Princess of the Silver Woods

From Goodreads:
When Petunia, the youngest of King Gregor's twelve dancing daughters, is invited to visit an elderly friend in the neighboring country of Westfalin, she welcomes the change of scenery. But in order to reach Westfalin, Petunia must pass through a forest where strange two-legged wolves are rumored to exist. Wolves intent on redistributing the wealth of the noble citizens who have entered their territory. But the bandit-wolves prove more rakishly handsome than truly dangerous, and it's not until Petunia reaches her destination that she realizes the kindly grandmother she has been summoned to visit is really an enemy bent on restoring an age-old curse. The stories of Red Riding Hood and Robin Hood get a twist as Petunia and her many sisters take on bandits, grannies, and the new King Under Stone to end their family curse once and for all.

My Rating: ****

Another beautiful fairy tale retelling from Jessica Day George. She's one of my absolute favorites! Petunia was a fabulous heroine, all feisty and brave and handy with a pistol to boot. :D I liked being back in Westfalin and liked seeing more of the kingdom. It makes me love the whole series even more (and just for your information, this is the third and final book about the 12 princesses - the first is Princess of the Midnight Ball and the second is Princess of Glass). All of my favorite characters are back from the other two books, but if you haven't read the other books recently it might make your head spin trying to remember them all and keep track of who's who amongst the twelve. It's an ambitious cast of characters for sure.

The story is a typical fairy tale, but beautifully done. Expect people to fall in love too fast, expect simple good vs. evil battles, expect a very cheery happily ever after. That may not be everyone's thing, but it's certainly mine! The story is simple and sweet and a little juvenile. It's not overly epic or grand, but it's perfect for younger teens and for those days when you just need a nice fairy tale.

Highly recommended for fans of fairy tale retellings and fans of Jessica Day George's previous works.

And many thanks to NetGalley and Bloomsbury for providing me with an early copy of this to read. I've been very impatiently waiting to post this review, since I read it a couple months ago. Good news! Princess of the Silver Woods is out as of yesterday and would make a perfect Christmas gift for the teenage girl on your list. They didn't ask me to say that, by the way. I just loved it that much! :D