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A review by steph01924
Entwined by Heather Dixon Wallwork
4.0
I read Jessica Day George's [b:Princess of the Midnight Ball|3697927|Princess of the Midnight Ball (Princess #1)|Jessica Day George|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1312063284s/3697927.jpg|3741438] about a year ago, and it was my first introduction to the 12 Dancing Princesses fairytale. It was a banally pleasant book and I came away thinking the tale itself was cool, but the book's execution dull.
I enjoyed this re-telling far more. The kingdoms, the girls, and the circumstances are very different from George's book, and I liked these better.
The book started off a bit slow and serious (the Queen passes away during labor and the castle is thrown into mourning) but what I liked was the subtle tongue-in-cheek moments shown through the dialogue. The princesses had some humor to them that I wasn't expecting in the 'olden fairy tale' setting.
I really enjoyed the layered relationship the girls had with their father, The King. Dixon did a lot of showing, not telling, giving us a nice glimpse into what their life with The King was like before the Queen's death, and how it was changed after. My own dad is a very stoic person, so I could relate to this plot-line especially.
I liked the interactions between Azalea and Mr. Branford, who was a steady, up-standing kinda guy. Lord Teddy really reminded me of another character out there in a book somewhere (very specific, I know) but for the life of me I can't pinpoint it. Either way, he was amusing.
I put off reading this book for awhile because it looked like just another crap fairytale re-telling that offered ditzy protagonists and strapping love interests, but I was pleasantly proved wrong.
I enjoyed this re-telling far more. The kingdoms, the girls, and the circumstances are very different from George's book, and I liked these better.
The book started off a bit slow and serious (the Queen passes away during labor and the castle is thrown into mourning) but what I liked was the subtle tongue-in-cheek moments shown through the dialogue. The princesses had some humor to them that I wasn't expecting in the 'olden fairy tale' setting.
I really enjoyed the layered relationship the girls had with their father, The King. Dixon did a lot of showing, not telling, giving us a nice glimpse into what their life with The King was like before the Queen's death, and how it was changed after. My own dad is a very stoic person, so I could relate to this plot-line especially.
I liked the interactions between Azalea and Mr. Branford, who was a steady, up-standing kinda guy. Lord Teddy really reminded me of another character out there in a book somewhere (very specific, I know) but for the life of me I can't pinpoint it. Either way, he was amusing.
I put off reading this book for awhile because it looked like just another crap fairytale re-telling that offered ditzy protagonists and strapping love interests, but I was pleasantly proved wrong.