I had not read anything by Jessica Day George before reading Princess of the Midnight Ball. This surprised me because her books seem to fit in well among my favorite “fairy tale” books such as Once Upon a Marigold, Ella Enchanted, and Hatching Magic. This story adapts the traditional tale of the twelve dancing princesses into a full-length novel with great success. The twelve daughters of King Gregor of Westfalin find themselves cursed, forced to attend a midnight ball in the underground kingdom of the King Under Stone. The frequency of these forced trips to Under Stone’s kingdom increases over time, until finally the princesses have to go every night, even when they are ill. Under Stone’s magic prevents the girls from talking about their nightly forays, so they fear that they are stuck. Evidently their mother made an ill-advised deal with Under Stone, and when she died her obligation transferred to her daughters.
Enter Galen, a young soldier who finds work as a gardener for the palace grounds. He soon falls in love with the eldest daughter, Rose, and decides to try to break the curse, even though many men of nobler rank have failed. Galen is likeable and fun to root for, and I enjoyed reading about these characters and their quest for freedom and independence.
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