Lisa Dawn's Blog: The Princess Blog, page 45

Review: The Mirror and the Curse

It's been a while since the last Faraway Castle book, so I was pleased to jump back into JM Stengl's creative world of modern-day teens living in a realm of magic and fairy tales. Like the other books in this series, The Mirror and the Curse is loosely inspired by a well-known fairy tale, which in this case is "Snow White." The book actually reminded me more of Sofia the First than any fairy tale due to its focal point on a flying horse competition. Like Lucy Tempest's recent "Snow White" retelling, The Mirror and the Curse does not contain seven dwarfs and instead features cameos of characters from the previous books in the series along with a new love interest who is part dwarf. It doesn't quite hit the same level of imaginative fantasy as The Rose and the Briar, but it is still a pleasant read.

The Mirror and the Curse is the story of Princess Eddi, who was a "best friend" character in previous Faraway Castle books. In this story, she acquires a flying horse named Snow White and trains her to race in a royal competition. Eddi is more athletic than the other princesses in this series but is by no means a tomboy. She crushes hard over the hottie prince, Fidelio, which instantly turns her into the enemy of Raquel, another racer, who wants Fidelio for herself. I have been in this situation before, and it is not a fun place. Even after Eddi decides that Fidelio is too shallow and self-absorbed to pursue a true relationship with him, Raquel still hates her because Fidelio likes Eddi more than her. Eddi's struggles with love get more complicated when she realizes that she has romantic feelings toward her trainer, Kai, which seem to be unreciprocated.

This book has very little to do with "Snow White" at face value. The only similarity is that someone is out to get Eddi, but that person is not instantly identified as her stepmother and becomes a bit of an investigation throughout the second half of the book. At first, it seems like the perpetrator is more interested in sabotaging the race than hurting Eddi and her magical winged horse, but the attacks become more and more dangerous as they get closer to the championship match. No real harm comes to Eddi thanks to the protection of her friends, especially Kai and Geoff, who is something of an expert in magical science. Their protection allows her to focus on her telepathic link to White and their training together to win the race.

The love story in this book is a classic "Will they?/Won't they?" scenario. It's pretty clear from the beginning that Eddi and Kai belong together, but she gravitates toward Fidelio because he's the one who actively pursues her. It takes a magical curse to get Kai to finally fess up to his true feelings. This dichotomy is a direct parallel to the romance in the previous book, The Lady and the Wish, in which Gillian wanted to be with a prince who treated her like a piece of meat until she realized the right person for her was the one who was by her side the entire time. I guess that's why the romance in this book didn't quite resonate with me as much as The Siren and the Scholar or The Rose and the Briar. It felt trite after seeing it so many times in romcoms. Still, it's always nice to see true love prevail.

The Mirror and the Curse is a refreshing return to the world of Faraway Castle after being away for so long. It was nice to take a trip back to this magical retreat where princes and princesses can get a break from the hustle and bustle of their busy lives. I enjoyed reading about new and familiar faces from previous books and learning how Eddi attained her happy ending. I would recommend this book to fans of Sofia the First due to the flying horse competitions and to anyone who has read the other books that take place in this world and has been waiting patiently for the next installment.

Sailor Moon Crystal Returns with a Double Feature!

As a '90s kid, it was difficult not to get swept up in the hype surrounding Sailor Moon. Referred to at the time as a "gateway anime," Sailor Moon was the first Magical Girl show that attained viral popularity among a western audience. Though I, personally, was more passionate about Princess Gwenevere and the Jewel Riders, I had a mild curiosity about the pop culture princess phenomenon from Japan that everyone was talking about. A story about an ordinary girl who discovers she's the princess of a magical kingdom should have been right up my alley, but I had a lot of trouble relating to Usagi/Serena/Sailor Moon due to her immaturity and complete lack of motivation or responsibility. I wouldn't consider myself a huge fan of the series as a whole, but I did enjoy the English soundtrack and the sparkly aesthetic. My favorite sailor was Mercury, since she seemed like the only level-headed member of the girl-powered team.

In 2014, Sailor Moon Crystal rolled around and allowed me to view the series from a new perspective. I was much older by then and had a deeper appreciation for artwork and storytelling. Though I'm not generally a fan of reboots, this one did something right. Instead of trying making it cynical and edgy to appeal to a modern audience, it remained even truer to the original manga source material than the anime from the '90s. Sailor Moon Crystal boasted a more accelerated pace than the repetitive monster-of-the-week format of the original anime along with a softer, more feminine art style and easier to relate to protagonist. As much as I preferred the toned down version of Usagi who resisted her destiny as the cursed moon princess, it made her feel even more like a "Mary Sue" archetype who has everything handed to her without having to do anything to earn it. The romance in both versions of  the show is also a bit forced since it is a result of Usagi and Mamoru's past lives as opposed to their actual feelings toward each other and can be a bit awkward because of the age difference.
I enjoyed Sailor Moon Crystal while it lasted, but then I mostly forgot about it for almost five years when Netflix announced out of the blue that they were releasing a double feature called Sailor Moon Eternal  that would cover the next arc of the story. Why they waited so long to continue the series is a mystery to me. I thought it had a nice enough ending in 2017 when the outer sailor senshi decided to taken in Hotaru as a baby, but here we are again. It was a nice change of pace to return to the magical world of empowered women for a day, and I was pleased that they kept the same authentic feel as the rest of Sailor Moon Crystal instead of trying to modernize it like Netflix did to Winx. That said, these movies also reminded me of the reasons that Sailor Moon never quite hit the mark for me. It was visually stunning and followed the same arc as the corresponding season of the original anime, yet it was missing a deeper meaning that so many similar movies about good vs. evil have, most likely due to its overwhelmingly large cast of characters.

My favorite thing about the Eternal saga is Helios, an ethereal man trapped in the body winged unicorn who becomes a love interest for Chibi Usa. Before I knew anything about Sailor Moon in the mid-90s, I was drawn in by the imagery of a pink-haired girl standing with a pure white winged unicorn. People who aren't familiar with the earlier seasons of the show might be a bit creeped out by Chibi Usa's romance because she looks like a little girl, but it was explained in a previous episode that she stopped aging at a certain point when she was lived in the moon kingdoms with her parents. These two movies focused heavily Chibi Usa's desire to have an older body and her jealousy of Usagi for having what she wanted. There was also a creepy comment about how she was attracted to her future father, Mamoru, but she knew she couldn't act on it. I think that Helios is a good match for her and hope that they can find a way to be together in the future.

The thing that annoyed me the most in this two-part feature was the dialogue. Maybe it's because I decided to be lazy and watch the dub. There were so many moments where one character said something and another repeated the exact same thing that it detracted from my enjoyment of the rest of the films. During the first few minutes of the Eternal saga, Mamoru explains to Usagi that a solar eclipse is when the moon blocks out the sun, and she responds "When the moon blocks out the sun?" Then it continues with scene after scene of one of the sailors responding to something by repeating it in the form of a question. I spent a good portion of my time watching these films yelling "She just said that!" at the TV. Another part where things got awkward was near the end of the story when all the sailors started referring to Usagi and Mamoru only as "Prince" and "Princess" even though they obviously know their names. Since the dub translated Chibi Usa's name as "Small Lady," it referred to her future princess incarnation as "Princess Lady Serenity" to keep part of her original name even though sounded like a second contradictory title.

I would recommend Sailor Moon Eternal to fans of Sailor Moon or Sailor Moon Crystal who want a manga-accurate animation of this arc, but I would also tell those fans to keep their expectations low. As much as I enjoyed the beautiful animation and fairy tale-inspired storytelling, especially one scene that reminded me of the opening of "Sleeping Beauty," the majority of the dialogue was cringe-worthy. I still give it props for being one of the most faithful reboots I've seen in a long time, but that can be both a blessing and a curse. As a result of remaining true to the simple '90s-style storytelling of the manga, it feels more innocent than many other modern-day Netflix reboots but also has some rudimentary storytelling devices that could have been resolved with today's more sophisticated screenwriting techniques. Still, it was refreshing to return to a simpler time when love and friendship alone have the power to take down any foe.

Review: Gisela's Passion

One of the most intriguing stories in the Enchanted Kingdoms anthology was Naiya's Wish by Astrid V.J., which retold a beautiful fairy tale that I was not previously familiar with. That was no coincidence as this author has built her career around obscure adaptations. Among her other works, I was most intrigued by Gisela's Passion, which is inspired by the ballet Giselle, a story I knew next to nothing about except that it was featured in the Barbie movie The Pink Shoes and inspired the name of the heroine (but not the story) from Disney's Enchanted. That was just enough to make me want to know more. I trusted Astrid's beautiful descriptive storytelling after reading Naiya's Wish, and this book did not disappoint me in that respect, though it did in others.

No matter how the story is told, Giselle is a classic love triangle between one woman and two men from different backgrounds. It is also a real downer, which is probably why the ballet was never adapted into a children's movie simply by changing the ending like The Swan Princess  did for Swan Lake. In Astrid V.J.'s adaptation, Gisela is a peasant girl who dreams of being the Harvest Queen in her village's annual festival. She is close friends with the village gamekeeper, Hilarion, who proposes to her in an act of desperation after her father tells her she cannot dance in the festival. Gisela is so offended by Hilarion's lack of tact that she not only rejects his proposal but also unintentionally breaks his heart in the process, turning him down a dark path of vengeance that leads to horrific and irreversible repercussions. The third corner of the love triangle is Vincent, a prince who acts as a peasant with a false name in order to win over the beautiful Gisela, who he falls in love with the moment he sees her dance.
Like Vincent, it is difficult for any reader not to be swept away by the beautiful imagery of Gisela's movements as her crimson skirts float around her. Gisela falls into a whirlwind romance with Vincent despite not knowing his true name that leads to an uncomfortably graphic sex scene that detracted from the story rather than adding to it. Most adaptations of famous stories make some changes to flesh out a unique identity for that version. Sometimes those changes work, and other times they don't. The new scene makes it seem like Gisela and Vincent are more interested in getting to know each other's bodies than each other. Sure, it was well-written and goes with the title of the book, but it also taints the lore of the wilis from the ballet (referred to as wileys in this version), who were supposed to be young virgins that died before their wedding day.

Despite my issues with the sexist undertones of the second act, I enjoyed this book for what it is--a poetic description of passion and dance. Ballet has always been associated with fairy tale princesses because of the glittering costumes and the grace and elegance of the performers. This connection was demonstrated most recently with the Hulu show Find Me in Paris, which features a time-traveling ballerina princess. Astrid's descriptions of Gisela's performances were a sight to behold that made the passionate maiden feel like an otherworldly being. It was admirable how determined she was to become the Harvest Queen despite her father's protests. Her innocence to the effect her dancing had on the men around her contributed to her tragic downfall at the end of the first act. The place that the story suffers is the love triangle itself. Neither of the two men seems worth of her affections, and her unrelenting forgiveness toward both of them feels forced and unwarranted.

I admire Astrid V.J.'s desire to draw attention to lesser-known classic stories and appreciate this book for being one of few adaptations of the famous ballet. Her captivating imagery is worthy of the stage and the character that inspired it. However, I do not think that the changes she made to the story do a good job of presenting it to a modern audience. Hilarion's sin goes from revealing the truth about Giselle's lover to publicly defaming her character, while Vincent's sin changed from lying about his identity while being engaged to another woman and courting Giselle to lying about his identity while being engaged to another woman and seducing Gisela, which is arguably worse and less worthy of forgiveness. As much as I admired the writing style of this book, I think this is a good point for me to bow out from this author's other works.

Review: Time Princess - Saga of Viera

Saga of Viera is the latest visual novel that the Time Princess app released as part of their massive one-year anniversary update. The story takes place in a high fantasy RPG world of elves, curses, and gods. It is about as short as their Swan Lake visual novel and contains a number of unsatisfying "good" endings like Helen of Sparta and Shadows of London. Though I enjoyed the story in Saga of Viera more than Helen or Shadows, I was disappointed to see it end abruptly with no resolution for the downtrodden protagonist. I've always been a fan of fantasy video games and even wrote a book inspired by them, so the elven kingdom setting and aesthetics were very appealing to me. It was also nice to have another original story, so I didn't feel like I was missing something by not being familiar with the original work like with Little Women.

In Saga of Viera, you play as a fortune-teller named Zoya whose bloodline is cursed. Due to magical reasons beyond her knowledge or understanding, every member of her family has died before their 25th birthday, and she is not far behind. Since the problem is related to magic, Zoya is convinced that only magic can solve it, something that is not very common in her human kingdom. In her haste to break the curse, she sets her sights on the elven kingdom of Aurethel, where she believes that the elves might be able to use their magic to save her from her fate. Since she has no means of reaching the kingdom in time, however, she decides to impersonate the Holy Maiden from her village and embark on the upcoming pilgrimage to Viera in her place. Impersonating a princess is one thing, but trying to trick the church during a holy quest is far riskier and made it a struggle to sympathize with Zoya at first.

This story does not allow much time for the player to develop a romance with any character, which was disappointing because it contained one of my favorite potential love interests in Time Princess thus far. Reuel is an elven holy man who exudes a calming intellectual presence, though his lack of pointy ears makes me question whether he is actually an elf at all. His stoic yet kind-hearted nature would have made him irresistible if I had the option to romance him. The other new companion in this story is a Dark Elf named Salvia who introduces herself to Zoya by threatening her life. I personally was not a fan of her, though selecting her path reveals that she is only bitter because her people's lands were taken from them unfairly, and she wishes to use Zoya's mission as an attempt to restore them.

The beautiful flowing robes in this novel reminded me of high fantasy video games like Legend of Zelda. Since Zoya is intercepting a holy mission, many of the characters wear religious-inspired robes and garb, such as the veiled Holy Maiden dress, which looks like a feminine version of something the Pope would wear to a formal event. My favorite gown was her "light" elf dress, which was made of powder blue satin with white chiffon overlays and purple floral accents. The beaded purple flower circlet that goes with it is to die for! She also has a Dark Elf set that is similar to Salvia's outfit, a peasant garb from her fortune-telling days in the village, and a blue nautical-inspired dress. I didn't like the fashions from this story quite as much as the ones in Helen of Sparta, but they certainly came close.

If Saga of Viera had at least one satisfying ending, it could have been one of my favorite visual novels in Time Princess. I waited patiently to earn enough goodwill to unlock the final chapter only to learn that Zoya never finds a way to break her curse no matter which outcome the player chooses. I hope the creators of this game make a continuation to this story instead of constantly bombarding players with new ones in the hopes that they might forget the ones that went unfinished. I did like that every single decision in this visual novel counts toward the numerous outcomes of the story. My only disappointment is that none of those outcomes provide a satisfactory resolution for Zoya's plight, though some come closer than others.

The New Disney Princess Anthem Is "Starting Now!"

Every few years, the Disney Princess brand updates its official anthem. This year's addition came out in honor of Disney's Ultimate Princess Celebration. "Starting Now" is performed by Brandy, who recently made a comeback of her 1997 role in Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella. It is the fourth song to represent the Disney Princess brand since it began in 2000. Brandy continues the tradition of the anthem being sung by an actress who played a princess in a Disney movie. The only outlier is 2012's "Hall of Fame," which was performed by a popular band, The Script. "Starting Now" has some similarities to the very first Disney Princess anthem, "If You Can Dream," in that both songs contain references to classic Disney Princess song lyrics. I have to admit that I prefer the soothing lullaby instrumentals of "If You Can Dream" to the generic synthesized pop vibes of "Starting Now." Give it a listen below to decide for yourself.

"Starting Now" doesn't have a lot going for it in terms of originality. Most of its verses are mash-ups of other Disney Princess songs and lyrics like "How Far I'll Go," "A Whole New World," "Reflections," and "I See the Light." The chorus is an amalgamation of inspirational colloquialisms about envisioning the girl you want to be and leaving the past behind, a common theme among Disney Princesses when they come of age and find their "happily ever afters." Overall, I don't think this song is much of an improvement over its predecessor, "Live Your Story," which conveyed a similar message with more focus on creativity and individualism. Instead, "Starting Now" places an emphasis on growing up into an empowered young woman, which also works for this type of anthem since many little girls look up to the Disney Princesses as role models.
The brand new lyric video that dropped on Vevo this morning is interspersed with clips of every animated Disney Princess movie as well as tons of live-action footage of Brandy's role as Cinderella from 1997. I get why they included this footage since Brandy is the one singing the song, but it feels a little out of place in the middle of all the animated clips, especially since Disney already has an animated Cinderella that's a lot more famous in terms of the Disney Princess line. Does this mean Brandy's version of "Cinderella" is now an official Disney Princess movie? That's hard to say considering that the Disney Princess line tends to focus on animation despite so many of these same movies being converted to live-action in recent years. There is a good probability that they included this footage to pave the way for Halle Bailey's role as Ariel in the upcoming Little Mermaid remake.

I wish I could say this is the latest song I want to hum when I'm bored or feel like singing something in the shower, but no matter how many times I listen to it, I can't seem to get into the melody. It is the most synthesized-sounding anthem so far and isn't an easy song to sing along with because it sounds more like chanting to a beat than belting out a melody. Of course, I wouldn't place the blame for this on the performer herself. Brandy has already proven that she still has enough talent to reprise the timeless melodies of Rodgers and Hammerstein over twenty years later. No, the blame for this mediocre melody rests with the problematic modern era of the Walt Disney Company for producing another bland soulless remake of a song that nobody asked to be rewritten. To this day, "If You Can Dream" is still my favorite of the Disney Princess anthems even if it is somewhat dated.

Overall, "Starting Now" is a safe generic anthem that fits fine with the themes of the Disney Princesses but doesn't add anything new or innovative to the other anthems that have represented the films thus far. I like that it is keeping with the tradition of female princess performers. The male vocals of The Script always felt out of place when it comes to music about empowering women. I'm not sure who wrote the lyrics for "Starting Now," but they are certainly no Howard Ashman. The new song is nothing more than a bland imitation of "If You Can Dream" packed with references to other wonderful songs but bearing little substance on its own merit.

Book Owl Word Search 500th Post Extravaganza!

To celebrate 500 posts in The Princess Blog, I'm participating in the Book Owl Word Search (BOWS) along with many other talented writers. Each author has a secret word hidden somewhere in their blog. If you can find and collect all the secret words, you get a chance to win a prize! I'm on the orange team. You can learn more about the challenge on the Snowy Wings Publishing website. For my entry, I decided to release the bonus chapter from my book, The Stolen Slipper , which had only been published in the Kindle box set for The Stolen Trilogy until now. This chapter is from the perspective of James, the "Prince Charming" character from my reimagining of "Cinderella," who is also  Lily's brother from The Stolen Queen, the second book in the trilogy.  After you read the chapter, you will find a link to the next blog in this challenge. I hope you have fun learning about these talented authors and searching for their hidden words.
"James’s Reunion" *This chapter takes place when James saw Ella again for the first time in many years.
When Krystal sent me to the stables, I had the distinct feeling I was walking into a trap. I had disliked her long before she tried to take over the kingdom. Lily and Charlotte were naïve to remain so close with her. Either that or they must have seen something I didn’t. Her erratic behavior between telling me that Ella lived in this manor and then sending me as far from its residents’ sights as possible did nothing to soothe my suspicions. Still, I wasn’t in the mood for an argument so I decided to satisfy her whims. If it was a trap, at least it would teach Lily an important lesson about who she should trust. Maybe she would finally exile Krystal once and for all.

When I drew closer to the wooden door, my ears were blessed with a song I hadn’t heard in years. It was the same song my dear Ella sang when she groomed the horses back at my castle when we were young. Maybe Krystal hadn’t misled me for once. I took a deep breath and pushed open the door. It creaked a lot louder than I had anticipated. The singing abruptly stopped with a fearful gasp, and the most beautiful woman I had ever seen locked eyes with me in surprise.

“Don’t stop,” I said. “It was beautiful.”

In some ways, she was the same girl I went horseracing with in my childhood, but in others, she was different. Though she was still petite and frail, her body had grown into a womanly shape. Her lovely copper locks rested in a pile tied over her head. What I noticed the most was the lifelessness in her eyes as if she had given up on happiness. I knew for certain in that moment that she had not abandoned me of her own volition. The state of her dress and smudges on her face were telling enough. She was being mistreated and forced into servitude.

“I’m sorry,” she stammered. “I thought you were my stepmother.”

I pet the muzzle of a large copper mare in the stable to her right. “Penny seems to have turned out well. I’m glad you kept her around.”

Her large tragic eyes lit up with joy. “James, it really is you! I can’t believe it!”

In the blink of an eye, her arms were wrapped around my waist. My heart raced. I couldn’t believe the only woman I had ever cared for had waited for me all this time. For years, I had imagined my letters to her getting buried amidst piles of gifts from other suitors. I even suspected that she was happily married by now, but none of my imaginings even came close to the unfortunate state I had found her in. She held me so tight that I could feel every curve of her body against mine. I brushed my fingers up her delicate frame until I reached her chin and gently lifted her head up to face me. Her eyes were puffy and red.

“What happened to you, Ella? You stopped responding to my letters. I thought you had forgotten me.” It wasn’t until I felt my voice tremble that I realized I was crying too.

“Oh no, I could never forget. Those were the happiest days of my life. I still had my mother, my father and you, James. But she took all of that away from me. She…She bribed someone for a…”

Her beautiful voice faded into a fit of coughs. On top of everything else, that awful woman had made her ill. I had to get her out of here. This was no life for a lady of her status. Thank goodness Krystal sent me here in time. Without thinking, I lifted Ella and placed her in Penny’s saddle.

“What are you doing?” she asked.

“Let’s get out of here. I’ll take you to the coach. We can ride back to my castle together. You’ll be safe there. I promise.”

“No,” she said, shaking her head and causing her golden locks to dangle like wind chimes. “It’s too dangerous. You don’t know what kinds of things she can do.”

“Krystal already told me she has a rune. My sister and brother-in-law have an entire army of mages back at the palace. I’m sure they can take on one madwoman.”

“But she has the power to—to—” Ella was interrupted by another coughing fit.

“I’ll get you to a healer right away.”

I placed one foot in the stirrup and lifted myself so my face was level with hers. She brushed a dainty hand across my cheek.

“You’ve aged well,” she said.

“Not as well as you have,” I chuckled.

Our faces drew so close I could feel her warm breath on my lips. Then our lips were touching. The horse whinnied, interrupting our kiss. I climbed up behind her and wrapped my arms around her waist.

“We don’t have to do this. If you don’t want to run away with me, tell me now. But I still want to at least bring you to a healer and get you out of this terrible situation.”

“I do want to go with you. More than anything in the world. I love you, James. I always have.”

I had dreamt of hearing her say those words for years. The dream I had been living in for so long was finally coming true.

“And you, Ella, are the only woman I have ever loved. Run away with me?”

“Yes,” she said, but there was a hesitation in her voice.

I tugged the reigns, and Penny galloped out of the stable. We were almost home free when a hideous old woman in an oversized dress led by Krystal shouted at us. I knew I shouldn’t have trusted her. At their side were two equally hideous young women.

“Cinderella! What do you think you’re doing? Get down here this instant!”

Surely that wouldn’t be enough to convince her. Ella loved me. She wanted to come with me. I couldn’t believe it when she stumbled down from the stirrup o fast that a loose brown slipper got caught and fell from her foot on the way down.

“I’m sorry, James,” she whispered.

Had this woman broken her spirit so badly that she couldn’t even say no if she wanted to? And why was she calling her Cinderella? I leaped down behind her and pressed Ella’s hands against my heart.

“Ella, you don’t have to listen to her,” I said. “Let’s get out of here.”

Her glassy eyes had turned so puffy it looked almost as though her irises themselves had turned red.

“You don’t understand,” she sobbed. “I can’t.”

“Cinderella, I thought we discussed this,” said the horrible woman. “You must never see that boy again.”

Without another word, Ella separated herself from me and ran back toward the manor. Had I only imagined it when she had told me she loved me mere moments ago? The situation was baffling. All I knew was that I had to save her. Maybe she would come back for her slipper. I picked it up and waved it over my head as she continued to flee.

“Ella, wait! Your slipper!”

But the love of my life continued to fade into the distance leaving me with nothing but a memory yet again.

Thank you for sticking with me for 500 posts about princess movies, books, events, and more. Did you like reading bonus chapter from The Stolen Slipper? You can read the full novella as a standalone on Amazon or purchase the Kindle box set of the entire trilogy that includes bonus chapters from all three books. My secret word is princess! The next author in the BOWS challenge is Melanie Hooyenga. I hope you enjoy learning about her books and finding her secret word!

Review: The Mystery Princess

The Mystery Princess is the latest installment in Melanie Cellier's Return to the Four Kingdoms series. It contains many references to characters and events from her other fairy tale adaptations including The Princess Fugitive, A Dream of Ebony and White, and The Secret Princess. This book follows the same format as Melanie's other books in which a capable young lady intercepts a royal conspiracy, saves the day, and falls in love with a prince. Though it might be a bit predictable after all the other books she wrote that take place in this setting, that doesn't mean that it isn't interesting. Not only is this the first of Melanie's books to feature a dark-skinned heroine on the cover, but it is also a unique take on "Cinderella" that changes many elements of the timeworn fairy tale to keep it fresh while remaining true to the heart of the story.

Like all of Melanie's fairy tale books, The Mystery Princess has a protagonist that long-time readers were introduced to earlier in the series. Daria, or "Dee" as she goes by in this book, was one of the seven children that Princess Snow stayed with for protection in her "Snow White" retelling, A Dream of Ebony and White. Dee was the oldest of the children and acted as their caretaker before Snow showed up and offered to use her kingdom's resources to protect them. A few years later, however, Dee is involved in a caravan raid from the first book in this arc, The Secret Princess. As a result, she goes into hiding with a kind woman named Lilah, who unofficially adopts her as her stepdaughter. Dee immediately enters "mom" mode and helps Lilah with the chores and taking care of her spoiled daughter, Tallie, who becomes a little sister to her. This goes on for a couple of years until Dee's life is interrupted by a royal conspiracy that forces her to stop running away.

What makes this story unique as a "Cinderella" retelling is that Dee's surrogate family is kind and loving toward her, and the villain has nothing to do with them. The book follows the same skeletal structure of the fairy tale with Dee's stepmother refusing to let her go to the ball, but she does it to protect Dee rather than hurt her. As soon as she learns that there is an evil prince roaming the forests, Lilah is determined to do everything in her power to protect her two daughters from running into danger. At the first dance that she bans them from, it is actually Dee's stepsister, Tallie, who sneaks off to the party while Dee obeys her stepmother's command and runs into Prince Percy when she wanders through the forest looking for Tallie. Giving Dee more private time to become acquainted with the prince because she didn't attend the dance instead of having her meet him in a big distracting crowd is a clever twist on the classic tale.

The wicked Prince Damon is a far more terrifying villain than an evil stepmother could ever be. He is determined to kill the queen of Rangmere to take the throne and will stop at nothing until he gets it. He has a magic relic that makes him impervious to physical attacks, making him one of the strongest villains in any of the Four Kingdoms books. The only reason that Dee is able to get away from him with her life intact is that he is oblivious to human compassion and assumes that she wants revenge on the royals for abandoning her. She plays along to protect herself and must learn to trust in her friends and loved ones to let them help her save the kingdom, a task that becomes too daunting for her alone. Trust is a major overarching theme in this book. Not only must Dee learn to place her trust in Percy for a chance at a happy life with him, but she must also convince Lilah to trust her and Tallie enough to give up her overprotective nature and let them attend the royal ball. In that respect, it adds a deeper element to the "Cinderella" story that makes it even more meaningful in the end.

The Mystery Princess has the same level of quality, romance, and action as all of Melanie Cellier's other fairy tale books. If you are a fan of any of her previous Four Kingdoms books, you will enjoy this one as well. It is actually her third "Cinderella" adaptation in this series, but it is the first full-length one and by far the strongest. It doesn't follow the fairy tale in the traditional sense, which gives it the freedom for surprise twists and new developments. Dee is a great character who is easy to relate to, so I was eager to see what direction her adventures would take her next and watch her grow into a graceful young woman who learns to let other people into her life instead of trying to run away from her problems. It was also a pleasant surprise to see the return of Arvin, the comedic talking horse from The Secret Princess that made the book so deliciously entertaining.

Princess Syalis Is a Heroine We Can All Relate To!

Princess parodies may have been all the rage throughout the 21st century, but you've never seen one quite like this. Sleepy Princess in the Demon Castle is an anime comedy that explores what happens to a kidnapped princess while the hero is off trying to rescue her. However, Princess Syalis couldn't care less about being rescued. All she wants to do is get the most comfortable sleep she can possibly muster in her new castle. After all, what else is there to do when you are whisked away from your royal responsibilities and left alone in a nice room with lots of friendly demons as neighbors? Though Princess Syalis may have been kidnapped, she is no damsel in distress. In fact, the innocuous demon inhabitants of her new home soon become more like servants to her than captors.

My favorite thing about this anime is that it rips apart the conception that kidnapped princesses are helpless victims who can't do anything but sit around and wait to be rescued. Not only does Syalis enjoy the peace and quiet of her new quarters, but she is also very good at keeping busy. Every day of her captivity, she scours the castle for softer pillows and warmer blankets to give herself more a comfortable sleep at night, even if it means ripping apart the demon king's private arsenal of powerful weapons and relics. She has very little regard for anyone in the castle unless they are of use to her getting a more comfortable sleep. As a grown-up princess fan, I relate more to her struggles now than I ever could have before. In the first episode of the show, Syalis trades in her metal crown for a comfortable fabric one and uses the fluff from the teddy demons that serve her meals to give herself a softer pillow and obtains keys to leave her cell if she ever needs to escape. By the end of the season, she has every inhabitant of the castle wrapped around her little finger.

The comedic tone of Sleepy Princess in the Demon Castle reminds me of an older anime that I used to enjoy called Excel Saga. Princess Hyatt was my favorite character from that show, and I always wished she had been the protagonist instead of Excel. I finally have a show in which the low-energy purple-haired protagonist is the princess, and I could not be more pleased with it. Syalis even shares Hyatt's quirky habit of dying and coming back to life on a semi-regular basis. The sleepy princess's floor-length pastel lavender hair sectioned off with fluffy bows and her soft pink dress give her the perfect design for a glamorous and relaxing princess. The show plays into classic Japanese video game tropes such as playing victory music and unveiling an achievement banner when a quest is complete. The irony in this case is that Syalis's victories come from falling asleep on a warm comfy bed instead of defeating a powerful monster.

Syalis is an excellent example of an empowered modern heroine who doesn't have to sacrifice her femininity to have agency in her story. Instead, she uses it to her advantage time and again. Her captors treat her as an honored guest and are completely oblivious to the fact that she is taking advantage of them to help her with new sleeping techniques. They are so smitten by her cuteness and calming demeanor that all they want is to be friends with her and often forget that she is their prisoner. That doesn't necessarily make her good person, but it does show that it is possible for a princess to use her femininity as a strength instead of a weakness as Disney and other studios have been trying to enforce over the past few years.

Sleepy Princess in the Demon Castle is a light-hearted comedy for those of us who are tired of all the drama and problems in the world and just want to escape into our own happy dreamland. It is easy to relate to Syalis's desire to work hard all day so she can be comfortable and relax each night. I love how this anime flips common tropes like kidnapping princesses and dungeon-crawling heroes on their head. Though she isn't always the most generous princess, Syalis is also terrific example of how to take a seemingly bad situation and change it into something positive. I absolutely love her color scheme and design that makes her look like a soft dream of clouds and cotton candy.

Review: Time Princess - Taishō Adventures

Barely even a week after their Phantom of the Opera visual novel came out, the Time Princess app released Taishō Adventures, an original story set in Japan that could not be more different than Phantom. This is the first new story that had more than one chapter since I started playing Time Princess, harkening back to its original three visual novels. It takes place during the Taishō era, a period of Japanese history that lasted from 1912 to 1926. Since this the same time period that Gotham Memoirs takes place, there is some overlap of the clothing styles. The setting in Taishō Adventures also incorporates some classic Japanese fashions including colorful kimonos and beaded floral accessories as well as many Japanese cultural references including idioms, fairy tales, and architecture. It delivers a satisfying resolution no matter which story path you take, which is more than I can say about Helen of Sparta or Shadows of London.

It takes a little while to grasp the story in Taishō Adventures. The book cover and opening chapter imply that it's about a group of small-time thieves who are trying to run an orphanage. The more the story unfurls, the more it starts to feel like a Japanese version of Don Bluth's Anastasia. It's even set around the same time period and has some similar fashions. Yuko Sato, a hopeful orphan girl, is haunted by a Japanese lullaby that she keeps hearing in her dreams. She believes the voice belongs to her mother but has no memories of her childhood. When she teams up with a con man named Akira Suzuki to impersonate a missing noblewoman named Yuko Karasuma, she realizes that she might have more in common with the lost princess noble than she ever imagined. The rest of the story involves Yuko and her friend following a series of schemes set into place by Akira that eventually allow her to meet with the grandmother of the lost noble.

One area where this story differs from Anastasia is Yuko's best friend, Kuroko, who pretends to be her maid to help her run schemes for the orphanage. Kuroko is the closest that Time Princess has ever gotten to including a female love interest. The visual novel drops several hints that she has feelings for Yuko as more than a friend and allows the player to choose between her and Akira as the love interest for one of the endings. An earlier ending matches Yuko with Masaya Hino, who is the default love interest no matter what choices the player makes with him. Most of the visual novels in this game have a "nice guy" and a "bad boy" character to choose between, but this one is less black and white. Even though Masaya is supposed to be the "Prince Charming" character, he lies about his identity to Yuko when he first meets her and has less depth to his personality than Akira or Kuroko. I was surprised when I got his ending because I hadn't been trying to romance him with my choices. The novel encourages players to put in the additional effort it takes to unlock the final level so they can be with one of the better-developed love interests.

During the Taishō era, Japan inherited some fashions from the western part of the world. As a result, the outfits from this story contain a mixture of eastern and western designs. Yuko's signature blue gown with long white opera gloves reminds me of the dress that Anastasia wore when she was reunited with her grandmother for the first time except more elaborate with swirling silver beading and lace patterns that are similar to the version of this dress from the musical. I love the different colors and patterns on the kimonos in this story, ranging from purple to pink to yellow. They are authentic to the setting and provide an opportunity to experiment with clothing from different cultures. This visual novel allows you to craft three Japanese-inspired fashions and three western-inspired ones with opportunities for other kimonos patterns from the Lucky Jerry lottery system. I had a hard time crafting everything for this book and still haven't finished obtaining every available outfit. Taishō Adventures is twice the length of the other ones that came out within the past few months and therefore twice as difficult, but it's worth it for those who are willing to put in the effort.


Overall, Taishō Adventures is a breath of fresh air after Time Princess's whirlwind of half-finished stories over the past few months. It is a great opportunity to learn about Japanese history and fashion and explores the story of Anastasia in a new setting. Taishō Adventures is also the only visual novel besides Gotham Memoirs and Magic Lamp to have a clear-cut villain, which creates a strong feeling of suspense throughout the story. I enjoyed the depth and mystery behind Kuroko and Akira's characters, but I did think that Masaya was a bit shallow. My favorite thing about this story is the opportunity to add traditional Japanese outfits into my ever-expanding wardrobe in Time Princess.

Enchanted Kingdoms Review: Part 4

In about a month and a half, I completed all 20 books from the Enchanted Kingdoms anthology. It was not easy to read this many novels in such a short period of time. I learned about a lot of terrific authors and some that I probably would not have been interested in reading otherwise. Each of the four sets of books I reviewed follow vague themes. The first five books were contemporary retellings of well-known fairy tales. The second five were horror and paranormal romance. The third set included more traditional retellings, and these last books placed a spotlight on disabled characters overcoming seemingly impossible odds. I thoroughly enjoyed this last set of books and even learned about some new fairy tales.

Silent Melody by Alice IvinyaThis is a creative and beautiful retelling of "The Pied Piper of Hamelin." It's one of the best books in this entire anthology and incorporates new ideas that fully flesh out the characters and settings in an otherwise simple story. When all the children in a small village mysteriously disappear except for a deaf girl named Adelaide and a blind girl named Claricia, it is up to Adelaide to use her other senses to bring them back. Adelaide can't hear the magical music that lured her peers away, but Claricia can. With Claricia's ears and Adelaide's eyes, the two disabled girls help each other to discover a magical land where their village's children are held captive by an evil queen. Both girls undergo horrific tests and must depend on their secret advantages to save themselves. Adelaide unwittingly invests in the aid of Peter, the pied piper, to find a way to stop her peers from being hypnotized by his music. This incredible adaptation is filled with action, adventure, magic, and romance.
Of Blades and Blossoms by Charlotte and Charlie DanielsIt seems a little disrespectful to retell "Mulan" as a contemporary Japanese story since it is more of an ancient Chinese legend than a fairy tale. However, this book bears more similarities Avatar: The Last Airbender than it does to Mulan. It reads like a nostalgic Saturday morning cartoon. A Japanese-American girl named Aki enlists herself as a soldier in a secret war to fight monsters that are trying to destroy the world. She does this replace her little brother who has a blood disease and wouldn't be able to hold his own in a fight. Her spirit guide turns out to be the ghost of an ancient warrior woman who had saved the world thousands of years earlier when it was still acceptable for women to fight in these battles. It isn't the most original thing I've ever read, but it was interesting enough until it ended abruptly with the words "To be continued" with no explanation of how to find the conclusion. The lack of information about the authors at the end of the book made me wonder if they had some sort of falling out with the people behind this anthology due to not finishing their story in time.
Silver Hands by Daphne Moore and D. Fischer"The Girl Without Hands" is a lesser known Brothers Grimm fairy tale, but I was familiar with it from the last time I gorged all of their stories. This version is less religious than the fairy tale and has a lot more sci-fi elements. It is set in a cyberpunk universe that was very difficult to follow, even as someone who is familiar with the cyberpunk genre and games. Sage is a netrunner who was betrayed by her aunt and has her hands chopped off for stealing something to help her family support themselves after their loss. The details are fuzzy because I had so much trouble figuring out when she was in the computer and when she was in the real world or even what was going on for most of the story. I wouldn't recommend this book for fairy tale fans because it's so confusing. Cyberpunk fans might enjoy it, but I'm not sure how many of them would be reading this particular anthology.
Naiya's Wish by Astrid VJ"The Nixie in the Pond" is a story I must have missed or forgotten the last time I brushed up on my Brothers Grimm fairy tales. I gave it a quick readthrough before I began this novel, and I was pleasantly surprised by what a complex and beautiful story it is. The novel is a faithful adaptation that retells the tale from the perspectives of the nix, the miller, and the wife of the miller's son. It shows how people in power are capable of doing terrible things without realizing it. Naiya, an enchanted water creature known as a "nix," agrees to help the miller with his financial troubles in exchange for the first thing that cries when he enters his house. She does this in the hopes protecting his newborn son, but he misunderstands and thinks she wants one of his farm animals. After he realizes his mistake, his wife loses all respect for him and does everything in her power to prevent her son, Phillip, from being taken by the nix.
The second half of the story follows Amina, a plus-sized heroine, as she struggles with her feelings for Phillip after a mean girl from the village claims that he is engaged to her. Shortly after Phillip assures Amina of his love and marries her, he falls to the nix's curse. Amina is a complete badass who travels through fire and earth to save her beloved husband and gives up everything dear to her for his sake. She is such a powerful heroine and role model that I downloaded the conclusion to the story using the link provided at the end just to find out what would happen to her. Unfortunately, I didn't enjoy the bonus ending chapters as much as the rest of the book.
Promises and Pixie Dust by Robin D. Mahle and Elle MadisonJudging by the title, I was expecting a retelling of Peter Pan and was pleasantly surprised to learn it is about Thumbelina, one of my favorite underrated fairy tale princesses. This book is far from a traditional adaptation. It weaves an new narrative about how the tiny woman gives up on fitting in with the world of human after her beloved human mother passes away and embarks on a quest to find other little people like herself. It gives her more agency than the pessimistic Don Bluth version and a more substantial love interest in Edrich, the mercenary from her village who swore to protect her. This story adds fun little details about Thumbelina like her tendency to change colors based on her mood and her substantial human-sized appetite. Though it invokes the somewhat stale "lost princess" trope, there was enough new content in it for me to keep wondering what was going to happen next. My only gripe is that I wasn't the biggest fan of Edrich and thought that Lina could have done better.

Click here to read the first part of this review!