Heather Dixon's debut novel, ENTWINED, set during
Victorian times, tells a similar story to Grimm's Dancing
Princesses although not quite so dark. Princess Azalea and
her eleven younger siblings, all named for flowers in
alphabetical order, live in a castle. They know it was
enchanted at one time but not that it still holds dark
secrets. Azalea's mother has just died, and the castle is
in morning; they must dress all in black, keep the
shutters closed and most distressing of all, no dancing.
But the girls discover a silver forest beneath their
bedroom where they can dance the night away, performing
reels and waltzes until their feet are raw and their shoes
worn. But the forest isn't all fun and dancing and soon,
they become entwined in a web of evil and may not escape.
Heather Dixon has written a fun, fairly light story that
combines historical fiction with a bit of fantasy and the
paranormal. Her writing style flows well except for some
seemingly odd modern abbreviations like RB for royal
business that don't fit with the historical setting. The
family seem to have no money and eat porridge for many
meals yet they have enough servants, and why they're so
poor never gets explained.
With so many characters, some are better developed than
others. While Azalea remains the central heroine, I liked
Bramble the best as she was the feistiest, and Azalea
didn't realize the danger and start to fight back until
late in the game.
Dixon handles relationships between the sisters with
aplomb as well as those between Azalea and her father.
It's also a fairly long book, and the plot sometimes slows
down, clogged with extraneous detail. Dancing is central
to the girls lives and to the book, but at times, there
was too much of that as well. Those who enjoy fairy tale
retellings should check it out, and perhaps it's better
for pre-teen and early teen readers than older young
adults and "grown-ups." I will check out more of Dixon's
work on her writing alone though as she definitely has
talent.
Azalea is trapped. Just when she should feel that everything
is before her . . . beautiful gowns, dashing suitors, balls
filled with dancing . . . it's taken away. All of it.The
Keeper understands. He's trapped, too, held for centuries
within the walls of the palace. And so he extends an
invitation.Every night, Azalea and her eleven sisters may
step through the enchanted passage in their room to dance in
his silver forest.But there is a cost.The Keeper likes to
keep things.Azalea may not realize how tangled she is in his
web until it is too late.
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