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 looking for hidden gems. This story stood out to me as one that should get more exposure. It had some fascinating imagery, including a talking rainbow and a castle suspended in the air by four chains, and was surprisingly progressive because it contained a princess who wakes a sleeping prince instead of the other way around. It also contains a fascinating love story in which the princess fell in love with the prince without ever knowing what he looked like, showing that real love isn't about appearances. I knew I wanted to explore this fairy tale further, but I wasn't sure how at the time. So I continued blogging and waited for inspiration to strike.
Among the book deals I received this year, no series stood out to me quite as much as Sara Farnsworth's Realms of Caelia, which begins with Beauty in the Tower, a combined retelling of "Rapunzel" and "Sleeping Beauty." Her books made me realize that the best way to enhance a story might be by combining it with other ones. That was when I remembered watching the 1999 film adaptation of A Midsummer Night's Dream. The world of the faeries presented there blended perfectly with the world that the young princess was spirited away to in "Fairer-than-a-Fairy." A Midsummer Night's Dream has been used as a backdrop for many other fantasy works, including Nickelodeon's The Other Kingdom, Disney's Gargoyles, and a series of novellas by Tara Grayce. The Shakespearean classic also helped me come up with built-in names for all of the characters, since only the wicked fairy in "Fairer-than-a-Fairy" had a real name, which I replaced with Titania. The princess in the book is named "Fairer-than-a-Fairy," but that's way too much of a mouthful, so I had Titania call her Hermia instead.
Another inspiration for this book was the musical Between the Lines, which was based on a novel and concluded with a lovely message about creativity and sharing your story with the world. I was obsessed with this musical for a few months. It was one of the biggest catalysts that motivated me to start writing again. Its plot about a fictional character who falls in love with a girl from the real world gave me a lot of ideas for developing the dynamics of Hermia's relationship with Lysander, a prince trapped in the reflection of a rainbow. Helena and Demetrius were fun characters to write because I based both of them on the modern warrior archetype, which wasn't as popular in Shakespeare's time, at least for female characters. They created just enough drama to flesh out the fairy tale into a full-length book.
As I celebrate eight years of blogging about princesses, I'm thrilled to share my latest creation, Titania's Reflection, a unique retelling of "Fairer-than-a-Fairy" and A Midsummer Night's Dream. This novella would not have been possible without the research and inspiration I've gathered over the years. With its blend of fascinating imagery, progressive themes, and Shakespearean magic, Titania's Reflection is a true labor of love. If you've enjoyed my previous works, I invite you to experience this new tale, now available on Amazon in ebook, audiobook, and paperback formats. Thank you for joining me on this journey, and I look forward to sharing more princess-themed adventures with you in the years to come!
In case you missed it, there was a huge info drop today on social media about the upcoming sequel series, Sofia the First: Royal Magic . Over a month after the initial trailer dropped, Disney has provided some crucial details about the show, including the release date, platforms, theme song, and princess guest stars. We also got an official poster and several cute promo animations. Let's dive back into the world of Enchancia and explore! The new series poster features Sofia up front and center with her new friends, Layla, Zane, and Camila in the background, as well as her old animal sidekick, Clover, and her new pet, Pepper the puppycorn. Though many of these faces are new, it has been confirmed through the teaser and the new theme song that Sofia's family will be returning for the new show, including King Roland, Queen Miranda, Prince James, and Princess Amber, along with her reformed nemesis, Cedric. The theme song is a remix of the show's original theme with a few upda...
I was on the fence about reviewing the new Snow White remake for a while, but since this is The Princess Blog, it's only fair . (See what I did there?) This movie has been the source of endless controversy over the past five years or so. Some of it was unfounded, particularly when it involved racist comments toward the lead actress , but some of it is justified. When the movie was first announced, I shared my thoughts about how the story of "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" has already been retold countless times by other studios in a way that modernized it with respect toward the original fairy tale and didn't step on Walt Disney's legacy. Creating a blatant copy of the first feature-length animated movie of all time and taking away the one thing that made it special—the animation—is an insult to the animation medium as an art form. My stance on this has not changed, so here are my thoughts on this sham of a film. Ever since the backlash to Rachel Zegler...
The Swan Princess has released yet another sequel in their never-ending franchise . Fortunately, the last one was such an unfathomable disaster that the story had nowhere to go but up. I was pleased to find that Kingdom of Music was an improvement over the last few CGI direct-to-DVD sequels. This is in part thanks to its throwbacks to the original "Swan Lake" inspired story as well as cultural diversity, which is trending right now in the world of fairy tale princesses , and the coming of age for Alise, Odette and Derek's adopted daughter. Actually, I think they could have generated more interest among the Swan Princess crowd if they had made her grow into a teenager a bit earlier, since that is the classic age for fairy tale princesses. They decided to go the Sofia the First route instead by making her an ordinary little girl who falls into royalty without the obstacle of romance getting in the way. However, Lucas, the orphan boy Alise met in Pri...
Cursed Princess Club is a webtoon comic that was later converted into an "unscrolled" series of graphic novels . Although the series was completed recently, I have only read the first two graphic novels, which cover about half the story. Still, I'd like to make a post about it because I found this series incredibly uplifting for princess fans who feel they don't fit the mold. It's full of humor, bright pastel aesthetics, and surprising antics. The main character is similar to Emily from Corpse Bride in the respect that she sees herself as feminine and princess-like and is surprised when others don't due to her unusual appearance. She was brought up by a loving family who sheltered her and her two sisters, who fit a more generic princess mold with their blue eyes and pale hair. It's a story about staying true to yourself despite how others see you and subverting expectations. Princess Gwendolyn's life in the Pastel Kingdom is turned upside-down when h...
Only one month after my recent obsession with Find Me in Paris , the time-traveling ballerina princess drama dropped its third and final season on Hulu today. Though somewhat predictable, this season offered a satisfying conclusion to the show's unique concept that combined dance with science fiction and tied up all remaining loose ends from the previous seasons. We finally learned the truth about Lena's birth and why she's always being chased by anyone remotely interested in time travel. Nearly every character got paired off at the end, even if it meant some questionable decisions on behalf of the writers. The season also offered some of the most beautiful dance sequences in the show yet for its key story moments. While I could have done without the repetitive recap sequences, the final episodes made it clear that this was always meant to be the end and gave the cast and crew many happy memories to look back upon. The final season of Find Me in Paris incorporated the ...
A new season has begun, which means there are tons of new anime shows available from Japan. Going over the long lists of new shows every three months can be overwhelming, so I'm here to curate the most princessy shows each season for you. This Spring brings us two unique princess shows and two villainess shows , which is a popular princess-adjacent genre with new offerings for every anime season. For me, the standout series of the Spring 2026 anime season is Always a Catch , which places a unique spin on the broken engagement trope . What makes Always a Catch unique is that it subverts the trope of modern princess anime shows that start with a wicked prince breaking off his engagement to a noble lady, resulting in her winning over a different prince. In this show, Prince Renato attempts to break off his engagement with Lady Aida, but he hasn't seen her in years and confuses her with her outspoken cousin, Mimi. As an apology for the mistake (and because he finds Mimi charming),...
Disney was once famous for producing the most screen-accurate adaptations of well-known fairy tales, but their mission has strayed in recent years . Their current fairy tales are either soulless remakes of their animated classics or stories that shy so far from the original source material that they can barely be considered adaptations. Nowadays, if you want to see classic stories from the past brought to life on screen, you must turn to other studios. In a way, this post is the opposite of my "Ten Alternatives to Disney's Live-Action Remakes" since that was a list of movies that were more creative and original with their ideas, and these are movies that stick as close to the source as possible. If you want to see the stories from your childhood brought to life on screen, this is the post for you. Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella (1957) Disney produced a beautiful remake of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella starring Brandy in 1997, but the first produc...
It's been four years since the announcement of a new Sofia the First series. Today, that series is finally available to watch on Disney Jr. and will be coming to Disney+ tomorrow. Sofia the First: Royal Magic is everything I hoped it would be, with callbacks to the original show and most of the original cast and crew returning alongside many new faces. Sofia is back with her iconic purple dress, magic amulet, and the same sweet and cheerful personality that we all know and love. The show's pilot included a cameo from Rapunzel that referenced a "council of princesses," but this hint to additional Disney Princess adventures is not mentioned again in the rest of the eight episodes that premiered today, so we will have to wait and see how she encounters other classic princesses in the future. Sofia the First: Royal Magic does an excellent job of blending new characters and settings with the ones from the show's initial, welcoming new audiences without alienatin...
The latest princess movie on Netflix is inspired by an old Japanese legend, but it isn't a direct retelling \like The Tale of Princess Kaguya . Instead, Cosmic Princess Kaguya takes place in a futuristic world where most young people are obsessed with a popular virtual reality game, similar to the anime movie Belle . It also follows the recent trope of modern musicals like Six and Between the Lines of taking back the narrative by attempting to give Kaguya a happier ending than she had in the fairy tale. Many aspects of the movie are fun and interesting, but it tends to jump around between too many different ideas. Cosmic Princess Kaguya tells the story of Iroha, a teenage girl whose mother all but abandoned her, leaving her to grow up quickly at a young age. When she finds a baby trapped in a utility pole, she struggles with the decision to take it in or bring it to the police. The baby magically grows into a preteen overnight and bonds with Iroha, wh...
When I decided to play a fan translation of an old 1997 Sega Saturn RPG called Princess Crown , I was expecting something cute and simple along the lines of Disney Princess Enchanted Journey or maybe even Rhapsody . What I was not expecting was an unforgiving full-length fighter RPG with story elements like demon possession taking place in a Barbie movie-like world of fairies, mermaids, and unicorns. This game simply does not care about pinning down a target audience, and I both love and hate it for that at the same time. Developed by Atlus , the game never received an official Western release, and, having played it, I can completely understand why. It suffers from a massive identity crisis that even some of the darker princess games I've played are more straightforward about. Truly, this game would have no market in the West. The fact that it exists at all is amazing. It all begins so innocently. A little girl asks her grandmother to read her a story, and she pulls ...
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