I will fully fess up to buying Heather Dixon’s Entwined because this is by far one of the prettiest covers I’ve ever seen. As soon as I saw it, I knew that I wanted to read this book. I really think this cover captures the whimsy of Entwined while still seeming a little foreboding. Foreboding enough to make me think, what is this girl running from?

Entwined is an update of the classic fairy tale, The Twelve Princesses. It follows twelve princesses (obviously), who live in a semi-magical but poor castle. Azalea, the oldest princess and future queen, makes a promise to her dying mother to take care of her younger sisters, a fact made more difficult by their father’s grief and subsequent absence. You see, all these girls want is to dance as their mother taught them and as they love to do. But, because of mourning, they are forbidden. This desperate need to dance sends them down a staircase and into a whole world of trouble.

One of the nicest things about this book was that, though I’d clearly consider it fantasy, it wasn’t so heavy on the fantastical elements that it was hard to read. Instead, the plot, characters, and general feeling of the book walked a very fine line between whimsical and dark very well. I could feel the magic of the book, both the good and the evil. The atmosphere flowed perfectly from scene to scene, building and then ebbing tension ion a way that felt realistic and kept pulling me through the pages.

Then there was Azalea. I loved Azalea. Here is a girl who is strong and capable and selfless even if she doesn’t always feel that way on the inside. She has her doubts and insecurities but, and this is the best way to put it, she soldiers on. She is a general in the emotional battle she and her sisters and her father are all fighting. Azalea’s doesn’t stop fighting for the people she loves, even when she has every reason to. This fighting spirit gets her into trouble, but she always shoulders the blame and then some. I thought she was a wonderfully strong character without having to rely on boyishness to make her so.

I also loved the male characters in this book, particularly the King. He was a very distinct character which is rare when dealing with a book so colored by the views of a different character. I loved that we saw a father who was distant and grief stricken but who desperately didn’t want to be. I loved how hard his relationship with his daughters was and how hard he worked at overcoming those difficulties. He wasn’t a perfect father, but neither was he a wretch. And I especially loved that he took an active role in being a father when he came home from war.

There are twelve princesses. That is a lot of princesses and a lot of names. Alphabetical naming helped to sort out who was who, but, aside from Azalea, there wasn’t a lot of individual characterization. Now, that is largely overcome by the unit that the sisters seem to be, and as a unit they were very well characterized.

My only concern with Entwined came with the ages of the characters. Like Mistwood, I often felt like the characters were sort of ageless. Mostly Azalea, since this is mostly her book. But Clover, for example, was fifteen in the novel. Her love story was with a man I had assumed to be a fair bit older than that. I know it’s a period piece, but it seemed a little odd in a young adult novel. And, I will admit, that maybe it is just how I pictured this male lead that is causing this concern and I might have missed something to prove me wrong. If I did, please let me know!

Overall, I loved Entwined. It was a great fantasy novel because of it’s great cast of characters. The relationships were expertly constructed and there was just the right amount of tension to keep the plot moving without sacrificing the fact that this book was really about twelve princesses who had lost their mother at a time when they most needed her. I highly recommend Entwined and I’m really looking forward to what Heather Dixon writes next.

I will fully fess up to buying Heather Dixon’s Entwined because this is by far one of the prettiest covers I’ve ever seen. As soon as I saw it, I knew that I wanted to read this book. I really think this cover captures the whimsy of Entwined while still seeming a little foreboding. Foreboding enough to make me think, what is this girl running from?

Entwined is an update of the classic fairy tale, The Twelve Princesses. It follows twelve princesses (obviously), who live in a semi-magical but poor castle. Azalea, the oldest princess and future queen, makes a promise to her dying mother to take care of her younger sisters, a fact made more difficult by their father’s grief and subsequent absence. You see, all these girls want is to dance as their mother taught them and as they love to do. But, because of mourning, they are forbidden. This desperate need to dance sends them down a staircase and into a whole world of trouble.

One of the nicest things about this book was that, though I’d clearly consider it fantasy, it wasn’t so heavy on the fantastical elements that it was hard to read. Instead, the plot, characters, and general feeling of the book walked a very fine line between whimsical and dark very well. I could feel the magic of the book, both the good and the evil. The atmosphere flowed perfectly from scene to scene, building and then ebbing tension ion a way that felt realistic and kept pulling me through the pages.

Then there was Azalea. I loved Azalea. Here is a girl who is strong and capable and selfless even if she doesn’t always feel that way on the inside. She has her doubts and insecurities but, and this is the best way to put it, she soldiers on. She is a general in the emotional battle she and her sisters and her father are all fighting. Azalea’s doesn’t stop fighting for the people she loves, even when she has every reason to. This fighting spirit gets her into trouble, but she always shoulders the blame and then some. I thought she was a wonderfully strong character without having to rely on boyishness to make her so.

I also loved the male characters in this book, particularly the King. He was a very distinct character which is rare when dealing with a book so colored by the views of a different character. I loved that we saw a father who was distant and grief stricken but who desperately didn’t want to be. I loved how hard his relationship with his daughters was and how hard he worked at overcoming those difficulties. He wasn’t a perfect father, but neither was he a wretch. And I especially loved that he took an active role in being a father when he came home from war.

There are twelve princesses. That is a lot of princesses and a lot of names. Alphabetical naming helped to sort out who was who, but, aside from Azalea, there wasn’t a lot of individual characterization. Now, that is largely overcome by the unit that the sisters seem to be, and as a unit they were very well characterized.

My only concern with Entwined came with the ages of the characters. Like Mistwood, I often felt like the characters were sort of ageless. Mostly Azalea, since this is mostly her book. But Clover, for example, was fifteen in the novel. Her love story was with a man I had assumed to be a fair bit older than that. I know it’s a period piece, but it seemed a little odd in a young adult novel. And, I will admit, that maybe it is just how I pictured this male lead that is causing this concern and I might have missed something to prove me wrong. If I did, please let me know!

Overall, I loved Entwined. It was a great fantasy novel because of it’s great cast of characters. The relationships were expertly constructed and there was just the right amount of tension to keep the plot moving without sacrificing the fact that this book was really about twelve princesses who had lost their mother at a time when they most needed her. I highly recommend Entwined and I’m really looking forward to what Heather Dixon writes next.I will fully fess up to buying Heather Dixon’s Entwined because this is by far one of the prettiest covers I’ve ever seen. As soon as I saw it, I knew that I wanted to read this book. I really think this cover captures the whimsy of Entwinedwhile still seeming a little foreboding. Foreboding enough to make me think, what is this girl running from?Entwined is an update of the classic fairy tale, The Twelve Princesses. It follows twelve princesses (obviously), who live in a semi-magical but poor castle. Azalea, the oldest princess and future queen, makes a promise to her dying mother to take care of her younger sisters, a fact made more difficult by their father’s grief and subsequent absence. You see, all these girls want is to dance as their mother taught them and as they love to do. But, because of mourning, they are forbidden. This desperate need to dance sends them down a staircase and into a whole world of trouble.

One of the nicest things about this book was that, though I’d clearly consider it fantasy, it wasn’t so heavy on the fantastical elements that it was hard to read. Instead, the plot, characters, and general feeling of the book walked a very fine line between whimsical and dark very well. I could feel the magic of the book, both the good and the evil. The atmosphere flowed perfectly from scene to scene, building and then ebbing tension ion a way that felt realistic and kept pulling me through the pages.

Then there was Azalea. I loved Azalea. Here is a girl who is strong and capable and selfless even if she doesn’t always feel that way on the inside. She has her doubts and insecurities but, and this is the best way to put it, she soldiers on. She is a general in the emotional battle she and her sisters and her father are all fighting. Azalea’s doesn’t stop fighting for the people she loves, even when she has every reason to. This fighting spirit gets her into trouble, but she always shoulders the blame and then some. I thought she was a wonderfully strong character without having to rely on boyishness to make her so.

I also loved the male characters in this book, particularly the King. He was a very distinct character which is rare when dealing with a book so colored by the views of a different character. I loved that we saw a father who was distant and grief stricken but who desperately didn’t want to be. I loved how hard his relationship with his daughters was and how hard he worked at overcoming those difficulties. He wasn’t a perfect father, but neither was he a wretch. And I especially loved that he took an active role in being a father when he came home from war.

There are twelve princesses. That is a lot of princesses and a lot of names. Alphabetical naming helped to sort out who was who, but, aside from Azalea, there wasn’t a lot of individual characterization. Now, that is largely overcome by the unit that the sisters seem to be, and as a unit they were very well characterized.

My only concern with Entwined came with the ages of the characters. Like Mistwood, I often felt like the characters were sort of ageless. Mostly Azalea, since this is mostly her book. But Clover, for example, was fifteen in the novel. Her love story was with a man I had assumed to be a fair bit older than that. I know it’s a period piece, but it seemed a little odd in a young adult novel. And, I will admit, that maybe it is just how I pictured this male lead that is causing this concern and I might have missed something to prove me wrong. If I did, please let me know!

Overall, I loved Entwined. It was a great fantasy novel because of it’s great cast of characters. The relationships were expertly constructed and there was just the right amount of tension to keep the plot moving without sacrificing the fact that this book was really about twelve princesses who had lost their mother at a time when they most needed her. I highly recommend Entwined and I’m really looking forward to what Heather Dixon writes next.

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