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A review by fictionadventurer
Pirouette by Kenley Davidson
5.0
After browsing through the self-published fairy tale retellings available on Kindle Unlimited, I'd started to get a bit depressed. It seems as though anyone with a word processor and a copy of Grimm's can pound out a retelling, filling the world with hundreds of half-baked versions of the same stories.
This book restored my faith in the genre.
"Pirouette" is a retelling of "The Twelve Dancing Princesses". That's pretty much all I knew before starting. I love this fairy tale, but didn't have high hopes for the book, due to the "prom dress" look of the girl on the cover. When I started the first chapter, my expectations were blown away. This wasn't a generic, fluffy fairy tale kingdom, and this wasn't a half-baked retelling.
"Pirouette" takes place in a Middle-Eastern style kingdom, with a rich culture and harsh realities. In the prologue, our main character, Ilani, encounters these harsh realities at the age of seven, when she goes to dance for her father the malek (the king of Caelan) and accidentally reveals a forbidden magical talent. Due to this, her father orders the death of Ilani's mother and baby brother, and orders that Ilani never dance again. Ilani's leg is badly broken, and she grows up alone and outcast, with no hope for a future, since her culture has no place for a woman who cannot dance.
Meanwhile, a small group of spies from the more British-flavored country of Andar are traveling to learn more about Ilani's mysterious, powerful homeland of Caelan, and to keep tabs on the exiled Andari Prince Rowan, who might be planning further villainy. Lord Kyril Seagrave has a reputation as the court flirt, but as the best friend of the prince, he was placed in charge of this mission, much to the disapproval of Brenna, a fiery lady spy who already hates him due to his reputation. They're joined by the mysterious, magical Alexei (a man with his own agenda for the mission), and the taciturn bodyguard, Quinn. The latter three all have some experience with diplomatic intrigue, but Kyril feels out of his depth, especially since he doesn't know the language of Caelan. Instead of serving as leader, he's barely respected, as has to follow the rest of the group in disguise as the soldier and bodyguard to their identities as foreign merchants.
Soon after their arrival at the Caelani palace, scandal erupts, when the malek's twelve daughters (thirteen, actually, but no one counts the crippled Ilani) refuse to dance the traditional dance that allows their father's chosen heir to choose a wife. The malek orders that anyone who discovers why the princesses do not dance will be able to marry one of his daughters and choose the fates of the rest. The spies suspect this strange contest is part of Prince Rowan's evil plans, and Ilani worries that this contest will only cause her doom. Soon, Ilani and Kyril meet, and work together to investigate the many mysteries behind this strange contest and untangle the political intrigues of the two kingdoms.
This book has a highly complex plot, full of spies and political intrigue and conflicting personal agendas and plans within plans within plans, and takes place within a unique and well-thought-out world. It also has vivid, layered and likeable characters, and is full of sharp wit and humor and just a touch of romance. It leaves out or vastly alters many of my favorite parts of the original fairy tale, but the ways in which it twists the original story are so creative and fun that I can't complain about the differences.
There are some flaws. The characters tend to ruminate repetitively on their insecurities or parts of their history, especially in the first few chapters. I don't find it quite believable that Andar would know so little about Caelan, since the two countries share a border, and I find it strange (though the author does a pretty decent job of justifying it) that an important point of the magic system is largely unknown to the Caelanis who have lived with it for centuries. Plus, the interlocking intrigues get a bit too complicated near the climax, when setbacks for side characters distract from the buildup of the main plot. But these are small points that barely detract from a rich and enjoyable book.
"Pirouette" is not just a retelling. It's a novel, with a well-built world and three-dimensional characters. It has more depth and scope and a better plot and characters than most of the traditionally published fairy tale retellings that I've read. Though it's the third in a series, I was able to follow the plot just fine without reading the first two. But I immediately rushed to pick up the other books.
This book restored my faith in the genre.
"Pirouette" is a retelling of "The Twelve Dancing Princesses". That's pretty much all I knew before starting. I love this fairy tale, but didn't have high hopes for the book, due to the "prom dress" look of the girl on the cover. When I started the first chapter, my expectations were blown away. This wasn't a generic, fluffy fairy tale kingdom, and this wasn't a half-baked retelling.
"Pirouette" takes place in a Middle-Eastern style kingdom, with a rich culture and harsh realities. In the prologue, our main character, Ilani, encounters these harsh realities at the age of seven, when she goes to dance for her father the malek (the king of Caelan) and accidentally reveals a forbidden magical talent. Due to this, her father orders the death of Ilani's mother and baby brother, and orders that Ilani never dance again. Ilani's leg is badly broken, and she grows up alone and outcast, with no hope for a future, since her culture has no place for a woman who cannot dance.
Meanwhile, a small group of spies from the more British-flavored country of Andar are traveling to learn more about Ilani's mysterious, powerful homeland of Caelan, and to keep tabs on the exiled Andari Prince Rowan, who might be planning further villainy. Lord Kyril Seagrave has a reputation as the court flirt, but as the best friend of the prince, he was placed in charge of this mission, much to the disapproval of Brenna, a fiery lady spy who already hates him due to his reputation. They're joined by the mysterious, magical Alexei (a man with his own agenda for the mission), and the taciturn bodyguard, Quinn. The latter three all have some experience with diplomatic intrigue, but Kyril feels out of his depth, especially since he doesn't know the language of Caelan. Instead of serving as leader, he's barely respected, as has to follow the rest of the group in disguise as the soldier and bodyguard to their identities as foreign merchants.
Soon after their arrival at the Caelani palace, scandal erupts, when the malek's twelve daughters (thirteen, actually, but no one counts the crippled Ilani) refuse to dance the traditional dance that allows their father's chosen heir to choose a wife. The malek orders that anyone who discovers why the princesses do not dance will be able to marry one of his daughters and choose the fates of the rest. The spies suspect this strange contest is part of Prince Rowan's evil plans, and Ilani worries that this contest will only cause her doom. Soon, Ilani and Kyril meet, and work together to investigate the many mysteries behind this strange contest and untangle the political intrigues of the two kingdoms.
This book has a highly complex plot, full of spies and political intrigue and conflicting personal agendas and plans within plans within plans, and takes place within a unique and well-thought-out world. It also has vivid, layered and likeable characters, and is full of sharp wit and humor and just a touch of romance. It leaves out or vastly alters many of my favorite parts of the original fairy tale, but the ways in which it twists the original story are so creative and fun that I can't complain about the differences.
There are some flaws. The characters tend to ruminate repetitively on their insecurities or parts of their history, especially in the first few chapters. I don't find it quite believable that Andar would know so little about Caelan, since the two countries share a border, and I find it strange (though the author does a pretty decent job of justifying it) that an important point of the magic system is largely unknown to the Caelanis who have lived with it for centuries. Plus, the interlocking intrigues get a bit too complicated near the climax, when setbacks for side characters distract from the buildup of the main plot. But these are small points that barely detract from a rich and enjoyable book.
"Pirouette" is not just a retelling. It's a novel, with a well-built world and three-dimensional characters. It has more depth and scope and a better plot and characters than most of the traditionally published fairy tale retellings that I've read. Though it's the third in a series, I was able to follow the plot just fine without reading the first two. But I immediately rushed to pick up the other books.