Princess of Glass - Jessica Day George

Hoping to escape the troubles in her kingdom, Princess Poppy reluctantly agrees to take part in a royal exchange program, whereby young princes and princesses travel to each other's countries in the name of better political alliances—and potential marriages. It's got the makings of a fairy tale—until a hapless servant named Eleanor is tricked by a vengeful fairy godmother into competing with Poppy for the eligible prince.

This was a really cute companion/sequel to Princess of the Midnight Ball. It takes place 3 years after their curse is broken and Poppy is the princess we follow in her adventures in a neighboring kindgom. While the narrative switches between Poppy, Eleanore, and the Prince, I enjoyed Poppy's perspective the most. She was sassy and strong and not one to sit quietly in the corner. The Prince was shy but charming - even if he was a bit clueless at times. Eleanore on the other hand was hard to feel sorry for. While her circumstances weren't exactly ideal, she was a bit of a spoiled brat. She did eventually learn her lesson, but mostly she just bugged me.

What I really enjoyed what the fact that in essence it was a re-telling of Cinderella but it was so different that it wasn't until the very end that I put it together. So while it was a familiar story, it felt completely new. I loved that. My only problems were that the ending confrontation with the godmother felt a bit rushed and anti-climactic and the nightmares that Poppy had was never really resolved. Other than that, I truly enjoyed this book.

4/5

Princess of Glass
Jessica Day George
Bloomsury
272 pages
$16.99 (hardcover)