Princess of the Midnight Ball

Princess of the Midnight Ball is probably my favorite retelling of “The Twelve Dancing Princesses” (and yes, there are a lot to choose from!). It’s the first book in a trilogy following the twelve princesses, each book focusing on a different princess. The curse is explored in full and the princesses are sympathetic. They are […]

The Princess Curse

Review written by Jeff Dougan. As Amanda and Jocelyn Koehler have noted, there’s been a lot of interest recently in retelling the story of “The Twelve Dancing Princesses.” It’s one of my two or three favorite fairy tales (in company with “The Six Swans” and “Seven Simons”). In a fairy tale, I like a hero […]

Scarlet

I usually wait until an entire series (or at least most of it) is published before I start reading—that avoids the situation of anxiously waiting for the next book to come out, a situation I faced with Scarlet, the hotly anticipated sequel to Cinder. Of course, as soon as the book was in my house, […]

Talking About…Little Red Riding Hood

About the Author Jocelyn Koehler is a writer and editor in Philadelphia. She is published by Hammer & Birch. You can sign up for her mailing list for new release updates and possible freebies. Her books are available through Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, and Apple’s iBookstore. Her new book End to End, which follows The Way […]

Before Midnight

Yet another fairy tale retelling by Cameron Dokey! I hope she never stops writing these. Before Midnight is based loosely on “Cinderella” and it makes some really interesting changes to the familiar tale. Cendrillon (“child of cinders”—Cinderella’s name in Perrault’s French fairy tales) was born just before midnight, as one day ends and another begins. […]

Beauty and the Beast

Ugh. I have a pretty high tolerance for mediocre fairy tale retellings and for generic historical(ish) romance, but Beauty and the Beast was a pretty painful combination of the two. At least I got it when it was offered for free—I suppose it’s a lesson in getting what you pay for! The beast is actually […]

Rapunzel, the One With All the Hair

The Twice Upon a Time series by Wendy Mass tells a familiar fairy tale from the point of view of both the heroine and the hero. Rapunzel, The One With All the Hair certainly takes liberties with the tale (Rapunzel is taken by the witch on her twelfth birthday instead of at her birth, for […]

Why Are Fairytales “Girl Books”?

When did fairytales end up being for girls? Is this something the Disney Princess marketing juggernaut created or something it just cashed in on? A quick tangent: As a mom, a teacher, and a book reviewer, I twitch a little when I click the “Boy Appeal” or “Girl Appeal” button to categorize a book on […]

A Tale Dark & Grimm

A Tale Dark & Grimm takes several familiar and a nice variety of less familiar Grimm fairy tales and links them together, casting Hansel and Gretel as the main characters in all of them. The premise is that these seemingly unconnected tales are actually all parts of one story. The author is also very straightforward […]

Talking About…Twelve Dancing Princesses

About the Author Jocelyn Koehler is a writer and editor in Philadelphia. She is published by Hammer & Birch. You can sign up for her mailing list for new release updates and possible freebies. Her books are available through Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, and Apple’s iBookstore. Her new book End to End, which follows The Way […]