The Princess Blog

Silenced Beauty  is the first book I've read by Ashley Mendoza , as well as the first in a multi-author series of fairy tale retellings called Cursed Brides . It has made me eager to read more of both. This book really nails it as a retelling of "The Wild Swans" with action, romance, and intrigue. "The Wild Swans" doesn't get as many adaptations  due to being somewhat lesser known, and I think this is my favorite adaptation that I've read of it thus far. The addition of a bridal competition  and psychic visions help to spice up the plot, and the Christian theming is tastefully incorporated into the story. This book does an outstanding job as an introduction to both this author and the Cursed Brides series as a whole. When Alianna has a dangerous vision of an evil sorcerer's betrayal to the crown, her entire family is cursed to prevent her from speaking out about it. Her eleven brothers are transformed into swans and delivered to the king as a gift, ...

Sara Farnsworth's Realms of Caelia series is probably my favorite series that I've read this year. I love how each book seamlessly combines two fairy tales and is packed with magic and romance. In fact, she just may have inspired me to write a dual retelling this summer as well.  Lake of the Wild Swans  is the second book in the series and fills the gap between Beauty in the Tower  and Ella and the Seven Dwarfs . Although these books work okay as standalones, there are so many recurring characters and scenes amongst them that it's best to read the whole series in order. I read an ARC of Ella and the Seven Dwarfs  before this one and felt like it was missing some key scenes until I realized they were all in Lake of the Wild Swans . This book is a combined retelling of "Swan Lake" and "The Wild Swans,"  which both fit together very well due to the overarching swan transformation theme . Princess Odette is a teenager with social anxiety who is intimidate...

The Unlucky Prince  by Deborah Grace White  is the second ARC I've received from the Once Upon a Prince series, an anthology of fairy tale adaptations by different authors from the princes' perspectives. While The Crownless Prince  was a creative gender-bent retelling of "Maid Maleen,"  this book is a basic retelling of "The Frog Prince" with no frills attached. It makes sense that the author chose to go this route since reversing the genders to have the princess turn into a frog would make the story focus more on her like in the Disney version , and it's something that has been done before . For such a short length, this book is somewhat slow and unimaginative, which was surprising coming from Deborah Grace White, who is usually a master worldbuilder . There were some references to her other books, including the dragon Rekavidur, a recurring character in most of her stories. The main character, Ari, is a minor character from Kingdom of Feathers , her ...

I received  Lake Locked  by S.R. Nulton  from an amazing book deal a few years ago that contained many of my favorite fairy tale books. This one stood out to me because it was a retelling of my favorite fairy tale, "The Little Mermaid," and "The Wild Swans," which I had only read one other adaptation of. Both of these fairy tales have a protagonist who must remain silent for varying reasons, making them a natural choice to bring together. However, there are enough differences that a combination of the two would need to favor one over the other, and in this case, Lake Locked  favors "The Wild Swans." In fact, the mermaid element is so downplayed in this book that it makes me question why it was included at all. Aside from the lack of undersea worldbuilding, the main character comes off as immature, making her difficult to relate to. However, her personal growth as a result of these experiences makes her more tolerable by the end of the book. Ariel is a p...

Court of Swans by Melanie Dickerson  is a book that was recommended to me a long time ago that I just got around to reading it. I was impressed by Melanie's vast array of fairy tale retellings , especially as a traditionally published author. Her books are classified as Christian Fiction, which gives her a pass for telling more traditional versions of these stories instead of the obligatory contemporary spin  that requires women to become warriors and swear off men. What makes her books unique is that they retell these stories from a historical perspective of how they could have actually happened. The magical elements have been removed and replaced with metaphorical interpretations. It was interesting how she retold the story of "The Wild Swans" without anyone transforming into a swan. This book takes place in 14th century London and tells the story of a young woman named Delia whose brothers were arrested by the king on false charges. As the only one who was not placed...