The Princess Blog

Astra Remade  by Elizabeth Lowham  was one of my treasures from last weekend's Enchanted Book Faire . Although I was unfamiliar with the author, the premise sounded intriguing. The book did not let me down. It is a redemption arc for Beauty's vain sister from "Beauty and the Beast"  combined with a gender-bent "Rapunzel"  who lives in a magical fae realm . The book is packed with magic, imagination, and originality. It isn't so much a fairy tale retelling as it is an original fairy tale reimagining. With so many streaming series on the way about Cinderella's stepsisters , it's nice to see a story about a lesser-known fairy tale sister, one so obscure that she wasn't even included in the Disney adaptations . Beauty's sister, Astra, is painfully jealous to the point that she is willing to make a dangerous bargain with a fairy. Despite numerous warnings, Astra asks a fairy to make her so beautiful that men will propose to her on sight. When ...

A few weeks ago, I received a surprise ARC of Golden Tangle  by Suzanna Fowers . This book is a sequel to Siren's Treasure  from the All That Glitters series , but it also works as a standalone. If I recall correctly, Siren's Treasure  was quite a bit darker than the other books in the multi-author series, and this book follows suit with action and betrayal on every page. I personally prefer a bit more levity in my books, but if you are looking for a no-spice romantasy that's on the darker side of the spectrum, it just might be perfect for you. Rapunzel was separated from her family at a young age and transformed into a sucti, a vampire-like creature that absorbs magic from anyone around her. To keep other magic users safe from her parasitic hair, she is kept in a tower, where Circe, the witch who cursed her, claims to be he protector. Circe is absent for most of the book, leaving Rapunzel to stay in the tower of her own free will due to her lack of desire to harm others....

Tangled Sails  by Annette K. Larsen is the third and final ARC I signed up for in the upcoming Displaced Fairytales series. This book brings together the protagonists from "Rapunzel" and "The Little Mermaid" with a heavier focus on "Rapunzel." It is a heartwarming tale of healing, generosity, and personal growth. As the title implies, the book borrows some elements that are unique to the Disney version of the tale, but the worldbuilding and characters set it apart as an original take. Lyrielle has been locked in a tower ever since her magic powers manifested when she was a child. Her aunt invited the local villagers to stand at the base of the tower any time they needed healing from her long, magical hair. One day, in an attempt to escape her captivity, she fell through a portal into the ocean of another realm, where she was rescued by a prince named Tavric, who was searching for a mermaid who once rescued him from drowning. In order to pull Lyrielle f...

After the massive Snow White  debacle , Disney was said to have put their future live-action remakes on hold , particularly one they were planning of the 2010 animated classic, Tangled . That plan didn't last long. It was only a few short months later that casting for the film began. Earlier this week, the official announcement was made  that the auditions were complete, and Teagan Croft  and Milo Manheim  were selected to play Rapunzel and Flynn Rider/Eugene, respectively. These two actors certainly resemble their animated counterparts and are safer choices than the diversity castings for The Little Mermaid   and Snow White , which resulted in much controversy despite both actresses giving the roles their all. Still, should this movie even be made ? I get it. Sixteen years is long enough for a child to become an adult, and yet the animated version of Tangled  still feels fresh in recent memory. Maybe it's because it never really faded away, being heavily...

Falling for the Sorcerer  by Jes Drew  is the first of many ARCs I received last week from the new multi-author series of villainous retellings, To Win a Dark Heart . I will be reviewing these books in the order they were received, so expect to see a lot of reviews from this series on here in the coming weeks. Each book in To Win a Dark Heart contains a romance between two different fairy tale villains. In these books, the villains are misunderstood and not truly evil. Falling for the Sorcerer  combines "Swan Lake" and "Rapunzel,"  introducing nicer versions of Gothel and Rothbart, whose stories differ greatly from their wicked counterparts. It's a great book for older readers who find fairy tale heroes difficult to relate to due to their age. Forget everything you know about the stories of "Swan Lake" and "Rapunzel" because this book takes both in a completely new direction. Falling for the Sorcerer  is a second-chance romance about two wor...

Most people are familiar with  Shirley Temple and Shelley Duvall , but few are aware of their passion for fairy tales and how they used their fame and success to create new adaptations of classic stories and share them with the world. Both were successful actresses who had prolific careers during their lifetimes. After they became established in Hollywood, each of these women produced, hosted, and occasionally starred in a self-titled anthology series covering well-known and obscure fairy tale stories with celebrity guest stars from different decades. Though their fairy tale adaptations are not as well-known as Disney's, they played a key role in contributing original live-action fairy tale media  to the public that generally stayed close to the source material, aside from a few creative liberties. Shirley Temple's Storybook  premiered in 1958 when television was still a fairly new medium. Shirley Temple's talents were mostly used by Hollywood directors and producers whe...

Rapunzel's Gambit  by Mary Mecham is the second ARC I received from the upcoming  All That Glitters mult-author series of fairy tale retellings. Though it is meant to be a retelling of "Rapunzel,"  it has a lot more in common with a book from 1990 called Dealing with Dragons , which was about a princess who was tired of her royal duties and ran away to live with a dragon. This version of Rapunzel is feisty, aggressive, and a bit spoiled. A far cry from an innocent maiden who was kidnapped as a child, she is raised by a wealthy king and believes she can do a better job running the kingdom than him due to his overtaxation of the people. It follows many of the modern princess tropes  from recent Disney remakes . Princess Rapunzel's favorite hobby is to create trouble for everyone around her. She is a shameless flirt, a shrewd chess player, and a royal rebel. Her father is frustrated with her antics and decides to marry her off to the first person who can slay the drag...

Rapunzel and the Sea Witch (or, The Little Mermaid and the Tower)  by Kim Bussing is the third book from the traditionally published series The Princess Swap . I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley. Unfortunately, I have not read the second book in the series yet, but I don't think I missed anything important since each book can be enjoyed as a standalone. Like Cinderella and the Beast , this book contains a role reversal between two classic princesses. In this case, the swap occurs between "The Little Mermaid,"  whose name here is Hana, and the self-titled "Rapunzel."  Since these are two of my favorite fairy tales, I'm going easy on this one. While I think this book would be an enjoyable read for its younger target audience, I'm not sure I'd recommend it for teens and adults who also enjoy fairy tales. Hana, the youngest mermaid of six sisters, was always curious about the human world. She also hopes to stop a dangerous storm from swallowi...

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...

In case you haven't heard the terrific news, there is a fairy tale advent calendar  you can access all month for free books from some of the best fairy tale authors! With so many books to choose from, it's no wonder princess stories have migrated back to the page . Among the books offered that I hadn't read, Beauty in the Tower  by Sara Farnsworth  stood out because it combines "Rapunzel" and "Sleeping Beauty."  This seemed like such an interesting and fun combination that I've never seen before. I read a book that combines "Beauty and the Beast" with "Sleeping Beauty," but not "Rapunzel." Beauty in the Tower , the first book in the Realms of Caelia series, exceeded my expectations with its unique combination of romance, magic, and suspense. I also appreciate that the author put a trigger warning at the beginning of the book for anyone who might be uncomfortable by its darker elements, but thankfully, it did not go int...

I received a last-minute ARC for A Healing Hope  by Selina De Luca and read it over the weekend. This is the second book I have read from the Hope Ever After series , a charity author collaboration to support O.U.R. (Operation Underground Rescue) , which rescues children from exploitation and trafficking. The story supports this mission in its themes and worldbuilding. Though it is a retelling of "Rapunzel,"  it takes only the most basic elements of the fairy tale to weave a unique and original mythology similar to A Cascading Hope , the other book I've read from this series. Both of these stories take place in high fantasy worlds with complex magic systems and lore, which, though sometimes overwhelming, had a lot of love and planning put into them. This book does a particularly good job of providing hope to lost children who dream of returning home with its theming and plot. Raíza is a lost princess  trapped in a dragon-guarded tower  with a solid escape plan in mi...

I have a special place in my heart for Melanie Cellier's Four Kingdoms books. Her first novel, The Princess Companion , pulled me down an endless rabbit hole of independently published fairy tale adaptations and author collaborations that resulted in the past seven years of book reviews for my blog. The Abandoned Princess  is the final book in the Return to the Four Kingdoms series , concluding an impressively long and successful run of interconnected fairy tale retellings about princesses. Though there is one more  tie-in duology on the way, this book felt very much like a homecoming from an extended vacation full of adventure, romance, and magic. The Abandoned Princess is also a wonderful and creative reimagining of "Rapunzel"  on its own merits. This book is a heartfelt and emotional journey that is an absolute must-read for anyone familiar with Melanie Cellier's fairy tale retellings. With Easter eggs galore from the other Four Kingdoms books, The Abandon...

The Golden Prince  by Alice Ivinya  is the third ARC I received from the upcoming Once Upon a Prince multi-author series. While it isn't a full gender reversal fairy tale retelling like The Crownless Prince , it is a unique take on the story of "Rapunzel"  that focuses heavily on the prince, making it clear that the author understood the assignment. There are some fun nods to Disney's Tangled  as well as many original fantasy elements that convey a strong sense of worldbuilding. The book delves into fae mythology  as well as the legend of Baba Yaga  with a few subtle nods to "The Snow Queen."  The romance is tantalizingly chaotic with lots of "Will they? Won't they?" moments that dance on the fine line between lovers and enemies. Overall, it is a solid addition to the Once Upon a Prince series that works well as a standalone fantasy novel. When Prince Thomas inherits the legendary Sword of Spring, the only thing that can ward off the deadly po...

Today marks Disney's third annual World Princess Week , and it kicked off with a surprise special on Disney+  featuring four of the original voices called LEGO Disney Princess: The Castle Quest . The special featured LEGO versions of Snow White, Ariel, Tiana, Rapunzel, and Moana embarking on a quest to rescue King Triton from Gaston, who used Snow White's Magic Mirror to help him take over an abandoned castle. While his unexpected combination may seem a little reminiscent of Wreck-It Ralph 2 , in which Vanellope got together with a group of all the Disney Princesses, this special takes things to the next level. Since the characters and backgrounds are made of LEGO bricks, it doesn't take itself seriously and goes all out with Easter eggs and references. For instance, Ariel and Moana's quest brings them to a pirate ship where they encounter Smee from Peter Pan , Iago, and the Magic Carpet from Aladdin . The special may have contained an unapologetic amount of fan servic...