Merrie Haskell

Trying to get out this horrible reading slump I'm in... I grabbed this book because it's short, required minimal brain power, I liked the author's previous book, and hey - dragons!

It was a super fast read, and while it had unexpected complexity to the plot (which honestly I should have expected given that Haskell's first book was also like that), I wished it was longer/deeper/more. The story ended and I wanted to scream in frustration because really, there was so much more that the author show more left unresolved. Yes, the main plot was resolved but I had just gotten to like the characters, and I definitely wanted to see more of Curschin.

I loved the subtle weaving of the Bluebeard story into the plot show less

This was different. This started off as the Twelve Dancing Princesses and quickly turned into a Persephone story with hints of Beauty and the Beast. There were a number of things I really liked about this - the first was the setting, which was a fictional country in Eastern Europe. It was very refreshing to read a fantasy book that wasn't set in France or the British Isles.

I also appreciated the darker aspects of the story. As a child, I was always a bit ambivalent towards the Dancing show more Princesses because it seemed so stupid - they danced and wore holes in their shoes, and that was supposed to be a horrible curse that the king wanted solved so much? In Haskell's version, the dancing was tied into a sleeping sickness for any who tried to observe the princesses at night, and seismic events if any of the princesses left.

I also just liked the main character. She was full of chutzpah, and intelligent and independent.

My only complaint was that the book ended too early and with so many threads still left hanging. This was, I gather, the first in a series. So I ended the book feeling both frustrated because the story wasn't over, and hopeful that there would be more. show less

The Princess Curse by Merrie Haskell retells the story of the Twelve Dancing Princesses from a different point of view – an onlooker. A young herbalist apprentice named Reveka. Her devotion to herb lore makes her certain that there is something she can do to help end the curse, so she throws herself into the task with no concern for herself. What follows brings the best of fairy tale lore alive with fantasy and determination. I absolutely couldn’t get enough of the story!

This is one show more stand-alone I would give anything to see made into a series. Reveka is such a strong heroine – she is incredibly brave and plenty smart…but is also not without her faults. Part of it is that she is so young. But, in fact – one of the best things about the book is her age. We get to focus on the world and the story instead of getting tangled up with a bunch of romance and teenage angst. That right there is the best part about reading middle grade!

Of course, that isn’t to say that the story doesn’t contain a few men, y’all. What would be the fun in that? But the simple fact that Reveka is too young to prioritize romance keeps anything from really developing. However, she does come to imagine a future with someone, so we do get a glimpse into what her happily ever after might be! I’d hate to have left the book without a look into how Reveka’s life might turn out.

We don’t get to know most of the princesses on any level at all – this is definitely not (directly) their story. The consequences of their actions and the lengths they go to in order to keep others free of the curse definitely make for some intrigue though. I really appreciate the fact that the story has so many layers.

I always love reading about court politics – since Reveka is a part of it all as a herbalist, we get looks into several different interesting areas. From the gossipy servant in charge of bathing to her fellow herbalists to the princesses themselves, Reveka is constantly observing and obtaining as much information as she can! The things she ends up learning definitely cause her to make some crazy decisions…

I’m always up to read anything in the fantasy genre, especially when it comes complete with a worthy heroine and a complex world to discover…if you’re anything like me, this is definitely a book worth picking up! show less

Matilda may be a princess, but she feels anything but in control of her life. Since she is lame in one foot, her days are spent doing scribe's work related to the running of her small country, which she will rule when she comes of age. Enjoying a few days of freedom while her mother is away on a visit, Tilda and her maidservant Judith travel to a neighboring knight's home to help set his accounts in order, and to visit her friend Parzifal who is a squire there. While there, Tilda is captured show more by her evil Cousin Ivo, who has designs on her land and plans to step into her place as ruler. Tilda, who dreams of retiring to a quiet convent where she could spend her days in a scriptorium writing her own book, tells Ivo he can have her country, though of course he doesn't believe her. That night, Parz and Judith rescue Tilda, and the three go on the run. Parz and Judith plan to become dragon slayers, and Tilda will finally get to write her own book, a handbook for dragon slayers. There's a little problem, of course: none of them really know anything about dragons or dragon-slaying. And is running away from her responsibilities truly the solution to Tilda's problems?

This story has plenty of action, and a plot that is fairly unpredictable -- I thought I knew where the story was going, and then it would shift and surprise me, which was refreshing (though occasionally disorienting). Tilda and her friends experience a lot of character development as they learn about what it will take to pursue their ambitions. Minor characters are likewise rendered in shades of gray, rarely all good or all bad (though there is one bad guy who is pretty much evil all the way through). Though the setting is medieval, the language is modern, with no thees or thous in sight. I thought this was a fun read with a surprising amount of depth, and I will recommend it to kids and adults who enjoy this sort of fantasy story. show less