A Dance of Silver and Shadow
When Princess Liliana and her twin sister set sail for new lands, Lily hopes to find adventure and romance. But the people of Marin live under the shadow of a curse—one powerful enough to destroy entire kingdoms. To protect them all, Lily and eleven other princesses are forced to participate in a mysterious and secret tournament.
About the Author:
Melanie Cellier grew up on a staple diet of books, books and more books. And although she got older, she never stopped loving children’s and young adult novels. She always wanted to write one herself, but it took three careers and three different continents before she actually managed it.
Review:
Starting this book after reading the previous series, The Four Kingdoms, was like a dream. This book helped me to get out of the confines of my house and travel on an adventure. After spending years ruined by fairy tales who told the same stories, A Dance of Silver and Shadow changed the way I saw reading retellings. While I enjoyed the difference in The Princess of Companion, A Dance of Silver and Shadow was the first retelling that did not mirror the story, thus making it one of my favorite retellings.
While I enjoyed the fact that it was different, I feel as though calling it a retelling might not be rightly placed. It does have about two things that remind me of the Twelve Dancing Princesses; if I was not looking for them, then I would have probably not have realized it was a retelling. Most people would try to change the book, but to me, this book was perfect even if it did not live up to the name of being a retelling. The development of the characters in this is one of my favorite parts of the book. So many authors chose to spend more time developing the story rather than working with the characters and developing the first. To me, character development is the most important part of a story. Without it, I often do not fall in love with this book.
The thing I struggle most with fairytales is how predictable it always seems to be. A Dance of Silver and Shadow was not at all predictable. It was filled with twists and turns that helped me fall in love with Lilly’s story. While falling in love with Lilly’s character devolvement, I discovered that I am so much like Lilly and my best friend is Sophie. I will protect those around me more than I tend to protect myself. The way that Lilly also led everyone is also so much like me. I think that fact that I could connect with Lilly helped me to also fall deeper into the story.
You May Also Like
