a bit unrefined. All that being said however, I found this a very pleasant read, and one that I would recommend for fans of fairy tale retellings.

With one exception, all of the recent retellings of "The Twelve Dancing Princesses" have been spectacularly mediocre. There's Dia Calhoun's overtly psychological The Phoenix Dance, Suzanne Weyn's overwrought The Night Dance (Once Upon a Time), and Juliet Marillier's forgettable Wildwood Dancing.

Princess of the Midnight Ball blows them all out of the water. Seamless storytelling meets understated magic, sure-footed prose, and surreptitious knitting in this satisfying retelling.

Yes, knitting. Don't ask me to explain, because part of the book's appeal lies in seeing how Jessica Day George takes the framework of the original and makes it her own. Suddenly, all the logic gaps, unmotivated actions, and rough edges of the original are given a context in which they make sense.

As the story opens, the kingdom of Westfalin has just ended a long war. Eighteen year old soldier Galen has had enough violence for a lifetime and is on his way back to civilian life. En route to the capital, he encounters an odd old woman who gives him an even odder cloak and two balls of yarn: one fine and white to protect, the other strong and black to bind. And with a few enigmatic words of advice, she's gone.

Meanwhile, back at the castle, the king frets over both his troubled kingdom and his twelve daughters, who mysteriously wear out their slippers every third night. It soon becomes clear that the princesses are not willing participants, but rather the victims of a bargain their mother struck long ago with the King Under Stone in his twilight world. As his true intentions grow clearer, so does the princesses' peril. After several princes fail to discover the secret and die in mysterious circumstances (which, not surprisingly, incurs international hostility), it's up to one clever soldier-turned-gardener to save the princesses, the kingdom, and himself from the queen's mistake and its widespread consequences.

Jessica Day George writes with the warmth and assurance of a seasoned storyteller, spinning (knitting?) a beautifully plotted and paced story that never stalls nor rushes. Without being slavishly realistic, the world of Westfalin feels solid, a deft mixture of the courtly and the common, real decisions and real consequences, good and evil.

If Princess of the Midnight Ball has one shortcoming, it's that the author is better at telling stories than creating characters. Galen and the eldest princess, Rose, are likable and sympathetic, though not highly memorable; Rose's eleven sisters, although reasonably feisty, blend into a forgettable bouquet of names. But that was probably inevitable, and the story works so well as a whole that you might not even notice.

As far as I'm concerned, this is the definitive retelling of "The Twelve Dancing Princesses." Recommended, especially to fans of Robin McKinley, Sharon Shinn, and Shannon Hale.

Jennifer Mo, [...]

A beautifully written fantasy novel based on the fairy tale "Twelve Dancing Princesses." There are many delightful twists that make this story all its own. The hero is a wonderful character, and he knits! The princesses are appealing, and I got caught up in their conflict. The plot is involved and compelling, and has enough depth to satisfy the tastes of adventure lovers everywhere.

I have loved the author's previous novels, so when I say this is my favorite so far, that's saying a lot. Highly recommended to anyone who enjoys fantasy or fairy tales or adventure novels.

As a synopsis is included in so many reviews already, I don't feel it's necessary for me to write one.

First, I loved the book. At least, most of it. I fell in love with the characters, and I felt pretty happy with the amount of depth revealed about each one. I can imagine the challenge of writing about twelve different women and making them each be their own person, in addition to a host of other characters! Admittedly, there is not a LOT of depth, and I would have liked to know more about some characters (particularly the younger sisters, with whom I had the most trouble), but I didn't feel starved for information, nor did I get confused, which is a common problem for me ("Who's that again? Wait, which sister is that? And where did that guy come from!?")

Oh! And I thought the little references to Germany were pretty great. It really helped establish the setting and feeling, for me.

I loved loved loved the retelling of the well-known fairy tale. The story even brings up a point I had always wondered about the original tale: why would these girls sneak out every night and wear out their shoes just for fun? The answer is they wouldn't, and I found the slow unraveling of the mystery throughout the book exciting.

Overall, the entire story is slightly shallow (bare-bones descriptions, not every subject brought up is entirely explained) but that didn't really bother me. I admit the author didn't supply every detail I might have wished for, but there was plenty enough to fuel my imagination and make the story enjoyable.

The ending seemed slightly sudden, but I guess all stories have to end some time.

The only aspect of the story I didn't enjoy is...I'm not sure how to put it. It was in the revealing of the mystery and the solution. It felt like the "magic" of the story crossed over into slightly "demonic," which I thoroughly disliked. This is just a personal preference, but one I feel strongly enough about that I don't think I'd read this book again. I didn't mind that they were under a spell or that there was magic yarn and an invisibility cloak, but then there was a witch hunt and an inquisition and the silver crosses and the stabbing through the heart with silver... I guess these aspects made it interesting for some people, but it just creeped me out. It's possible that I prefer my fiction lighthearted and innocent. While an invisibility cloak is completely fictional and harmless, including the "church" in the story hunting for witchcraft seems too real to be lighthearted. This ruined the rest of the story for me.

Again, I loved the book, but I'm not sure I'd want to read it again.

If you loved Sun, Moon, Ice and Snow by Jessica Day George, you're sure to love this book too. It really made the Twelve Dancing Princesses fairytale come alive in a dark new way. I loved the romance between Rose and Galen. In the reviews I read before reading this book I laughed at the emphasis placed on the fact that Galen knits. He does. He was also a entertaining and down to earth character. I also loved the younger sisters in the story. They were funny and slightly interfering. It was a great light-hearted read.

Having read other reviews on Amazon for this book, I had high expectations, but I have to admit that I was disappointed. This is a fun, light read, but I found the story predictable and the characters very undeveloped. I would recommend checking this book out from the library rather than purchasing it.

A retelling of the fairy tale The Twelve Dancing Princesses. In this version, the princesses are not willing participants in the night dances and are instead acting under a generational curse. I was always puzzled by the original story where the princesses seemed to enjoy spending night after night dancing until their shoes wore out. That always sounded so torturous to me. The addition of a curse in this version allows the author to show the princesses suffering both physically and mentally as a result of their forced excursions, which I find much more believable. I prefer this alteration as it not only makes more sense, but more importantly it makes the princesses sympathetic characters and the soldier's rescue more daring and romantic.

Somehow this retelling manages to provide both depth and life to the characters and story while also retaining the "tabula rasa" of fairy tale characters that allows the reader's imagination to mold the characters to their own ideals. This combination allowed me to enjoy the story on multiple levels. The imagery was also gorgeously rendered, especially the chilling and otherworldly beauty of the underground kingdom and its inhabitants. Highly recommended!

In this retelling of the old fairytale The Twelve Dancing Princesses, Rose and her eleven younger sisters must find a way to break away from the curse set upon them by the evil King Under Stone. They can't do it on their own, so with the help of a soldier turned gardener named Galen, they use an invisibility cloak, magical black yarn, silver knitting needles, and true love to break the curse.

When I was younger, The Twelve Dancing Princesses was my favorite story, so I was immediately drawn to this novel. Jessica Day George does a good job creating likeable characters such as the charming Galen and the grandfatherly Walter. She also does a good job sticking to the old fairytale, but also adding in other elements to make it her own. While I mostly enjoyed this novel, there were parts of her writing that got slightly annoying. She sometimes lost the flow of the words, making reading awkward, and there were times when all of her supporting characters were meshed together as one. However, it was still a compelling read and I would recommend it to fans of the original fairytale.

I am overwhelmed and 'elated' to find an author so fresh, honest, and just plain FABULOUS! I first read "Dragon Slippers" and was SO hooked with Jessica Day George's book that I went back to my library and hoarded the rest of her books! At my age to discover such simple and imaginative renditions of age old stories and beliefs which she tells with so many twists and turns creating such a magical fantasy is beyond expectations.
'Merlin' and his legends have always been a passion of mine and to be swept up so simply in the worlds of the Princesses' (and dragons from her trilogy) is just an extension of this magical world and time. To take it a step further and.... being the ultimate 'movie buff'... I can so see her books on the big screen. Her simplistic and succinct descriptions of the town, characters, village, the absolutely fabulous gardens; and the life 'down under' with the silver and pearl gate, silver trees, the black lake and the ominous King and his sons would make a stunning and memorable movie. Totally comparable to "Ever After" which is one of my all time favorite movies!
Jessica Day George you are a true gem in the literary field of fantasy coming to life.