Princess of the Midnight Ball

A tale of twelve princesses doomed to dance until dawn…

Galen is a young soldier returning from war; Rose is one of twelve princesses condemned to dance each night for the King Under Stone. Together Galen and Rose will search for a way to break the curse that forces the princesses to dance at the midnight balls. All they need is one invisibility cloak, a black wool chain knit with enchanted silver needles, and that most critical ingredient of all—true love—to conquer their foes in the dark halls below. But malevolent forces are working against them above ground as well, and as cruel as the King Under Stone has seemed, his wrath is mere irritation compared to the evil that awaits Galen and Rose in the brighter world above.

I'm a sucker for fairy tales. Always been and always will be. And when I read Kailana's review of this book I couldn't resist placing a hold on it through my local library. I also thought it would be a good book choice to read with my nine-year-old daughter.

As you might of guessed it is the re-telling of the Grimm fairy tale The Twelve Dancing Princesses. But Jessica Day George adds a little more to the story in this book: you have the orphaned soldier seeking his aunt and uncle. The uncle just happens to be the royal gardener and it's there that Galen first meets Princess Rose.

Galen is a wonderful character. He is kind and courteous and willing to help others. And the princesses need all the help they can get. Rose being the eldest of the princesses takes her position very seriously and takes care of the little ones, but she needs help to break the curse. A match made in heaven.

It was a light hearted and quick read. And we both enjoyed the story very much. I believe there's a certain little girl that wants a copy of her own of this book. Maybe Santa will get it for her.

Princess of the Midnight Ball by Jessica Day George (4/5) Young Adult; Fairy Tale; Published: Bloomsbury USA Children's Books (1/09); New Author; 2009 100 + Reading Challenge (143);