The Princess Blog

There's no symbol more representative of a princess than a tiara . It's even the logo for my blog! Yet, a large number of iconic and beloved princesses do not feature them in their most iconic looks. Even Cinderella , the most famous princess of all, is best known for her animated silver ball gown with which she sports a matching headband instead of a crown. The first Disney Princess to be literally crowned was Aurora, who had a magical golden tiara created just for her by the Three Good Fairies in the 1959 adaptation of Sleeping Beauty . Since then, crowns have evolved with changing animation techniques  and have been used sparingly for films, based on their context and symbolism. It would be quite some time before another Disney Princess would get a tiara with her iconic look. Although Ariel's wedding dress included a veiled crown, it was only featured briefly and is far from one of her most memorable looks from the film. Jasmine followed in Cinderella's footsteps wit...

This was my second consecutive year attending Sherwood Forest Faire , the annual Renaissance Faire in Central Texas. Many things remained the same, but not embarking on the scavenger "quest" granted more time to relax and enjoy the shows. This event is themed after Robin Hood , with an ongoing series of shows featuring Maid Marion, Prince John, and many other colorful characters, including the famous bandit himself. The little I saw of them was the same as last year's, allowing returning guests to focus on other performances during those time slots. Food vendors had tongue-in-cheek names that matched the theming, including "Ramen Hood," which was a popular lunch stop at this year's faire. One show I caught this year that I only saw in passing last time was Merlin the Wise, a magic show featuring the renowned wizard of Arthurian lore and his pet owl, Archimedes, which was essentially a talking muppet controlled by an actor shrouded behind black robes. Archime...

I received an ARC from T.R. Sherring for A Tale of Cursed Tides , which is a reimagining of "The Little Mermaid" with a twist. As we all know, I'm a sucker for "Little Mermaid" reimaginings , so I was excited to dive right into this one (pun intended). Before I begin my review, I know there are a lot of readers on my blog who prefer closed-door romance books. Although this book is technically closed-door, there are descriptions of sexual desire, implied spice for future books, and explicit language. Because of that, I don't think this book would be appropriate for closed-door readers. However, I did not find it distracting from the main story overall. Alara is a princess from a mermaid kingdom that was cursed by a powerful entity called The Crow due to her mother falling in love with a human prince. Because of this, none of the merfolk can leave their kingdom, separating them from family and friends. Alara makes a deal with The Crow to break the heart of a...

A little over a month ago, I shared my desire to create an original album of princess songs inspired by the original fairy tales, giving the songs darker and more melancholic vibes than the Disney versions. I'm pleased to announce that I finished recording the final track yesterday, and the Locked Tower album is available on SoundCloud  with full  lyric videos on YouTube . I also submitted it for streaming on Spotify and other music sites. This was a really exciting project for me as a beginning piano player . I had no idea I'd be able to begin composing original songs within less than a year of learning to read music. I've been working with a talented instructor who's been a huge help in the process. Locked Tower contains ten songs, each based on a different fairy tale featuring a princess character. Since I'm still learning about chord progressions, most of the melodies are fairly simple, drawing inspiration from other famous princess melodies. This is the most o...

Falling for the Huntsman  is the final book in To Win a Dark Heart and the last ARC I have left to review in the series. After being introduced to Leialoha Humpherys 's heartfelt writing in Transformed Tail , I had a feeling they were saving the best for last. This book has everything you could possibly want in a fairy tale retelling, from surprising twists on familiar characters to swoony romance with just a touch of magic. This book combines "Snow White" with "Hansel and Gretel"  in a new and creative way, bringing back the characters from both for an unexpected epilogue to their tales. Alaric is not the typical forest-dwelling huntsman. Instead, he is a whaler who spends most of his time at sea. When he is rescued from a near-death experience by a healer named Malia, he begins to question his life choices as her kindness guides him onto a new path. Malia is not without secrets of her own. The townsfolk view her as a witch who tried to eat two innocent child...

We all know that theme parks  are the best place to find real-life interpretations of classic animated princesses in glamorous gowns. In the modern age , however, it's become more common for princesses to hang up their ballgowns in favor of more comfortable looks . Disneyland Paris  has taken note of this for their Regal View Restaurant , premiering princesses in their more casual looks from their respective films, many of which have never been seen before at the Disney Parks. With Disneybounding and cosplay  becoming more popular and accurate than ever, is it a good idea to feature costumes that are so easy to replicate? Let's explore. The four princesses that have been previewed for the parks are Aurora in her Briar Rose forest dress, Ariel in her Tour of the Kingdom dress, Belle in her village dress, which she frequently wears for meet'n'greets at Epcot, and Mulan in the dress she wore at the end of the film. Aside from Belle, all of these costumes are new to Disney ...

Falling for the Pied Piper  by Ashley Evercott is my second-to-last ARC from To Win a Dark Heart , a multi-author series of dual villainous fairy tale retellings. This one has sweet and cozy vibes with a dash of adventure and intrigue. The book combines the stories of "The Pied Piper of Hameln" with "Beauty and the Beast,"  but like many books in this series , those stories are used more as background dressing to the main plot. Both characters are likable and have a strong redemption arc by the end of the book. Their chemistry leaps off the page, making us root for them to see past each other's differences. Selene must face punishment for cursing a prince to transform into a beast. Since she doesn't want to rot in prison, her best option for freedom is capturing a criminal known as the Pied Piper, who allegedly hypnotized a group of children with his magic pipe. She chases down the scoundrel and learns that there is more to him than meets the eye. After ge...

The spring and summer of 2026 are looking to be an exciting time for princess fans after a dearth of content for the last few years. Many familiar stories are returning to the small screen, from fairy tales to fairies to mermaids . This year will see the return of two famous Rainbow sPa properties, a beloved Disney Jr. princess with a magic amulet, and a modern anime retelling of a classic Hans Christian Andersen story. After a slow winter, our favorite princesses are making a comeback in full force over the next few months. Goodbye, Lara  is by far the most unique of the upcoming princess shows this year. Though it shares many of the same properties as other modern anime series , it is based on the timeless story of "The Little Mermaid."  Japan loves this Hans Christian Andersen classic and rivals Western media in terms of adaptations inspired by it, including a more faithful animated movie that predates Disney's. The premise of Goodbye, Lara combines the classic tal...

Pocahontas's River of Memories  is the fifth consecutive Princess Tea  I attended for the Cedar Park High School Choir . This school really knows how to put on a show! Every year, the auditorium is transformed into a magical fairytale castle, where talented students come out to perform an original musical packed with familiar songs from various animated movies. The girls' choir, The Seasons, and the boys' choir, Pitch Black, dress up as iconic characters and create a unique script each year for those characters to perform along with interactive games for the children in the audience, who attend dressed as their favorite prince or princess. Every show is different and features a unique princess host. This year's Princess Tea was hosted by Pocahontas, but the Mad Hatter quietly stole the show minutes into its opening. When Pocahontas presented the princes and princesses with a magic river containing memories dating back to their ancestors, he began panicking that Alice mi...

A few weeks ago, I received a surprise ARC of Golden Tangle  by Suzanna Fowers . This book is a sequel to Siren's Treasure  from the All That Glitters series , but it also works as a standalone. If I recall correctly, Siren's Treasure  was quite a bit darker than the other books in the multi-author series, and this book follows suit with action and betrayal on every page. I personally prefer a bit more levity in my books, but if you are looking for a no-spice romantasy that's on the darker side of the spectrum, it just might be perfect for you. Rapunzel was separated from her family at a young age and transformed into a sucti, a vampire-like creature that absorbs magic from anyone around her. To keep other magic users safe from her parasitic hair, she is kept in a tower, where Circe, the witch who cursed her, claims to be he protector. Circe is absent for most of the book, leaving Rapunzel to stay in the tower of her own free will due to her lack of desire to harm others....

Today is National Tell a Fairy Tale Day , which is the biggest day of the year for those of us whose lives revolve around fairy tales and princesses. This year's festivities are bigger than ever and took up my entire morning with two parties filled with games and goodies, as well as the cover reveal of my upcoming book, Hope and Love's Legacy . For me, every day is filled with fairy tales, especially these past few weeks that I've been diligently writing original princess songs  to completely my Locked Tower album . However, Hope and Love's Legacy  is particularly special to me because it is the first fully fleshed-out story idea I had that inspired me to become a writer. It has been a huge struggle for me to avoid sharing anything about this book on my blog or social media when it was the biggest part of my life for the last six months. Now that National Tell a Fairy Tale Day is here, I can finally share my personal fairy tale with you. I came up with the idea for this...

New visual novels in Time Princess  have been less frequent over the past few years and are usually posted in two parts. Such was the case for Coming Calamities, the latest visual novel in the popular dress-up app. This story is inspired by Norse mythology, which is a first for this game, with its impressive ability to come up with new content after having released so many other stories . The new fashions match well with the theme, providing a nice mix of Viking warrior ensembles and glamorous fantasy gowns. While the story was a bit lacking on the emotional side, it introduces a rich and whimsical world rooted heavily in Norse mythology. Travelers exploring Coming Calamities take on the role of Kaiya, a warrior chosen by Odin and prophesied to bring about Ragnarok, the fabled end of the age of gods. Since visual novel characters in Time Princess come are not always royalty, as the game's title would imply, Kaiya is portrayed as a member of a Viking family from humble roots in a fr...

Falling for the Enchantress  by Lyndsey Hall is the latest ARC I completed from the To Win a Dark Heart multi-author series of villainous retellings. This book combines the legends of King Arthur and Robin Hood , a combination that I have seen in another book I reviewed recently . These stories complement each other well because both take place in medieval England, and both were famously adapted by Howard Pyle in the late 19th century. This book stands apart from The Arrow and the Sword  in many ways, primarily that it focuses on different villains instead of heroes. Morgan Le Fay is known here as Morgraine, who must win over Stefano, the sheriff/witch hunter for Prince John. The dark romance in this book begins with an accidental magical binding spell that would have fit in well with last year's Tethered Hearts series . Stefano is a witch hunter, which fits well with this time period and setting, and Morgraine is in hiding to protect herself and her coven. When an accident...