Twelve Dancing Princesses Retellings

Though The Twelve Dancing Princesses is not as popular as the many fairy tales Disney has adapted, it’s still a better known then most and has quite a few adaptions–both in book and movie format! Today I'm going to share some of my favorite books plus a bonus list of books recommended by my Facebook followers.

My top suggestions for Twelve Dancing Princesses Retellings:

The Princess Curse: By Merrie Haskell: This is undoubtedly the funniest–and in my opinion, the best–retelling of the original fairy tale ever! It’s very light on the romance due to the main character’s age and leaves you still wanting more when it’s done, but it presents a traditional melding of the two different versions of the 12 dancing princesses that are most known today. Seriously, you need to read it!!

Entwined: By Heather Dixon: This is a YA retelling that mostly revolves around the romance aspect but also demonstrates the super strong bond between the sisters (the princesses).

Princess of the Midnight Ball: By Jessica Day George: This book is from the perspective of both the princess and the soldier–which is always a plus–and to make it even better, the soldier is not the typical hero (he knits) which makes him really interesting! Additionally, The villain has a different motive that really stands out from the rest of the pack as well.

The Twelve Dancing Princesses: By K. M. Shea–that’s me, and yes this is a shameless plug: My version has a lot of battles and magical fights in addition to witty banter, elves, sweet romance, and more! My version switches the main characters to the female soldier trying to break the curse and the Elf King (who is enslaved along with the princesses).

Now it's time for the bonus list of Twelve Dancing Princesses fairy tale retellings recommended by my social medial followers. (I asked them for no spice and low language but check reviewers first if that is a concern for you.)

The Firethorn Crown by Lea Douge

A Dance of Silver and Shadows by Melanie Cellier

Pirouette by Kenley Davidson

A Branch of Silver a Branch of Gold by Anne Elisabeth Stengl

Moon Dance by Christine Pope

The Twelve Dancing Princesses by Jenni James

Wildwood Dancing by Juliet Marillier

The Door in the Hedge by Robin McKinley

The Thirteenth Princess by Diane Zahler

My Fairly Dangerous Godmother by Janette Rallison

The Night Dance by Suzanne Weyn

The Girls at the Kingfisher Club by Genevieve Valentine

The Phoenix Dance by Dia Calhoun

The Dancer and the Dragon Speaker by Laurie Lucking

Till Midnight by Arisa May

The Dark King and the Eternal Dance by Alesha Adamson

The Twelve Dancing "Princesses" by S.R. Nulton

Kingdom of Dance by Deborah Grace White

The Silver Prince by Lyndsey Hall

Sole of Secrets by Abigail Manning

Poison's Dance by Tricia Mingerink

I hope you find a book you love and share this post with any friends you think need more dancing princesses in their life. 😉

If you're looking for more book recommendations I have a whole series of these blog posts featuring lists of books vetted by readers! Click here to start reading or use the Book Lists category to filter them.

8 Must Read Classic Books

There are a lot of awesome books published every year but let's not forget some of the incredible books that were published in the past and have stood the test of time!

Today I'm going to take a look at my favorite classic stories. My definition of "classic" is they are old enough to be in the public domain (published before the 1920s) which also means they are easy to find cheap versions of or get from your local library!

And if you are looking for a classic story to complete your book challenge/book bingo then this list is here to help you! (As a bonus, everal of them are children's books so they are on the short side!)

If you just want to see the book list scroll to the bottom of this post. Or, if you want to see my full overview of each book you can check out this YouTube video:

The books I recommended in the video:

1. A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett

2. The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett

3. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

4. Emma by Jane Austen

5. Persuasion by Jane Austen

6. The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas

7. Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer

8. Daddy Long Legs by Jean Webster

What about you guys? Do you have any classic stories or books that you love?

Best Fairy Tale Retellings

There are sooo many great books that are fairy tale retellings (or fairy tale inspired)! I've read a LOT of them over the years and I've determined that the genre has something for everyone! I'm going to share my top favorites, but it is worth noting that I am absolutely prejudice towards authors who either 1) include humor in their stories or 2) use beautiful language. (I thought I should own up to this ahead of time because the pattern is going to be pretty dang obvious early on.)

If you prefer to only read retellings of your favorite fairy tale (I don't blame you!) I have separate blog posts for most of the most popular stories:

• Beauty and the Beast

• Cinderella

• Rumpelstiltskin

• Sleeping Beauty

• Snow White

• Twelve Dancing Princesses

• Bonus: Hades & Persephone myth

• Bonus: Robin Hood legends

Note: I'm only including books in this list that have no spice and very low language. These would probably be considered clean or closed door fairy tale retellings by most readers.

My Top Favorite Fairy Tale Adaptations:

Best Cinderella: Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Lavine Gail does a lot of fairy tale-esque books, and while I enjoy them all Ella Enchanted is by far my favorite. Elle is an awesome heroine, and her story will both break your heart and make you laugh, plus the world building is some of the best I’ve seen.

Best Beauty and the Beast: Beauty by Robin McKinley “Chalice” and “The Blue Sword” are probably my favorite of Robin’s books, but Beauty is right up there with them. It has Robin’s typical/gorgeous descriptions, and it–probably more so than any of the other books I’ve listed–has more of the beautiful-true-blue-fairy-tale feeling to it. (It’s the perfect story to curl up with on a rainy or snowy day.)

Best Goose Girl: Goose Girl by Shannon Hale This book is why I will not include a retelling of the Goose Girl fairy tale as part of my Timeless Fairy Tales Series. It’s too perfect and too wonderful, I just can’t! If you haven’t read it yet…what are you waiting for!?! Reeeeaaaad!

Bonus: Goose Chase by Patrice Kindl This story is a mix of several fairy tales including Goose Girl, Wild Swans, and Diamonds and Toads. This book is definitely a children's book but it is so much fun and really deserves a read. The main character is a hoot–I love her sarcastic and down-to-earth personality that shines through no matter her circumstances.

Best 12 Dancing Princesses: The Princess Curse by Merrie Haskel This book is by far the most original twist on the 12 Dancing Princesses story I’ve ever seen. It has a lot of humor in it, but it also digs deep into the story’s characters and examines what makes them tick. Merrie has a couple of other great fairy tale retellings–though Princess Curse is my favorite–so if you haven’t heard of her I highly recommend you give her a try!

Best Tam Lin retelling: The Perilous Guard by Elizabeth Marie Pope So this story technically isn’t a pure retelling of Tam Lin, but it’s still amazing…again because the main character is kick-butt and there’s several incredibly funny lines in the story. Please read it, because then we can laugh over the last few pages together–the best lines are in that part.

Best King Arthur retelling: Avalon High by Meg Cabot So technically this isn’t a fairy tale, but who is splitting hairs? If you enjoy humor, then this modern rendition of King Arthur is all for you. It’s one of the few King Arthur stories that actually has a happy ending!

Best Original Fairy Tale: Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones Seriously, this story makes it on my top ten favorite books of all time, it’s that good. It’s adorable and fun, filled with lots of adventure and romance. AKA EVERYTHING I LOVE! It has a lot of common fairy tale elements–a transformation, magic battles, riddles, a self-centered wizard, and more–so even though it’s not based on a fairy tale per say, it would be right at home in Cinderella’s Kingdom or in Beast’s country.

Best Fairy Tale-esque author: Vivan Vande Velde About 75% of Vivian’s work all has a fairy tale flavor to it–from Dragon’s Bait to Heir Apparent–and she’s an amazing writer. If you haven’t heard of her you are in for a real treat. She and Diana Wynne Jones are my literary heroes (along with Jane Austen, that is) so if I’m coming off as a fangirl…it’s because I am.

So….who–or what–did I forget? I know right off the bat I didn't list a favorite Sleeping Beauty retelling, but I haven’t really read one that has made me fall-head-over-heels-oh-my-goodness-I-forgot-to-eat-in-love yet.