Book Review: Entwined by Heather Dixon

A charming retelling of the Twelve Dancing Princesses

Azalea is the eldest of eleven girls who love to dance. This all changes and her world turns upside down when her mother dies birthing the twelfth princess during the Yuletide Ball. The King demands everyone go into mourning for a full year, wearing black with curtains closed and absolutely no dancing.

This kills Azalea and her sisters, because dancing is the one thing that cheers them up and brings them together during such a hard time. To prevent everyone from getting depressed and having her family fall apart, Azalea finds a hidden passage to a magical world where they can dance the night away.

Unfortunately, there’s a catch. A handsome, yet cold man named Keeper lives in this world, and true to his name, he wants to keep things they can’t give up.

Entwined was full of rich history and folklore, and reminded me a little bit of my favorite book: Pride and Prejudice. Because of the nature of the fairytale, I had trouble keeping all the princesses straight. Their descriptions and individual personalities blended together throughout the tale. I would have liked more development of the other romantic relationships as well.

I especially liked how the princesses weren’t rich, and had to make do with porridge on most days, and how the fairytale took a dark turn in the middle.

I recommend this book to anyone that enjoys fairytale retellings and magical worlds.

3 stars