Ultimately I liked this book although I wasn't sure if I would for most of the book. The reason being that it starts out really slow. I know that is to build the ambiance and the setting of the world that we're about to inhabit but that doesn't always make up for the turtle speed (see what I did there? If you read it you'll get it).

Anyway this is a dark (and I do mean dark) take on the Twelve Dancing Princesses fairy tale by the Brothers Grimm. It is one of the lesser known fairy tales and I think a lot of that has to do with the fact that the princesses don't fit the typical archetype that was set up for them at the time. Nowadays sure, even though it just have the typical patriarchal ending of the princesses being 'tamed' and married. Although before that they were responsible for a few men's deaths. So there's that.

By proxy counts.

In this we open with eight princesses due to four having died under unusual circumstances. Our narrator Annaleigh believes, like most of the village surrounding the island fortress she calls home, it is because she and her sisters are cursed. She takes it on herself to find out what she believes is the methodical murdering of her family and to put a stop to it.

That's the gist. It does have the usual markings of your typical YA novel; young heroine with two fellows pining for her who takes it on herself to be the chosen one to solve the mystery at the root of the story. However it is also unlike any other YA I've ever read or at least read in a while. One of my updates put it perfectly – I haven't had a YA novel f**k with my head like this one did.

Mild spoilers ahead.





You've been warned.






I'm not kidding.





Last chance.






Here we go.

Ir has an interesting take on the unreliable narrator. From about a quarter on you're not sure if you can trust Annaleigh not because she's misleading you but because you're unsure if she's sane. That plays a lot with how the rest of the story unfolds and the author does a good job of making you doubt yourself along with Annaleigh.

There was also the fact that we did read about the deaths of two of the princesses. That shocked me, as well as the choice of who they were, because I honestly didn't think that we should see that through the course of the story. That added a layer to the story which, while extremely bitter, made it a bit more realistic. Well as realistic as a fairy-tale retelling could be.

The creepy factor of it was also well done; there were many scenes that I had a verbal reaction, which made my son question what was wrong with me. Her descriptions were well written but not too much; she never spent a page waxing on about a scene, outfit, or anything else. And when the twists come (and there are plural) they hit you like a roller coaster until you're like “I'm just hanging on until the end of the ride.” And what a ride it was.

Even the ending about who was behind everything seems to be a bit of a surprise. I did figure it out relatively early on just by having experience with this type of story but there were times that I did doubt myself. There were red herrings a-plenty in this novel and they were good lures because I even doubted myself up until the very end. And even then there were features of the ending that I did not see coming.

I have mixed feelings on epilogue of the story. While I am normally one for a happy ending, in this specific situation I am not sure it was actually warranted. Maybe it's because I saw Pet Semetary too young but in my opinion there is nothing good that can come from having someone come back from the dead. It feels like it was tacked on because it's intended audience wouldn't have taken it any other way but honestly I think it might have made for a stronger story if it wasn't there. However, it didn't ruin the story for me so there's that.

I would recommend this book especially for those who love dark re-tellings. Just remember it may take a bit to get into.