Wowza! I am so impressed with this book, and I think I can safely say I have officially joined the Melanie Cellier fan club! I’m also pretty obsessed with this book series now.
When Princess Liliana and her twin sister set sail for new lands, Lily hopes to find adventure and romance. But the people of Marin live under the shadow of a curse—one powerful enough to destroy entire kingdoms. To protect them all, Lily and eleven other princesses are forced to participate in a mysterious and secret tournament. Lily spends her nights competing in a magical underground realm and her days unraveling the dangers of this new court. Although she needs the help of the Marinese prince, Lily knows she can’t let herself grow too close to him. There’s no time for romance when the duchy is about to fall to the encroaching darkness and the winner of the tournament faces a terrible fate. But Lily and her twin have a secret advantage. And Lily grows increasingly determined to use their magical bond to defeat the tournament, save the princesses, and free Marin. Except she might have to sacrifice true love to do it. In this reimagining of the classic fairy tale, The Twelve Dancing Princesses, there’s a lot more at stake than worn out dancing slippers. If you enjoy clean romance, adventure and intrigue, then try the books in the Beyond the Four Kingdoms series now! These interconnected fairy tale retellings each feature a different princess who has to fight for her happily ever after.
Melanie sucked me in from the first chapter–and I listened to this on Audible, so the fact that an audiobook captured my attention so well and so quickly, makes this even more impressive. Esther Wane is now a new favorite audiobook narrator! She made the story come to life, keeping me consistently engaged, and she was pleasant to listen to the entire time.
The world Melanie has created came vividly to life through the story itself, as well. I got the sense of the grand scope of this world and its many kingdoms. I could tell everything had been thoroughly fleshed out and that there was so much to discover in this world as a reader, and yet it was not overwhelming. The world building fell right in that sweet spot between too much and too little.
The premise of the princess tourney captured my attention immediately and had me on the edge of my seat the entire time, even though I guessed early on who the winner would be. I found myself eagerly anticipating each new event of the tourney so I could see what crazy thing the princesses would have to endure next. But the other scenes in between these events were far from boring. The political intrigue happening in Marin added a whole other level to what was already an exciting story. I also loved how Melanie expertly weaved in the connecting threads for the future books in the series. I’m dying to know the fate of the beastly Prince of Palinar, why the “ice princesses” invited Celine to come home with them, what will become of Blanche and her dying father, what will happen with Teddy and the mysterious, beautiful woman who saved him from drowning… the list goes on! The way Melanie teased these future stories made it impossible not to buy into them right away, and I’m fully committed to reading or listening to all six books in this series (plus her other fairytale retellings!).
The romance between Johnathan and Lily was sweet and I appreciated that it had that “slow burn” feel. The relationship that I loved the most in this story, though, was the sisterly bond between Lily and Sophie. Their ability to “project” their thoughts to each other offered a way for them to have dialogue with one another that they wouldn’t have been able to have otherwise, given the circumstances they were in, and this was another thing that added an extra level of interest for me. I also appreciated how each sister was able to grow into themselves and stand on their own by the end of the book, while still holding on to that special bond they have.
I was obsessed with the Barbie version of the Twelve Dancing Princesses as a little girl, so I loved getting to revisit this fairytale in a new way. Melanie’s reimagining of the story felt so unique and creative and, once again, I was so impressed.
If you are a fairytale retelling fan and/or want a fun read that captures your imagination and makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside… you can’t go wrong with A Dance of Silver and Shadow! Totally worthy of 5/5 Stars!
**Note: this is not considered a Christian novel, but I did feel there might be some Christian influences to it and it is perfectly clean and appropriate for teenagers and up. **
