An excellent and original fantasy novel, based on the Twelve Dancing Princesses and the Princess and the Frog with a little vampire lore thrown in. Set in medieval Transylvania , five sisters are able to pass through a portal on the night of the every full moon to the kingdom of the fey, where they dance the night away with a variety of magical beings. The eldest sister, the beauty of the family, falls in love with a creature who appears to belong to the Night World, the dark side of the fey.

The main character, Jenica is the second eldest sister, the practical one. She has a pet frog that she found years ago in the forest and keeps him with her always. Of course this frog is more than he seems. The sisters are left on their own one winter as their merchant father falls ill and leaves for a milder climate. Their cousin, Cezar wastes no time in taking over their lives and they come to realize they are under the thumb of a overbearing, power-hungry man.

With her cousin in control of her life and home, and her beautiful elder sister under the sway of a Night Creature, Jenica stuggles to find a way to free herself and her sisters and find the right balance between the two worlds.

Wildwood Dancing has adventure, romance and mystery. The author was able to make these fairy tales new and fresh. Like all good fairy tales there is definitely a moral involved, this one is about making the right choices in life.

Fantasy is a newer genre for me, but after reading this book I will be looking for more, expecially by this author. ( )

I really enjoyed this retelling of 12 dancing princesses. I loved the use of Romanian names and words throughout. The imagery was beautiful and though the foreshadowing was obvious in some places, it was less so in others. ( )

This is a retelling of the Twelve Dancing Princesses, where a group of sisters discover a passageway to another world that only opens once a month. ( )

Jena and her 4 sisters have a secret. Every full moon, they find a portal into the Other World and dance the night away. But things are changing. Their father must leave their home and spend the winter away for his health. He leaves the castle in the care of Jena and her older sister Tati, and reminds them to ask their uncle for any help they need. But after he leaves, their uncle is killed in a hunting accident and their cousin Cezar takes over. And wow, does he take over. Suddenly the girls have little control over anything, because Cezar knows best.

Add to this the twist that Tati falls in love with one of the other visitors to the Other World, one who hangs around with a suspicious crowd. Vampires, anyone? Jena's own companion, a frog, starts acting differently too. It seems like just when things can't get any worse for the family, they do.

I really enjoyed this book. It's a mix of vampire folklore (it's set in Romania), the 12 Dancing Princesses and The Frog Prince, but it works surprisingly well. I really liked Jena, despite her flaws, and I loved the ending. Then I found out there's a sequel, Cybele's Secret, which might not be out yet. This one was a lot of fun. ( )

I thought it would be fitting that my first review feature my favorite author. Words cannot justly express just how much I adore Juliet Marillier. I was first introduced to her when I found her Sevenwaters trilogy at a used bookstore. I fell in love. Never have I been so emotionally attached to characters in a novel. When I discovered she was to write a young adult novel I was beyond elated.

Wildwood Dancing has everything I love in a novel: strong characters, romance, magic, adventure, and is rich with detail. The world that Marillier creates is so richly woven that I became more lost within it with every page I turned. Her characters and plot are so completely engrossing that I stayed up well past midnight in order to find out what happened next, full of suspicions and making guesses, eager to see if I was right. This was a book that had my heart pounding in some places, and tears streaming in others.

In the end, I was happy with the story but sad to see the characters go. I wanted more. Finishing a Marillier novel is like parting with very dear friends, or leaving home.

Please read this novel! I would love to hear your thoughts and opinions. ( )