The Princess Blog

"The Prince Competition" Once upon a time, there was an Amazon princess named Jacqueline. Princess Jacqueline's world was surrounded by strong female warriors. She was trained her whole life to be one of the best. Her people believed that men were weak and could never hope to compete with the strength of a woman. Still, one person in each generation was selected to find a mate so they could bear their next queen, and unfortunately, Princess Jacqueline was that person. Though she did not look forward to the task, she knew that if she was going to choose a prince, he would need to be the strongest among men. She called forth a competition among all eligible men, stipulating that she would only marry one who could defeat her in combat. Challengers traveled from all over the world for the opportunity to marry the Amazon princess. Many of them were royalty, and despite their confidence, these warriors were defeated the fastest by Jacqueline's royal entourage, and most neve...

Tis the season to appropriate princess movies your studio owns but didn't originally produce? After years of fans having to explain that Anastasia isn't a Disney Princess , Disney has decided to take advantage of their acquisition of this beloved property by releasing some new merchandise. Disney loves celebrating anniversaries  of their films every time there is a milestone, and this year just happens to be the 25h anniversary of Anastasia . Now that the rights to this ground-breaking animated musical rest in the hands of the mouse, Disney is the only company that can celebrate this milestone, and they decided to do so in a small way--with some limited edition trinkets. It started with a mug  that was available for a short time on ShopDisney's website and at their theme parks . The mug featured a pattern of golden lace with ornate portraits of Anastasia and Dimitri on either side and an insignia of the famous "Together in Paris" necklace that Anastasia's gran...

Merry Christmas to those of you who celebrate! Though Time Princess  released a limited holiday visual novel, there was a full-length story that came out last week as well, and that is what I will be reviewing today. Lunar Legend reimagines the story of  "Beauty and the Beast"  with a steampunk aesthetic. It's a rare treat for this game to tackle another fairy tale so soon after Sisters of the Sea , but this adaptation lacked the heart of the original as a result of throwing in so many other subplots that it convoluted the main story. I found that I cared very little about the main couple getting together as there was far more at stake for the rest of the kingdom than a beast's humanity. Lunar Legend is about a girl named Hannah who is searching for her lost memories while caring for her father, Harry. When Harry is struck by the same deadly illness that had afflicted her entire village, Hannah enters a creepy forest made of iron to find a cure. There, she encounters ...

"An Enchanted Engagement" Once upon a time, there was a princess named Violet who was tied up in a marriage alliance to a prince named Broderick. She had tried time and again to explain to her parents why Prince Broderick would make a poor leader for her kingdom, but none of her explanations of his tyrranical nature had enough hard evidence until she enlisted the help of the royal sorcerer, Henrik. Henrik was the son of her family's previous sorcerer and was close to Violet in age. Her parents had little respect for him, believing he could never live up to his father, which meant that the princess had to hide her secret romance with him until the time was right. With the help of his ferret familiar, Henrik overheard a conversation between Prince Broderick and one of his knights about overthrowing Violet's kingdom as soon as their marriage was complete. He had a secret document prepared for Violet's parents to sign at the wedding that would ensure everything they o...

Deborah Grace White  astounded me with her top-notch mermaid series  a few months ago, so when I saw a promotional deal on a book from one of the prequel series that was set in the same world, I decided to give it a try. Legacy of the Curse   is the first book in The Kyona Legacy trilogy, which is a follow-up to The Kyona Chronicles . I had previously read Heir of the Curse , the first book that was set in the kingdom of Kyona, and thought it was just okay. Her writing has improved exponentially since then. Legacy of the Curse  is a lengthy adventure filled with princesses, dragons, and magic that I savored every page of. Deborah Grace White is a master worldbuilder and a prodigy at writing sweet romance scenes. The main character in Legacy of the Curse is a princess named Jocelyn who has a magical ability that she doesn't want because she thinks it poses a danger to those around her. In that respect, the book is similar to The Autumn Fairy trilogy by Brittany Ficht...

Last winter, I attended a charming  local princess event I saw advertised on social media. This holiday season, I had the fortune of learning about another one. The Central Texas Theatre Academy , which put on the performance of Shrek the Musical I saw this past summer, summer, hosts an Annual Holiday Princess Ball , an intimate event in which girls are inspired to dress as their favorite Disney Princess  and hang out with unofficial theme park princesses  in the same vein as the princess party companies . The difference is that this event is much cheaper than hiring a private princess, and it doesn't have to be someone's birthday to attend. The party was primarily for children, but I still had a decent time. The first thing I noticed upon entering the room was that it was set up like a tea party with a handful of round tables containing teapots, plastic teacups on saucers, pink lemonade, and water. Warm apple cider was available on one side of the room. Each table had a...

Beauty and the Beast: A 30th Celebration  is finally here, and there's a lot to explore. I had been anticipating this production  since it was announced last summer. At the time, it sounded like it would be filmed live like  2019's The Little Mermaid Live! , but it was apparently pre-recorded with a similar format. Both productions played a chopped-up version of the animated classic that was intercut with Broadway-style  performances. The biggest difference is that Beauty and the Beast  paid more tribute to the original animated film by including cameos of people who worked on it, such as Paige O'Hara , the original voice of Belle, who played a librarian in the opening number, and Alan Menken , the composer, who was seen playing the piano in the background in multiple scenes. Broadway veteran Rita Moreno  hosted with tidbits about the original movie while pencil sketches and behind-the-scenes footage were presented in between commercial breaks. The live per...

The Other Kingdom  was a 2016 Nickelodeon sitcom that I learned about far too late . The final seconds of the show introduce a massive plot twist that promise a more compelling and story-rich second season that was sadly never mad. It's rare for such a strong fantasy world to exist in a sitcom and even rarer for a story about a faery princess  to live on Nickelodeon  instead of Disney Channel. The series gives off strong Sabrina the Teenage Witch  vibes, except that instead of an ordinary girl learning that she's magical, it's about a magical girl pretending to be ordinary. It builds upon faerie lore that is heavily inspired by Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream    right down to the main character being the daughter of King Oberon and Queen Titania. There are many other easter eggs to the play peppered throughout the show as well for observant viewers. The Other Kingdom starts out similarly to "The Little Mermaid."  Princess Astral is a faery pri...

One of the books that stood out to me the most from the last free book promotion  was Mermaid's Song  by Stacy Claflin . I'm a sucker for all things mermaid and princess . After completing Deborah Grace White's Vazula Chronicles , I had high expectations for stories about mermaids and royal academia . The first book in the Dark Sea Academy trilogy did not quite meet those expectations. While the setting of a school for mermaids was similar on a surface, level, Mermaid's Song  was very juvenile and didn't present anything new about mermaid lore. At least the covers are stunning. It can be a challenge to write from the perspective of a teenager and not come off as flighty or immature. Marra, a half-human half-mermaid princess along the lines of  Emily Windsnap , looks like a mature young adult in her cover illustrations but sounds like a silly prepubescent child, at least in the context of the first book. All she wants to do is live a normal life as a human on land, f...

"The Royal Academy" Once upon a time, a little girl named Lucy lived on the edge of the village where she gazed upon the Royal Academy every night. This imposing structure towered over her little town and glittered with large stained-glass windows of royal crests, books, scrolls, and other symbols of the education she desired so fervently. She wanted to do more than toil in the fields with her family. Lucy longed to read and make important decisions like the princesses, princes, and nobles that attended the school. One day, when Lucy was performing errands for her family in the market, she was surprised to see another girl around her age wearing a student uniform. Royals and nobles never stepped foot in her little village, especially those who were supposed to be in school. "Who are you?" Lucy asked the girl in the uniform. "Do you go to the Royal Academy?" "I'm Princess Lucinda," said the girl. "My parents tried to force me to go to sch...

In honor of the upcoming Sofia the First spinoff , I decided to rewatch the series . When I got about halfway through, I began to think about how well it developed Royal Prep as a school for princes and princesses without pushing a narrative that the classic Disney Princesses attended, which would retroactively change their backstories. I love the idea that a magical princess school can exist in the same world as the Disney Princesses without forcing them into the narrative. As I've expressed in the past, I had a major issue with The School for Good and Evil  for claiming that every well-known fairy tale character attended their school even though most of them actually grew up impoverished and didn't have the resources to get any education, let alone a magical one. Ever After High  does this to a lesser extent by insinuating that all of the fairy tale characters sent their children to the school, which makes more sense because it's normal for parents to want their childr...

Blood in the Snow  by Sarah Pennington  was a recent recommendation that combines two stories about princesses in dire circumstances-- "The Goose Girl" and "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs."  The title makes it sound more violent than it actually is. It refers to blood magic that the royal family wields in this Asian fantasy setting. The main character is more of a damsel in distress  than most modern adaptations of these stories, but she uses her powers to even out the odds. It's a short and sweet book that combines both popular fairy tales with Asian culture. Princess Baili is a gentle princess who rarely raises her voice and never wishes harm upon anyone. So, when her servants stop paying attention to her on a journey to a foreign kingdom, she tries not to complain. She is confused, but it is only after the royal caravan arrives at their destination that she demands to know why everyone is ignoring their princess. That is when she learns that her stepmother...