Entwined

May 31, 2011 Kelly Leigh rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult, fairy-tale-reimaginings, magic-abound

Having grown up relatively close to Disney World, my family and I spent many vacations frolicking about the Kingdom of the Magic and its other magical lands. So yeah, I’m a self-proclaimed Disney nut. So when I heard that Entwined was reminiscent of Disney in all its whimsical, enchanting glory, it turned into a must-read. Factor in dancing (I’m a huge fan of So You Think You Can Dance. I will one day recreate the tango from True Lies) and the must-read quickly became must-read-now!

Right off the...more

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Jun 11, 2012 Lissa added it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2012, favourites, kick-ass-heroine, love-this-boy

I’m not really into retellings. I’m not. I’d rather an author tell me an original tale spun from their imagination. Sometimes I feel retellings are cheating.

However, I quite enjoyed Cinderby Marissa Meyer earlier this year, so I thought I’d give Entwined a shot. It has one of those generic white-girl in a pretty dress YA covers, which I must confess I do think are really gorgeous. However in this instance I'm not convinced this is the best cover for this book. I don't feel it really represents t...more

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Dec 28, 2011 Ashleigh Paige rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: CILLIAN! And people who need something really, really cute and fluffy

Recommended to Ashleigh Paige by: ... I don't remember, but they're awesome

Shelves: all-time-favorites, damn-book-made-me-cry, damn-i-wish-i-could-write-like-that, the-great-shelf-of-awesome, yeah-i-was-giggling, oh-my-god-it-s-so-fluffy

In this retelling of The Twelve Dancing Princesses, Princess Azalea and her eleven sisters are in mourning after the loss of their mother, who died after giving birth to the twelfth princess, Lily. Locked up inside their home and pushed away by their father at a time when they need each other the most, the girls are miserable... until they discover a magic passageway that leads to a land of silver and beauty. The Keeper, the man that is trapped there, extends an invitation to the girls, allowing...more

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Mar 24, 2012 Anna rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fairy-tales, library, will-love-till-the-day-i-die, favorites, historical, will-reread, is-that-the-sound-of-angels-singing, you-me-my-pants-now, adore-the-characters, all-the-awards, books-i-own, kindle, brb-crying, hide-yo-kids-hide-yo-wife, books-to-buy

I will begin this review the way all great reviews are begun. I will make a Mean Girls reference.

And that is to say, how do I even begin to explain Entwined?

I've grown accustomed to the constant shit storm that seems to blow my a way 90% of the time that I read a YA novel, so, suffice to say, I was more than surprised when reading Entwined.

The novel is based on the fairy tale of The Twelve Dancing Princesses, or, The Shoes That Were Danced To Pieces, but with, as all YA novels promise in their u...more

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Jul 28, 2012 Cara rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2011, fairy-tales, sibilings, to-re-read

This story had a recipe for success in my book. It's a fairytale retelling, has an enchanting cover, siblings, magic, and dark secrets. I mean I think it would have been impossible for me not to love this story.

I'll try to make the rundown quick of the premise. There are quite obviously twelve princesses who unfortunately lose their mother with the birth of the last baby girl, Lily. Before their mother dies she gives Azalea, the oldest daughter, a handkerchief embroider with silver letters. What...more This story had a recipe for success in my book. It's a fairytale retelling, has an enchanting cover, siblings, magic, and dark secrets. I mean I think it would have been impossible for me not to love this story.

I'll try to make the rundown quick of the premise. There are quite obviously twelve princesses who unfortunately lose their mother with the birth of the last baby girl, Lily. Before their mother dies she gives Azalea, the oldest daughter, a handkerchief embroider with silver letters. What can that mean? But Azalea does know is that she promised to take care of her sisters and she will do that at all cost. The king is notably upset but he demands that anything that brings any joy is shut out from the castle. To make matters worse the king goes off to war right after their mother's death. As much as the girls mourn for their mother they all loved to dance, and one night they find a way so they can dance all the nights they want. But of course it comes at a price; they meet a mysterious man called the Keeper. Soon enough the girls find out that they are in a tangled mess they must unravel, but how?

This book may seem slow in the beginning but I can vouch that it does pick up pace and it gets pretty nail biting at the end. I loved all the girls: from the strong first born, Azalea, to their smallest member, Lily. Since Azalea is the narrator of the story we get to know her the best, and feel the weight of bitterness and anger she has towards her father. That anger affects her judgment, and gets the sisters into trouble. She knows in her gut that her father should do better to be there for them, but she learns that compassion goes both ways. There are some sweet romances that bloom for the oldest sisters, but the story centers around the sisters and their struggle to cope after their mother's death.

One of the coolest aspects of the tale, I didn’t know I would like so much, was the dancing itself. I’m not much of a dancer (well I can freestyle like a giant dork but that doesn’t count) but I could see the dances in my mind and feel how much they loved it. My feet itched to float about to the luscious music, but unfortunately my feet aren’t very cooperative. Anyways, there is a nice touch of mystery to the story and how the bits and pieces come together is pretty fantastic. The best setting is where the sisters dance. It has that eerie but gorgeous feel to it. I didn't even get into the other adorable and strong characters in this book, but I assure they are there. Ok ok so I'll say the guys are sweet and... unique. Oh you guys will just have to read it and discover them for yourselves!

I have read other retellings of this tale: Princess of the Midnight Ball,The Thirteenth Princess, and The Night Dance: A Retelling of "The Twelve Dancing Princesses" but this one is the best retelling of the twelve princesses that I have read. So I urge other fairytale junkies like me to pick it up and get entwined.(less)

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Apr 05, 2011 Erica (daydreamer) rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Any fairytale lover

Shelves: cover-love, i-own, fancy-schmancy, 12-dancing-princesses, release-in-2011, 2011-reads, absolute-favorites, best-characters, best-endings, enchanting-reads, endearing-heroes, favorite-romance, i-recommend-it, incredible, love-love-it, love-the-title, made-me-cry, made-me-laugh, love-with-all-my-heart, novels-that-inspire-me, strong-heroines, swoon-worthy-male-love-interests, would-love-if-it-were-a-movie, treasured-keeps, ya, lds-authors, dance

Oh, what absolute glorious beauty and fun and rapture! I’m all in a flutters, I can’t stop smiling and swooning and laughing. I had absolutely no doubt that I would love this book, and I did, oh so very much. So much more than I imagined. Immensely, completely, utterly. It captivated me from the very beginning, and kept a tight hold throughout the entire story! I’m still caught up in it! This book is without a doubt one of my new absolute favorite books ever!! And rightly earned. Just so. The da...more Oh, what absolute glorious beauty and fun and rapture! I’m all in a flutters, I can’t stop smiling and swooning and laughing. I had absolutely no doubt that I would love this book, and I did, oh so very much. So much more than I imagined. Immensely, completely, utterly. It captivated me from the very beginning, and kept a tight hold throughout the entire story! I’m still caught up in it! This book is without a doubt one of my new absolute favorite books ever!! And rightly earned. Just so. The dancer inside me danced and soared and leapt with the princesses as they danced, as they lived and grew and loved. The fairytale lover I am was enchanted with this beautiful retelling of my favorite fairytale. And the absurdly hopeless romantic in me swooned at the heart fluttering, brilliant, joyful, beautiful romances. I loved this book. I loved it so so much!

You know the telling of the Twelve Dancing Princesses, or The Shoes That Were Danced to Pieces by the Grimm Brothers. Entwined was a beautiful, fresh take on this tale of old. It stayed true to most of the tale, but differed in a few things, and adding an intriguing, magical, dangerous twist. 12 Princesses, whose mother just died, begin their year of mourning with the King, their father. Donning black dresses every day, curtains pulled to smother any sunlight, no going outside, no dancing, no suitors, no talking of mother. The King is utterly disheartened and depressed at the death of his beloved wife and queen. He offs to war leaving his daughters, one of which just newly born the night her mother died, bitter and saddened at his abrupt departure. It is while the King is away that they find the enchanted staircase leading them to the captivating pavilion where they dance their hearts out and shoes to pieces every night. An oath is taken that prevents any girl from telling where they go to anyone. But danger lurks in this enchanted world under the castle, and the girls have to find a way to thwart it, finding all sorts of love along the way. Love for each other, for their papa, for dancing, and for men;)

Each princess is named after a flower alphabetically, starting with the oldest at Azalea, and ending with the newborn Lily. I loved each and every girl. They all had a part, each one was able to show her colors and to let the reader get to know them. Some didn’t have as much spotlight, but they were never forgotten. And they all shared such a strong sisterly, loving bond, deepened through dancing and holding their secrets close to their hearts. This book is told from Azalea’s perspective, but each sister’s lives were entwined so much you always caught a glimpse of all the sisters no matter who the story was focusing on at the moment.

Now for the romance. Ooh, the romance! There were several here, for the eldest sisters, each one as breathtaking and beautiful and romantic as the next. As the eldest, Azalea doesn’t really get a say in who her husband will be, since parliament votes on who will be the new king, and hence, chosen as Azalea’s husband. So naturally she fears that she’ll never find love, but she finds herself falling in love with a handsome, swoon worthy, disheveled man. Bramble feared she would never marry for love because who could love someone as headstrong and loudmouthed as she. But she did, with the sweetest, most endearing, funny man. Even Clover, the shyest of the bunch finds love with an unsuspecting man.

Entwined is a divinely beautiful fairytale full of magic and love and humor. Oh my gosh, the humor! It was downright hilarious! I couldn’t stop laughing at the silliness of it, it just had those perfect moments tweaked, or drenched with humor that for some reason just caught me and threw me into a giggling and burst out loud laughing frenzy. I don’t know if others will find it as hilarious as I did, but it was such an amusing, frolicking ride for me, I don’t care if I’m the only one :D I give most of the credit to Bramble. Thank heavens for her ill-mannered, unruly, outspoken, fiery personality. It definitely livened up the reading.

The ending was superbly beautiful and perfect and heart melting. I read it like three times, and then hugged the book to my chest, grinning, and couldn’t even stand the thought of putting it down to write this review. Ah, I just want to read it again! If you love fairytales, of any kind, READ THIS BOOK!! Read Entwined. Glory in it, swoon over it, laugh at it, smile, love, lose yourself in the magic and enchantment. I was absolutely and utterly riveted and enchanted. This book was perfect for me, and I will forever love it and treasure it.

What are you waiting for? Go read it. Now. (less)

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Apr 22, 2011 Lauren DeStefano rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This book was not next in my reading queue, and while I was arranging my bookshelf this afternoon, I opened it just to read the first page. I had some cleaning to do and bills to organize, so I just intended to read a few lines. Several minutes later, I was curled up on the couch and fifty pages in, with just the vague notion that I was supposed to be doing something else.

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Dec 11, 2012 Stephanie rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites, 2011, 2012, fairy-tales

Absolutely enchanting! Entwined is unlike anything I've ever read before. I could hardly put the book down.

The writing isn't anything spectacular but somehow, I managed to feel like I was reading one of the most graceful pieces of writing on earth. I can only describe it like a dance. This is a wonderful book!

The characters are so fun and easy to love. I'm not sure which one was my favorite. There was hardly ever a dull part. And the author produced moments where you absolutely had to smile or l...more

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Nov 08, 2012 Jennifer Wardrip rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: trt-posted-reviews

Reviewed by Kira M for TeensReadToo.com

On Christmas Day, Azalea’s mother passes away and the whole country begins a year of mourning. During that time, Azalea and her eleven sisters have to wear black, stay inside the castle, aren’t allowed to dance, and their father has grown distant and ignores them.

Desperate for some grasp at their former life, the girls begin dancing in secret. When they get caught by their father, however, they search for another location. When they discover a magic passage...more

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Nov 10, 2011 Minli rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult, sucky-endings, sirens-2012, mythic

I need to re-read Wildwood Dancing to cleanse my brain of the mess that is Entwined.

This book has one really fabulous idea. That idea is the description and significance of the Entwine, a fictional court dance where the gentleman and lady begin at opposite ends of a sash. The gentleman tries to 'entwine' the lady, while the lady spends the dance avoiding such capture. It was clever and witty and I wished there was more magic integrated with dance in this book, but alas, it was not to be had.

I h...more

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Apr 26, 2011 Angela rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: debut, ya, sci-fi-fantasy, romance, historical

There is something extremely magical about Entwined. From the author's writing style that easily flows from the pages to the otherworldly setting that wraps itself around you, instantly the reader is transformed into another dimension where magic is real and young girls dance the night away. For all its beauty, this story does have a creepy edge to it. The main antagonist of the story is dark and deadly giving the plot a much need jolt of suspense. And while the story is slow and steady verses q...more

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Mar 10, 2013 Jillian rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

2 1/2 stars

Absolutely beautiful cover, story, not so much. There were twelve sisters, but only three of them have real personalities. The reason for their dancing every night is completely ridiculous. And, oh my gosh, the tedious descriptions of every single dance they ever learn was annoying enough that I skipped most of those parts...and there are a lot!

I liked the king, though he was too much in the background and The Guy was kind of a dork. The Girl, I hate to say, seemed to grow dumber as t...more

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Aug 16, 2011 Donna rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, young-adult

I often end up with mixed feelings about novels based on fairy tales, and this retelling of one my old favorites, The Twelve Dancing Princesses, is no exception.

I liked Azalea's interactions with her sisters, and I especially liked that she seemed to mature as the story went on. Unfortunately the story was so packed with princesses and suitors that only the heroine got much attention. One of the secondary relationships was adorable, but the main romance felt tacked on.

The princesses got caught...more

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Feb 06, 2011 Sara rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Entwined by Heather Dixon is a retelling of the fairy tale The Twelve Dancing Princesses. The story is told from the point of view of the oldest princess Azalea. When Azalea's mother dies and her father the king leaves and goes off to war Azalea and her sisters are in morning and while in morning they are not allowed to dance. The girls find a secret passageway and make their way to a dance floor where they can dance unseen. The girls go every night to dance and eventually find out that everythi...more Entwined by Heather Dixon is a retelling of the fairy tale The Twelve Dancing Princesses. The story is told from the point of view of the oldest princess Azalea. When Azalea's mother dies and her father the king leaves and goes off to war Azalea and her sisters are in morning and while in morning they are not allowed to dance. The girls find a secret passageway and make their way to a dance floor where they can dance unseen. The girls go every night to dance and eventually find out that everything isn't as simple as it seems.

I loved this book. I was a little unsure at first because it was HUGE (the finished product will be almost 500 pages), however the author did a fantastic job of pacing the story and providing interesting details to make for a magical book. I was engaged and interested throughout the book and to the very end. The girls are all named for flowers and their names are in alphabetical which makes it easy for a forgetful reader to know which sister is which and the author did a fantastic job making each character different in a book with such a huge cast of characters. I was thrilled with the perspective of the oldest sister instead of the man who solves the mystery (as is usually told) and the trips to the woods were very well explained and logical.

Appropriateness: Aside from a little scariness there was nothing in this book that readers would find objectionable. The book is very long and very detailed and the heroine is in her late teens and thinking about marriage so I would put the interest age at 14+ with a note that younger readers who are interested in the story and not intimidated by the length would also enjoy the book.

Readers who are interested in the tale The Twelve Dancing Princess will also enjoy Princess of Glass by Jessica Day George. There is also a rendition of the story in Shelley Duvall's Faerie Tale Theatre: The Complete Collection (although the soldier is really creepy and the sisters are somehow all the same age) that is available instantly though netfilx.

Review copy obtained from Amazon Vine

http://booksyourkidswilllove.blogspot...(less)

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Apr 17, 2013 Oceana Fern {Assorted Insanity} rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult, owned, paper-copy, fantasy-romance, cover-lust, two-stars

I had high hopes for ENTWINED, especially since retellings are totally my thing, and I adore most fairy tales: especially The Twelve Dancing Princesses... well, not the original version, where the eldest sister marries this old solider and it's all very creepy.

Fortunately, Azalea, our main character and the eldest sister, doesn't end up marrying an elderly man. Unfortunately, the book just wasn't for me.

I did like the plot; a pretty original twist on the classic. However, it didn't keep my inter...more

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Jan 21, 2013 Nan rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: nook, fairy-tale-retellings, family-fiction, fantasy, romance, young-adult

I enjoyed this book quite a bit more than I expected I would.

Years ago, I used to study fairy tales. I was working on my Master's, and I thought it would be great to study them for my career. Gradually, that passion faded, but I'm still interested when I see a retelling. (No, I do not watch Once Upon a Time on ABC. The pilot was too Disney-fied for me, and I didn't want to continue with it.) This particular retelling was quite interesting but not without it problems.

Firstly, I think it's probabl...more I enjoyed this book quite a bit more than I expected I would.

Years ago, I used to study fairy tales. I was working on my Master's, and I thought it would be great to study them for my career. Gradually, that passion faded, but I'm still interested when I see a retelling. (No, I do not watch Once Upon a Time on ABC. The pilot was too Disney-fied for me, and I didn't want to continue with it.) This particular retelling was quite interesting but not without it problems.

Firstly, I think it's probably a good thing that Dixon comes from a large family. Her biography at the back of the book states that she was one of eleven children. That experience has given her insight into the dynamics of a large family. While each of the sisters may have very little time to herself in the narrative, each of them does have a distinct personality, and that personality is more distinct the older they are. For some of the younger sisters, like Ivy, her distinguishing feature is something as minor as her appetite. However, knowing that one sister is perpetually hungry changes the family dynamic in that when one of the sisters is not hungry, she shares her food with Ivy. And when Ivy shares food with someone, it's a very powerful sign that she likes that person. These small details about the family dynamic lend the story more depth than it might otherwise have had.

My problem with this story is one that often occurs with fairy tale retellings: it's too patriarchal. (view spoiler) As a former fairy tale scholar, I can only imagine what Jack Zipes (one of the leading fairy tale scholars writing in English) would think of this book.

Despite that major flaw, I still rated this book four stars. I loved the way that Dixon incorporated the importance of dance throughout the book. Early on, it's clear that Alexia thinks of sexuality in terms of dancing, and the intimacy of dance appears throughout the book. Dixon provides her characters with a reason why they would choose to go to a magical location in order to dance and why that might be tempting for them. She recognized the holes in the original tale's plot and found ways to fill them appropriately. I like that.

I was a little surprised by how young it read; while I could enjoy the narrative voice, I thought it was aimed at a very young teen audience. As a feminist and an adult, I would have no problems with a teen reading this book, but I'd want to talk to him or her afterward about gender roles.(less)

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Jun 12, 2011 Ticklish Owl rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: audiobook, fantasy, faerie-tale, magic, ebook, retelling, young-adult

There are few wonderful elements in this is a retelling of the Twelve Dancing Princesses, like the tea set, which was my favorite character. Unfortunately, the pacing is too slow and much of the dialog and descriptions are repetitive.

Each character has a quirk, which the reader is constantly reminded of; Azalea digs her nails into her palms, Bramble is feisty, Clover is delicate, Delphinium is vain, Primrose is bookish, Bradford is disheveled, Teddy is hungry, the King sucks in his cheeks. Beyo...more

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May 09, 2011 April rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: ya, fantasy, for-review

When I had first heard about Entwined by Heather Dixon, I was super excited to request and read it, as it has a gorgeous cover and takes on one of my favorite fairy tales, the Twelve Dancing Princesses. However, this excitement soon turned to trepidation as a few of my blogger buddies had read Entwined and did not love/enjoy it. Plus, it’s really long. As Entwined was one of my books to read before BEA, and me being a free thinker, I picked it up a week or two ago not sure what to expect. Would...more

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Dec 08, 2012 Jennifer rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: read-in-2012, classics-and-classic-retellings

I enjoyed the book, though I had trouble placing the time. At times it sounded like mideivel castle type setting and others it sounded more like early England. I like the twelve sisters and the fact that each had a distinct personality when it would have been so easy for the individual to get lost with so many characters. Lord Teddy was a lot of fun and was one of my favorite characters.

I had never heard the old tale of the 12 dancing princesses, so I had no idea that I was even reading a retel...more

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Oct 03, 2012 JJ rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Azalea and her eleven sisters are in mourning for their mother. Their father, the king, is inexplicably cold toward them, presumably because he's got too much manpain over losing his wife to bother with anyone else's feelings. Bereft of their father and mother both, the girls turn to dancing in an attempt to remember happier times, except dancing is forbidden when you're in mourning - so their dance teacher is sent away, their endless supply of dance-slippers dries up, and all their clothes are...more Azalea and her eleven sisters are in mourning for their mother. Their father, the king, is inexplicably cold toward them, presumably because he's got too much manpain over losing his wife to bother with anyone else's feelings. Bereft of their father and mother both, the girls turn to dancing in an attempt to remember happier times, except dancing is forbidden when you're in mourning - so their dance teacher is sent away, their endless supply of dance-slippers dries up, and all their clothes are dyed black. Enter Keeper. Keeper maintains a magical forest beneath the castle, in which a grand pavilion stands ready to supply the princesses with music, food, and solitude. Of course, the Keeper turns out to be of the moustache-twirling variety, and it all goes south from there.

There are elements to this story that positively glitter with potential: the beautiful underground pavilion with its lush descriptions and sinister host; the stories of the dead king's maimed victims; lord Teddie in all his awesome glory. Unfortunately, these things are all largely ignored in the main plot, or else thrown around like ornamental confetti to dazzle the reader in between increasingly tedious developments.

Let's start with Azalea. She's a listless main character, and watching the story unfold through her eyes is a claustrophobic experience. She's stuck in a castle, she's stuck in mourning, she's stuck in a patriarchy, she's stuck in a co-dependent family, she's stuck in the role of default-parent to her younger siblings. I kept waiting for her to break free, but she's so perfectly groomed for her role as princess that by the time we're halfway through the book it's pretty clear she would never dream of suggesting that she could be queen without a husband, or else choose her own husband, or abdicate, or do much of anything. Even toward the climax of the book, Azalea's father literally has to take her by the hand and thrust her "weapon" for her. She's just that ridiculously passive.

All she and her sisters think about is dancing, clothes, and boys. They have a private teacher who's supposed to give them lessons every day, but they let him doze at the front of the classroom while they discuss dancing, clothes and boys some more. Presumably the younger sisters don't even know how to read, but who'll care as long as they can dance?

As for the sisters, they're mostly the same character--a sort of blob of cutesy kids who never make much fuss--except for Clover and Bramble. Bramble, I feel, would have worked a little better as the protagonist of this story. Or, better yet, Lord Teddie. Lord Teddie investigating the mystery of the twelve dancing princesses is a book I'd read and reread in a heartbeat. He's the only sane presence in the whole book, a sort of Bertie Wooster character whose reactions to all the melodrama is spot on (and usually hilarious) - and his attraction to Bramble is believable (though I didn't care for the notion that since Bramble was too immature to accept his proposal, her father should accept for her), whereas Clover's boyfriend is a pseudo-hebephile creeper and Azalea's is so bland I kept forgetting his name.

Clover is a train wreck. She's pretty. She's sweet. She likes corsets (so comfy!). Everyone adores her. Aaaaand she goes into rages during which, for example, she massacres a sentient tea set and drowns the feebly struggling remains. When her love interest is sent a letter by a woman more close to his age, she goes into another fit, tears the letter up, and decides no one's going to marry him but herself. She's 13/14 at this point, and the man in question is probably somewhere in his late twenties or early thirties. At fifteen, she's embroiled in a secret affair with this man, who's trying to convince her to elope (because that's any grown man's rational response to a young teenager throwing herself at him, apparently). I suppose we're expected to find this romantic? She has no education, she's seen nothing of the world, experienced very little, and she doesn't have any friends outside her own family... so, presumably, her gentleman is drawn to her "inner sweetness", or whatever justification old men use when they want to marry pliant young girls. And no, I don't care if "that's the way things were back then". It's gross. Azalea even briefly reflects on how Clover's basically fallen for the first guy to ever show her an ounce of kindness, but then lets it go, because this isn't the kind of book where girls do anything to resist the status quo. Whoever gets the dreamiest/richest husband wins (and the prize is probably more dreary descriptions of dancing and swooning and weeping).

Stylistically, I felt like the writer was trying very hard to be Ysabeau Wilce, which, unfortunately, only works for Ysabeau Wilce. As a result, the lovely quirky bits and the sometimes absolutely brilliant descriptions (loved the liquid pearls in the underground forest!) soon gave way to Azalea spending an indecent amount of time "crying out" her lines. Exclamation points abound! There's crying, weeping, whinging, gasping, more crying, tantrums... it's exhausting and degrading for everyone involved. By the time the Big Confrontation finally happens, the character's behaviour resembles nothing so much as the flailing of an old-timey silent film star, pounding her dainty fists ineffectually at the bad guy's chest until her dad and assorted boyfriends show up to save the womenfolk. At this point, I threw up a little in my mouth. (less)

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Mar 13, 2013 Lady~Bilbo rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, fiction, retellings, favorites

Entwined really met up to my expectations and maybe even went a little bit past them. Even though it's one the bigger books on my shelf, it's very quick, fast-paced, captivating, and easy to read novel that I thoroughly enjoyed and found it hard to put down. It didn't drag on for a while before anything exciting happens, as do some other books.

First, I'd like to talk a little about some of the characters. Some of them really developed well as the book went on, and others not so much. For the fir...more Entwined really met up to my expectations and maybe even went a little bit past them. Even though it's one the bigger books on my shelf, it's very quick, fast-paced, captivating, and easy to read novel that I thoroughly enjoyed and found it hard to put down. It didn't drag on for a while before anything exciting happens, as do some other books.

First, I'd like to talk a little about some of the characters. Some of them really developed well as the book went on, and others not so much. For the first half of the book I hardly liked the king and I thought of him as and old stiff, but during the second half he just kept on getting so much more likable and enjoyable! I don't think I could say the same for Azalea. She just stayed the same throughout. She was slightly annoying and I didn't really like her and sometimes I just felt like giving her a good slap. She was probably my least favorite character. Sometimes it's good when characters stay the same throughout a book, but other times, not so much. But I really enjoyed Bramble. She was just so much fun, a little bit feisty, spoke her mind, and just really reminded me of Jo March from Little Women. Clover was a very sweet, darling girl who I couldn't help but like. And I found Lord Bradford a boring and flat, but still a very sweet guy. As for Lord Fairweller there was just so much more to him. I don't understand why Azalea didn't like him. And Lord Teddie. Ah, Lord Teddie! He was just so amusing and always made me laugh. He really added some fun to the book and was, I think, my favorite character. I'm not quite sure what to say about Keeper. I liked him and yet I didn't like him at the same time, but I guess that sorta happens when someone's evil. The first time he came in to the book, he didn't seem like the bad guy at all, but as the book goes on his evilness grows and gets to this big climax, which I love about villains.

As for the ending...a bit predictable. But if you know the story of The Twelve Dancing Princesses, you know what will happen and how it ends, but I still really enjoyed it and found it delightful and intriguing. I would recommend it to anybody who loves fairy tale re-tellings or good clean romances (sometimes romances these days can just be...well, I'm not even going to go into THAT!).

I think Heather Dixon did a simply marvelous job of this book and I can't wait for more of her work :)

4.5 / 5 stars(less)

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Sep 21, 2012 Lindsey rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2013, nook, 1-january, young-adult

I really enjoyed this book. I bought this book on my NOOK over a year ago because it was on sale and looked good. At the time I had no idea that it is based on The Twelve Dancing Princesses. The only reason I picked it up this time was because the dress on the front was great for the week story-telling challenge. However I was in for a great read once I started.

Princess Azalea and her eleven sisters have lost their mother after the birth of the twelfth princess, little Lily. As goes tradition t...more

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Sep 14, 2012 Maria rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

First things first - gorgeous cover - I just adore it!! <3

This is a fairytale - complete with dancing princesses (TWELVE sisters!), a stoic but soft-hearted King, an evil sorcerer, and a magic tea set. I liked it, but didn't love it. I loved the interaction between the sisters - and I really enjoyed watching their relationship with the King grow and change. The problem is that the narration centers on the eldest sister Azalea (all 12 girls are named after plants...in alphabetical order...whic...more First things first - gorgeous cover - I just adore it!! <3

This is a fairytale - complete with dancing princesses (TWELVE sisters!), a stoic but soft-hearted King, an evil sorcerer, and a magic tea set. I liked it, but didn't love it. I loved the interaction between the sisters - and I really enjoyed watching their relationship with the King grow and change. The problem is that the narration centers on the eldest sister Azalea (all 12 girls are named after plants...in alphabetical order...which is a bit of cheese I could have done without) and, to me, she is not as interesting or likable as some of the others...if the story had focused on either Bramble or Clover I think it would have been much better...or if the author had managed to wring any real emotion out of Azalea...
The beginning is lovely and enchanting, but the story takes on a very repetitive tone quite quickly, and seems stuck in "no-wheres-ville" for a couple of hundred pages...lovely and funny, but not really going anywhere...
The last 100 or so pages were just magical and I ended up with a big smile on my face and a happy sigh. :-)
Overall the writing was fine - very pretty in places, quite unsettling and brutal in others. I was annoyed by some repetitive discriptions - I found this in an online review which sums up what I was thinking pretty well:

"There were far too many repetitive phrases. If Azalea dug her nails into the palm of her hand one more time I was going to reach into the book and throttle her. She seriously does this all the time. I felt so sorry for her hands. The king also sucks in his cheeks a lot. And do we really need to hear about Bramble's freaking yellow-green eyes every single time she does anything?!"

The romances (yes plural - there are not one, not two, but THREE romances!!) are sweet and proper, and funny at times - but are all sorely underdeveloped. I wanted much less of the princesses dancing all night and more of the connections with their suitors!
So - in the grand scheme of things, if you are jonesing for a fairytale this is a decent one - but you can probably do better...especially if your "to be read" list is as long as mine!
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May 05, 2012 Jen (A Reading Daydreamer) rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Such. A. Beautiful. Cover.

No seriously, when I saw it, I was immediately drawn to the book, I was enchanted. And luckily, the story was just as amazing as the cover!

I have to admit, the beginning and kind of the middle of the book was a bit slow, but the ending really made up for it. But throughout the entire book, it just had a nice dreamy, flowy, mystical feel to the whole story, and it was really nice. I don’t know if a book can be relaxing, but this one was. Especially when Heather Dixon des...more

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Sep 19, 2012 Zuleeza rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fairy-tales-retelling, high-fantasy

This review is also available on my blog, Qwerty

Actual rating: 2.5 stars

Uh, this review will be awkward because I haven't write any reviews for three weeks now. Yup, that's how bad my reading life is like right now. Dush, assignments, dush!

Oh, pweh-ty cover, I had been fooled again! Where do I start, really. I thought Entwined will certainly be better than Princess of the Midnight Ball based on, ehem that spectacular cover and all the hype.

Eheh! Nope.

At least I was presented with a sweet love st...more

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Oct 03, 2011 Jennifer rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

It was cute. Not the type of book I usually read and I won't be reading tons more like it but it was a nice change. Definitely something different. Kept me intrigued and read the whole thing in 3 sittings. It was really long and dragged a little bit so I took a bit of a break between the second and last sitting. Takes place in a kind of "olden days" magical setting. Azalea is one of 12 daughters. When her mom dies she must go into mourning for one year which means all black, closed windows, and...more

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Apr 21, 2011 Bonnie at A Backwards Story rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fairy-tales, 2011, debut-novel, fabulous-books

The Twelve Dancing Princesses has always been my favorite fairy tale. While the gorgeous cover is what initially made me see what Heather Dixon's debut novel, Entwined, was all about, the fact that it retold this tale made it a Day One Buy for me. Lush and descriptive, Entwined brings the tale to life like never before. I loved the way Dixon extracted the best parts of the story and tweaked other aspects, making the story fresh and vibrant. It manages to remain true to the original tale while st...more The Twelve Dancing Princesses has always been my favorite fairy tale. While the gorgeous cover is what initially made me see what Heather Dixon's debut novel, Entwined, was all about, the fact that it retold this tale made it a Day One Buy for me. Lush and descriptive, Entwined brings the tale to life like never before. I loved the way Dixon extracted the best parts of the story and tweaked other aspects, making the story fresh and vibrant. It manages to remain true to the original tale while still becoming its own entity, which can be hard to pull off when creating a new version.

Despite the fact that there are twelve princesses involved in this tale, Dixon uses a creative way of allowing readers to remember who's who by naming them alphabetically. Our main character, Azalea, is the crown princess, followed by her sisters, Bramble, Clover, Delphinium, Evening Primrose (Eve), Flora, Goldenrod, Hollyhock, Ivy, Jessamine, Kale, and Lily. Not only are they all named after plants and flowers, the very fact that they're named such reveals the way their father the king leads a very structured lifestyle. This trick is also good for readers. The girls are all about a year apart; Azalea is fifteen at the novel's start and baby Lily is a newborn. If readers are confused about why Ivy is acting like a child, for example, it's easy to figure out that she's one of the youngest princesses.

The book starts off with Azalea getting ready for her first yuletide ball now that she's finally of age. We immediately see how important dancing is to her. I love the way Dixon fleshes out this interest and turns it into an entity of its own. Even the novel's title, Entwined, is based on a dance called the Entwine, which is a clever twist (that taught me something new, no less!). In the original fairy tale, we never know why the princesses go dancing each night or how they found the enchanted forest in the first place. In Entwined, however, we're with the girls every step of the way. We see how they're no longer allowed to dance after their mother passes away during childbirth. They feel stifled during their year of mourning. They find the enchanted forest within the walls of the castle quite by mistake, but through it, can cherish their mother's memory through dance, a need no one but the princesses can comprehend. Love interests are introduced early on, allowing time for love to blossom. The man in charge of the enchanted dance, Keeper, is mysterious and written in such a way, my arms got goosebumps as I read. The forest itself is gorgeous and I could see it in my mind's eye. Because Dixon focused on making the fairy tale's nemesis so dark, she maintained a light balance in the "real world." Unlike in the original, men aren't put to death if they're unable to discover how the girls manage to dance the night away. I appreciated this aspect and loved meeting all of the potential suitors. Lord Teddy and Mr. Bradford were my favorite characters. Lord Teddy stole the show every time he appeared on a page, creating many laugh-out-loud moments.

Overall, I love the way Dixon kept to the traditional tale while still giving us something new and unique. Entwined is almost five hundred pages, and when I first picked it up, I wondered how it could take so long to tell the story. The pacing remained even and never dragged. Once the story sucked me in, it was impossible to put down. The Twelve Dancing Princesses is still a favorite of mine, especially this version of the classic tale.

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Apr 14, 2011 Kelly rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Entwined is a retelling of the fairy tale “The Twelve Dancing Princesses,” in which the King’s twelve daughters slip away to a mysterious underground realm every night and dance their slippers to ribbons. Heather Dixon chooses to focus mainly on one sister as the heroine: Azalea, the eldest.

At the beginning of the book, the Queen dies giving birth to the twelfth princess. Azalea and her sisters are heartbroken, and to make things worse, their stiff-necked father the King pushes them away in his...more Entwined is a retelling of the fairy tale “The Twelve Dancing Princesses,” in which the King’s twelve daughters slip away to a mysterious underground realm every night and dance their slippers to ribbons. Heather Dixon chooses to focus mainly on one sister as the heroine: Azalea, the eldest.

At the beginning of the book, the Queen dies giving birth to the twelfth princess. Azalea and her sisters are heartbroken, and to make things worse, their stiff-necked father the King pushes them away in his own grief. He also decrees that the entire family will be in mourning for a year, which means no dancing. Then the girls discover a magical secret passage that leads to a beautiful place where they can dance every night… for a price.

The theme of grief is threaded throughout the novel, and the villain and his realm will send a chill down your spine, but Entwined is not relentlessly grim. Dixon fills the tale with enough warmth, whimsy, and humor that I think it would make a good Disney movie. (The bad-tempered tea set and helpful candleholder are just begging to be animated!)

The greatest strength of Entwined is the characterization. I am not surprised to learn from Goodreads that Dixon comes from a large family, because She. Nails. It. The love… the occasional annoyances… siblings being mistaken for one another… and the noise! Azalea is seldom far from the sound of sisterly chatter. With so many sisters, it’s probably impossible for an author to make them all equally memorable, but Dixon tries valiantly and does succeed in making several of them jump off the page. The King is a fantastically layered character; we can see that he really does love the girls even as it’s also quite clear why they think he doesn’t. Then there are the love interests; each of the three oldest princesses has one. They’re adorable. They’re exactly the kind of love interest I’d like to see more of in young adult fiction. They’re “normal guys” — the only immortal stalker here is the villain — but they’re far from bland; each of these young men has a distinct, quirky personality and is perfect for the girl he loves.

Dixon does a great job of giving the girls an obsession with dance without making them seem frivolous. This isn’t about them wanting to party. Dancing is both a coping mechanism and a discipline for these girls. For Azalea, it’s bound up with the princessly virtues of poise and deportment, and she’s determined to teach her sisters what their mother taught her. (When she was in dance-teacher mode, I kept expecting Azalea to say “Spit-spot” in Julie Andrews’ voice.)

The climax in which the good guys face the villain may actually be the weakest part of the novel. First, Azalea makes a decision that just doesn’t make any sense to me when she knows she still needs to rescue her sisters. Then, there are a couple of dei ex machina and a “lesson” for Azalea that rubbed me the wrong way. It feels like she is asked to shoulder too much of the blame for the estrangement between father and daughters. Yes, she lashed out in pain, but the King made plenty of mistakes too.

These scenes occur close enough to the end that I finished Entwined in a critical mood, but when I awoke the next morning, the aspects I found myself still thinking about were the characterizations and the wonderful relationships between the girls and their father, between the girls and their gentlemen, and among the girls themselves. The more I thought about these, the more the book began to impress me in retrospect. Entwined is worth reading by any lover of retold fairy tales. I recommend it to fans of Gail Carson Levine’s Ella Enchanted and Robin McKinley’s Beauty, with the caveat that the villain’s creepiness makes Entwined somewhat scarier than either of the above. (less)

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Nov 30, 2011 Emma rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

In a tiny kingdom there twelve princesses. On the night of the smallest princess' birth, their hearts were broken and their mother taken too soon. After years of dancing and laughter, their castle is thrust into mourning--the once happy home darkened by black mourning clothes and their father's grief.

One day the princesses found a magical land of silver and music. A mysterious and dashing stranger known only Keeper presides over this strange landscape where the girls can dance every night until...more In a tiny kingdom there twelve princesses. On the night of the smallest princess' birth, their hearts were broken and their mother taken too soon. After years of dancing and laughter, their castle is thrust into mourning--the once happy home darkened by black mourning clothes and their father's grief.

One day the princesses found a magical land of silver and music. A mysterious and dashing stranger known only Keeper presides over this strange landscape where the girls can dance every night until the slippers on their feet wear thin.

But nothing lasts forever and, when magic is involved, nothing is as it seems in Entwined (2011) by Heather Dixon.

Entwined is essentially a retelling of the fairy tale "The Twelve Dancing Princesses" which was originally published by the Brothers Grimm in 1812.* In this version the princesses are more proactive. The actual discovery of where the princesses dance also takes a slightly less prominent role to make way for the more sinister plot involving Keeper and his own agenda.

This is a fun book ideal for anyone who enjoys reading about princesses and castles. Azalea, the eldest, is an endearing heroine as are her sisters. While Bramble's blunt nature and rash temper can wear thin the girls are all, really, very charming characters. Each princess is named after a flower (alphabetical order no less) which actually works quite well with the story and makes for a cute touch. With so many characters some do get lost in the shuffle or boil down to broad characterizations but again with so many characters at the center of a story that might be inevitable.

The story is original but by the end a lot of things are happening to Azalea instead of her being proactive. The lack of communication between the sisters toward the end of the story also felt unconvincing when they all appeared in every scene. (And some aspects of the love story angle felt thin.)

Dixon's world building is solid. The castle with its dingy appearance and lackluster furnishings comes to life with her descriptions. The history behind the castle and the monarchy is well-presented and even the country's relationship with other nations is mentioned although not in great detail. As with the characters I had this nagging feeling that while I loved what was on the page, I also wanted more.

One of the things I really liked about this story was the focus on family. As much as the dancing is a part of the story this is really a book about a father reconnecting with his daughters and a family moving on after a terrible loss. Being able to get that kind of book wrapped up in a fantasy makes this book something special. Entwined is an entertaining fantasy that will draw readers in with a familiar premise only to deliver a story that is ultimately surprising and appealing.

*WARNING: These might constitute SPOILERS but read on if you want to know what elements Dixon keeps from the original story. Entwined features 12 princesses, a magic land of silver, and the girls do dance until their shoes wear out. They are not locked in each night. The men who try to solve the riddle are not beheaded. While the hero who solves the riddle is a soldier, he is not old (no one in this story is very old) but he does have an invisibility cloak of sorts. Except for the boats and princes to escort the girls across a lake (a trope found in Wildwood Dancing) this is a very faithful retelling.
loved everything but the story flagged toward the end--would have liked az to be stronger/more proactive. lack of communication also not convincing between the sisters

Pairings: Enchanted Ivy by Sarah Beth Durst, Fire and Hemlock by Diana Wynne Jones, The Piper's Son by Melina Marchetta, Wildwood Dancing by Juliet Marillier

Visit my blog for exclusive bonus content!(less)

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Apr 20, 2011 Mundie Moms & Mundie Kids rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2011-debut-authors, arcs-i-own, 2011-100-book-challenge, 2011-release, mundie-moms-reviews

4.5 stars

I absolutely love a well written retelling of a classic fairy tale, and Heather Dixon has done a wonderful job with her retelling of The Twelve Dancing Princesses. Entwined isn't just a book with a lust worthy cover (I would love to try that dress on), it's a clean cut intriguing story with bits of romance, action and a charming mystery.

Entwined has a cast of wonderful characters, and I really liked how close Azalea and her sisters are. I adored the King. Though he's often times viewed...more 4.5 stars

I absolutely love a well written retelling of a classic fairy tale, and Heather Dixon has done a wonderful job with her retelling of The Twelve Dancing Princesses. Entwined isn't just a book with a lust worthy cover (I would love to try that dress on), it's a clean cut intriguing story with bits of romance, action and a charming mystery.

Entwined has a cast of wonderful characters, and I really liked how close Azalea and her sisters are. I adored the King. Though he's often times viewed as rough around the edges, though I can't blame him after what he's just dwelt with, I loved the fact he wanted to make sure his girls were able to fall in love with someone of their choosing. Azalea is a wonderful character. Given the charge to care for her eleven younger sisters, she also has to learn to become the next Queen. When tragedy strikes her family, she really steps up to the plate. What I admired most about her character is she doesn't stand by and wait for her "prince charming" to come. When things start happening in the castle, she takes matters into her own hands, which allows her to grow more as a character. She's someone who learns from her mistakes and that makes her a stronger person and allows her to become the heroine in the story. I loved how fiercely protective of her sisters she is, even standing up to the King a few times.

No fairy tale is complete with out a villain and Entwined has a fabulously twisted one. Not only is he charming, intriguing and handsome in his own right, his magical powers make him intriguing and by the time Azalea figures out what he is, it's too late. What was engaging about this story and the villain is the history of the castle and the King's family. It wasn't hard to fall in love with the world and time period the Entwined takes place in. There's not only pretty girls and dashing young suitors, but a lot of dancing and alluring magic.

I really enjoyed Entwined. The book has a lot of wonderful elements to it that I enjoy, along with some great characters. Entwined's fairy tale message isn't the normal "and they lived happily ever after". Don't get me wrong, there's a wonderful romance entwined into the story, but the real message of love is that of family. Yes, there are a few surprising twists with the romance and in the end a sigh worthy scene happens. I think fans of Shannon Hale will fall in love with Heather's writing. This is a fabulous debut and one I recommend picking up. I'm really looking forward to reading more of Heather's books. (less)

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topics	posts	views	last activity
Teachers' Book Club: Entwined	52	43	May 12, 2013 03:06pm
Did you like it? Loved it? Hated it? Complicated?	95	235	Apr 26, 2013 09:44pm
my characters	5	23	Apr 26, 2013 06:51pm
Another Book??	18	100	Apr 23, 2013 04:47pm
recommendations	5	28	Mar 08, 2013 10:14pm
What was the father really: kind or cold and uncaring?	8	45	Jan 30, 2013 08:59pm
Who else likes this book?	13	32	Jan 30, 2013 08:56pm

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