Review: Entwined by Heather Dixon

Azalea is trapped. Just when she should feel that everything is before her . . . beautiful gowns, dashing suitors, balls filled with dancing . . . it's taken away. All of it.

The Keeper understands. He's trapped, too, held for centuries within the walls of the palace. And so he extends an invitation.

Every night, Azalea and her eleven sisters may step through the enchanted passage in their room to dance in his silver forest.

But there is a cost.

The Keeper likes to keep things.

Azalea may not realize how tangled she is in his web until it is too late.

Reading Level: 13+
Publication Date: March 29, 2011
Format: Hardcover

Series: n/a

Pages:  472
Rating: 3 stars

 

 When I picked this book up from my library, I hadn't realized this was a retelling of The Twelve Dancing Princesses fairy tale. I had only read the back cover and was enchanted by Aprilynne Pike's (author of Wings) description: "Entwined is a riveting read -- a delectable fairy tale with everything a good story should have: breathtaking romance; powerful and even frightening magic; a rich, beautiful setting; and, of course, dancing!" Sounds delightful!

Now, of course, if I had been smart enough to read the inside flap before diving into the book, I would have realized that this is a retelling. But I didn't, so it wasn't until Azalea's eleventh sister was born that I went...hmm...

And to be honest, that was the only thing that kept me going for this book. It was beautifully written, but at the same time, I felt myself wanting to doze off while I was reading. I'm not really sure what it was about the book, but I just couldn't get myself into it -- and The Twelve Dancing Princesses is my second most favorite fairy tale. (Nothing tops Rapunzel. Nothing.) So while I did like the story, it didn't captivate me like I had hoped it would. Unlike other stories, when I put this book down, I wasn't drawn to hurry up what I was doing so that I could get back to reading.

The only thing that truly irked me about the story was the "romance." By the end of the story, three of the sisters have fallen in love, but I felt jaded out of watching their romances blossom. However, I would recommend this story to all fairy tale lovers.