Early Review - Wednesdays in the Tower (Castle Glower, Book 2) by Jessica Day George (3.5/5 stars)

Reading Level: Children’s/Middle Grade
Genre: Fantasy
Size: 240 pages
Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Childrens
Date: May 7, 2013
ISBN: 978-1599906454
Stand Alone or Series: 2nd book in the Castle Glower series
Source: eGalley through NetGalley.com
Rating: 3.5/5 stars

I got a copy of this book to review through NetGalley(dot)com. Thanks to Bloomsbury and NetGalley for giving me the chance to review this book. Last year I read Tuesdays at the Castle and really enjoyed it. This sequel to that book was a fun read but not as magical as the first book.

Things start going strange in Castle Glower. First Celie finds a strange orange egg in a tower that’s never been there before and she needs to figure out what it is. Bran, the new Royal Wizard, is in on the secret but is swamped with identifying a bunch of magical armor and weapons that showed up in a new armor room. Meanwhile a visiting wizard stops by to help Bran and he seems to have a hidden agenda all of his own. Adding to all of this is the Castle’s increasingly erratic temperament; rooms no one has ever seen before are appearing left and right.

This was a fun continuation of the Castle Glower series. Not as magical and whimsical as the first book in the series, but still a fun read. The biggest downfall to this book is that it ends on a horrible cliffhanger and reads more like half of a book than a full book; I felt like half of the story was missing.

Celie and her siblings are fun to read about. They are all very agreeable characters and they work together well. It is always fun to see how well Celie’s family gets along together and how well they work together to solve problems. It makes for a light and uplifting read.

I enjoyed that the storyline is expanding here, we finally get some explanation as to why Castle Glower is how it is. We also learn a lot of history behind the castle itself. The additon of some mystical creatures made the story even more fun.

I did feel like the story was missing some of the whimsy, surprise, and delightful magical feel of the first book though. Part of that is just because we’ve already been introduced to this castle and nothing is as surprising this time around. I also felt like maybe Celie and family were just dealing with too many different problems at once, so the story was a bit bogged down and not as light-hearted and magical as the first book.

The absolultey biggest drawback to this book for me was the horrible cliffhangers. Oh, Miss Jessica why did you have to do that? I hate cliffhanger endings, it really drops my opinion of the book a lot. I hate it when author’s depend on a cliffhanger to force readers into continuing a series rather than just providing a good story and world that makes readers want to come back for more because the author writes well.

Overall a fun continuation of this series. Great for all ages. I enjoyed the magical creatures, the nice family dynamic, and finally learning about the why behind Castle Glower. I absolutely hated the horrible cliffhanger ending; this actually made me not want to read more of this series because I hate it when authors do that. This book wasn’t as magical as the first one, not as much full of wonder and fun. Still I recommend to those who enjoyed the first book in the series and to those who are looking for a good children’s fantasy read that is light and fun.


This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
- YA/MG Fantasy Reading Challenge
- 150+ Reading Challenge

Early Review - Princess of the Silver Woods (Twelve Dancing Princesses, Book 3) by Jessica Day George (4/5 stars)

Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Fantasy
Size: 336 pages
Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Childrens
Release Date: December 11, 2012
ISBN: 978-1599906461
Stand Alone or Series: 3rd book in the Twelve Dancing Princesses series (last book in series)
Source: ARC through NetGalley(dot)com
Rating: 4/5 stars

This is the third, and final, book in the Twelve Dancing Princesses series by George. It was a well done story and did a great job of wrapping up the series.

Petunia is excited when she receives an invitation to visit a childhood friend in Westfalen. On the way though she encounters the strange two-legged wolves who are bent on distributing the wealth of the nobles to their own people. These two legged wolves end up being more earnest and handsome than dangerous. When Petunia finally arrives at Westfalen she finds that a plot is afoot that involves her old enemy the King Under Stone. It will take Petunia along with all of her sisters and their husbands to put the curse of The King Under Stone to rest once and for all.

This story was blend of Red Riding Hood and Robin Hood, with some background reference to Rapunzel as well. I loved how these fairy tales were blended into Petunia’s story.

Petunia was an interesting character. She’s not as tough as Poppy; in fact she is kind of the baby of the family. But she is determined to make it on her own and is deadly with her pistol when the need arises.

Petunia’s prince was a bit more lackluster; he just came off as your typical prince-type to me. Sure he starts off as a bandit, but his personality was much like those of the other princes we have seen in this series.

There isn’t as much romance in this book as in the previous two. This book is more about the curse of the King Under Stone and combating it. For this all of Petunia’s sisters are back in the story.

Much of the story involves Petunia’s sisters and their husbands. It was fun to see a lot more of Rose and Galen. Additionally some of the older mystical characters from the first book are back in the story as well. George does an excellent job of including all of these characters but not making the story confusing.

There was more action in this book than in previous ones and it was well done. The plot involving the Kind Under Stone was nicely resolved.

Overall this was a very satisfying conclusion to this series. Petunia is an interesting character and definitely adds her own flavor to the story. There is less romance in this book, but more action. The story involves all of Petunia’s sisters and their husbands as well. This whole series is recommended to those who enjoy princess stories or fairy tale retellings.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
- 150+ Books Reading Challenge

Review - Princess of Glass (Twelve Dancing Princesses, Book 2) by Jessica Day George (4/5 stars)

Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Fantasy
Size: 272 pages
Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Childrens
Release Date: February 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-1599904780
Stand Alone or Series: 2nd book of Twelve Dancing Princesses series
Source: Bought for Kindle
Rating: 4/5 stars

This is the 2nd book in the Twelve Dancing Princesses by George. This book features Poppy and I actually liked it even better than Princess of the Midnight Ball. It is a wonderful and sweet fantasy read; it loosely retells the story of Cinderella. The third book in this series, Princess of the Silver Woods  is scheduled to be released in December of 2012.

Princess Poppy is unhappy and when an opportunity comes up to participate in a royal exchange program she is happy to do so. While in a neighboring kingdom Poppy begins to develop a tenuous relationship with a Prince. Things gets complicated when her maid Ella is tricked by the evil Corley and ends up vying for the Prince’s attention.

This was a sweet and simple read. If you enjoyed Princess of the Midnight Ball you will enjoy this book as well. I loved that this built on some of the elements in the first book.

I actually enjoyed this book even more than Princess of the Midnight Ball; it is a creative and engaging retelling of the Cinderella story. It involves a lot of the same elements but with a twist. There is an evil fairy godmother, molten glass slippers, and of course a handsome prince and a beautiful princess.

Poppy is the sister that features in this story, and she is a lot of fun. She absolutely abhors dancing, because of the events in the first book, but dances exceedingly well. She is more of card-shark than anything. She is also witty and smart, and very good at investigating the mystery surrounding Ella.

The Prince, whose name I am blanking on right now, was your typical wonderful Prince. He falls for Poppy hard and of course is respectful and supportive of her...at least when he’s not being bespelled by the Corley.

There are lots of descriptions of the beautiful clothing the characters wear. Many of the characters are matched up with each other, making for a large dash of romance in this book as well. So definitely a kind of girly read.

The Corely made for a delightfully evil villainess. Her obsession with all things glass was intriguing and I enjoyed her back story as well.

The story was an easy, engaging read. This is a clean read that’s suitable for all ages; although I would recommend middle grade and older.

Overall a solid fairy tale retelling. This isn’t a heavy read, it is mostly light and sweet. Poppy is a plucky heroine that is fun to read about and easy to engage with. There are some creative twists on the Cinderella fairy tale in here as well. If you love retold fairy tales and princess stories you will enjoy this book.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
- 150+ Books Reading Challenge
- TBR Pile Reading Challenge

Early Review - Tuesdays at the Castle by Jessica Day George (4.5/5 stars)

Reading level: Middle Grade

Genre: Fantasy
Size: 240 pages
Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Childrens
Release Date: October 11, 2011
ISBN-13:  978-1599906447
Stand Alone or Series: Stand Alone
Source: ARC from BEA
Rating: 4.5/5 stars


I got an advanced reading copy of this book at Book Expo America from Bloomsbury.  Previously I have read Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow and Princess of the Midnight Ball by Jessica Day George and enjoyed them both.  This was a very fun read focused on the very nifty idea of a castle being able to change itself whenever it wants.  I thoroughly enjoyed this book, it was a quick read and was entertaining and fun.  It is aimed more at the middle grade age set than young adult; but I think even adults who are young at heart with enjoy this book.


Princess Celie loves Tuesday because that is the day Castle Glower changes itself.  Sometimes it adds a room with bouncy floors, something it connects the pasture to the bedrooms...you just never know what is going to happen.  When Princess Celie's parents go missing it is up to Celie, her sister (Lilah) and her brother (Roth) to save the throne from the grasping hands of neighboring kingdoms.  The big question is what does Castle Glower want?  Will it help them or has it decided to pick a new king?

I absolutely loved the idea of a sentient castle that can change itself based on its mood and who it likes or doesn't like.  All of the characters are great; you really love Celie and want her and her siblings to defeat the evil Khelsh who is trying to take the throne.  Khelsh is a wonderful villain, just absolutely hate-able. 

It is great to see how Celie, Roth, and Lilah band together and really work well as a family even in the absence of their mother and father.  They make very mature decisions despite their young ages and I loved that the author allows that younger kids can be smart and do what's right.  It's not only a good example but acknowledges that kids are smarter than us adults usually give them credit for :-)

There is a lot of intrigue and mystery as Khelsh plots to take over the castle and the siblings not only fight to keep control of the castle but also try to solve the mystery of their disappearing parents.  The book was very engaging, well-written, fun to read, and hard to put down.  It also leaves smile on your face at the end; which makes it a perfect feel-good read.

Overall this was just such a fun book to read.  The idea of a moody Castle is fantastic and very nicely executed.  The writing is wonderful, the characters likable and interesting, and the intrigue and mystery well done.  I really enjoyed this book and will definitely pick up more books by Jessica Day George to read.  It's appropriate for all ages.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:

- 100+ Reading Challenge
- Fantasy Reading Challenge

Review - Princess of the Midnight Ball by Jessica Day George (4/5 stars)

Previously I read Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow by Jessica Day George and enjoyed it.  When I saw that she had done a retelling of my absolute favorite fairy tale The Twelve Dancing Princesses I was very excited to read it.  Overall it is a great read.

Rose and her sisters are cursed to dance every night away at the King Under Stone's castle because of an agreement their mother made with him.  As the mystery of their worn out shoes thickens, rumors of witchcraft abound, and the fate of their very kingdom rides on Rose and her sisters' secrets.  Can Galen, a common soldier, solve the mystery behind the princesses to clear their good names and save the kingdom?

I have to say this is my all time favorite fairy tale (with Beauty and the Beast right behind it).  I loved the beauty behind this story and the evilness that the beauty hides.  I still remember as a little girl reading about the forest of silver leaves and being absolutely enchanted by it.   So I had very high expectations for this story, which weren't quite met.  That being said George does do a good job with this story.

All of the characters are very personable and sweet; George did a pretty good job keeping track of the twelve sisters by grouping them into the older set and the middle set.  I was curious as to whether or not juggling 12 princesses' names would bog down the story, but it didn't.  She also did an excellent job at staying true to the story and giving it a splendidly happy ending.

Rose and Galen were by far the best characters; they were smart and resourceful and oh so very sweet to each other.  It was excellent how the politics of the kingdom overall were woven into the princesses' curse; this definitely filled out the story and made it more plausible.

My only problem with this story is that it was not as magical as I had hoped.  The story could have used a little more description, for me it didn't convey the beautiful yet awful majesty of the under world.  I didn't feel like I could picture the settings very well or hear the silver leaves tinkling in an invisible breeze.  Also I felt that the "danger" the princesses were in was a bit vanilla; the King Under Stone is not all the villain he could have been and I never really felt like the princesses were in all that much danger.  I guess at points the story was just a bit too Disney for me.

Overall I enjoyed reading this, but didn't think it captured the absolute danger and majesty of the original tale.  It is a nice story and ends happily, overall a good light read.  It is appropriate for all ages of readers and never gets too scary or too violent.  I enjoyed it enough that I will probably check out her latest book using these same characters Princess of Glass.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
- The Young Adult Reading Challenge
- The 100+ Book Reading Challenge
- Summer Romance Reading Challenge

 

Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow by Jessica Day George (4/5 stars)

This is the first book I have read by Jessica Day George. Overall I really enjoyed this book. This was a quick read, written in a classic fairy tale style.

The main character was never named by her mother, but her siblings called her pika. She has numerous brothers and sisters, and they all live on the brink of starvation in a small cottage. Two things happen to change pika's life forever. The first happens when she stumbles upon, and rescues, a white deer. The deer offers to grant her one wish, and pika wishes for a name, which the deer whispers to her. Then later a great white bear shows up on pika's doorstep and demands that she come and live with him in a castle made of ice for one year and one day.

This was a very entertaining story. Pika was a great character; she is accepting of things, and very caring, but deep down has a strength and toughness to her. Her older brother is also an interesting an mysterious character. Of course, the giant white bear, is another fascinating character. The book is beautifully written and gracefully moves through the plot. I had a lot of trouble tearing myself away from this book. In fact I read it all over the course of one day. There isn't a ton of action, but the mystery surrounding the palace of ice really pulled me in and kept me guessing.

If you like fairy tales; you will love this one. It is a easy read, the character never ends up in too much trouble. This is a softer fairy tale but creative and fascinating all the same. At times it reminded me a bit of "Beauty and the Beast"; I know it is based on an old folk tale, so that may be why it evokes that image for me.

While I probably won't re-read this story; but it was a wonderful and pleasant read and made me interested in reading more of Jessica Day George's books.