Twelve: A Retelling of the Twelve Dancing Princesses

This is a fairy tale retelling but it does something so different with the story. The two things I loved about it were getting to experience the peaceful, protected town along with Alden, a war veteran; and the gradual untangling of the mystery. I found the explanations to be believable and fulfilling.

The story is very slow paced; it was a good book to read at bedtime. The romance is “sweet” and not steamy.

Re: my cozy rating... Technically this is set in 1700s Asia, and it references real-world cities and religions, but the story takes place in an enchanted town that’s separated from the outside world.

An easy read, but with less plot than I'd looked for. The twelve dancing princesses were almost a B plot, but the A plot was simply Alden coming to town, getting systematically introduced to everyone there, and promptly being entrusted with everyone's secrets while they say "You know how people talk". It's a very nice town: tolerant of diverse religions and other diversities, on top of which the Enchanters keep kids from coming to trouble in the woods and heal the worst of a widower's grief overnight. There's practically no conflict there, and very little in dealing with the mystery of the dancing princesses either, nor much suspense. In short it'd make a very pleasant read for someone in the mood for pleasant tales.

When Alden arrives in a small village seeking peace after his career as a soldier he fits into the society well and blends in with the people there. Many visitors have come to the village with the idea of solving the mystery of the princesses who live in the castle, and seeking their hands in marriage. Although he does not seek to solve the mystery, Alden is drawn in through mysterious and magical gifts that enable him to help people and use special skills and find love and acceptance. When outside evil threatens the town, Alden might be able to use his skills to help, and to solve the mystery of the princesses too.

I found this story to be compelling from the outset. Once I started to read, I did not want to close the book. Readers do show more not need to be familiar with the original story of the Twelve Dancing Princesses to enjoy this intriguing rendition of the story. The characters and events are magical yet gentle, and the ending will no doubt satisfy the most discerning reader of fantasy and fairy tale.

I received this ARC from the publisher and Early Reviewers on Library Thing. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own. show less

This is an enjoyable Retelling of the Twelve Dancing Princesses with a lot of world building to bring the readers into the world of the book. This book also does a really good job of creating several wonderful characters that contribute to the story and doesn't just focus on one main couple the way several of the other retellings of Twelve Dancing Princesses I have read do. We get to know several of the princesses and 3 of them have romances to some extent in this book although 2 are more in the background than the eldest of the twelve. Overall I enjoyed this book and am glad I came across it.

I received a free eBook copy of this book via StoryOrigin and am voluntarily leaving a review.

I really liked this one. The world building was great and the story was super engaging. I think this was a really original retelling and I would highly recommend it! The only thing that I would say it had against it was some of the dialogue. It at times felt really un-natural. But again, overall I really enjoyed it.

I received the ebook through the Early Reviewers program here in LibraryThing.

The fairy tale of the twelve dancing princesses is relatively simple and so is this expanded story of the same. The writing was uncomplicated and easy to read. In fact, it was a little TOO easy, as in grade-school easy.

In this version, a man journeys to find a place he can settle, and ends up in a small town where everyone is friendly and helpful. He's not interested in the local mystery of the princesses who disappear each day, until he finds out his girlfriend is one of them. Nothing really happens for a lot of the book, and I began to wonder if there was a real plot to follow.

The "mystery" isn't really explained to my satisfaction, and there are several show more instances of duplication in the text. I was disappointed in the work, overall. show less

All in all, a pleasant if tame read. There is not as much drama/excitement as I was hoping for and I wanted more from the fairy tale retelling but that was really more of a side plot. Some things just came a little too easy for the main character and the plot wasn't always believable/engaging.