Midnight Masquerade by Marcia McClure

I didn’t realize until I started reading that this is a retelling of the Twelve Dancing Princesses. I have enjoyed this fairytale and all the recent retellings that have come out. I liked McClure’s take on it though, definitely making it original and unique. I liked that there were still the elements from the original fairytale, but was told from a different perspective. I also liked the reason behind the dancing, seemed more plausible than enchantments and magic.

I liked our main characters Evony (pretty name) and Stavos. They of course have good chemistry together and I felt their connection was realistic. With the setting and with everything going on I was able to believe them falling in love so quickly. Usually that’s a tough sale for me, but I bought it here. Evony is of course sweet, beautiful and kind. She is also selfless and has put her life on hold to protect her siblings and help her family. I like that she didn’t sit back and let someone else do the rescuing, she was an active participant in making sure everything turned out right. Stavos is what you want in a hero. Not only is he good looking, but he has a caring heart and is fearless. He has high morals and stands up for what he believes in. Like I said, they are great together.

The overall story was fun and even though I’ve read a few different versions of the story, it was fun to see how McClure made it her own. And it's that cover so pretty?

McClure has written a couple other retellings (Saphyre Snow and The Whispered Kiss) which were both fun, so I was excited when I saw she has plans to write a few more retellings based on Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, and 1001 Arabian Nights. Definitely something to look forward to.

Content: Clean, PG. Kissing!!