Princess of the Midnight Ball by Jessica Day George

Rose and her eleven sisters are cursed. For every night she, along with her sisters, must venture underground and are forced to dance through early morning for King Under Land and his Court. Rose's mother made a pact with King Under Land and since she is now deceased the girls must hold true to their mother's bargain.

Galen has known nothing but loss most of his life. He has been a soldier in the war from a very young age. And now that the war is finally over, he has no one left. Both of his parents are dead - so he travels in search of his mother's sister back in her home town. His uncle offers him an apprentice gardener position at the castle where he works. There he meets the lovely, yet strangely exhausted princesses, and he quickly realizes that he is attracted to the eldest princess, Rose.

When the King, frantic to uncover the secret of the princesses' rundown slippers and deteriorating health, offers one of his daughters in marriage to the person who uncovers the mystery - rumors of witchcraft abound, the church gets involved, and the townspeople become enraged. It will be up to Galen to uncover a way to break the spell, save the girls and possibly even their country.

Based upon the tale of the The Twelve Dancing Princesses - Jessica Day George has written a fantastic retelling of this well known fairytale. I particularly liked how each princess had her own characteristics - none of them blended in. They each had their quirky traits making each one endearing.

The story is told both through the perspective of Galen and Rose so you really get a feel for both of these characters especially. Galen, the hero of our story was really my favorite character. He was so brave and noble... and he could knit. He was nice to old ladies and gentle and caring with the princesses' ... a very worthy hero.

I really enjoyed this new version (actually better than the original). I would have to say that my favorite parts were in Under Land's Kingdom. I loved the darkness and the mystery of his Court, his pallid sons and the quest to break the curse.

This is highly recommended to all you who enjoy a good fairytale retelling.