The Princess Blog

We are closing in on the first half of #fairytalesummer  with The Rose Gate  by Hanna Sandvig . This was a new author for me. Her unique style of modern-day fae isekai stories in her Faerie Tale Romances series made for a refreshing change from the usual fairy tale retellings. This book is an adaptation of "Beauty and the Beast"  that does a good job of keeping it fresh while retaining the essence of the classic tale that we all know and love. On a personal level, I particularly liked that the main character worked in the children's section of a library  reading fairy tales to kids. That was more than a little relatable . 😉 The series follows a pattern of girls from the real world traveling through fae gates to Tir Na nOg , which is a great method of escapism that perfectly balances modern sensibilities with fantasy stories of old. Isobel is a typical modern girl who spends her days teaching kids feminism at the library for a mysterious boss who is more than she ap...

The newest incarnation of Ariel made her way to Disney Jr. (formerly spelled Disney Junior) today with more episodes anticipated for Disney+ tomorrow. There were two 23-minute episodes split into four 11-minute long segments today. These continue the worldbuilding of this new version of Atlantic that was first introduced in the "Mermaid Tales" shorts from earlier this month. There was a lot of anticipation for this show, but it also gave pause to fans of the original series from 1991 due to its rewriting of Ariel's past. Although there were many changes made to the appearances, world, and backstories of the characters, many things still remain the same, including Ariel's obsession with human objects and the appearances and personalities of Flounder and Sebastian. Overall, it is a mixed bag that blends the original lore with new changes that are indicative of a different story that may have worked better as a spinoff. Ariel follows the adventures of a young versio...

The Midnight Prince  by Angie Grigaliunas  has been on my list of #fairytalesummer  readings for a while. It is part of the Once Upon a Prince series , which is currently on sale for either $.99 or free , so I plan to read and review the rest of the books soon. I have now completed two-thirds of the series  with only four books left. The Once Upon a Prince books are retellings of well-known fairy tales by different authors told from the perspective of the prince. Some of them are gender-bent retellings , but not all . The Midnight Prince  is a retelling of "Cinderella"  that takes place in a fae world  and just might be one of my favorites from this series so far. It uses the Andrew Lloyd Webber technique  of making the two lovers childhood friends who fell in love long before the ball. The book presents an intriguing mystery for readers to solve throughout the book. It's a real page-turner that leads up to a satisfying ending filled with magic a...

I received a last-minute ARC for A Healing Hope  by Selina De Luca and read it over the weekend. This is the second book I have read from the Hope Ever After series , a charity author collaboration to support O.U.R. (Operation Underground Rescue) , which rescues children from exploitation and trafficking. The story supports this mission in its themes and worldbuilding. Though it is a retelling of "Rapunzel,"  it takes only the most basic elements of the fairy tale to weave a unique and original mythology similar to A Cascading Hope , the other book I've read from this series. Both of these stories take place in high fantasy worlds with complex magic systems and lore, which, though sometimes overwhelming, had a lot of love and planning put into them. This book does a particularly good job of providing hope to lost children who dream of returning home with its theming and plot. Raíza is a lost princess  trapped in a dragon-guarded tower  with a solid escape plan in mi...

It took three long years, but I finally received my copy of Finding Anastasia  in the mail, a game I had backed on Kickstarter and promoted in my board game post  last year. This game is breathtakingly beautiful and tons of fun at parties, so it's a shame that it isn't more widely available. Inspired by the historical legend that was popularized by the beloved 1997 animated movie , Finding Anastasia is a social deduction game in which players who claim to be Anastasia are given invitations to a tea party held by the Empress to find her long-lost granddaughter before Rasputin's spies can eliminate her. The Kickstarter campaign for this game ran for a long time, allowing many upgrades to pass into its final production, including a gorgeous custom teacup to hold the jewels, tarot-sized player cards with original artwork, and a beautiful box that can be mounted on a wall when not in use. Finding Anastasia is produced by Good Knight Games  an independent game group that has ex...

To Ride the Wind by Melanie Cellier  is the first book in a two-part epilogue of  the Four Kingdoms series  that does not disappoint. This retelling of  "East of the Sun and West of the Moon"  is full of adventure, romance, and surprises. Though I'm not typically a fan of the original fairy tale, nearly every  adaptation I have read  improves upon its flaws. The first book in this duology ends on a cliffhanger that will be completed in  To Steal the Sun  but tells a satisfying enough story to make the wait worthwhile. This review is the second one I have written for  #fairytalesummer , a Facebook event going on right now that awards points to readers of clean fairy tale adaptations all month long! If you love fairy tales as much as I do, you should check it out. Charlotte, who was first introduced in  The Abandoned Princess  is all grown up and ready to go on adventures of her own, in no small part to get away from her  si...

The mermaids have arrived! It's been a slow and painful wait, but the first trailer has finally dropped for the highly anticipated Mermaid Magic animated series . Rainbow SpA 's foray into the underwater world is set to premiere on Netflix August 22nd. The show gives off strong H2O: Just Add Water vibes with the three heroines transforming into humans on dry land and mermaids in the water.  H2O's attempt at its own animated series  left much to be desired, allowing this show to kick it up a notch for mermaid fans everywhere to enjoy more exciting animated mermaid adventures. The teaser was launched alongside additional previews of another upcoming mermaid show,  Disney Junior's Ariel , an original take on the classic character. Ariel has a series of ten recently released shorts called Mermaid Tales that give us a taste of what's to come. If you're more of a bookish type  (and who can blame you?), there's also a great new mermaid story out on Wattpad! The...

It was inevitable that Disney's biggest cash cow of the last decade or so would get a Broadway run . Almost all of their biggest hits have now toured on Broadway at some point and were followed by  live-action remakes . Though I was excited to see the movie when it came out, I've always thought Disney's  Frozen   was overrated . So when it made its  Broadway debut  back in 2018, I was not particularly eager to see it. Its Disneyland counterpart,  Frozen Live at the Hyperion , relied mostly on screens to tell the story and did not encompass a fulfilling experience onstage. As a result, I was pleasantly surprised to find that while the Broadway version also uses screens to create the full effect of its snowy landscapes, it has some lovely set pieces and entertaining musical numbers, and it is quite possibly Disney's best Broadway adaptation of one of their animated features. Maybe I've been too hard on this franchise. Most Disney on Broadway shows suffer fro...

With the status of Disney's Penelope still up in the air, Skydance Media swooped in to the rescue yesterday with the announcement of a new animated princess musical coming out this year! Spellbound will be a direct-to-streaming Netflix original featuring a new princess named Ellian who goes on a quest to save her family after they get turned into monsters. Though Netflix originals tend to be hit or miss , this movie has some big names behind it that gives it the potential to surpass its theatrical competitors that are coming out the same weekend. This is the first original animated princess movie we've gotten since Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken came out a year ago, so it's pretty exciting news, especially considering that Disney's big holiday princess fare this year is a sequel and not an original story. Get ready to learn about creative team behind Spellbound ! The movie is begin directed by Vicky Jenson who worked on Shrek . The talent behind Princess Ellian is ...

My final read of MerMay  and first book of #fairytalesummer  is To Break a Silence  by Lydia Mae , a retelling of "The Little Mermaid"  from the  Shattered Tales series . I was a little skeptical about reading another book from a series whose premise revolves around trying to "fix" fairy tales that I never thought were broken in the first place. However, this book turned out to be a worthwhile read. It's a more literal interpretation of the story than  My Fair Mermaid , which I also enjoyed. The main thing it changes is that it provides a new option that doesn't require the mermaid protagonist to either marry the prince she rescued or sacrifice herself. The idea of an alternate romantic interest has been done before in books like  The Jinni Key  and  Song of the Sea , but it's a little different each time, allowing each endearing love story to unfold in unexpected ways. Stella is a siren who is not supposed to be seen by humans. Dillon i...