Princess of the Silver Woods

Petunia is the youngest of the Twelve Dancing Princesses, the sisters who had been doomed to dance their nights away in the Kingdom Under Stone until their curse was broken. Now the sisters are free of the spell (though many are sill averse to dancing!). Petunia, however, was still a child when the curse was broken. As she travels through the forest to visit the estate of the Grand Duchess, she is hoping for a little excitement. When a group of rogues known as the Wolves of the Westfalian Woods waylay her coach, however, she may get more excitement than she had anticipated! Nor are her adventures with the Wolves (led by one handsome and surprisingly gentlemanly young man named Oliver) all that happens to Petunia on her visit . . . show more because the King Under Stone and his brothers are still looking for brides from the daylight world, and he may have found a way to entrap the princesses into visiting his realm once again.

Though this looks like a Red Riding Hood retelling, I thought the Red Riding Hood-esque elements felt a little forced, particularly toward the end of the book. This is more a revisiting of the Dancing Princesses story from the first book in the series -- and while the Dancing Princesses fairy tale is one of my very favorites, I was hoping for something a little fresher. I think this book might have worked better for me if I had reread the first two volumes before jumping into this one, since many of the main characters from those books return in this one. That's not to say that it's not a charming book or a worthwhile read -- I'd just recommend starting at the beginning of the series. show less

When Princess Petunia is accidentally kidnapped by one of the Wolves of the Westfalian Woods, she assumes that this is the worst that can happen on her trip to visit the elderly Grand Duchess. But upon arriving at the Grand Duchess' estate, she discovers that things are lurking in the shadows that may drag her and her sisters back into the Kingdom Under Stone.

The third book in the trilogy (beginning with Princess of the Midnight Ball), follows the youngest of the twelve dancing princesses as she has adventures all her own. While George riffs on Little Red Riding Hood in the novel, this is not a strict re-telling of that tale but instead a continuation of the larger narrative begun in the first novel. I enjoyed Petunia as a character show more with her strength of character and different perspective on the curse she and her sisters suffered from when she was much younger. Oliver, the alternate perspective in the novel, is also quite charming. There were some small flaws in the narrative (characters knowing things they shouldn't, etc.) that a good editor should have caught that bumped this down a rating. Otherwise, an excellent conclusion to the trilogy. show less

I was slightly irritated by this last book in the Princesses of Westfalin trilogy because it essentially waved away everything that happened in the second book. I got the impression that maybe George had planned more books in the series following different princesses and retelling new fairy tales, but got side-tracked somewhere and just wanted to end the series.

This book is very much reminiscent of the first book. We're back in the King Under Stone's court and his desire to marry the princesses with his brothers and other members of his court to grow his power. There is a lot of backstory into the first King's history and how the princes came to be.

Petunia, the youngest, is the focal character in this story, and she takes on a Red show more Riding Hood guise given the red cloak she constantly wears. Her wolf is actually more of a Robin Hood character who has also been wronged by the King Under Stone's machinations.

I enjoyed this book, and was glad to see the princesses together again. show less

This is a review for the third and final novel in the series about Twelve Dancing Princesses, but what I say here about Princess of the Silver Woods holds true for all of the books. I so wanted to love these - I had heard great things and excitedly requested this as an ARC, even without reading the first two. Sadly, I was confused, bored, uninvolved from the very start, so I DNF'd 50 pages in. A week or so later, the first two went on sale for ebooks for less than $2 each. I thought I would give it another try - this time with the benefit of reading the series in order. I read the first two... and it wasn't pretty. They aren't the worst books I've ever read, but I am hard-pressed to remember a series as lackluster and unengaging as this show more was for me.

Each novel tackles a different fairytale, and occasionally Day George would create a new twist or idea that worked well for her books. I liked the spin on Red Riding Hood meets Robin Hood, but it's hard to recall a lot about these novels. What didn't work well, ever, were her characters. Galen, Rose, Poppy, Christian, and here in book three, Petunia and Oliver all come across as wooden and flat for the duration. Their actions are contrived, their dialogue laughable or vague, their magic and abilities too convenient or too unexplained.I wanted to like them, but their trials, tribulations and eventual coupledom were all too expected and very predictable.

Also working against the books is the worldbuilding. Or rather, the lack of any substantial effort to create a real, vibrant setting for these characters to operate upon. The thinly veiled countries that represent a more magical Europe (Breton = Britain, Spania = Spain, Russaka = Russia, so on and so forth) left a lot to be desired in terms of backdrop. It's all too simple and easy across the board - the relationships, the magic, the world itself. I wanted more from Jessica Day George, and what is provided leaves a lot to be desired.At several points in each novel, I would think that these books and characters came across as much more MG than YA in tone and characterization.

This series is too simple and predictable to be memorable. I read all three in a four day span, and I doubt I will remember anything about any of them in a week's time. All in all: third verse, same as the first. Too simple, too easy, too predictable, too short to pack a punch. The magic is too vague, or too silly (the whole knitting aspect just makes me laugh, every time), and once again, none of the characters really stood out as remarkable, or even really three-dimensional. This series is just not for me, though I can see why others are drawn to it and enjoy it. show less

Princess of the Silver Woods is the final entry in Jessica Day George’s Twelve Dancing Princesses trilogy. In this book the focus is on the youngest of the twelve, Petunia. The story comes full circle as once again the King Under Stone and his henchmen are threatening all the princesses and the girls, their boyfriends and husbands all must work together to find a final solution.

Petunia was feisty and fun, Oliver, her love interest, was brave and handsome. Although the opening of the book was connected to Little Red Riding Hood, this aspect of the story was quickly abandoned as it reverted back to the original Twelve Dancing Princesses. Although I will always count the first book as my favorite, I did enjoy this one and felt it was a show more good way to finish off the trilogy. I felt the author was giving her fans a present with this book as it brought back all the familiar characters and gave us a true “Happy Ever After” ending.

I enjoy fairy-tale based fantasy stories and this trilogy hit all the right notes being lightly romantic, charming and pleasing without becoming cloying or overdone. I am happy to have ended one of my many series but I am also a little sorry that each of the 12 princesses didn’t get her own story. show less

This is the third book in Jessica Day George's Westfalin Princess trilogy, and while it ties the series up quite nicely, I was sad to see it end. Without going into too much details, this book returns us to the same bad guys and (one of the same) location as the first book, though the motivation and situation is modified to fit the events which have happened in between.

This whole trilogy is steeped in fairy tale lore, with some of the classics retold in a similar, but different, world. The names of the countries in these books will sound very like the European nations we all know, but with definite differences. The three books pull most heavily from the stories of The Twelve Dancing Princesses, Cinderella, and Little Red Riding Hood. show more (And as you can guess from the cover, this third book is the red riding hood story.)

I really like the characters Jessica Day George has developed for this world. Part of me wants to see more in this setting, though these books have been officially called a trilogy and this one does tie up all the loose ends. It's a very satisfying trilogy, all told. It's definitely on the YA side, and though there is romance, it's very clean (as you would expect from both YA novels and the fairy tales that are common for modern audiences).

One word of caution, though. This is the final book in a trilogy, and while it's technically possible to read it without the other two, I would not recommend it. The second book is almost one you could read without the first, but this one ties up the series arc, and really needs the foundation of the prior books. show less

Still a good story. I don't like Petunia as much as Poppy, but her adventures are interesting - I do like Oliver, especially when he finally gets the lead out. Petunia is oddly stubborn about the Grand Duchess; not sure what happened to make her quite so certain she's one of the victims. I certainly didn't see anything in this book to make it so; maybe it happened while she was traveling, or maybe it was a spell - not clear. The roses, I'm pretty sure, were a spell - Petunia's not that dumb. The different reactions, when the princesses are Under Stone again, are quite amusing. And a happy ending - well, aside from the bishop. If the new King was right about what they needed, the new sealing may be the end of the matter - hope so!