Twelve Dancing Princesses Trilogy by Jessica Day George

The first book, Princess of the Midnight Ball, is a retelling of Twelve Dancing Princesses. Rose and her sisters -- Lily, Jonquil, Hyacinth, Violet, Iris, Poppy, Daisy, Lilac, Orchid, Pansy, and Petunia -- are cursed to dance at night for the King Under Stone, an evil wizard who lives in an underworld and wants brides for his twelve sons. Galen is an orphaned soldier who has come to live with his relatives and goes to work with his uncle in the royal gardens. When he happens upon Princess Rose, he immediately feels a connection. As the problem grows worse and the king brings in foreign princes to discover the secret of where the princesses go every night that cause their shoes to wear out, Galen becomes intrigued by their plight and starts to look for a way to help. But as the situation becomes critical, both in the underworld and in the kingdom, it's going to take ingenuity and luck to save the situation.

In the second book, Princess of Glass, the curse on the sisters has been broken, but the political problems that it caused still pose a serious threat. The nations all agree to do an exchange program for their children -- including all but the oldest princesses -- and Princess Poppy (one of the middle siblings) is sent to Breton. She soon makes friends with Marianne, the daughter in the family that she is staying with, and Prince Christian, another participant in the exchange program. Although she finds it interesting, there's a slight problem with one of the maids, Eleanora, who cannot seem to get anything right. But odd circumstances suggest that the maid might be under a curse and Poppy sets out to find out what she can do to help, assuming that she can find the answers before it's too late.

In the final book, Princess of the Silver Woods, the youngest sister (Petunia), is traveling to visit Grand Duchess Volenskaya, the elderly woman that she lived with during the fostering program years earlier. When highwaymen wearing wolf masks attack the carriage, Petunia is inadvertently kidnapped. Oliver has a noble title, but his land was taken away during the confusion at the end of the war and has left him, his family, and his tenants living in a rundown castle in the woods. But when the sons of the King Under Stone start to torment Petunia and her sisters again, Oliver is willing to go to great lengths to help make sure that the princesses are finally safe from the threat.

Overall, this was a great series; the books were quick reads and had interesting twists on the traditional fairy tales (Twelve Dancing Princesses, Cinderella, and Little Red Riding Hood). The romance in the third book seemed a little weaker than the others, but the plot did a good job of tying up the loose ends and it was still enjoyable. I would definitely recommend this to fantasy fans who enjoy retellings of fairy tales and a bit of romance -- and knitting, since there are patterns at the end of every book!

• If this book sounds interesting, consider these: Cecilia and Kate, Tales of the Five Hundred Kingdoms, Princess Nevermore, or Firebird

Enchanted by Alethea Kontis

Sunday is the youngest child of Jack and Seven Woodcutter and the seventh daughter (named in order for the days of the week). With so many siblings, Sunday particularly enjoys spending alone time in the Wood writing in her journal. When she meets a talking frog named Grumble, she's happy to have a friend all her own. One night she kisses him goodbye and leaves, without realizing that she has turned him back into Prince Rumbold - the crown prince who is hated by her family for an altercation with one of her older brothers, now shrouded in secrecy. Rumbold realizes that it will be challenging to convince Sunday to fall in love with him as a human, but he's sure that it will be worthwhile...

This book was a lot of fun and a fairly quick read, though that was mostly because I had trouble putting it down once I started it. Although it first appears to be a retelling of The Frog Prince (and it kind-of is), this book actually references quite a few fairy tales and nursery rhymes. One of my favorite things is that even though the fairy tale elements make parts of the book predictable (it's fairly obvious what will happen when one of Sunday's brothers is sent to the market to sell a cow), how the story turns out in the end is always a surprise. I would absolutely recommend this to fantasy fans of all ages who are looking for something light and fun to read, particularly readers who love retellings of fairy tales and stories with a bit of romance.

• If this book sounds interesting, consider these: Black Pearls, The Frog Princess, Tales of the Five Hundred Kingdoms, or Cloaked

Entwined by Heather Dixon

When their mother dies, Azalea the Princess Royale and her sisters - Bramble, Clover, Delphinium, Evening Primrose (Eve), Flora, Goldenrod, Hollyhock, Ivy, Jessamine, Kale, and newborn Lily - are bereft. Meanwhile, their father is leaving for war and doesn't seem to have any interest in them. The household goes into mourning, which means no dancing, even though the princesses danced every day with their mother. So, when Azalea finds a magical passageway that leads to a silver pavilion, all of the girls are happy to have a place they can dance every night. But Keeper, the mysterious, magical being that presides over the pavilion has his own agenda and the princess' nights of dancing come with a price.

This was a really great retelling of Twelve Dancing Princesses and I enjoyed it a lot. There's quite a bit of characterization of the girls, even though there are so many of them, and also of their relationship with their father there are several twists in the plot that made it difficult to put the book down once I started it. I would definitely recommend this to fantasy fans, particularly anyone who enjoys retellings of fairy tales or a bit of romance.

• If this book sounds interesting, consider these: Black Pearls, The Two Princesses of Bamarre, Princess Ben, or East

Reserved for the Cat by Mercedes Lackey

Ninette Dupond has just lost her job with the Paris Opera Ballet because she performed a piece just a little too well for the tastes of one of the prima ballerinas. With limited options, she is just about to give up on finding a new position when a cat shows up at her apartment and speaks to her, convincing her to pack her things and travel to England. Soon she is wrapped up in a scheme pretending to be a Russian ballerina and performing again in an English theater. Her new life seems a little too good to be true, however, and little does she know that an elemental spirit has devoured the real ballerina that she's impersonating and the elemental has found out about Ninette's deception and has decided to remove the competition.

This is the most recent book in the Elemental Master's series (The Serpent's Shadow, The Gates of Sleep, Phoenix and Ashes, The Wizard of London), but it seems to work more as a stand-alone than as a continuation that some of the other books maintain. I enjoyed this book well enough although I didn't feel that it was one of the best in the series. The characters are very well developed and the plot is interesting without being too predictable. I would definitely recommend this book to fantasy readers, especially those who enjoy historical fiction and fantasy books that involve magic in the 'real world.'

• If this book sounds interesting, consider these: The Two Princesses of Bamarre, Wicked Lovely, or Black Pearls