The Princess Blog

Abigail Manning  is one of the most prolific fairy tale authors in the market right now, so I jumped at the chance to read an ARC of the latest book from her inspired Once Upon a Rhyme series. Twinkle Twinkle Little Scars  is a clever princess-themed interpretation of my favorite nursery rhyme that adds layers of depth behind the innocent childhood jingle. Set in a world where magic jewels  are a hot-button issue, this original fairy tale features a princess who is not what she seems and a rogue who hides behind numerous identities to prevent the world from seeing his true self. Princess Lyra has a big secret. By day, she's a model royal, following all the procedures her high status requires with grace and dignity. By night, she is the inventor, a mysterious supplier of magical tools powered by enchanted stones that are highly coveted on the black market. Her dealer is Stirling, a boy she met as a child when he snuck into the castle through her window and continued to do...

World Princess Week  is almost over, and Disney decided to go out in a big way. In honor of the 70th anniversary of Disneyland Park , a star-studded princess concert was held in front of Sleeping Beauty Castle, complete with princess character performers  and several of the original Disney Princess voice actresse,s  including Jodi Benson , Paige O'Hara , Anika Noni Rose , and Auli'i Cravalho . The event was hosted by the incredibly talented Susan Egan , of Broadway and Hercules  fame, and Ginnifer Goodwin , Once Upon a Time's Snow White . I've heard many of these sirens of the stage and screen  perform live at several events , and it was nothing short of magical. For last year's World Princess Week, Disneyland hosted a performance from a brand new girl group  introducing the new Disney Princess anthem , "Create Your World." Although the slogan stuck, the anthem itself was never heard again, despite this concert being a perfect opportunity to perform ...

World Princess Week  is back, and that means fun new surprises from Disney! This year's princess treat was more of a throwback to 2023  when Disney launched an adorable LEGO special on Disney+ called The Castle Quest . In honor of World Princess Week, a sequel premiered on their exclusive streaming service called LEGO Disney Princess: Villains Unite , which is within the same vein as its predecessor. However, the new special is only half the length of The Castle Quest , falling at a paltry 23 minutes. This is a surprisingly short runtime considering that it took two years to create the star-studded sequel. Villains Unite  picks up where The Castle Quest  left off, with the LEGO versions of the iconic Disney Princesses working together to protect a sparkly pink castle that they share. When Snow White comedically eavesdrops on Gaston in the marketplace, she overhears a plot in which he assembles four other classic Disney villains—Jafar, Ursula, Kaa, and The Evil ...

I've read roughly half the books from the Hope Ever After series , leaving a good handful of them on my TBR list. The latest one I got around to is A Gracious Hope  by Robyn Sarty . This charming retelling is a surprising combination of "Sleeping Beauty"  and The Wonderful Wizard of Oz  with fae lore in the mystical land of Tír na nÓg . It's an interesting combination that makes for a lovely and whimsical story with beautiful visuals. Few people probably would have the imagination to combine two such different stories as these. There are also some fun twists and turns encompassing a unique read that's full of surprises. This book picks up right in the middle of Disney's 1959 animated classic, Sleeping Beauty . For that reason, it is probably necessary to watch the film before reading the book, which is unlikely to be an issue for its target audience. Alora is a peasant girl living with her Aunt Em and Uncle Henry. On her nineteenth birthday, she learns that s...

It's been a little over a year since Jewel Riders  was revived from the nostalgia archives  with a new graphic novel  from Maverick . Today, I am pleased to announce that the series has not been forgotten , and the second volume is about to make its debut. I was fortunate enough to receive an ARC from Maverick's mailing list and was able to read the new Magical Girl adventure in advance. The new  Jordie Bellaire and Koi Carreon  graphic novel is similar to the first one in the series, with beautiful manga-like illustrations, lots of nostalgic references to the '90s cartoon, and an erratic plot that jumps around from page to page. People who enjoyed the first volume of Princess Gwenevere and the Jewel Riders will probably enjoy this one as well, and vice versa, as little has changed. The second volume of Princess Gwenevere and the Jewel Riders picks up after the cliffhanger ending of the first graphic novel, which implied that there was some sort of secret sche...

When I received an ARC of The Storm Dancer  by Valia Lind , I was eager to read a new retelling of "The Little Mermaid."  This book contained the same romantic themes and strong characters that I enjoyed from her other Skazka Fairy Tales , along with some of the series' signature Russian mythology . However, the story lacks many of the elements that make "The Little Mermaid" such a dramatic and fantastical story, and doesn't incorporate enough new ones to make up for it. Thus, it is a strong love story like her other books, but not the ideal "Little Mermaid" retelling. I've seen the 1976 Russian film adaptation of "The Little Mermaid," Rusalochka , which followed the original fairy tale very closely, as well as its downright depressing Czech adaptation , Mala Morska Vila , which turned the merfolk into an aquatic species of water people like this book, but still followed the basic plot of the fairy tale. Roksana is a Rusalka princess ...

Tainted Beauty  by Alesha Adamson is the first book in the All That Glitters series and the last book for me to complete after receiving ARCs of every other book before I got to it. Ending with the beginning, this series has now come full circle for me. Tainted Beauty is a combined retelling of "Beauty and the Beast" and "King Midas."  Both stories are blended together equally with no bias toward one or the other. It is a sweet romance with lots of magic and dragon lore. Among the All That Glitters series, this story shares the most similarities to  Rapunzel's Gambit  by Mary Mecham , but it still stands out as a unique and original dual fairy tale adaptation. Aurelius seeks the aid of a dragon to restore his family's fortune. The ability to turn anything he touched into gold sounded like a great idea at first, until he accidentally froze his own mother in a gilded prison, turning the blessing into a curse. Soon, he realized that he was a threat to anyo...

Can you believe I've been blogging about princesses for the past eight years? How time flies! I like to do something special each year for my blogiversary. A few years ago, I filmed a special music video . This time, it's something I haven't done in over five years . I wrote a new book ! That's right, folks. We're finally getting a new fairy tale novella. Titania's Reflection  is a combined retelling of "Fairer-than-a-Fairy"  and Shakespeare's classic  A Midsummer Night's Dream . It's currently available on Amazon in ebook, audiobook, and paperback formats. If you've enjoyed my other works in the past, you should absolutely check this one out! It's like nothing I've ever done before. Titania's Reflection  would not exist if it weren't for all the princess-related research I do for my blog. I first discovered "Fairer-than-a-Fairy" when I spent a winter reading all twelve of Andrew Lang's Fairy Books lookin...

Whispers of the Starlit Sea  is a Kickstarter campaign I helped to back for Robyn Sarty . It's an ambitious new take on "The Little Mermaid"  with several unique twists. Instead of choosing to become human, the protagonist is forced to transform due to a magical bond her kind shares when they rescue humans. I found the story enjoyable and the characters pleasant overall, but there were parts of the lore that seemed confusing or underdeveloped. Since I received a very early copy of this book due to the campaign, these issues might be resolved when it is officially released in September . Regardless, it is a thrilling fantasy adventure with a sweet love story. Sorcha has lived most of her undersea life with passivity toward humans. Some merfolk consider them dangerous, especially when many of the Watchers who travel to the surface to prevent humans from drowning during storms go missing. Sorcha never gave it much thought, unlike her aunt, Maeve, or her sister, Ciara, who ac...