Spoilers Ahead For Both Books
Quick plot points. We start with a creepy prologue in which a women is viewing a dark haired girl and a prince by magic. It appears that these two are perfect for whatever nefarious plot she is thinking of. Moving along we find that in the wake of the war that tore this part of the world apart and the untimely deaths of several of the princes owing to the curse of the twelve Princesses a sort of Princess/Prince exchange program has been put into place. As a result the Princess Poppy ends up with a cousin in the country of Breton. We see that although a master at it, Poppy refuses to dance now that the curse on her and her sisters has been lifted. It seems while many people know that there was a curse, the exact nature of it is not widely known. Meanwhile the Prince of Damerhavn , Prince Christian is also sent to Breton, where the king is determine to marry him to either one of his own daughters or some other woman of his kingdom. To this effect several balls are thrown to try and get a suitable girl for the Prince. At these dances and dinners that they attend, Poppy adamantly continues to refuse to dance, preferring conversation or shockingly cards
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when they are available. Prince Christian meets her and is taken in by her easy manners and lack of stuffy decorum. Poppy's cousin Marianne is in love with Dickon and both sets of parents approve whole heartedly to the match. It is decided that Marianne shall have her own birthday ball in between the Queens Gala and the matchmaking ball set up by the King of Bretnor for Prince Christian. While all this has been going on a new maid has been employed by the house hold. The lady Eleanora, now known as Ellen was an Earl's daughter who had fallen on hard times after the ruin and death of her family. She is now in the employ of the house as a servant and she sucks at it. She burns things, breaks things, drops things and to make it all worse she is sulky and sullen about her new position. One day the household receives invitations to the gala, with the invitation going to every eligible lady. Ellen asks if she may go and is given permission by Marianne's mother the Lady Margaret, she even offers to help the girl get a gown. Ellen refuses, saying she won't take charity and she will find her own gown. Lady Margaret reveals Marianne's and Poppy's gowns to them, Poppy's being a beautiful stunning dress embroidered with red poppies. When they arrive at the ball everybody is very much enchanted with Poppy's beautiful and unique dress, when in comes a mysterious girl, wearing a glittering, dazzling version of Poppy's dress. On the mysterious girls feet are glass shoes that shine like rubies. From the moment she walks in, every males is instantly obsessed with her and every female hates her. The girl, who is called Lady Ella, monopolizes the Prince for the whole night. Only Poppy and the newly returned Roger, brother to Marianne's Dickon, can see that Lady Ella is actually the maid Ellen. Suspecting magic is at work, the two go to work on countering the effects. Much to Marianne's dismay
Dickon along with the Prince and all the other men are obsessing about the Lady Ella. Poppy tries to confront Ellen about the ball, but the maid claims that she did not go. We switch to Ellen's perspective and see her call to her "godmother" by walking through a doused fire, ending up covered in soot. She arrives at a palace of glass and is dressed and pampered by this mysterious benefactor. The only bad part is when she is ready for shoes, her godmother pours molten glass directly on her feet to make them. At Marianne's birthday ball, Lady Ella once again puts in an appearance, but this time copying Marianne's dress and stealing all the attention for herself. Fed up with this affront to her friend, Poppy and Roger make a potion, and knit charms to protect their friends. As the friends start shaking off the enchantment, Poppy and Roger follow Ella and see that she is indeed Ellen the maid, transformed by magic. Poppy goes to confront the girl again and finds her in her bed, her feet turning to glass as a result of the spell. Eventually they figure out that the godmother is actually a witch called The Corley who is trying to make up for her goddaughter's death. After they figure out the plan, they decide that Poppy will take Ellen's place and try and stop the curse. Poppy dresses up in Ella's dress and slippers and goes to the ball. The witch figures out the plan and captures both Poppy and Ella. She challenges Prince Christian to figure out which one is his true love, he correctly identifies Poppy even while under the spell. A merry chase ensues, the witch is dealt with and the three couples (yes there are three couples, it does makes sense...kind of)all live happily ever after.
Lack of sleep is starting to catch up with me so making sense is totally optional from here on out :-)
I liked this book for the most part. It was not earth shattering, or life changing, but I did enjoy reading it. I liked that the story of Cinderella was actually parceled out over three girls, each one having a piece of the original story. I liked how the flavor of Cinderella was clear through out the story, but the plot did not necissarly follow the original. Poppy was one of my favorite sisters from the first book, so having her be the main character in this book was fun. I found myself appreciating the fact that the author showed us the after effects of the war and the curse from the first book. Acknowledging that even thought he curse is broken, that does not mean everything just goes back to hunky-dory land. The long lasting effects of decisions is a major factor in these books and is dealt with in a way that is usually not seen in YA books. I also like the way the author allows her characters to be of mixed temperaments and to see the good and bad in different ways of thinking. Poppy is a bit brash and used to doing as she pleases, but when Lady Margaret gently corrects her in certain situations, Poppy realizes that a bit of gentleness and courtesy are not bad things.
Marianne is shown as a bit of valley girl, but has her own mind and knows how to use it. Ellen, our poor tragic fairytale princess is a brat, and I loved it. Eventually you feel sorry for her and wish her well, but I loved that she wasn't all sweet and good and humble, accepting the lower status life had given her. In real life I do not know a lot of people who could go from a lady with maids to being a maid to a lady without some sort of issues. It would be humiliating, heartbreaking, and sad and Ellen reacts in a very realistic manner. I love the examples of families being there for each other. So often in fairy tales we get wicked stepmothers, scary overbearing fathers, and jealous siblings. In this book Ellen's employers are not only kind and generous, but try and help her get to the ball, and it is her own fault she gets into trouble. A refreshing change of pace from the normal noble cruelty we see in the originals. As with a lot of books of this genre, the magic/curse plot resolution got a bit confusing, another example of how a good idea is hard to resolve in any coherent manner. The love between Christian and Poppy was a little rushed for my taste, but not as bad as some I've seen. Overall I enjoyed it and would recommend it to people who like retellings, fantasy, magic, and a quick easy read. I give it 7 out of 10 glass slippers.
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