Review: The Silver Prince

There are three books left for me to read in the Once Upon a Prince series, placing me at the 3/4 mark. Each book in this series retells a different fairy tale with alternating perspectives between the prince and princess characters. There has been a variety of books in this series depending on the author and how they chose to adapt the story, so I am looking forward to reading the rest. The Silver Prince by Lyndsey Hall is a retelling of "The Twelve Dancing Princesses." Although not my favorite in this series, it follows the same formatting as the other books alternating between dual perspectives and adding some extra worldbuilding. This book incorporates an "enemies to lovers" element by making the featured prince and princess be from enemy kingdoms with opposing powers that relate to shadow and light.

As a "Silver" soldier who just fought in a war, the last thing Prince Anders wants is to be noticed in the kingdom of his enemy. However, he finds it hard to resist the temptation to watch a performance of his favorite ballet and decides to sneak away for a night on the town. To his horror, he is caught up in the most incriminating position imaginable when the prima ballerina, who happens to be the kingdom's beloved crown princess, falls off the stage, and he rushes to her rescue in front of the entire audience. For the blatant audacity of this action, he is immediately brought to the dungeon and imprisoned. His only hope at freedom revolves around uncovering the mystery of the princesses' worn-out dancing shoes each night. Though Princess Isadora sees him as an enemy, she must learn to trust him if she has any hope of breaking the curse that forces her and her sister to dance each night.

The first full-length novel adaptation I've read of "The Twelve Dancing Princesses" was Princess of the Midnight Ball by Jessica Day George. As far as I know, this was the first book to conclude that the princesses danced each night against their will and needed a hero to break the curse. Since then, every full-length adaptation that I have read turned the nightly dancing into a curse that needed to be broken, even some of the more creative ones. I've always enjoyed this fairy tale because it was originally about princesses escaping into their own fantasy world, which was accurately portrayed in the Barbie version of the story. This book follows the format of other adaptations, causing the princesses to be damsels in distress as opposed to young women who take control of their own destinies. It also simplifies the number of princesses to two sisters, writing off the less important characters under the nightly trance as other ballerinas from the company and princes who failed to solve the mystery.

The main characters in this story don't quite hit the mark either. The male lead in the original fairy tale was a commoner who was gifted with a magic invisibility cloak, which made for an interesting "rags to riches" dynamic. In this version, he is a prince who already has powers, so there isn't as much for him to gain besides the alliance between the two kingdoms. I like that Isadora is a ballerina in addition to the secret nighttime dances, giving off Find Me in Paris vibes, but the book doesn't expand upon whether she is passionate about ballet or just does it because of her status. The love story comes off as contrived at times. It seems like Isadora doesn't like Anders at first because he is a Silver, and she only decides to get close to him later for the sake of breaking the curse and not because they share any sort of deeper connection.

The Silver Prince by Lyndsey Hall is a decent addition to the Once Upon a Prince series, offering a unique retelling of "The Twelve Dancing Princesses" with an enemies-to-lovers twist. While it didn't quite live up to my expectations, it was an enjoyable read that explored the complexities of trust and alliance-building between rival kingdoms. However, the characters fell a bit flat for me, and the love story felt forced. Despite this, I appreciate the creative liberties taken to reimagine the classic fairy tale and look forward to reading the remaining books in the series. If you're a fan of fairy tale retellings and are interested in a fresh take on "The Twelve Dancing Princesses," The Silver Prince might be worth checking out.