Princess of Glass (Twelve Dancing Princesses)

Quality was as expected. The book was in good condition and got here rather quickly.

Another sweet fairy tale retelling by Jessica Day George. This one is Cinderella, but the fairy godmother is not quite so benevolent, and "Cinderella" is not quite as easy to label as she is in the fairy tale. Princess of Glass focuses on Poppy who has traveled to another country in order to foster better relations between the kingdoms of this world. There is some sort of plan to arrange marriages between nations in order to move toward this goal, but Poppy does not seem to really be interested in these plans. She avoids dancing at all costs, not surprising, considering what occurred in the last book of this series. Instead, she spends her time at the balls sitting at the card tables with the men, wowing them with her ability to win all rounds against them. Christian is a visiting prince who becomes friends with Poppy and seems to be interested in moving that relationship to the next level. However he gets sidetracked by the entrance of the mysterious Lady Ella at a grand ball. He is immediately smitten with her. And it isn't just Christian. EVERYONE is affected by her, except for Poppy who is wearing a ward against enchantment. It turns out that Lady Ella is actually the maid Ellen who is actually Eleonora, a girl of privilege who was forced into servitude after the death of her parents. Eleonora is able to attend the ball and gain the attention of all in attendance thanks to the assistance of her "godmother", a not-so-nice old woman who is actually a mean-spirited witch bent on taking away Eleonora's free will in order to correct a mistake she made in her earthly life. So the race is on to free everyone from the effects of the spell and get Eleonora out of the hands of her "godmother."My thoughts:Poppy is definitely a stronger heroine than her sister Rose was in the first book. She is witty and courageous as she attacks the problems she faces. I really did like her as a main character. Christian, on the other hand, is weaker than Galen was in book one. Christian spends a good portion of this book in a love sick stupor due to the influence of the spell placed over all those in Lady Ella's presence. This does weaken him as a character quite a bit. However, I really did enjoy him and rooted for him to find true love with Poppy. The secondary characters were good as well, and I thought that all of them were able to find their own Happily Ever Afters as well.The ending was a bit too easy, in my opinion. Everything just worked out too nicely for everyone. How were they able to escape from the Corley so quickly, and what is preventing her from getting to them again? It never was explained very well, so the ending seemed a bit rushed to me. I would have liked a little more exploration into the consequences of Eleonora's actions, but this isn't a book that is meant to do that. It doesn't ruin the book, but it was enough to keep this one from getting five stars from me.This is a simple story with a simple love story and a simple conclusion. There are not deep themes and layers that will keep you up at night thinking about it long after you have finished the novel. But that is okay. Sometimes it is nice to just read a cute, light and sweet book for fun that leaves you happy at the end. That is what this book was for me. I did enjoy it even more than the first book in the series, probably because I liked the character of Poppy. I still recommend this for fans of Happily Ever After stories with nice characters to bring the story to life. Recommended for all readers, ages twelve and up.

After loving the first book "Princess of the Midnight Ball", I knew right away that I wanted to read the next book "Princess of Glass". This book takes place several years after the events in the first book. Poppy still has some traumas left over from that experience and never wants to dance again. She is sent off to live with a family in another kingdom and meets a young prince named Christian who has been sent there to make political connections and hopefully make a wise marriage. Christian is the hit of society and every eligible girl wants a chance to win over the handsome prince. But Christian and Poppy become friends and there is a hint of potential romance. Enter a servant girl with a grudge against the wealthy and a knack for making a mess out of the most basic chores. Something strange is going on with servant girl. One night at a ball, Poppy realizes that the servant is there, pretending to be Lady Ella, a wealthy young woman. She wears an exact copy of Poppy's own ballgown except her's is even more beautiful. And it seems no one else can tell who Lady Ella really is.This was such a great twist on the Cinderella storyline. I love that the author didn't try to make Poppy herself be the Cinderella type character. I also loved that the Corley was the fairy godmother with evil intentions. What a cool way to mix up this fairy tale! The characters were great fun and I love the sympathetic spin put on Ella, even though I wanted to reach in the book and smack the whiner a time or two. Christian was okay as a hero. I didn't care for the fact that he was so weak willed and mooned around Ella the way he did. I guess every prince can't be a hero. He would be hard pressed to match the hero from the first book anyway. Galen was certainly a perfect male lead. Poppy was charming and fun and direct. She still had her fears left over from the horrible curse she was under from the first book. This made the story more realistic and I really rooted for her.If you enjoy fairy tale retellings, you should certainly try out this series. Jessica Day George has really impressed me with how she can re-create a fairy tale and make it new again.

Had I not received this book during the last week of school, it's quite likely that I would not have been able to read it for months, because my students would have taken it from me by force and refused to return it. (Honestly, they nearly came to blows when they saw it on my desk). My girls that read Gossip Girls wanted it just as much as the girls who read Warriors, which is, I think, saying something. And having read the book, I'm happy to say that my students' anticipation would have been rewarded with a fine read.Princess of Glass is more a companion that a sequel to Princess of the Midnight Ball; though some of the characters are the same, the story is brand new. Freed from the curse of the King Under Stone, Princess Poppy and her sisters have each been sent to a different kingdom to foster peace between the nations. Poppy has been sent to Breton to stay with relatives, including her cousin Marianne. Prince Christian of Danelaw has also been sent to Breton, and along with Dickon Thwaite, Marianne's suitor, the four young people become fast friends. Another force is at work, however, and when a beautiful young woman in glass slippers appears at a ball and entices all the men, Poppy will be forced to use both her knitting needles and her dancing slippers to save her new friends.Jessica Day George has again rewritten a fairy tale and made it into something new and entirely refreshing. The elements of the original are all there, but the result is fresh instead of predictable. The characters, especially Poppy, are delightful, and my students will like this book as much as I did. I doubt this book will spend a single night in my classroom once school starts in the fall. Fortunately, Princess Poppy has many more unwed sisters. I can't wait to read their stories.

this was a great book you would love it if you love a happy ending they all get the boys they want its a hardship with spells but its the perfect ending and read recommend it

I just could not put it down. Such a tale raising fairy tales and providing them with such a twist. It's amazing to read and just the story to brighten any mood.

A good series, well written, with loveable characters.

This was a amazingly written book.it had detail and suspense. once I had finished the book I was sad that it was finish I wanted it to keep going!!!!!!