Princess of the Midnight Ball by Jessica Day George
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Oh my awesomeness! I so loved this book. I thought it might be a little too “girlie” for me, but I love Jessica’s writing and decided to read it anyway. It had all I could have wanted – romance, fighting, chivalry, war, family issues, magic, lovable characters, and intrigue.
I am looking forward to getting into the next book in the series (Princess of Glass).
Setting: This is set in a land similar to western Europe and Germany, using some German names and German-sounding names. It mostly takes place at and around the castle (this is a re-imagining of the fairy tale of the 12 dancing princesses) and at the realm of the enemy (keeping it vague to avoid spoilers).
Plot: The princesses must dance every night but cannot tell anyone why. They are cursed and are in trouble, especially when all the princes who are courting them mysteriously die. A young gardener, recently returned from the war decides to help them and get to the bottom of the mystery, even if it means his own death.
Conflict: There is the conflict between the king and the princesses, the princesses and the dancing, the princes and trying to figure out the mystery, the gardener and his uncle, the king and the archbishop, and the big baddie and everyone!
Character: Even though the princesses tended to blend together a lot at first, I liked the little cues and differences that came out throughout the story to help differentiate them and make them all more real. The gardener was especially adorable in his crush on the oldest princess (and the princess on him).
Text: This is a YA novel (I assume because of the age of the protagonist) but it has some good adult themes. I highly recommend it to anyone and everyone.