Is it March 13th yet?

Because I am NOT doing a good job patiently waiting for the release of Cinderella. A new trailer dropped today and it GORGEOUS. Can't wait!

Cinderella trailer!!

Y'all this looks AMAZING! And the cast!!! Hayley Atwell as Cinderella's mother, CATE BLANCHETT as the stepmother, Holliday Grainger as Anastasia, Sophie McShera (DAISY!!) as Drizella, Richard Madden as the Prince, and Lily James as Cinderella, directed by Kenneth Branagh and with a score by Patrick Doyle!! AND THOSE COSTUMES!!! This is to die for. Bring on March!! :)

Review: Cinderella's Dress by Shonna Slayton

Cinderella's Dress
By: Shonna Slayton
Publisher: Entangled Teen
ASIN: B00GL3NBQK

Review:

The better part of Kate Allen's youth has been spent coming of age in a world at war, never forgetting the twin mantras of making do and doing without in order to support the war effort. But now, on the cusp of adulthood, she finds herself caught between the life she's always known and dreams of making a name for herself, of doing something to set herself apart. While her mother has long harbored dreams of stardom for her only daughter, shuttling her from auditions to fashion shows, Kate would much rather be known for her creativity than her figure or dubious acting talents. With the end of the war at long last in sight, Kate pushes to realize her ambition of breaking into the male-dominated world of window design at the department store where she works. And when she catches the eye of handsome Johnny Day, the owner's son, she seems tantalizingly close to realizing both her professional dreams and, at long last, the promise of romance.

But when Kate's great-aunt and uncle unexpectedly arrive on her doorstep, everything changes. Elsie and Adalbert bring with them not only stories of war-ravaged Poland, but a large trunk containing their most closely-guarded secret. Within the trunk lies the real-life Cinderella's dress, and with its possession a familial legacy of honor, heartache, and danger. As Kate quickly discovers, the dress -- and its powers -- are real. And how she responds to the legendary garment and its call on her life promises to impact both a centuries-old feud and the course of her own future.

I was thrilled when approached with the opportunity to review Cinderella's Dress, for beyond that gorgeous cover image, it promised to combine my two great reading loves -- World War II history and re-imagined fairy tales. For her debut, Shonna Slayton set herself the ambitious task of translating a beloved fairy tale into a believable fashion into an already rich, real-life historical framework. And while the end result isn't quite what I anticipated, I must applaud Slayton for this fresh take on the ever-popular trend of retelling classic tales, particularly in such a unique and fresh way.

Going into the novel, I expected more dress-specific impact to the storyline -- more of a direct translation of the fairy tale to Kate's twentieth-century world. Instead, Slayton delivers a wartime coming of age tale lightly-colored by Kate's unique family history, inspiring her own Cinderella-esque romance. I wish the importance of the dress and the role it would come to play in Kate's life had been established sooner in the narrative. Instead, over the course of this relatively slim novel, the dress lingers in the background, an on-going mystery while months pass and the war eventually ends. While this stalls the forward momentum of the narrative, it does reveal Slayton's greatest strength -- and that is in the establishment of a wholly believable, 1940s-era teenage voice in Kate. I LOVED watching Kate grow up, push boundaries, and fall in love. The letters interspersed throughout the text were an especially welcome touch -- my only complaint is that there weren't enough of them! The letters also illuminate the issue of pacing and the passage of time in this novel -- one or two brief missives may span a time jump of months, leaving readers to assume a growth in Kate's friendship with Johnny that I would have preferred to see explored in greater depth on the page.

Slayton has a wonderful knack for evoking wartime New York. From Kate's relationship with her mother and brother, their collective concern over her father in Europe and her brother's upcoming enlistment, to Kate's relationship with her best friend and their conversations about everything from film and fashion to Frank Sinatra (LOVED that!), and her desire to break into a male-dominated profession, the homefront springs to life on the page with a refreshing authenticity. Cinderella's Dress may be light on the fairy tale-related drama, but as a sketch of the hopes and fears of those on the wartime homefront it succeeds marvelously.

I was pleasantly surprised by the manner in which Kate's slowly-blossoming romance with Johnny mirrors the story beats of the Cinderella tale, with a thoroughly modern twist. No wicked stepfamily here, just a working girl falling in love with the gorgeous, artistic-minded "prince" of her workplace. While the twist of a real Cinderella dress was a promising concept, what enthralled me most about this debut was Kate's pitch-perfect period teenage voice, career aspirations, and relationship with Johnny. In fact, until the novel's final act, the Cinderella conceit felt *almost* unnecessary. What color it does add to the story I wish had been explored in greater depth, but for a debut I love the gamble taken here in seeking to incorporate the twin passions of history and folklore.

While Cinderella's Dress is less of a historical fairy tale and more of a slow-burning period character study, I thoroughly enjoyed my introduction to Slayton's writing. I desperately wish some of her promising concepts had been given more room to develop, making the dress lore aspect of the story more prominent. But that aside, Slayton has a clear affinity for the time period and a charming ability to pen a sweet romance that left me thoroughly charmed. I would love to see more historical fiction of this ilk, and with clearer pacing and a stronger integration of the fairy tale and historical elements, I have high hopes that further ventures of this type from Slayton's pen may well outshine the first!

About the book:

Being a teen-ager during World War II is tough. Finding out you’re the next keeper of the real Cinderella’s dresses is even tougher.

Kate simply wants to create window displays at the department store where she's working, trying to help out with the war effort. But when long-lost relatives from Poland arrive with a steamer trunk they claim holds the Cinderella’s dresses, life gets complicated.

Now, with a father missing in action, her new sweetheart shipped off to boot camp, and her great aunt losing her wits, Kate has to unravel the mystery before it’s too late.

After all, the descendants of the wicked stepsisters will stop at nothing to get what they think they deserve.

Cinderella teaser trailer

This teaser tells me absolutely NOTHING, yet I could not be more excited about this take on Cinderella:

Review: Gilded Ashes by Rosamund Hodge

Gilded Ashes (A Cruel Beauty Novella)
By: Rosamund Hodge
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
ASIN: B00BEFTQN2

Review:

Once a beloved only daughter, following her father's remarriage and subsequent death Maia has remained in her stepmother's household, despite being relegated to the status of a servant, subject to the whims of her stepfamily. Though an outsider in her own home, taken advantage of and abused, Maia remained, for she'd learned the price of her tears was too great for anyone else to pay. For Maia has an avenger, a guardian angel, if you will -- the ghostly spirit of her beloved mother, residing in the tree that they once played under when Maia was a child. If Maia's mother thinks she is anything less than perfectly happy, she unleashes the demons under her thrall to drive any who cross her daughter insane. What was once a love that Maia cherished has now become her prison...and so she bites her tongue and buries her true feelings, until she's forgotten the luxury of speaking the truth.

When Lord Anax, son and heir to the Duke of Sardis, announces that he will finally take a bride, Maia sees a golden opportunity to save her family from the threat of her mother's capricious moods. She agrees to act as her stepsister Kore's proxy, delivering her letters to Anax and securing his agreement to their marriage. But Maia never counted on finding a kindred spirit in the Duke's son, one who has been as burned by love as she. As she delivers a new letter each day, she finds herself leaving a little piece of her heart with Anax, until she realizes she's stumbled into the greatest danger of all -- for if she cannot sever her fledgling bond with Lord Anax, she may lose more than her stepfamily to her mother's wrath -- she might lose the hope Anax has given her for a future free from fear.

Since falling in love with Rosamund Hodge's debut novel, Cruel Beauty -- a heady mix of fairy tale and Greek mythology -- I've been eagerly anticipating her take on the Cinderella story. Set within the same world as Cruel Beauty -- Arcadia, ruled by the deal-making Gentle Lord, prince of demons -- Gilded Ashes reinvents the Cinderella story, blending her world of demons and dangerous bargains with the Brothers Grimm story of Aschenputtel.

In a world where Disney's take on classic fairy tales has become accepted as a societal norm, it's easy to forget that that the original stories were bloody and violent, pulling no punches, refusing to deliver a romanticized version of the world in which these timeless characters lived. Reconciling Aschenputtel with Disney is a particularly good illustration of this disparity in Cinderella retellings, for the Brothers Grimm filled their story with a ghostly mother, stepsisters who self-mutilated, and the doves who later punished them for their misdeeds by plucking out their eyes.

Hodge doesn't go quite *that* far, but she restores the tension to the story, raising the stakes for her Cinderella and transforming the tropes of the classic fairy tale into a gorgeous examination of guilt, loss, and love. Here, the mother's ghost is absolutely TERRIFYING (why did I never realize this before?), a powerful catalyst for Maia's transformation from servant shackled by her circumstances to a woman embracing the chance to face world and the uncertainties of the future on her own terms -- but only if she's willing to let go of the past. Within eighty short pages, Hodge crafts a wonderfully believable romance, but even better, redeems Maia's stepfamily from the status of mere villains to fully realized characters, individuals every bit as broken and in need of love as Maia.

Gilded Ashes is a haunting, wonderfully creative Cinderella retelling, cementing Ms. Hodge as a YA author to watch. Rich in mystery, romance, and spine-tingling chills, this is the best kind of novella -- one a fully-realized and satisfying whole on its own, but that leaves you desperately wanting more. A gorgeous tale, beautifully told -- I can't wait for Ms. Hodge's next book!

About the book:

A romantic reimagining of the classic Cinderella fairy tale, Gilded Ashes is a novella by Rosamund Hodge set in the same world as her debut novel, Cruel Beauty.

Maia doesn't see the point of love when it only brings people pain: her dead mother haunts anyone who hurts Maia, and her stepsisters are desperate for their mother's approval, even though she despises them.

Meanwhile, Anax, heir to the Duke of Sardis, doesn't believe in love either—not since he discovered that his childhood sweetheart was only using him for his noble title. But when Maia's and Anax's paths cross before the royal ball, they discover that love might not be the curse they once thought. And it might even be the one thing that can save them both.

Fantasy fans who love Kristin Cashore and Rae Carson will find everything they're looking for in this extraordinary and romantic novella.

Review: An Offer From a Gentleman by Julia Quinn

An Offer From a Gentleman (Bridgertons #3)
By: Julia Quinn
Publisher: Harper Collins
ASIN: B000FC1PN4

Review:

From her earliest childhood memories, Sophie Beckett knew the truth of her parentage, and as a consequence, her place relative to the world of the rarefied English ton -- strictly outside the elite ranks of that social whirl. As the bastard daughter of the Earl of Penwood, Sophie knew she rested behind the thinnest veneer of respectability -- claimed as the earl's ward, but with the truth of her parentage write clear on her features, until her tenth year Sophie enjoyed a life that, although lacking the emotional security of family ties that she craved, provided for the physical needs of food, shelter, and education. But everything changed when her father married a widow with two daughters, and Araminta, the new countess, taught Sophie what it meant to be shamed for possessing antecedents well and truly out of her control. For four years, the girl was further ostracized, hated by the woman she'd hoped to look on as a mother and ridiculed by her daughters Rosamund and Posy. With the earl's sudden passing, Sophie found herself unacknowledged and penniless, thrust into a life of servitude, at the mercy of Araminta's every whim. Six years pass, and her dreams worn thin under the grinding heel of Araminta's shoe, when invitations to the famed Bridgerton masquerade ball arrive, Sophie seizes the chance to, for just one night, be something more than a scorned illegitimate daughter -- to be just her, a woman reborn, a world of possibilities at her feet. It was just one night -- and one night couldn't possibly cause any harm. But sneaking into the masquerade, arrayed in a dazzling silver gown, Sophie underestimated the power of one night to transform her life forever, for she never counted on meeting Benedict Bridgerton...

Benedict, the tall, lanky, impossibly handsome second Bridgerton, is heartily sick of society in general and his mother Violet's matchmaking schemes in particular. But when he spies a mysterious woman in silver at his mother's masquerade, he knows his life has changed forever -- for this woman, known to him only by her winsome smile and electrifying presence, this woman, over the course of one brief encounter, captures his heart forever. When she flees the ball, leaving only a monogrammed glove as a clue to her identity, he's devastated, and spends months searching for her among the ton, to no avail. And as the months become years, he becomes convinced his once chance at a love match to rival his parents' has passed -- sure, that is, until he rescues housemaid Sophie Beckett from the unwelcome advances of her employer at a country party. But Sophie is a servant, a wholly unsuitable match for the younger brother of a viscount...isn't she? Be that as it may, she's the only woman to make his heart sing since the long-ago masquerade, and so he proposes an audacious scheme -- Sophie will become his mistress. However, Benedict never reckoned on Sophie's horror of inflicting her illegitimacy on a possible child, or the secrets she's been holding dear. When the truth is finally revealed, will true love conquer all, or will social conventions shatter the promise of a love that flowered one magical night, when a masquerade gave an unlikely pair the courage to reveal their hearts?

The more I read Julia Quinn, the more I become convinced that this woman can do no wrong. The Bridgertons have quickly become one of my all-time favorite fictional families, and with this third installment, Quinn blends her trademark warmth, wit, and humor with a fairy tale retelling that is at once both literal and wholly new. The Duke and I and The Viscount Who Loved Me, which showcased the love stories of Benedict's sister Daphne and brother Anthony, respectively, are essential fairy tales in and of themselves -- delightfully romantic, humorous, heartfelt confections that establish Quinn as a gold standard in romance. But with An Offer From a Gentleman, Quinn takes the conceit one step further, weaving the tropes of the Cinderella story -- the evil stepmother and stepsisters, shoes, a ball, secret identities -- into the Bridgerton world and making the classic tale her own.

Lest her retelling become too literal, Quinn introduces Sophie and Benedict, sparks fly -- and then circumstances conspire to keep the would-be lovers apart for two years. And this time jump is one of the things that impressed me the most about this retelling of Cinderella, revealing Quinn's determination to thoroughly test the fairy tale trope of love at first sight to the max. Both Sophie and Benedict construct ideals, fantasies that arguably see the best potential in each other but just as arguably fall short of reality. For Sophie's determination to keep her secret, reveals the great irony of the title -- Benedict's offer to make Sophie the maid his mistress means that in perhaps the most important respect -- respect of Sophie as an individual, regardless of social station -- that he is no gentleman. His pressure to get Sophie to acquiesce to his plan is inexcusable and short-sighted, but it's a testament to Quinn's characterization and plotting that he still emerges as a hero worthy of keeping company with Simon and Anthony. This Bridgerton, of the charmed life, loving family, and hidden artistic bent, is desperate to be known and loved as an individual, yet is just as susceptible to the social pressure to marry well until he realizes that in Sophie he has a woman who'd love him if he were a pauper -- and how, therefore, could he do any less in return?

Perhaps it is the comfort of familiarity, but with each successive installment that I read of Quinn's Bridgerton series I fall more and more in love with this delightfully quirky, passionate, close-knit family. Even more than the previous two installments, this novel showcases their legendary family bond, and gives their matriarch Violet a chance to shine, far beyond merely urging each of her children in turn towards matrimony. It could be tempting, with Quinn's breezy writing style and irrepressible sense of humor, to gloss over the weightier themes of family and belonging, of seeing, being seen, and being truly accepted as one is, that she explores within the pages of Benedict and Sophie's story, but that is what makes her books such gems. She blends the heady flush of new romance with a refreshingly honest look at what it takes to make a relationship last beyond the thrill of discovery and the first rush of passion. An Offer From a Gentleman is romantic escapism at its finest, yes -- but escapism laced with thought-provoking nuggets shedding light on identity, self-worth, and the respect of one another required to make a relationship work that once again elevates Quinn's storytelling from the realms of the ordinary to the extraordinary.

About the book:

Sophie Beckett never dreamed she′d be able to sneak into Lady Bridgerton′s famed masquerade ball - or that "Prince Charming" would be waiting there for her! Though the daughter of an earl, Sophie has been relegated to the role of servant by her disdainful stepmother. But now, spinning in the strong arms of the debonair and devastatingly handsome Benedict Bridgerton, she feels like royalty. Alas, she knows all enchantments must end when the clock strikes midnight.

Who was that extraordinary woman? Ever since that magical night, a radiant vision in silver has blinded Benedict to the attractions of any other - except, perhaps, this alluring and oddly familiar beauty dressed in housemaid′s garb whom he feels compelled to rescue from a most disagreeable situation. He has sworn to find and wed his mystery miss, but this breathtaking maid makes him weak with wanting her. Yet, if he offers her his heart, will Benedict sacrifice his only chance for a fairy tale love?

The UK cover!

******

So, I know the costumes aren't right, but hey when we're talking fairy tale casting who cares about accuracy, eh? All while I was reading An Offer From a Gentleman I kept picturing Benedict and Sophie as Richard Chamberlain and Gemma Craven from my beloved 1976 version of Cinderella, The Slipper and the Rose.

I mean look at this profile -- does that scream artistic, brooding aristocrat or what? :)

Review: Glitches by Marissa Meyer

Glitches (Lunar Chronicles #0.5)
By: Marissa Meyer
Publisher: TOR
ASIN: B0085UCSZC

Review:

Glitches is a short prequel to Marissa Meyer's debut, Cinder -- a futuristic, science-fiction colored retelling of the Cinderella story. Since I adore fairy tale retellings, Cinder has been (languishing) on my to-be-read stack since its debut -- but as I am determined to finally dive into Meyer's world, I thought it only appropriate to first read this short story that introduces Cinder and her world (though it should be noted that it was released after Meyer's debut - but since I generally try to read series fiction chronologically, I opted to read this story first). 

Released as part of TOR's 2012 Fierce Reads anthology, Glitches introduces a pre-teen Cinder, half-human, half-cyborg, en route to her new home in New Beijing. "Enhanced" with a robotic arm and leg following the accident that killed her parents, she's left without memory of her previous life in New Europe and only the hope that she can find a home with Garan, the man who oversaw her "rebuild" and his wife and daughters. I LOVED this set-up -- in a world at once both familiar and alien, Cinder finds herself acclimating to a life without context, where she is not only feared by many for her mechanical aspects but possesses abilities and talents she's received no training in (like instant data look-up, and an affinity for robotic tinkering).

Though just a few pages long, this short story packs quite a punch, establishing Cinder's relationships with her stepsisters -- the sympathetic Peony, the more snobbish Pearl, the reconstructed robot Iko, and the harsh -- and presumably soon-to-be-villainous stepmother Adri. The events leading to Garan's presumed death and Cinder's subsequent fall from grace in Adri's eyes are pitch-perfect and heartbreaking, especially given Cinder's disconnect with human emotion thanks to her amnesia and newly-enhanced form. This is a fantastic introduction to Meyer's imaginative world-building, and I cannot wait to dive into her full-length fiction now!

About the book:

Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She’s a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s illness. In Glitches, a short prequel story to Cinder, we see the results of that illness play out, and the emotional toll that takes on Cinder. Something that may, or may not, be a glitch...

Disney classics

These photos are SO COOL. Disney characters spliced with photos of the real-life models that inspired them!

The Sleeping Beauty ones are my favorite. :) Photos via The Mary Sue/jamieleto.

Review: The Stepsister Scheme by Jim C. Hines

The Stepsister Scheme (Princess Novels #1)
By: Jim C. Hines
Publisher: DAW
ISBN: B001O222DG

About the book:

Cinderella–whose real name is Danielle Whiteshore (nee Danielle de Glas)–does marry Prince Armand.  And if you can ignore the pigeon incident, their wedding is a dream come true.

But not long after the “happily ever after,” Danielle is attacked by her stepsister Charlotte, who suddenly has all sorts of magic to call upon.  And though Talia–otherwise known as Sleeping Beauty–comes to the rescue (she’s a martial arts master, and all those fairy blessings make her almost unbeatable), Charlotte gets away.

That’s when Danielle discovers a number of disturbing facts: Armand has been kidnapped and taken to the realm of the Fairies; Danielle is pregnant with his child; and the Queen has her own very secret service that consists of Talia and Snow (White, of course).  Snow is an expert at mirror magic and heavy duty flirting.

Can the three princesses track down Armand and extract both the prince and themselves from the clutches of some of fantasyland’s most nefarious villains?

What would happen if an author went back to the darker themes of the original fairy tales for his plots, and then crossed the Disney princesses with Charlie's Angels? What's delivered is The Stepsister Scheme, a whole new take on what happened to Cinderella and her prince after the wedding. And with Jim C. Hines penning the tale readers can bet it won't be and they lived happily ever after.

Review:

I adore fairy tales, and am always on the lookout for fairy tale retellings that seek to breathe fresh life into the bones of a classic, well-known tale. Thanks to a recent GoodReads friend request, I stumbled upon The Stepsister Scheme, the first novel in Jim C. Hines' Princess series. With its graphic novel-style cover artwork featuring three princesses ready for battle, I was immediately intrigued, as the artwork promises that are most assuredly not the princesses of classic lore. For the first volume in his Princess series, author Jim C. Hines returns some of literature's most famous heroines to their darker Grimm roots. Adding a healthy dash of modern sensibility, wry humor, and a set-up reminiscent of Charlie's Angels, Hines' princesses are no wilting wallflowers waiting to be rescued -- rather they are on a quest to reclaim their lives from the sanitized, romantic tales that have arisen around rumors of their respective pasts.

As the title hints, The Stepsister Scheme is primarily centered on Danielle Whiteshore, the real Cinderella (in a nice touch her father was a master glass artisan), attempting to adjust to her new life as a wife and princess. But shedding her past, riddled with emotional and physical abuses, proves difficult, and Danielle has trouble reconciling her previous hardscrabble existence with her stepmother and stepsisters with the privilege and power it is now her right to command. Following an attempted assassination attempt by her suddenly magic-wielding stepsister Charlotte, Danielle is introduced to a world she never dreamed existed, where her mother-in-law, Queen Bea, commands a duo of elite women -- Snow White, an expert in all things magical, and Talia, otherwise known as Sleeping Beauty, a fighting expert thanks to the fairies' gifts of preternatural grace and intuition. Snow and Talia's unique skill sets make them the ideal agents to serve the queen on dangerous assignments -- and when the attempt on Danielle's life reveals a plot to kidnap her husband and overthrow the kingdom, she joins the pair determined to save her marriage and prove her mettle as a fighting princess.

I loved the multitude of nods to each princess's original story that Hines incorporates into his wildly fractured reimagining. Snow's nemesis -- this time her mother -- is tortured by being forced to dance in red-hot shoes as in the Grimm version. There's also a tragically doomed romance with a handsome huntsman and a multitude of mirrors replete with magical uses. Talia views her fairy gifts as more of a curse than a blessing, and while a prince figures in her reawakening, he's less noble and far more lecherous pervert. I loved the touch of a "spindle whip" being Talia's weapon of choice -- that was a nice nod the spindle lore in the original tale. But my favorite nod to Grimm involved Danielle's story, which saw Hines keep "Cinderwench's" guardian angel in the form of her mother's spirit -- first trapped within a magical tree, then a glass (!!) sword, as well as the vicious bird attack her stepsisters experience at the royal wedding.

While this is an undeniably fun concept, where this debut in the series falters is in character development. Danielle is the only princess I consistently felt any sympathy towards or inclination to cheer on as she fought to rescue her husband and reclaim her happy ending from the machinations of her stepsisters. Snow and Talia suffer from unfortunate stereotyping for much of the novel -- Snow is a sexed-up flirt while Talia is the embittered, rude warrior (and in a "twist" you can see coming a mile off, has unrequited feelings for Snow...ergh). Much is made of their own dark histories, but it isn't until the final third of the novel that their backstories are explored, finally lending the them some level of much-needed depth. Despite the character development issues and an occasional want of plot focus, Hines' world-building sparks with life. This is a fresh, energetic, and oft-times wonderfully snarky take on fairy tale retellings that shows great promise for future volumes.

when the Doctor met a Disney princess (or two...)

Thanks to being recently featured on Ript Apparel, I discovered the art of Karen Hallion. She has created some absolutely GORGEOUS Doctor Who/Disney art that you can purchase as prints or notecards through her Etsy site. I opted to purchase one each of her the Doctor-meets-a-Disney-princess cards for framing purposes, and they are gorgeous -- vibrant colors on sturdy cardstock, fabulous for framing or mailing. :) With Karen's permission I'm thrilled for the chance to feature her art and shop on the blog today.

"Adventure in the Great Wide Somewhere" (purchase):

"Part of Every World" (purchase):

"Come Away With Me" (purchase):

"You Coming Blondie?" (purchase):

Please be sure to visit Karen's shop to check out all her other awesome Doctor Who, Star Wars, and Firefly inspired art!

Disney Designer Style

Despite my love of fairy tales and Disney classics and Sleeping Beauty in particular, somehow I missed it when Disney released their "Designer Princess" collection last year. The collection consisted of dolls, prints, notes, and make-up, taking its inspiration from fashion design from the 1950s and 1960s.

This notecard image features my favorite princess, Aurora from Sleeping Beauty...isn't it gorgeous?

I am SO annoyed I missed out on this collection last year and the chance to order at least the notecard set in order to collect a set in miniature prints. Oh well, thank goodness for the internet! *wink*

Here are the rest of the princesses featured in the collection:

Do you have a favorite? I pretty much love them all. :)

Review: Cindy Ella by Robin Palmer

Cindy Ella
By: Robin Palmer
Publisher: Speak
ISBN: 978-0-14-240392-1

About the book:

Prom fever has infected L.A. -- especially Cindy's two annoying stepsisters and her overly Botoxed stepmother. Cindy seems to be the only one immune to it all. But her anti-prom letter in the school newspaper does more to turn Cindy into Queen of the Freaks than to close the gap between the popular kids and the rest of the students. Everyone thinks she's committed social suicide, except for her two best friends -- the yoga goddess India and John Hughes-worshipping Malcolm -- and shockingly, the most popular senior at Castle Heights High and Cindy's crush, Adam Silver. But with a little bit of help from an unexpected source -- and the perfect pair of shoes -- Cindy realizes that she still has a chance at a happily ever after.

Review:


For most of her life, Cindy Ella Gold has managed to remain relatively invisible -- no small feat considering her name's unfortunate resemblance to a certain famous fairy tale princess. But all of that changes when the fifteen-year-old sophomore sends a letter to the editor of the Castle Heights High school newspaper, calling out the upcoming prom as superficial social construct designed to separate the haves (the popular kids) from the have nots (the unpopular kids). Cindy little realized the firestorm her letter would start, positioning her as a social pariah at her elite school, all but guaranteeing that her long-time crush, Adam Silver -- the "prince" of the school's social system -- would never look at her once, much less twice. But following the publication of her letter, Cindy finds herself torn between not one, not two, but three potential love interests. With the help of her best friends -- the peace-loving, yoga-obsessed India and the fashion-conscious Malcolm -- and an unexpected fairy godmother stand-in, Cindy learns the real magic that might help her win the boy of her dreams lies in just being true to her own unique, quirky self.

I have a life-long love affair with fairy tales, and the "fractured" type holds an endless appeal since I love seeing an author put a fresh and unique spin on a classic. I was thrilled to discover Robin Palmer's modernized reimaginings of fairy tales, beginning with Cindy Ella, very loosely based the Cinderella story. Like her fairy tale counterpart, Cindy Ella is the "outcast" in her blended family, but in a refreshing twist her home life, while not ideal, is free of the maliciousness that shades the traditional stepmother and stepsisters' actions. While Cindy's stepsisters, a.k.a. the Clones, Ashley and Britney certainly feel that Cindy's lack fashion sense and popularity reflect poorly on them, they are strictly comic characters and who don't go out of their way to sabotage Cindy's tenuous high school standing. And her stepmother Clarissa's penchant for relating everything to Lifetime movie plots is hilarious (particularly when one considers that Palmer once developed scripts for the network). While they may not understand her, it's refreshing to see a Cinderella's family situation that isn't riddled with complete soul-crushing dysfunction.

For a character who spends much of the novel bemoaning her peers' obsession with material things, Cindy can be equally flighty when it comes to her love interests. But that is part of the fun of this frothy confection of a novel. Much like the 2004 film A Cinderella Story (with which this novel shares more than a passing resemblance, particularly in the IM-relationship respect), Palmer's first foray into fairy-tale inspired fiction is a frothy slice of dreamy escapism. While Cindy grapples with her image and sense of self, her dialogue and thought-processes, occasional as flighty as the her stepsisters, are quite genuine for a teenage voice. And the payoff for remaining true to herself and her ideals (following a glittering makeover by her gay fashion-savvy SAT tutor), though arguably predictable, is a wish-fulfillment at its finest, a sweetly realized dream come true that revels in Cindy's individuality (and seriously, any guy who puts up with an infant younger-brother tag-along on the first date is a PRINCE). Cindy Ella is a light-weight slice of escapism for the fairy tale aficionado, and shows Palmer's promise for updating fairy tales in fun, unique, and modern settings. I'll definitely check out more of her work!

Disney reimagined...

Thanks to a friend posting a link on Facebook, I was introduced to the work of a fabulous artist - Claire Hummel, at Shoomlah.com. She has a series of prints where she's reimagined classic Disney princesses in accurate period costume (and oh happiness, she sells PRINTS!).

Snow White, early 16th century Germany

Purchase prints

Pocahontas, 17th century Powhatan costume

Purchase prints

Cinderella, mid-1860s

Purchase prints

Jasmine, pre-Islamic Middle Eastern

Purchase prints

Sleeping Beauty, the year 1485 (and my favorite!)

Purchase prints

Ariel, 1890's evening gown

Purchase prints

Belle, 1770's French court

Purchase prints

I hope to purchase a print or two soon, I think they are amazing! I'd love to hear your favorite - mine is Sleeping Beauty, since that is probably my all-time favorite Disney film (and fairy tale - and the retellings - I could go on and on...). :)

Project update #2

It's been several weeks since I've shared a cross-stitch project update, and since I haven't picked this up in two weeks at least, here's hoping this proves to motivate me to get back to work. :)

Anyone else keeping busy with crafting projects this summer?

Project update #1

About a month ago, I shared my current cross-stich project with you - the Kinkade/Disney Cinderella. I thought it was high time for an update since I've been working on it like mad in my free time this week. :)

Sorry about the crappy lighting. I'm actually pretty amazed - this is the most I've ever completed on this type of project, so I have high hopes for the finished product. :)

Current project...

Generally speaking, I'm not a fan of Thomas Kinkade, but when I discovered he had a series of Disney-themed paintings I was all over that. :) Isn't this gorgeous?

This Cinderella print is probably my favorite from the series so far, since I'm a die hard romantic and was a total "Disney Princess" girl growing up. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that eventually a Sleeping Beauty painting will be added to the series, since that is my favorite animated Disney film (are you listening, Kinkade?). :)

A couple of weeks ago Kristin posted about purchasing a Kinkade/Disney cross stitch project, and I was positively inspired. I haven't attempted a cross stitch in years - in fact, I have a horrible track record with any type of craft project like this. But give me a subject I really like and maybe, just maybe, I'll stick with it (keeping my fingers crossed). I've been wanting some sort of project to keep my hands busy while watching TV in the evenings after work. With that goal in mind, last week I made a trip to Hobby Lobby and purchased the 5x7 Cinderella Disney Dreams cross stitch kit. Since then, I've made great headway (if I do say so myself) on the skirt of Cinderella's gown.

This is the goal:

I'm trying not to get intimidated. This is definitely the most involved cross stitch project I've ever attempted. Hopefully my project will 1) get finished and 2) look this good. Time will tell...

Any other cross stitchers out there?