Princess of the SIlver Woods by Jessica Day George

Princess of the Silver Wood by Jessica Day George

The Princess of the Silver Woods, the third book in Georges retold fairy-tale princess series, continues the stories of the twelve sisters introduced in The Princess of the Midnight Ball. In this book princess Petunia the youngest of the sisters is kidnapped by Oliver, the leader of a bandit gang called the Wolves of Westfalian Woods. Oliver discovers that she is a princess and realizes that his life of crime has gone too far. Forced into banditry to feed his people when the King gave half of his lands to another man after his father died, Oliver has done his very best to be the leader they need.  He escorts Petunia to her original destination, the home of the Grand Duchess Volenskaya intending to leave her there and walk away. Then he has to avoid being captured by the Duchess’s son Grigori and finds himself hiding on the grounds. As he makes his escape off the property in the middle of the night he sees shadow men crossing the lawn, climbing to Petunia’s window.

Knowing that the princess is in danger Oliver decides to turn himself in and tell her father what he saw. Oliver’s observations prove useful as Petunia’s sisters all suspect the same thing. That the King Under Stone wants them back, determined to have them as brides for his court. His report leads them all on a mission to save Petunia and rid themselves of King Under Stone once and for all.  

I enjoyed returning to this world again. Petunia is such a strong characters and I really came to like her. I thought the author did an excellent job of bringing back King Under Stone and working him back into the plot. The added details about the origin of King Under Stone’s sons made them even creepier and made the world feel more fleshed out. Galen also plays a major part in trying to bring Under Stone down again and I loved reading about him again. He is such a Heroic character because he cares so much for Rose and all of the sisters; he is willing to give up everything in the book to see them free. I thought all the threads of the story in this book wove together gracefully to make a really compelling, page-turning read.   

I'm very grateful that the folks at bloomsbury sent me a review copy so I could be a part of their blog tour.

Visit Jessica Day George's Website 

Tuesdays At the Castle by Jessica Day George

Tuesdays at the Castle by Jessica Day George



Castle Glower is no ordinary pile of stones, adding rooms on a whim, creating hallways that stretch on forever. Those who know the castle well know a few tricks to get around its ever changing floor plan, but Celia is the only one who has attempted to map it out. Her knowledge of Castle Glower serves her well when her parents disappear after an ambush. She and her two elder siblings—Rolf and Lilah—must protect the castle and kingdom from the greedy ambition of visiting prince named Khelsh.


Celia and her siblings must support one another in their grief and rely on their own resourcefulness to outwit and out maneuver Khelsh and his supporters on the council. TheCastle Glower is not only a setting but a character in its right, providing protection, clues, and information that the children can use to fight the plots of those trying to take over the kingdom.


This one is a fun read with plenty of laugh out loud moments as both Castle and children play pranks on their enemies to discourage and delay them in their tactics. Celia and her siblings are easy to cheer for because they are smart, strong and united in their loyalty to both Castle Grover and their people. This is a great read for guys and girls, as I have found true of Jessica Day George’s Dragon trilogy also. I sometimes wish the covers were a tad more boy friendly. My husband raced through this one faster than I did and I think the humor appealed to him more. So, anyway, a fun read full of clever pranks, and a charming setting.

Jessica Day George's Website

Princess of Glass by Jessica Day George

Princess of Glass by Jessica Day George

"Hoping to escape the troubles in her kingdom, Princess Poppy reluctantly agrees to take part in a royal exchange program, whereby young princes and princesses travel to each other's countries in the name of better political alliances—and potential marriages. It's got the makings of a fairy tale—until a hapless servant named Ellen is tricked by a vengeful fairy godmother into competing with Poppy for the eligible prince. Ballgowns, cinders, and enchanted glass slippers fly in this romantic and action-packed happily-ever-after quest from an author with a flair for embroidering tales in her own delightful way." (summary from Author's website)

Princess of Glass is a sequel to Princess of the Midnight Ball, which was a retelling of the twelve dancing Princesses. I was interested when I first picked it up if it would be a sequel that would merely take place in the same world created in the book Princess of the Midnight Ball or if it would be another fairy tale retelling. At first it seems that the book doesn’t really relate to any fairy tale, until we meet Elanora, and then slowly the plot weaves into a Cinderella retelling, in which the Godmother really is a nasty witch with a hidden agenda.

George manages to make the fairy-tale fresh by telling the story from a different point of view, and adding a few of her own clever plot twists. I enjoyed reading this engaging tale, but I felt like the witch was defeated a bit too easily. There really wasn’t much detail on how exactly everything ended up fairy tale perfect at the end, but still it was really fun to read. If you love retold fairy tales or just a fun princess story you should totally give this one a shot.

Visit Jessica Day George's Website

Signed Books: Jessica Day George

Another book signed at the Provo Children's Book Festival. Dragon Slipper's had won the Whitney Award the year before, which I had checked out from the library and enjoyed reading. So, at the Festival I bought Dragon Flight and got it signed by Jessica Day George. I included a picture I took after she signed my book. Ah, I miss Provo sometimes, because they have so many cool author's that do lots of signings in the area.

Dragon Spear by Jessica Day George

Dragon Spear by Jessica Day George

This is the third book in George’s dragon trilogy, and her heroine Creel is off to visit her dragon friends before she get married to prince Luka. She makes great plans to enjoy her vacation and finish up sewing her newest masterpiece—her wedding dress. She arrives to find Velkria and Shardus expecting a few of their own little dragons any day now. Then Velkria is kidnapped by another group of dragons, who are struggling to survive on a volcanic land far across the sea.

Shardus, Creel, and the other dragons go on a quest to rescue their pregnant Queen before she or the hatchlings are harmed.

I really enjoy these little books, fun and easy to read. They have a strong adventure plot and charming characters that you really grow to love. It was fun to see how the dragons are doing in their new home, and also to see the culture of another set of dragons living across the ocean. The author spends a lot of time making each of the dragons colorful and unique characters, and so they are memorable to read about. The plot brings out more of the culture and history of the dragons, especially centered on how this rogue group of dragons came to steal Velkria for their queen. Creel’s family also appears in the book, crowding in on her turf. Creel’s aunt isn’t the easiest person to get along with, but Hegan goes off on the dragon adventure, and finds his own path to follow. Fun read for both boys and girls.

Jessica Day George's Website

The Princess and the Midnight Ball by Jessica Day George

The Princess of the Midnight Ball by Jessica Day George

Galen marches home from a war that has raged his land for more than a decade towards that only family he has left. He’s never met them, but his mother has told him stories about his aunt and uncle in Bruch. They are the caretakers of the King’s gardens and put him right to work. He hears rumors from the palace of strange happenings with the princesses, but when the princesses get extremely ill, solving the puzzle may mean the difference between life and death.

Rose wishes that she could explain to her father why all her sisters dancing slippers wear out so often, and where they disappear to every night. No matter how many guards he sets he can never find out what is going on, and Rose and her sisters can never tell him. For they inherited their mother’s debt to King Understone—to dance in his court each night. Then Galen determines to solve the mystery of their curse, and for the first time in a long time Rose has hope.

I really loved this book, but I knew I would from the instant I saw Jessica Day George’s name and the pretty princess on the cover. It enjoyed it so much that I immediately wanted to read the book over again once I finished it. It has a strong engaging plot, and I really loved Galen’s character. The other reviews I’ve read have complained that the sisters aren’t characterized very well, but there are twelve of them. I think George did a good job for the constraints of the book, but I think Galen is the most developed character. So yes, I also think it was really unique that Galen likes to knit, though I have seen this phenomenon before. My own brother learned how to crochet (from our cousin that was a boy) and really enjoyed making hats. I lived in a ward in southern Utah where we would hold quilting activities on occasion and the men would join in to tie the quilts when they were on a frame. My Dad totally loved doing this!

So, go read this book if you haven’t read it. I think boys would even like it. I love the cover, but boys would never pick it up on account of it. So, go be sneaky and disguise the cover somehow and trick a guy into reading it. Tell them it’s about a soldier who comes home from war. It really is wonderful!

Jessica Day George Author's Website

Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow by Jessica Day George

Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow by Jessica Day George.

Jarl Oscarson, a woodcutter, has a large family and little to take care of them with. His wife is angry when they have another daughter instead of a son. So this daughter remains nameless except for pika, the word for girl. When Pika’s oldest brother Hans Peter comes home from a treacherous five years at sea he gives her the name lass. Hans Peter and Pika quickly becomes close, and Pika wishes for a way to make the sad look in her brother’s eyes to disappear. A polar bear comes and asks her to live in a palace with him, and she goes because the polar bear promises to make her family rich and comfortable, and something inside her says she should go. Though the palace is strange and enchanted, and Pika keeps asking too many questions and the servants start to disappear. Pika discovers that troll magic is behind everything and defeating it will bring the answer to the mysterious enchantment and make her favorite brother Hans Peter happy.

I was way excited to read this book since I really loved reading Dragon Slippers. I was not disappointed although I thought that the beginning of the book was a little slow on plot, but it still had a very nice fairy tale type of feel. According to the inside cover the book is,” based on the Nordic fairy tale East of the Sun, West of the Moon.” But it is delightful that the author would add Nordic words and phrases that give the book charm and character. The cover also compares the book to Beauty and the Beast, but I was getting Cupid and Psyche vibes, which is a Greek myth. In fact, the stories are so similar that I am wondering if the Greek tale influenced the original Nordic tale or if they are completely separate. Though, the question would be how would the Greek myth get all the way up to Norway? It’s a mystery! I will stop with the random classics commentary now and tell you to go read the book for yourselves. It really is great! I'm now going to see if I can find the original fairy tale and read it. Hopefully, in English...

Jessica Day George's website: http://www.jessicadaygeorge.com/

Book Reivew: Dragon Slippers by Jessica Day George

Dragon Slippers by Jessica Day George

Creel’s poor aunt comes up with the brilliant idea to give her to the town dragon. Her aunt wants the Lord’s son to come rescue her and marry her just as in the fairy stories. Creel only wants to go to the capital and work as a seamstress. So while in the dragon cave of Theodeus, who wants nothing to do with humans much less a threatening knight, she makes a bargain. She’ll take a pair of slippers, which Theodeus hordes (not gold!), and convince the town people that he really doesn’t exist. Little does she know that the pair of slippers that she takes are of great significance to dragon and humans alike.

She walks to the king’s city and on the way there runs into a thieving band that intends to hurt her when another dragon comes to her aid. Shardus loves to collect beautiful glass windows, and Creel finds a new inspiration for her embroidery designs. She makes samples to show off at shops, but when she finally leaves Shardus she receives a cool reception in the city. She runs into the younger prince right before curfew and he takes her to the Inn of a stern, but kind woman, who helps her find work in the best dress shop. A royal princess steals Creel’s special shoes, and strange things begin to happen. Creel must discover and combat the power of the shoes in order to save her dragon friends and the entire kingdom.

I read this book because it won the Whitney Award. So, I picked it up to see why it would merit winning the award. I couldn’t put it down! It was a wonderful and engaging plot. There is a wonderful villain. So well written! Someone you truly love to hate. The dragons have unique and interesting characters of their own. The plot totally hooked me and I couldn’t put it down. In short, I loved it. I would recommend that you pick it up from a library or store if you haven’t read it yet.

Here is the author's website: http://www.jessicadaygeorge.com/default.aspx