Lisa Dawn's Blog: The Princess Blog, page 34

Review: Time Princess - Code: Whalefall

When Time Princess released Hela's Compass, I expressed my desire for them to do a more complete science fiction story. That wish was granted with the newest visual novel release, Code: Whalefall. This story takes place in a cyberpunk-like world with lots of fun robots and cyborgs and the usual sci-fi theme of speculating what the future of humanity might be. There is a bit of controversy involving arguments between religion and technology, but I don't think it gets expanded upon enough to offend any zealots. The story also has an insane amount of sci-fi-themed clothing that draws inspiration from so many different sources that it's difficult to pinpoint them all. As a result, trying to unlock all the clothing in this story requires an insane amount of resources that will cut through your supply of gold and clothing materials like a chainsaw.

The story begins with our protagonist, Maya, waking up on a strange planet and trying to figure out why she's there and how to escape. She is soon accompanied by a playful robot named Roni, who is reminiscent of other loyal fun sidekicks from stories like Ancient Dreams, and is determined to help her escape. As they commence their journey together, she learns about how technology has come too far and destroyed lives and what her connection is to all of it. There are so many different story branches that the main plot can be difficult to follow if you try to play through the entire visual novel in one go like I did, but complicated and convoluted plots are pretty standard for sci-fi stories. I felt like the writers for Code: Whalefall had more of a sense of direction than they did with Hela's Compass.


All three of the main companions in this story have the potential to hurt Maya if the wrong decisions are made, so I had a hard time getting attached to any of them. I suppose Mitchell is the worst of the bunch because he was the one who kidnapped Maya in the first place. However, he has a tragic backstory to balance out his actions, and he never actually intended to hurt her. Z is a cyborg that Maya knew from her past. I was drawn to him at first because he was so determined to protect Maya, but that determination borders on Mother Gothel-style "tough love" at a few key moments. Yukari is the most interesting of the three. She is a Japanese android performer who wishes to be respected like a fellow human. Like the others, there is more to her than meets the eye.

This visual novel had some of the most beautiful artwork I've seen from Time Princess in a while as well as one of the biggest varieties of clothing options. These options come with the pitfall of using up many of the game's crafting resources, so make sure you are well-stocked before attempting to build all the outfits available in Code: Whalefall. Many of the two-piece cyberpunk ensembles looked pretty similar, but the story provided variety with some unique dresses. One was an old-fashioned evening gown with a goddess-style crown, and another was a cutesy Lolita-like circuitry dress with pink and purple wiring and belts. One of the most interesting designs in the story was the Japanese-style futuristic kimono dress that was designed to accompany Yukari's scenes. It was a very unique take on the kimono with an extra short skirt, metal obi, and see-through silicone sleeve panels. The black and green color scheme looks more cyberpunk than typical kimono fabric designs.

Overall, Code: Whalefall is a pretty heavy story compared to the other visual novels in Time Princess, so you need to be in the right kind of mood to play it. It requires players to have a lot more resources stockpiled than many of the other visual novels in the game. I would recommend this story to experienced players who are fans of cyberpunk and are looking for something different from the other options that Time Princess has to offer. It has some beautiful illustrations and clothing options accompanied by a deep story with a pretty strong pro-life message. Share your thoughts on Code: Whalefall with me in the comments below!

Story Saturday: The Secret of the Forest (Once Upon a Time)

"The Secret of the Forest"Hidden deep within the darkest depths of the woods was a magic portal that led to a land of great riches beyond a person's wildest imagination. These glittering jewels and gold nuggets were the lifeblood that allowed the faeries who resided there to live forever. In order to ensure that no one discovered this hidden paradise, the faeries were guarded by Princess Abeline, whose family was long gone due to the odd passage of time within the hidden land. The fae were all she had left, and she was determined to protect them with her life.

Rumors had spread of the secret treasure, but no one knew the exact location of the portal. No one was more determined to find it than a treasure hunter named Jules, who sought a life of comfort in the wake of his kingdom's recession. He bravely traversed the darkest part of the woods, feeling his way through the trees after his trusty lantern burned out. When he saw a flicker of light, he was certain the portal was near. Just before he could reach it, a beautiful maiden with braided raven locks stumbled out from behind a tree.
"Oh, thank goodness there's someone here!" she cried. "I thought I was going to starve to death in these woods. I've been lost for days. Can you help me find my way back to my village?"
Jules was not a heartless treasure hunter, and when he found out the maiden lived nearby, he was happy to escort her back. When they returned, however, she refused to let him walk her back to her cottage. He found that suspicious, so he bid her farewell and hid behind a nearby bush, watching her closely as she slipped away back into the forest.
Silently following the maiden through the woods, Jules returned to the same flickering portal where he had found her. He held his breath as she recited a complicated incantation, and a light burst through the darkness glittering with gold and jewels. As she walked through the bright light, he raced after her, tumbling inside just as the portal closed. She shrieked at the strange presence that fell on top of her, and Jules found himself surrounded by angry pixies who pulled on his hair and tore at his clothes.
"Why, it's you!" gasped the maiden. "I thought you left me at the cottage."
"Is that truly your home, or were just trying to keep me away from all of this?" he asked, gesturing to the fabulous riches that surrounded them.
"You don't understand," she said. "Our world may look like an endless treasure trove, but it is the only thing that keeps us alive. If it weren't for this place, the fae would have gone extinct long ago, just as I have outlived my own family here. I am the long-lost Princess Abeline."
Jules was disappointed to learn that the situation had changed. The treasure was far more valuable to the princess and the fae than it was to him. He couldn't overlook the desperation in the princess's eyes.
"I can't force you to keep this place a secret, but if I offer you a handful of gold, will you promise to leave and never tell anyone what you saw here?"
For the first time in his life, Jules considered the needs of people other than himself. It pained his heart to see the princess trapped here alone for eternity so far from everyone she had ever known, and it pained him, even more, to consider how much the other people in his land were suffering.
"I will accept your offer," he said, "but not for myself. I would like to give the gold to my people so they might be able to survive with it as the fae here do. Then, I would like to return to you, my princess, so you may no longer be alone in this trying task."
Abeline could hardly believe what she was hearing. "You do understand that being here means becoming immortal, do you not? The world outside will keep changing, but everything here will remain the same. You will have no one to return to."
"The only person I wish to return to you is you, Princess Abeline," he said.
With that, he bowed and took his leave, bringing the gold to the poorest people in his land. It wasn't much, but they were grateful that they would no longer have to starve. They were not used to the local treasure hunter being so generous. When they asked him how he came upon such riches, he told them that he found a treasure that was greater than any jewel, but he kept it a secret as he had promised.

True to his word, Jules returned to the portal later that night, where Princess Abeline welcomed him with open arms. The two watched over the fae for the rest of eternity and never spent another day apart.

Disney Is Celebrating World Princess Week with a Reunion of 1997's Cinderella!

The prince is giving a ball... again! When Disney announced their Ultimate Princess Celebration last year, I was under the impression that it would be a year-long event culminating in World Princess Week, when they aired the mediocre Disney Princess Remix special on Disney Channel. Instead, it looks like the event will be ongoing until they can find a new way to keep their Disney Princess brand relevant. That means World Princess Week is back for another round! It will take place next week from August 21st through August 27th. Instead of a teenybopper remix of princess classics, however, Disney is doing something a little different this year. Their primary television network, ABC, will air a 25th anniversary reunion special of the 1997 production of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella on their news show, 20/20, followed by a presentation of the film, airing live for the first time since it debuted on The Wonderful World of Disney.

This is a particularly appropriate time to revive this movie, not only because November will mark the film's 25th anniversary, but also because has become a lot more active in the Disney Princess community over the past year. She is the lead singer and performer in the music video for "Starting Now," the newest Disney Princess anthem, which serves as the opening number for Disney Princess: The Concert. She also donned an updated version of her Cinderella gown for a fan video created by Disney aficionado Todrick Hall, who will be featured in the special as well. This is taking place less than a year before the second black live-action Disney Princess movie will hit theaters. On May 26th, 2023, Halle Bailey will star as Ariel in the live-action remake of The Little Mermaid, following in Brandy's footsteps. This special serves as an opportunity for Disney to remind fans that they had already portrayed a classic fairy tale princess as a person of color long before Halle was cast.

The reunion will feature Brandy Norwood, Whoopi Goldberg, Paolo Montalban, Victor Garber, Bernadette Peters, Jason Alexander, and Veanne Cox from the original film as well as interviews with other stars who share a connection to the project such as Billy Porter, who played the gender neutral Fairy Godmother in Amazon Prime's adaptation of the story. Since it was recently announced that Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella is being turned into a new limited series by Jennifer Lopez, I can't help but wonder if there will be some surprise announcements or previews about that during the special as well. As eager as I am to hear from well-known stars like Brandy, Bernadette Peters, and Jason Alexander, I'm particularly curious to hear about what the prince, , has been up to since the movie aired. His online profile shows that he had a number of guest-starring one-off roles on various TV shows, but nothing as big as the male lead in Cinderella. I've always found him to be one of the most attractive live-action fairy tale princes, and it's rare for an Asian actor to have such a major role in a classic fairy tale story.

I still remember eagerly awaiting this production of The Wonderful World of Disney back in 1997. At the time, I was not aware that there was another musical version of "Cinderella" aside from the animated Disney one from 1950. I was in awe of how much more I enjoyed the songs in this version as well as how much effort was put into creating the beautiful sets and costumes to translate the story into a live-action environment. I was already familiar with Brandy from the sitcom Moesha, so it was a treat to see her doing something so different. Let's not forget 's enchanting performance as the Fairy Godmother either. In an interview on the DVD, Brandy expresses how Whitney, who was a producer on the film, hand-picked her to star as Cinderella, and Brandy responded that she would only take the role if Whitney was her fairy godmother, so if it hadn't been for Brandy, we may not have gotten such an iconic Fairy Godmother performance. I think Whitney Houston would be pleased that people still have such fond memories of this special if she were still with us today. She will certainly be missed during the reunion.

It was only recently that Disney brought this film back from the vault by releasing it on Disney+ and giving Brandy a more active role in the Disney Princess community. Before last year, it was only remembered by a number of hardcore fans like me who went out of their way to order a copy of the DVD and watched it over and over until we knew every lyric to every song. This special will give a new generation of children an opportunity to experience the same magic that I did when it aired and to be aware that Halle Bailey will not be the first black live-action Disney Princess. Do you remember when this special came out on ABC 25 years ago? Share some of your favorite memories with me in the comments, and remember to tune in next Tuesday, August 23rd, when it makes a comeback on 20/20!

Story Saturday: The Prince's Betrothed (Once Upon a Time)

I recently got a copy of one of my favorite card games, Once Upon a Time from Atlas games. The game has a series of fairy tale-themed story prompts that allow players to take turns telling a story in an attempt to drive it toward their ending card. It can be a fun party game, and it's also an excellent tool for writers who want to tell a story but have trouble coming up with ideas. I'm hoping to use this game to revive my Story Saturday prompts and develop more short stories about princesses. I stopped sharing weekly stories a while ago due to a lack of inspiration. Let's see how many more I can create using my new story deck.

Once upon a time, there was a giant named Pete who was in love with the fair Princess Madeline, despite the fact she was hardly bigger than his thumb. Another problem was that Princess Madeline was already betrothed to Prince Drake, who she admired for his bravery and charm. Pete's devotion to the princess posed a threat to her kingdom because he could crush all of it with a single step of his massive foot. Still, Madeline refused to marry a big ugly giant and was certain that Drake would keep her and her kingdom safe.

To celebrate her engagement to the prince, Madeline was invited to a ball in Drake's kingdom as an esteemed guest. She donned her finest gown and jewels for the occasion, glowing as much as the brightest star in the sky. However, when she pulled up to Drake's castle in her gilded carriage, a dark shadow loomed overhead. It was Pete, wearing an enormous tattered suit. He begged Madeline to share a dance with him as she looked so lovely in her fine clothes, but she refused, telling him she would never dance with such a big ugly giant when she was already betrothed to a handsome prince.

When Madeline entered the palace, she searched everywhere for Prince Drake but couldn't find him among all the elegant lords and ladies in the ballroom. Most of the party guests recognized her as the prince's betrothed and avoided contact with her because they did not want to cause an international incident. She was so distraught by the fact that the only person who asked her to dance was a hideous giant that she slipped into a dark empty corridor to weep. When she leaned against the wall, she heard soft footsteps nearby and decided to peek around the corner. There, she found Prince Drake arm in arm with a servant girl sharing an intimate dance together.

"How could you do this to me?" Madeline cried. "You're betrothed to me!"

With a heavy heart, Drake introduced Madeline to his true love, a kitchen maid named Delia. He explained that in spite of his marriage alliance to the princess, Drake had always been in love with Delia and was only waiting for the right time to convince his parents to let them wed. Madeline could not believe the nerve of the prince for giving up such a beautiful princess as herself in favor of a plain servant. She stormed out, where she found Pete waiting for her in the garden. He plucked an entire rose bush and presented it to Madeline as a bouquet, but most of the roses got crushed in his gargantuan fingers, causing a slurry of petals to rain down over Madeline's intricate ballgown.

"This is all your fault!" she sneered at him. "If it weren't for your interference, Drake would want to be with me, not some sniveling kitchen maid! He must have gotten scared off when he saw you following me to the ball."

Pete got down on one knee and apologized profusely to Madeline. He promised that if she were his bride, he would never hurt her the way that Prince Drake did.

"If you really wish not to hurt me, you will leave and never return," Madeline huffed.

Pete cared for Madeline so much that he was willing to do anything she asked, even if it meant never seeing her again. So with a heavy heart, he stomped away from the palace, crushing several trees in the process. Madeline ran back inside to tell Drake the good news.

When Madeline returned to the ballroom, a great celebration was taking place. The king and queen appeared to be giving Prince Drake their blessing with the servant girl Delia. Madeline explained to them that the giant was no longer a threat so they can be betrothed again, but he scorned the princess and asked the poor servant to marry him.

Madeline spent the rest of her life in regret. She even made a bargain with a witch to get a magic potion that would allow her to become a giant like Pete, but true to his word, she was never able to find him again.

Review: The Alice Cocktail Experience

Experiences targeted toward Millennials are very different from the social gatherings of earlier generations that didn't have social media. Millennials' tastes are usually rooted in nostalgia, resulting in events created for adults that can look quite similar to ones made for children. That's where we get things like The Alice Cocktail Experience, an Alice in Wonderland-themed character dining escape room without the dining or escaping parts. I had a pretty good idea of what I was getting myself into after reading numerous reviews and decided to try it out to celebrate my unbirthday/blogiversary even though I knew it was overpriced. It also gave me an excuse to wear my old Alice costume from the 2010 live-action Tim Burton remake.

This experience is happening in venues all around the world, so if you live close to a big city, there might be one near you. In fact, you may be reading this post just to see if it's worth it. If you decide to go in the hopes of a delicious meal or to get tipsy, you should probably save your money. The experience provides three small sugary cocktails and one or two grocery store quality cookies. However, if you are looking to have some escapism fun, you'll get about as much out of it as you put in. The room itself was the most impressive thing about the experience. It was pretty small, but every inch was covered in Wonderland-themed decor from playing cards to clocks to Cheshire Cat imagery. I was the only attendee to dress up, which took away from the experience a bit since everyone else looked more like they were dressed for grocery shipping instead of attending a mad tea party. The actors' costumes were pretty cheap as well, but they put on a good performance, encouraging as much audience participation as possible.

The scripted parts of the show really hearkened to the odd experience of being an adult Millennial. It seemed that the actors were being paid to throw around as many F-bombs as possible just to get a rise out of the audience like the obligatory adult content on shows from premium networks like Showtime and HBO that never add anything to the story. The first swear resulted in uproarious laughter from most of the attendees and slowly fizzled out after that. After some silly dialogue and a sweet "welcome" cocktail that was covered in whipped cream, the Mad Hatter, March Hare, and White Rabbit passed around three riddles for the guests to solve in order to unlock ingredients for the second cocktail. One of the riddles involved talking to a Cheshire Cat face that was built into some foliage on the wall with a booming voice that came through a hidden speaker. That was about as high tech as the show got. After that, the actress for the March Hare changed into the Evil Queen and held a silly trial to find out who ate her tarts. (It was me, but they told me to pin it on someone else, so I never got punished.) The final challenge was to paint whatever we thought the queen's favorite thing is onto some white foam on a cocktail. I painted my (Alice's) head.

The thing that appealed the most to me personally about this event was the Disney-style character interactions. The Mad Hatter really nailed that part. She had a lot of energy and did a fantastic job making everyone feel like part of the show. The actress who played the March Hare and Queen of Hearts was funny, but a little shy. The only one that wasn't putting in much effort was the White Rabbit, who didn't have much of a costume aside from a bunny ear headband and mainly tended to the bar. I can see how this event might be a good way to meet new people, but I didn't have much luck with that since we were constantly being pushed to solve the riddles and get through the cocktails. There were two empty seats at my table, and they told me they might have to fill them if they ran out of room, but that never happened. The intimate setting made it easy to hear the attendees when they were interacting with the characters, which could have been an issue if the room were bigger, so that was a plus.

Overall, this is one of those events where you have to make your own fun. If you're not that into the show and don't interact with the characters, chances are you won't have a very good time. However, if you go there with the right mindset, it could be buckets of fun. There was an odd dichotomy between the adult language and the childish performers, but the show has some "family friendly" tickets available that should resolve this issue. That version provide "mocktails" instead of cocktails, which the cast members graciously provided me with anyway when I told them I don't like alcohol. They were extremely conscientious of everyone's food and drink preferences despite how little food and drinks the event provided. I definitely had more fun because I dressed up, so I recommend more people do the same. There was a "Little Mermaid" version of this event advertised on Facebook a while back, but it sadly got canceled due to covid. I think I would have enjoyed that one even more! Have you ever attended an event like this? Let me know in the comments!

The Princess Blog's Five-Year Blogiversary Extravaganza!

Can you believe I've been writing articles about princesses for five years? I still remember posting a list of 100 princesses for my 100th post, and now I have over 600 posts and counting! That's a lot of princesses! For most blogiversaries, I've shared free or deeply discounted Kindle copies of my books, but unfortunately, I haven't written anything new this year. Instead, I've been busy getting settled in my new castle, so I filmed this mini-music video in some of my favorite rooms as a video tour. I hope you enjoy it! Feel free to pause it to get a closer look at some of my new furnishings and old memorabilia. Let me know how many princess easter eggs you can spot in the background!

As for what's next, I'm very excited to announce that I've applied to be a big sister through the Big Brothers and Big Sisters of America in the hopes of sharing my experiences with a special little girl, attending more princess events, and getting a better grasp on the modern generation's perspective of princess media. I hope that this experience can inspire me to write more princess stories that will appeal to the youth of today. I know I'm way behind on my Story Saturdays, so let me know if that's something you would like to see more of. It would also be nice to spend time with someone who gets just as excited about princesses as I do!

As another special treat, I reached out on my Facebook page for suggestions about what to post for my 5th anniversary. One of my favorites was the five reasons that princesses are still relevant and important. Here are my thoughts on the subject. Feel free to share yours in the comments as well!

1. They Inspire Us To Be Our Best Selves.As we get older, it's easy to get set in our ways and forget the things that motivate us to work hard, chase after our dreams, and spread love everywhere we go. Young and older people alike need these stories to remind them to keep fighting for their happily ever after.2. It's Harder Than Ever to Remember to Be Kind and Courageous.In today's politically charged society, many people get caught up in arguments both online and in real life with others who refuse to accept to any opinion outside of their own. Princesses remind us to be patient and listen to others with respect and understanding so we can live in a more harmonious world.3. Escapism Is an Important Aspect of Daily Life.Life is hard, and it only gets harder with age. It is important and healthy to spend a little time each day imagining a place that's just a little more magical, grand, and loving than the one we live in. These little bursts of escapism can help us relax and reduce stress throughout the rest of our day.4. They Let Girls Know It's Okay to Still Be Girls.In a society where gender fluidity is being encouraged more than ever, princesses validate feminine girls to be themselves and not feel like they need to change to match the societal norms. Of course, there are plenty of modern princesses for girls who feel more masculine as well.5. They Make Us Feel Empowered.By watching princesses live out our dreams, we can feel reassured that our big decisions like moving away from home, attending a big social event, applying for a competitive job, or starting a family can lead to our own happily ever afters, taking the fear and anxiety out of these decisions. After all, Cinderella never would have escaped her stepfamily if she didn't go to the ball, Ariel never would have been able to explore the human world if she didn't trade her voice to Ursula, and Tiana never would have met Naveen if she didn't work so diligently to save up for her restaurant.
I hope you've enjoyed reading my posts for these past five years. I've loved seeing all of your recommendations and hearing your opinions, even if they differ from my own. Let me know if you have a favorite subject to read about. I have no plans to stop blogging. Princesses are an ever-expanding and timeless subject that will always provide new media to explore. Maybe someday we'll even see some new fairy tale adaptations. Thank you for sticking with me these past five years, and here's to five more!

Review: Time Princess - The Perfect Storm

Time Princess has really done it this time. What have they done? They've created a pirate story that I actually enjoyed. In fact, but it just might be one of the best visual novels in the entire game! The Perfect Storm is similar in plot to Hela's Compass as both are about a young woman who journeys to sea to find a supernatural artifact that is tied to a deceased relative, but The Perfect Storm blew it out of the water literally and figuratively with its worldbuilding, story, characters, and music. Pirates are often presented as the male-oriented alternative to princesses, and while both are occasionally paired together, the genres are rarely combined. One exception is ab obscure Broadway musical called The Pirate Queen that tells the story of a real-life female pirate named Grace O'Malley, but I liked this one better. The Perfect Storm is a pure fantasy that is unapologetically female and removes the less desirable aspects of pirating like the drinking, womanizing, and bloodlust, replacing them with more princess-oriented traits like romance, sisterhood, and honor. The recent anime Fena: Pirate Princess tried to do something similar, but it failed to pull me in the way this story did.

Like many princess stories, The Perfect Storm begins with the main character in an unwanted arranged marriage. This time, our heroine does something unexpected. She steals her dowry money and uses it to become captain of a ship, builds up a crew, and chases after a lost artifact that her grandmother once sought. In a way, this visual novel is similar to Moana since both stories involve the heroine chasing after a mystery at sea that was left behind when their beloved grandmothers passed away. What impressed me the most is that Cordelia does not become an infamous captain by pillaging towns and attacking innocent people, but instead by having a crew that is so devoted to her, they would be willing to lay down their own lives for her in an instant. There is a lot of dialogue about how pirates are not really as fearsome and violent as their reputations claim and that they get what they seek through theatrics and exaggeration. While this may not be entirely true to history, it makes the genre more welcoming to someone who dislikes violence. The bond that Cordelia shares with her crew really hits home, making this a heartfelt tale of a family of misfits at sea instead of one about a daring band of ne'er-do-wells wreaking havoc on every land they encounter.

The Perfect Storm has some of the best companions in Time Princess thus far. Each one has their own unique appeal along with a fully fleshed out backstory. Eric Keats is the first crew member that Cordelia recruits and serves as the ship's navigator. He is a gentle intellectual and the last person you would expect to see on a pirate ship. His devotion to Cordelia is just as heartwarming as his devotion to science. Mary Read is Cordelia's first mate and secret weapon. She has all the experience Cordelia lacks and all the leadership skills necessarily to keep the crew in line. While there have historically been female pirate captains, it seems particularly unusual for both the captain and first mate to be female. This gives the story a strong sense of sisterhood and female empowerment. Don't expect Mary to just be another "strong female character," though. There is more to her than first meets the eye. The final love interest, Charles Vane, is a fearsome pirate captain with a dangerous reputation and an irresistible charm that Cordelia is drawn toward. He is the token "bad boy" love interest who turns out not nearly as dangerous as his reputation lets on.

Along with beautiful artwork and a gorgeous lyrical sea shanty that plays on the menu screens, The Perfect Storm does not skimp on its nautical fashions. Not only does it have plenty of stylized outfits suitable for a noble pirate queen, but it also includes some lovely ocean-inspired ballgowns. This story has more unique looks available just through playing the book alone than many of the other recent visual novels in this game. Cordelia's seafoam blue wedding dress is suitable for a mermaid princess, and she has no less than three unique pirate looks to choose from. I particularly loved some of her more fantastical outfits like the blue and white constellation-inspired dress complete with a levitating golden compass and the lavender ballgown that perfectly combines pirate fashion with aristocratic noble eveningwear. I also loved how Cordelia's parrot, Nameless, was included as an accessory with one of the outfits.

If you are looking for a daring adventure at sea without all the plundering and pillaging that historical pirates were prone to, The Perfect Storm is the perfect visual novel for you. As a bonus, it even includes a mermaid, which is something I had been waiting for from this game for a long time. This is less of a story about rebellion and more of a passionate adventure about love of the sea, family, sisterhood, and romance. I can tell that the writers really enjoyed working on this one and that it wasn't just another quota to fill, despite how quickly this game keeps pushing out new visual novels. This might just be the best one they've come out with so far, and I am eager to see what they plan to do next. What did you think? Is this a new favorite for you as well? Let me know in the comments!

Review: Songs of Stone

Cinders of Glass was one of the best fairy tale adaptations I have ever read, so it was difficult to follow up with a book that was just as romantic, compelling, and magical. Songs of Stone by Celeste Baxendell has all of those things to an extent, but it does not live up to the high pedestal that its predecessor set for it. This is the fifth book in the Bewitching Fairy Tales series and is inspired by two somewhat lesser known stories, "The Pied Piper" and "The Sandman." The book has a rough-and-tumble protagonist similar to the one in Beasts of Beauty , the third book in this series, and is a far cry from the gentle Liora in Cinders of Glass. It is jam-packed with so many references to previous books that many chapters were cumbersome to get through even though I've already read the rest of the series.

Piper is a tragic young lady who lost most of her family and turned to a life of crime to save the one relative she has left. She is "gifted" an enchanted fife from a wicked sorcerer, who forces her to use it to do terrible things in the hopes of saving her brother's life. She fears for her future when several of her missions bring her face to face with Prince Valens, the one person resilient and nimble enough to foil her plans. When the unlikely pair discover an unexpected attraction to each other, they attempt to run from their feelings in order to keep up appearances and maintain their opposing duties. However, a person can only run from true love for so long. Soon, their game of cat and mouse comes to an inevitable an end.
It took me a while to get into this book. I wasn't immediately drawn to the characters like I was with Cinders of Glass, and there were so many conspiracy theories revolving around loose ends from earlier books in this series that the first few chapters seemed dry and emotionless. It wasn't until the second half of the book that I began to truly understand Piper's moral struggle with the abuse she had to take and the guilt she was forced to bear in order to serve the wicked Cinnabar. A lot of the books from other fairy tale series I read are only connected by loose threads and work well as standalones. This one was so all over the place that even though I have read all of the Bewitching Fairy Tales books including the prequel novella, I still felt lost at times. Even the twist villain at the end didn't make enough of an impact for me to feel surprised or even care that much.

Though it was a slow burn, I appreciated this book when I reached the epilogue. It's hard to relate to characters who continue to make bad decisions, and Piper's guilt for her crimes doesn't shine through until the end of the book. I finally felt like I understood her when I saw how much she despised herself because of her past. Valens' ability to believe in her beyond all odds and support her even though she was supposed to be his enemy made the two a perfect match. Valens had an interesting arc because he was forced to go against the crown that he represented to help Piper even though he still wanted to prove himself to his family. In all honesty, things should not have worked out for him as well as they did, but I'm willing to let that go since this is a fairy tale after all.

Songs of Stone tries to tell a compelling story that gets bogged down by the other books from the series. It's a shame that such an amazing fairy tale adaptation as Cinders of Glass is followed up by such a mediocre sequel. I think Celeste Baxendell was so focused on building a larger overarching story that she lost sight of the story she wanted to tell in this book, at least until the last few chapters. I would recommend Songs of Stones to people who have read the other stories in the Bewitching Fairy Tales series and are interested in learning as much about the world as possible or people who enjoy fantasy stories with morally gray protagonists.

Review: My Sweet Monster

I wasn't sure what to expect after the movie My Sweet Monster was recommended to me and I found out it was released last year. There are very few movies I've enjoyed that came out within the past five years or so. Then again, there haven't been many animated princess movies for a while in general. My Sweet Monster is a Russian CGI princess musical with a plot that feels like it could have been released in the '90s with environmentalist themes and a wacky setting. It's on par with lower budget animated films like Fern Gully: The Last Rainforest or Charming . I appreciate that it was a musical, which is becoming less common these days, and that it isn't pandering to political themes, probably due to cultural differences in Russia. It isn't one of the best animated films I've ever seen, but it's refreshing for something that came out within the last year.

My Sweet Monster is about a ditzy princess named Barbara, voiced by , who wants to marry a prince she only knows about through exchanging letters. The person who delivers those letters turns out to be a complete jerk for no discernible reason. Not only does he break the postal code by reading her mail, but he has the gall to try to take over her kingdom! After he blackmails the king into forcing Barbara to marry him, she runs away from the wedding in a move we've seen far too many times this year. When she goes into hiding in the woods, she stumbles upon a beast-man named Bogey and his friend Rabbit. The three are cruel to each other at first but learn to get along, also for no discernible reason. A lot of things in this movie just happen, and you're supposed to accept it because Mother Nature said so or something. There were a few clever twists, but it wasn't enough to make up for the rapid shifts in tone throughout.
The thing that baffled me the most about this movie is the setting. It seems like the filmmakers had a meeting to decide whether they wanted it to take place in medieval times, a futuristic steampunk world, or 1920s New York City and couldn't pick one so they decided to go with all three. It was very creative to have robots in a European-style castle and busy city streets with traffic and stoplights in the same world, but it was also thoroughly confusing. Every time Barbara entered a new setting, it was like walking onto a new film set. The robot technology was somehow powered by nature, which seems a little contradictory when they were trying to push environmentalism on a world that relies on technology. At the very least, I can honestly say I've never seen a princess story that spans so many different environments.
As confusing as this movie was, there were things that I liked about it. It was a charming original story that drew elements from various fairy tales and animated films without copying any of them directly. Barbara was a lot to handle, but I loved her passion for Prince Edward, and her singing was pleasant, which is more than I can say for the villain. The revelation about Prince Edward reminded me of the film The Fault in Our Stars, which had a good message about being careful not to place people you've never met on a pedastal. I also liked that she wasn't another "strong female protagonist," though she did have a strong rebellious streak, especially at the beginning when she cut her hair and dress before a major social event just to make her father upset.
Overall, this was a cute and harmless fairy tale that's safe for kids and doesn't have a strong political message like so many modern films. Princess Barbara is not exactly a role model, but she acts like a typical teenager, which is rare to see these days in modern media. Instead of introducing a character who was trying to be stronger than most people are physically capable of, this had a more grounded message about having a realistic mindset when it comes to chasing your dreams and learning to be happy with what life gives you. I just don't get why the mailman was such a jerk. Delivering mail for a living isn't that awful of a job, is it?

Disney Is Making a Fairy Tale Musical that's NOT a Remake!

Big news! It was just announced that Disney is working on a new musical inspired by yet another one of the fairy tales that we love, "The Princess and the Pea." The title of the movie will be Penelope, and it is being written by , who worked Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist, a well-received jukebox musical series that aired on NBC last year. For those of you hoping for another Tangled or Frozen, I'm sorry to inform you that Penelope is going to be live-action, which means it will probably look more along the lines of Once Upon a Time. If you still desire a Disney Renaissance-style animated musical adaptation of "The Princess and the Pea," look no further than the 2002 indie film The Princess and the Pea, which might be even better than this one turns out.

This isn't the first live-action musical adaptation of the classic Hans Christian Anderson fairy tale either. The Wonderful World of Disney released a made-for-TV adaptation of the musical Once Upon a Mattress, which was a comedic take on the tale with some racy themes. Even the Barbie movies made a joke about doing a "Princess and the Pea" adaptation in 2010's A Fashion Fairytale , so it's pretty common knowledge that it's one of the few fairy tales that Disney has yet to create their own spin on. Since Disney has already changed the title of the movie to Penelope, it's likely that they will go the route of Frozen and change the story to a point where it is barely recognizable from the original story, though it is unknown how much of those changes will be for the sake of comedy.

The title Penelope, which is likely derived from the film's protagonist, is an interesting choice considering that there was a fairy tale-style movie in 2006 with the same name starring . The film, which had very little in common with "The Princess and the Pea," told the story of a young woman who was cursed to have nose of a pig until she could find true love. It was a little ahead of its time because (spoiler alert) the love she needed to break the spell turned out to be within herself and not a Prince Charming. Disney's Penelope will likely share some similar themes since relying on princes has gone out of fashion for modern Disney Princesses. The extreme sensitivity to pain that caused the fair princess to feel a pea under a pile of mattresses is probably going to have be altered as well since modern princesses don't have any of these weak sensitivities. Instead, Penelope will probably have something like heightened senses that allow her to detect her enemy from a mile away just as easily as a pea twenty feet below her.

"The Princess and the Pea" was a popular children's story for its simplicity, but it had few faithful adaptations due to a lack of meaningful themes or a villain. Still, the story of a maiden who no one believed was a princess until she could prove it is a popular one among children. Disney gave a subtle nod to this story in an episode of Sofia the First called "The Emerald Key" in which a princess named Lani requests help from Sofia's family to save her kingdom and is forced to prove her identity when an imposter arrives claiming to be the real princess. This episode was done extremely well, and if Penelope is anything like it, it may be worth watching. The concept of needing to prove oneself is quite timeless and was even incorporated using modern ideals in the recent Hulu film The Princess .

There isn't enough information about Penelope right now to form a solid opinion. However, it's exciting that Disney is finally working on a new princess movie that isn't a remake of something we've already seen. They were bound to run out of animated movies to recreate eventually. I'm also excited that this is going to be a musical since that isn't always a guarantee these days when it comes to fairy tale movies. What do you hope to see the most from a new adaptation of "The Princess and the Pea?" Let me know in the comments!