The Princess Blog

I finally completed the third book in Kenley Davidson 's Andari Chronicles, and I am pleased to say that Pirouette  had everything I felt that the first book,  Traitor's Masque ,  was lacking. Not only is it my favorite adaptation of "The Twelve Dancing Princesses" that I've read so far , but it also boasts a disabled princess  as the book's main heroine instead of making her a friend or supporting character. The biggest surprise to me after reading the other two books  was that the world of the Andari Chronicles does indeed contain magic. It's just that no one in Andar knew about it because their kingdom had magic-blocking properties that they were unaware of. This opened up a whole new set of conflicts that made the story of Pirouette  the most engaging, exciting, and suspenseful one in the series so far. I savored every paragraph and finished it wanting more. Most adaptations of "The Twelve Dancing Princesses" alter the original fairy ...

Traitor's Masque  by Kenley Davidson is the first book in the Andari Chronicles. I enjoyed  Goldheart , the second book, more than this one thanks to a more concise story and a more relatable protagonist. Traitor's Masque  is an original adaptation of "Cinderella."  It feels like I enjoy every consecutive "Cinderella" adaptation I read less each time because it's so overplayed. Every storyteller thinks they're being more unique than the last by incorporating a bunch of new twists and turns. If they really wanted to be original, they would use one of the hundreds of other fairy tales out there that hasn't already been adapted to death. That said, Kenley Davidson is still a fantastic author. She wrote A Beautiful Curse , which was my favorite book from the Entwined Tales series. Her Andari Chronicles stand out from similar series of fairy tale adaptation novels because she incorporates a more realistic spin. The world contains no magic and a weal...

Kenley Davidson  was the author of my favorite book  from the Entwined Tales series , so I jumped at the opportunity to read her book Goldheart  for free. Goldheart  is the second book from her series of fairy tale adaptations called The Andari Chronicles. It is a reimagining of  "Rumpelstiltskin."  While my favorite version of "Rumpelstiltskin" is still The Princess Pact  by Melanie Cellier , this one is a solid runner up. Kenley Davidson excels at writing stories about capable women with traditionally feminine flaws, which is becoming more of a rarity in modern times . Her characters' weaknesses make them easier to relate to than many of the modern movie princess heroines , who often excel at far too many skills for a well-rounded character. This level of realism also accounts for lack of magic and fantasy in her stories, which is the reason I didn't seek out her books as eagerly as most of the other authors from the Entwined Tales series. Elain...

A Beautiful Curse  was the last book I read in the Entwined Tales series, and it might just be my favorite. The sample I read from author  Kenley Davidson  at the launch party  was a novella called The Countess and the Frog . I liked the progressive characters as well as the humor, but it was lacking in magic and whimsy. A Beautiful Curse  contained all of that and more, which made Davidson's writing truly shine. It was based on the fairy tale "The Frog Bride" by the Brothers Grimm, which, though similar, is not exactly a reverse telling of "The Frog King."  Instead of teaching a message about responsibility, "The Frog Bride" is about embracing your differences. It tells the story of three princes who must pass a series of tests to inherit the throne from their father. The youngest prince, who is considered the good-for-nothing runt of the family, passes the tests by taking advice from a talking frog he meets in the woods that turns out to be a beaut...

I had a very interesting evening, celebrating the release of the Entwined Tales series on Facebook with the six lovely authors of the books from the series. I've never seen a release party quite like this before, but then, I've never seen a book series quite like this either. Each author has her own independent set of fairy tale novels, which brought them together based on their similar story content. They combined their talents to create an original series about a bumbling fairy godfather who goes around granting unwanted gifts to princesses from six different fairy tales. Some of the fairy tales they picked are rather obscure, such as "The Goose Girl" and "East of the Sun, West of the Moon,"  (which was turned into a live-action movie called The Polar Bear King  in 1991, but I wasn't a fan of it). Of course, the one I'm looking forward to the most is inspired by my favorite fairy tale , "The Little Mermaid."  Coming March 5th,  A Little...