The Princess Blog

Most adaptations of "The Little Mermaid"  do one of two things. They  retell the exact same story with more detail than the original or they turn the whole tale on its head and create something completely different , usually losing what made the story so special in the first place. A Song of Sea and Shore  by Katherine Macdonald lies somewhere in the middle. The best way I can describe it is that it turns the story sideways. Some aspects are exactly the same while others have shifted, such as the mermaid's motivation to visit her human prince. This is the third book I have read from The Fey Collection , and the author takes more liberties with this fairy tale than she did with the other two . Some of the changes lower the stakes for the main character, making it less of an emotionally powerful tale, while others address concerns that critics have brought up with this story for years. Like most incarnations of "The Little Mermaid," Neri is a headstrong and opti...

Kingdom of Thorns  by Katherine Macdonald  does not offer anything I haven't already seen in a "Sleeping Beauty" retelling, so I was hesitant to read it at first. In recent years, it has become traditional for the princess to fight against her curse , so that is something I have always come to expect from modern-day retellings. I even read another version where she uses astral projection to communicate while sleeping so she can still consent to the controversial kiss . Yet, this book manages to hit all the right marks in all the right places, combining everything great about fantasy novels and fairy tale adaptations in a way that's both engaging and interesting. Both protagonists are fleshed-out characters with hopes and fears just like any ordinary person. Their love is so strong and pure that it makes you want to read all the way to their "happily ever after" despite knowing that it's coming already. Prince Leo is not a hero. He is not prone to slayi...