Entwined by Heath Dixon
The death of their
mother leaves Azalea and her eleven sisters trapped in the palace as
they observe mourning. Abandoned by their
grief-stricken father, the girls despair until they discover a secret
passage to a land below. There they
dance each night under the eyes of the handsome and mysterious Keeper. The Keeper, however, longs to escape
his underground prison and orders the princesses to help him. The fate of the kingdom hangs in the balance
as the girls try to determine whom they trust more—the Keeper or the king. A retelling of “The Twelve Dancing
Princesses.”
The Two Princesses of Bamarre by Gail Carson Levine
Timid Addie has always
lived in the shadow of her more daring sister Meryl, who dreams of discovering
the cure to the deadly plague—the Gray Death—that ravages their kingdom. When Meryl herself falls victim to the
illness, however, Addie knows she must be the one to set forth on the
quest. Though she fears even spiders,
Addie will soon find herself battling specters and attempting to outwit dragons. The answer to a centuries-old riddle,
however, may arrive too late to save Meryl.
Twelve-year-old Lilia runs away from home in order to avoid service under a cruel master and to find her birth parents. Her stepbrother and sister, Kai and Karina, travel with her, but along the way Kai falls under the spell of the Elf King's daughter. Determined to rescue their brother, the girls strike a dangerous bargain: if they can steal a magical jewel, the princess will return Kai. In order to gain the jewel, however, the girls will first have to unravel the mystery of the test being used to help select a royal bride. A retelling of "The Princess and the Pea."
I loved "Entwined". One of the best "clean fairy tale romances" I've read in a long time.
ReplyDeleteIt's one of my favorite retellings, too! I love how Dixon gave each of the girls a distinct personality and how she expanded on their relationship with their father. It was also quite humorous!
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