The Princess Blog

I'm taking a short break from my many To Win a Dark Heart ARCs to draw attention to another multi-author series of dual retellings releasing around the same time. Like To Win a Dark Heart, the Displaced Fairytales series  combines characters from two different fairy tales to create a new story. The only difference is that this time, the heroes get together instead of the villains. There are eight books in all, and they sound amazing! The first ARC I received from this series is Burning Snow  by Abigail Manning , which combines "The Little Match Girl" with a gender-bent version of "The Snow Queen."  I've devoured every book I've read from Abigail Manning so far , so I couldn't wait to dive into this one. Princess Safara has no idea what she's in for when she enters a marriage alliance with Prince Blamore. One broken mirror later, their kingdoms are cursed with an endless winter and a deadly disease plaguing the land by burning a special type o...

Falling for the Crystal Fae  by Anabelle Raven  is the most recent ARC I read from To Win a Dark Heart , placing me about halfway through this multi-author series. So far, every book has been a completely different experience, even though they all follow the same format of combining villains from two different fairy tales. This book combines the villains from "Aladdin" and "The Snow Queen" in an original fae fantasy realm. It takes place after their classic tales have completed, making it an original story about two villains on a quest for revenge against the heroes who took away their happy endings. The story begins similarly to Once Upon a Time in Wonderland , in which the female lead, Khiona, finds a lamp with a handsome genie inside, who offers her anything her heart desires. She agrees to free Andar, the genie, in exchange for a chance at revenge against the people who overthrew her. Andar has experience with overthrowing those in power since he once tried to...

A Frigid Hope  by Amanda Thompson  is the latest book I've read from the multi-author Hope Ever After series . This book is a pleasant retelling of "The Snow Queen"  that combines elements of the original story with other traditional fairy tale tropes. Like many "Snow Queen" adaptations, it is more faithful to Hans Christian Andersen's original work  than Frozen  was . It also features a traditional fairy tale romance by aging up the protagonists and transforming them into royalty. It was a quick and easy read that felt both nostalgic and refreshing. Princess Bianca has no shortage of suitors, but she only has eyes for one prince, who she doesn't believe would even be willing to offer her his hand. When she learns that her parents convinced Prince Percival to be a contender, she is over the moon. Unfortunately, the very next day, he is selected to be a tribute for the wicked snow queen, Kira. Every man selected for this task must live in her ice palace u...

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...

When I saw a Facebook promotion for Snow So White  by C. Gockel , I was curious but hesitant. The book was promoted as urban fantasy , which is not usually my cup of tea. When I finally got around to reading it, I was pleasantly surprised to find that it bears more similarities to some lesser-known fairy tales than it does to "Snow White."  The accurate marketing also helped me ease into the modern setting and urban fantasy creatures within it like vampires and monsters. I was pleasantly surprised by how strong the book's world-building is and how emotionally connected I felt to the characters. While it may not be the type of fairy tale retelling I'm used to reading, it has a strong sense of what it wants to be. Cherie lives in a world that is similar to our own with one major difference. One day, the earth was infused with magic, causing ordinary people to gain supernatural abilities, monsters to roam freely, and certain forms of technology to become unnecessary. Peo...

After joining a review team for one of Rachel Huffmire 's upcoming books, I decided to familiarize myself with her first series, The Mirror Chronicles. Unfortunately, the fourth book in the series was probably not the best place to start. Unlike many other fairy tale series I've read, Saving Winter  does not work as a standalone at all. I've discovered in the past that the science fiction genre does not blend well with fairy tales , and this ARC was no exception. The book is loosely based on "The Snow Queen,"  but I found little similarity to it despite the quoted Hans Christian Andersen passages at the beginning of each chapter, which seemed out of place. Regardless of whether or not it followed the fairy tale, this was not a pleasant reading experience in general. While it could be because I didn't read the rest of the series, I found it exceedingly difficult to keep track of the characters and plot in this book. This would normally be the place where I sh...

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...

I admit I wasn't too excited at first when I learned that Camille Peters ' new book, Forgotten  would be based on one of my least favorite fairy tales "East of the Sun and West of the Moon."  However, I was pleasantly surprised to find that it bears little resemblance to this story is actually a stealth retelling of "Romeo and Juliet."  It is a heartfelt tale of forbidden love and all the trials and tribulations that come with it. This book evokes some heavy emotions that I really appreciate during a time when most stories have become more about politics than feelings. I found myself drawn to the characters and their surprisingly steamy romance. This is the first Camille Peters book set in this world that I feel stands on its own as an original classic. Princess Taryn has a secret. Though she is loyal to her crown, she is also in love with the enemy prince, Xander, and will not let logic or reason stop her from sneaking away to be with him even if it kills ...

Mirrors of Ice  was one of the many promotional sales from National Fairy Tell a Fairy Tale Day . I decided to check it out since I had already read the first and third books in this series. Celeste Baxdendell  is not the kind of author you should turn to if you are looking for a quick fairy tale fix. Her Bewitching Fairy Tales series  is long, detailed, and often quite dark. However, if you have some time on your hands and are looking to be fully immersed in a fleshed-out fantasy world packed with references to multiple fairy tales, this is a good series to check out. Mirrors of Ice  is the second entry in this series and works just as well as a standalone book as it does an expansion to the world that was built in the other books. It is a combination of "The Snow Queen" and "Snow White"  and cleverly addresses elements of both fairy tales that I rarely see in other adaptations, which secures its place as my favorite book in the Bewitching Fairy Tales s...

This is the third part of my review for the massive Enchanted Kingdoms fairy tale anthology . You can find the first part here and the second part here  if you missed them. Today I am covering the first five books from the external file that is linked to at the end of the Amazon ebook. This was my favorite set of stories from this series so far. They stuck closer to the fantasy settings of original fairy tales than the previous books, which contained more sci-fi and horror. These are princess stories at their best, filled with more twists and turns than you would expect from a traditional fairy tale retelling, so let's dive right in! Crumbling Towers  by Anne Stryker This story is my favorite in this anthology so far. Not only is it the best "Rapunzel" adaptation I have ever read, but it is also one of the best fairy tale novels I have had the pleasure of experiencing. My only complaint is that it ended way too soon, which the author apologized for in her notes due to w...

Did you know that this past Wednesday was National Tell a Fairy Tale Day ? That means this is a big week for sales on princess books ! I celebrated the joyous occasion by attending  another Facebook party  with many talented authors . Among those authors, Lucy Tempest  released her latest book in the Fairy Tales of Folkshore series  promptly time for the holiday. As the newest and shiniest release, Princess of Midnight  was the first book I read in honor of National Fairy Tale Day. I had mixed feelings about Lucy Tempest's  Thief of Cahraman trilogy  and Beast / Beauty of Rosemead  duology, so I wasn't sure what to expect from this reimagining of "Cinderella" and the "The Snow Queen."  To my delight, I found that it was not only more concise than the other Folkshore novels, but also one of the best adaptations of "Cinderella" that I have ever read. Princess of Midnight  tells the story of Ornella, a minor character from the other b...

A Crown of Snow and Ice  is the third book in Melanie Cellier's Beyond the Four Kingdoms series. It tells the story of Princess Celine, a character who has been present in many of her previous books. Celine is the little sister of Celeste from The Princess Game , Clarisse from The Princess Fugitive , Cordelia from A Midwinter's Wedding , Frederick from The Princess Search , and the best friend of Sophie and Lily from The Princess Companion , A Dance of Silver and Shadow , and A Tale of Beauty and the Beast . After reading about her so much in the past, I already felt like I knew her pretty well, but this book still had some surprises to offer. Like Melanie's previous books, it takes many liberties with  "The Snow Queen,"  the fairy tale it's based on, and places more focus on Celine's relationship with Prince Oliver than the on the chillingly dangerous Snow Queen herself. As such, it is a very different retelling of the story than Crown of Ice  by Vicki W...

My friend who helped me with my book relaunch yesterday also referred me to some wonderful princess stories that  Snowy Wings Publishing  distributes. The first one I chose to read was Crown of Ice  by Vicki Weavil  because I was burnt out on Disney's Frozen  and eager to read a more faithful adaptation of "The Snow Queen."   Crown of Ice  delivered exactly what I was hoping for. It gave me a new twist on a classic tale while still remaining true to the essence of the story. The characters were rich and full of life, and the book had lots of suspense on every page. Crown of Ice  is the first book in a trilogy called The Mirror of Immortality. From what I've read so far, the trilogy is off to a very strong start. This book is told from the perspective of Thyra Winther, more commonly known as the Snow Queen. Instead of making her another trite misunderstood heroine, Thyra begins as an antihero who is fully aware that her intentions are not pur...

I recently saw a fantastic YouTube video  analyzing the stigma that the title character from  Disney's 1950 Cinderella  is inherently weak despite enduring years of abuse and maintaining a strong survival instinct. It got me thinking about one of the most common criticisms people have toward princesses, which is that being a "Damsel in Distress" is a poor influence on girls. My issue with this is that it implies these characters somehow choose to put themselves in horrible situations in an attempt to be rescued by a prince. Why would anyone choose to be placed in such awful situations? They wouldn't. Just because many of the older princesses do find a way out of their unfortunate circumstances through the love of a prince ( which is no longer the case ) does not imply that they were the masterminds behind their own abuse. In fact, if they had intentionally put themselves in these situations, they would certainly have some extremely messed up psychological issues. ...