Title: Princess of the Midnight Ball (Princess of the Midnight Ball #1)

Author: Jessica Day George

Publisher: Bloomsbury 2009

Genre: YA fairy tale

Pages: 280

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Telling Tales; Women Authors; Library; Book Bingo -- 5 from series

How I Got It: Library Loan

Rose is one of twelve princesses forced to dance through the night in an underground palace. The key to breaking the spell lies in magic knitting needles, an invisibility cloak, and—of course—true love. Inspired by "The Twelve Dancing Princesses,"this novel is as captivating as it is fresh. Enchanted readers are sure to clamor for the new companion, Princess of Glass, also publishing this season.

This was such a cute little fairy tale retelling. I sat down to read it after lunch and read it straight through. The plot is fairly predictable. It is a retelling of "The Twelve Dancing Princesses." But it's the characters that drew me into the novel. I love seeing all twelve of the princesses. They each have their own personality and interests. Rose is the focus, but each of the others are given their own time. Galen is a treat. I loved following him from solider to future king. He's a down-to-earth character and kept my attention throughout.

Princess of the Midnight Ball

Princess of the Midnight Ball
Princess of Glass
Princess of the Silver Woods

Title: Princess of Glass (Princess of the Midnight Ball #2)

Author: Jessica Day George

Publisher: Bloomsbury 2010

Genre: YA Fairy Tales

Pages: 266

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Telling Tales; New Author; Library; Book Bingo -- 5 from series

How I Got It: Library loan

Hoping to escape the troubles in her kingdom, Princess Poppy reluctantly agrees to take part in a royal exchange program. She travels abroad hoping to find better political alliances and perhaps a marriage. But thanks to a vengeful fairy, Poppy's happily ever after gets complicated. This companion to Princess of the Midnight Ball will delight readers with action and romance.

So, I realized after finishing this book that I read it out of order. Silly me! I was wondering why lots of past plot points were referred to often. Oh well! It was a good little story even with my blunder. We are treated to a retelling of Cinderella complete with glass slippers and a fairy godmother (or is she?). Poppy must use her previous enchantment breaking experience to help the people of Breton. I liked Poppy. She was unconventional and spunky and smart. She kept her wits about her when faced with what seemed to be impossible odds. Thankfully I also liked the male lead, Prince Christian. He too is just unconventional enough to be thoroughly likable. The characters are where this book shines. The plot is predictable (it's Cinderella, remember?), but the characters keep it fresh and interesting. Now that I've read book two, I guess I should go back and read book one...

Princess of the Midnight Ball

Princess of the Midnight Ball
Princess of Glass
Princess of the Silver Woods

Princess of the Midnight Ball by Jessica Day George

Princess of Glass by Jessica Day George