First post! Princess of the Midnight Ball by Jessica Day George

This is my very first post on this new blog and to start with I'll be writing about some thoughts I had on my most recent reading: a young adult fantasy novel based on the fairy-tale Twelve Dancing Princesses.

Princess of the Midnight Ball by Jessica Day George (♥♥♥)

I was looking for another read to fulfill my fairy-tale interests. At first I thought this was a Cinderella retelling, but it’s actually a Twelve Dancing Princesses retelling. However, this is the first in a series and the second book, Princess of Glass, does tackle Cinderella. I’m curious if the two will take place in the same world or if they are merely repetitions of a theme. Anyway…

• A fun, easy read! It took me about three to four hours to read 346 pages. The characters and their relationships weren’t as fleshed out as I would have liked but the quickness of the story didn’t really allow for that. In particular, our male protagonist Galen Werner and his relationship with Princess Rose felt unfounded; and Galen’s relationship with his newly-met relations wasn’t touched on at all.


• King Under Stone (aka Wolfram von Aue) was a really fun villain. I wanted to know more about how he came to be what he is. Who were the mothers of his children? Queen Maude was also an interesting side character. A spin off story covering their history would be fun.


• This book sadly does suffer from something that a good half of young adult novels do for me: their writing is pale. I don’t know why this happens... It’s a thoroughly enjoyable read but the writing doesn’t feel complete. Young adult books that defy this (for me) include Deerskin by Robin McKinley and Book of a Thousand Days by Shannon Hale.


• For some reason I really like loads of siblings in books. I loved learning about all the sisters and really loved their names; I also liked the Queen’s garden and how her love of that garden connected to her love of them. The inclusion of Heinrich and Lily’s romance was also really fun.


• I also really liked the multiple failures of Galen in trying to rescue the princesses. I liked that he didn’t just waltz in the first night to save the day, rather he failed all three nights before finally pulling through. And that this gave time for the princesses to plan on saving their own hides.


• Love the knitting instructions at the end of the book and the inside jokes on the author’s website!

Overall, a worthwhile read when you’re looking for a relaxing, easy, but exciting and fun read. A nice way to take break from the day.