BLURB (Back of Book):
Annaleigh lives a sheltered life at Highmoor, a manor by the sea, with her sisters, their father, and stepmother. Once there were twelve, but loneliness fills the grand halls now that four of the girls' lives have been cut short. Each death was more tragic than the last-the plague, a plummeting fall, a drowning, a slippery plunge-and there are whispers throughout the surrounding villages that the family is cursed by the gods.
Disturbed by a series of ghostly visions, Annaleigh becomes increasingly suspicious that her sisters' deaths were no accident. The girls have been sneaking out every night to attend glittering balls, dancing until dawn in silk gowns and shimmering slippers, and Annaleigh isn't sure whether to try to stop them or join their forbidden trysts. Because who-or what-are they really dancing with?
When Annaleigh's involvement with a mysterious stranger who has secrets of his own intensifies, it's a race to unravel the darkness that has fallen over her family-before it claims her next.
SUMMARY:
This story starts with Annaleigh Thamus attending her sister, Eulalie’s funeral. Another one of her sisters dead. An accident? Or murder? No one knows. Annaleigh is the only one who is suspicious of the deaths. Meanwhile at Thamus House, Morella, Annaleigh’s new stepmother, wants to end the mourning time prematurely. Under custom, Annaleigh’s family should be in mourning for a year. The day after Eulalie’s funeral, Morella proposes to end it, and Lord Thamus agrees.
Annaleigh is furious that Morella would choose to disrespect her sister that soon to her death, but she cannot do anything about it because her father already agreed to it. As a celebration to come out of the period of sadness, her father gets new clothes to her and all of her remaining eight sisters. Reluctantly, Annaleigh agrees. Later, all eight of the sisters decide to each get a pair of lovely dancing slippers. The slippers were said to be made with expert craftsmanship, but they are all worn out within a week. This begins the story of The Twelve Dancing Princesses.
RATING: 2.5 Stars
I do not normally rate books this low, but I had very high hopes, and it disappointed me. I expected a lot more fairy-tale. Unfortunately that was not the case. I had heard a lot about this book, and I was very excited to read it. I picked it up and it just did not go where I wanted it to. The plot starts out clear, then gets muddled at the end. It becomes a mess of powers and betrayal, which to me an avid YA reader, was disappointed in. One thing which I really did like, even though the plot was not so good, was the balls the sisters attended. They were very fancy, and used lots of description, giving me insight into the book.
COVER THOUGHTS:
I thought the cover was a 3.5 out of 5. I almost gave it a 4, but there was not much to pull my interest to the cover, except the fancy words (which I am a sucker for. I just love fancy words! Doesn't everyone?). I also really like the spine of the book. Most book spines do not have art, and this one also didn't, but the words are intricate and captivating. If I saw this book compared to To Kill A King A Kingdom, by Alexandra Christo, I would most likely choose this.