Wildwood Dancing by Juliet Marillier

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Category: Young Adult
Genre: Fairy Tale, Fantasy
Content: Clean


 
High in the Transylvanian woods, at the castle Piscul Draculi, live five daughters and their doting father. It's an idyllic life for Jena, the second eldest, who spends her time exploring the mysterious forest with her constant companion, a most unusual frog. But best by far is the castle's hidden portal, known only to the sisters. Every Full Moon, they alone can pass through it into the enchanted world of the Other Kingdom. There they dance through the night with the fey creatures of this magical realm.

I have yet to read anything by Juliet Marillier that I haven't loved. Wildwood Dancing started out a little slow, but once it got going I couldn't put it down. This is a retelling of the fairy tale The Twelve Dancing Princesses and Marillier does an excellent job of weaving this tale into something of her own. I loved the characters in the story even though some of them could be frustrating at times. And speaking of characters, I wanted to punch Cesar in the face numerous times. The sisters however were enchanting to read about, and when I was done reading this I wanted there to be a book for each of them. Unfortunately there is only one other book because the publisher canceled the series, but this is good as a standalone story and I highly recommend it if you love fairy tale retellings. I also have to mention that the cover to this book is probably one of the most beautiful book covers I own. When I got the book I spent quite a while looking at all the little details that are depicted in it.