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A review by celia_thebookishhufflepuff
Princess of the Midnight Ball by Jessica Day George
5.0
Review 2/7/21
This was another one of those rereads where I'm not sure if I'll like the book as much the second time around, and then am blown away by how much more I learn in the story the second time around.
As one of the first fairy tale retellings I read, this is a good way to set the scene that starts the genre. I appreciate the various takes on the story, which I'll repeat is not one that I knew a lot about as a kid or even now.
One thing I really like in this is the idea of the curse, and how this comes about, instead of looking at the story as the princesses' choice, which is how the dancing is portrayed in the original story. It gives the story a focus of taking control of one's own destiny, and has an all around feminist feel to it. It does have a damsel in distress plot, but this is compensated for by the sisters' personalities and backstories. Despite having two main characters, this story also encompasses the stories of many of the sisters and the palace in general. I love learning about Hyacinth's passion for the church in the face of a church that shuns everything important to her, and seeing how the curse affects Petunia and Pansy, the youngest children. I also see how Poppy's story is an excellent continuation to the series, because of her headstrong personality. I'm looking forward to my reread of her story as well.
I'm also impressed by the historical European feel of the Westfalin series, especially in regards to witchcraft and magic. It works really well in the context of the story, and I wish more fairytale retellings took this approach (I can only think of one that I've read that does, [b:As Old As Time|28450966|As Old as Time|Liz Braswell|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1459963718l/28450966._SY75_.jpg|48577872]). It's an important period of history that does well when explored via the fantasy genre, and I would welcome suggestions of other fairytale retellings that take this approach.
I'm glad I restarted this series this week.
---------------------------------
Review 3/24/19
Is it truly a break if I don't finish a book in less than 24 hours?
This was a really great retelling of a classic tale that I have actually not come across as much as some of the other traditional ones, maybe because Disney never made a movie of it. I only ever knew the happy Barbie version of the Twelve Dancing Princesses growing up. I imagine [a:Jessica Day George|359109|Jessica Day George|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1601676062p2/359109.jpg]'s retelling is a lot closer to the original Grimm fairy tale, although again, I never read it and don't know the premise.
[a:Jessica Day George|359109|Jessica Day George|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1601676062p2/359109.jpg]'s rendition centers around twelve princesses under a curse to dance for an underground king and his sons for twelve years, until each and every one of the daughters will marry one of the sons. This curse also prevents them from telling anyone, ever. Their father, King Gregor, starts investigating into why their new dancing shoes are always worn out every three days, but all of the princes he has promised can have one of his daughters' hands in marriage, should they figure out the secret, end up dead. Enter Galen, a young soldier returning from the war. Galen quickly falls for Rose, the eldest sister, and desires to be the one to remove the princesses from their curse.
We are given the perspectives of Galen and Rose in alternating chapters as they both attempt to figure out the curse. I was a little surprised by this, as I had thought we would be given only Rose's perspective or narration. Having both characters' perspectives, however, helped change the story from just another fairy tale where "the prince saves the princess, they all live happily ever after, the end." It made Galen, Rose, and all of her sisters seem more like people than just princesses. That's one thing I didn't like about some of the earlier Disney movies like Sleeping Beauty and Snow White, is that the male leads had way too much action, and the female leads often had very few lines. In contrast, we have both Rose and Galen trying to solve the curse at the same time, independent of each other and using different strategies. George never portrays Rose and her sisters as dependent on Galen, or on any of the princes who come to help. At first, I think it is because they're hopeless, but they talk among themselves and make plans to stay safe independent of any man. I love their character strengths all around.
There is something fun about reading a retelling of a classic story. You already know how the story will end because you've seen or read it many times before, in other forms or where authors take their own creative liberties. The fun is in the telling of the story, and in the climax. It's in the way the author shapes the characters to be more than their original counterparts, and in the way the action plays out.
I am looking forward to continuing this exploration of fairy tales in [a:Jessica Day George|359109|Jessica Day George|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1601676062p2/359109.jpg]'s next book in her Princesses of Westfalin trilogy, [b:Princess of Glass|7199667|Princess of Glass (The Princesses of Westfalin Trilogy, #2)|Jessica Day George|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1397878579l/7199667._SY75_.jpg|7867989], a Cinderella retelling, which I also have, and I picked up from my school library's giveaways shelf on the same day. This was a fun, light, easy read, and just what I needed for today.
This was another one of those rereads where I'm not sure if I'll like the book as much the second time around, and then am blown away by how much more I learn in the story the second time around.
As one of the first fairy tale retellings I read, this is a good way to set the scene that starts the genre. I appreciate the various takes on the story, which I'll repeat is not one that I knew a lot about as a kid or even now.
One thing I really like in this is the idea of the curse, and how this comes about, instead of looking at the story as the princesses' choice, which is how the dancing is portrayed in the original story. It gives the story a focus of taking control of one's own destiny, and has an all around feminist feel to it. It does have a damsel in distress plot, but this is compensated for by the sisters' personalities and backstories. Despite having two main characters, this story also encompasses the stories of many of the sisters and the palace in general. I love learning about Hyacinth's passion for the church in the face of a church that shuns everything important to her, and seeing how the curse affects Petunia and Pansy, the youngest children. I also see how Poppy's story is an excellent continuation to the series, because of her headstrong personality. I'm looking forward to my reread of her story as well.
I'm also impressed by the historical European feel of the Westfalin series, especially in regards to witchcraft and magic. It works really well in the context of the story, and I wish more fairytale retellings took this approach (I can only think of one that I've read that does, [b:As Old As Time|28450966|As Old as Time|Liz Braswell|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1459963718l/28450966._SY75_.jpg|48577872]). It's an important period of history that does well when explored via the fantasy genre, and I would welcome suggestions of other fairytale retellings that take this approach.
I'm glad I restarted this series this week.
---------------------------------
Review 3/24/19
Is it truly a break if I don't finish a book in less than 24 hours?
This was a really great retelling of a classic tale that I have actually not come across as much as some of the other traditional ones, maybe because Disney never made a movie of it. I only ever knew the happy Barbie version of the Twelve Dancing Princesses growing up. I imagine [a:Jessica Day George|359109|Jessica Day George|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1601676062p2/359109.jpg]'s retelling is a lot closer to the original Grimm fairy tale, although again, I never read it and don't know the premise.
[a:Jessica Day George|359109|Jessica Day George|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1601676062p2/359109.jpg]'s rendition centers around twelve princesses under a curse to dance for an underground king and his sons for twelve years, until each and every one of the daughters will marry one of the sons. This curse also prevents them from telling anyone, ever. Their father, King Gregor, starts investigating into why their new dancing shoes are always worn out every three days, but all of the princes he has promised can have one of his daughters' hands in marriage, should they figure out the secret, end up dead. Enter Galen, a young soldier returning from the war. Galen quickly falls for Rose, the eldest sister, and desires to be the one to remove the princesses from their curse.
We are given the perspectives of Galen and Rose in alternating chapters as they both attempt to figure out the curse. I was a little surprised by this, as I had thought we would be given only Rose's perspective or narration. Having both characters' perspectives, however, helped change the story from just another fairy tale where "the prince saves the princess, they all live happily ever after, the end." It made Galen, Rose, and all of her sisters seem more like people than just princesses. That's one thing I didn't like about some of the earlier Disney movies like Sleeping Beauty and Snow White, is that the male leads had way too much action, and the female leads often had very few lines. In contrast, we have both Rose and Galen trying to solve the curse at the same time, independent of each other and using different strategies. George never portrays Rose and her sisters as dependent on Galen, or on any of the princes who come to help. At first, I think it is because they're hopeless, but they talk among themselves and make plans to stay safe independent of any man. I love their character strengths all around.
There is something fun about reading a retelling of a classic story. You already know how the story will end because you've seen or read it many times before, in other forms or where authors take their own creative liberties. The fun is in the telling of the story, and in the climax. It's in the way the author shapes the characters to be more than their original counterparts, and in the way the action plays out.
I am looking forward to continuing this exploration of fairy tales in [a:Jessica Day George|359109|Jessica Day George|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1601676062p2/359109.jpg]'s next book in her Princesses of Westfalin trilogy, [b:Princess of Glass|7199667|Princess of Glass (The Princesses of Westfalin Trilogy, #2)|Jessica Day George|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1397878579l/7199667._SY75_.jpg|7867989], a Cinderella retelling, which I also have, and I picked up from my school library's giveaways shelf on the same day. This was a fun, light, easy read, and just what I needed for today.