Princess of Glass
124. Jessica Day George, Princess of Glass
This sequel to Princess of the Midnight Ball tells the story of Rose’s brash younger sister Poppy. King Rupert of Breton has come up with a plan to establish goodwill among the several kingdoms that neighbor his own: the various royal children will take turns visiting each other’s countries, with the goal of creating peace through marital alliances. Poppy is sent to Breton, where at first she struggles to fit in. The customs of Breton are alien to her, and she feels awkward at parties because she absolutely refuses to dance (for reasons that are discussed in the first book). However, she eventually makes several friends, including Prince Christian of the Danelaw, who is also visiting Breton through the royal exchange program. Poppy is just beginning to wonder whether she has feelings for Christian, when he is suddenly distracted by mysterious newcomer Lady Ella. Poppy’s prior experience with magic leads her to believe that Ella is under some kind of spell; eventually, she and her faithful friends must race against time to break a curse and vanquish a horrible evil.
As mentioned, this book is a sequel to Princess of the Midnight Ball, and it refers extensively to the events in the first book. You might be able to read this one on its own, but you’ll definitely be a lot happier if you’ve read the first book beforehand! That said, I enjoyed this story very much. Poppy is a fun heroine to read about, spunky and outspoken. Christian is fairly likeable too, although he’s a bit of a cliché. My favorite part of the book is the way it plays with the Cinderella legend: in this version, Cinderella isn’t entirely sympathetic, and the fairy godmother is certainly not what she seems. Yet bravery, ingenuity, and true love win the day, in true happily-ever-after fashion. I’d recommend this book for a light YA read with an interesting twist on Cinderella.
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In other news, I'm already incredibly behind on NaNoWriMo: only 775 words so far! However, I'm hoping to catch up over the weekend, when I'll finally have some free time! On the other hand, I'm getting a better handle on what kind of story I want to tell and where I want it to go; new characters and plot elements are coming to me also. I almost don't mind if I don't succeed with WriMo this year...I'll probably want to spend some time on this and actually make it good!