Princess of the Midnight Ball (The Princesses of Westfalin Trilogy, #1)
by  Jessica Day George

Galen comes home from the war and gets a job as gardener in the royal palace gardens. There he meets the twelve princesses and hears rumors that they wear out their dancing slippers every third night. Noble princes come and go, each trying to solve the mystery, but they all fail. The king agrees to give Galen special permission to investigate the mystery, and Galen discovers that the princesses are held under a strong enchantment, forced to dance for the King Under Stone and his twelve sons.

I loved this fairytale retelling! It follows the basic story structure of the original fairy tale, but with some imaginative additions and interesting side characters. The world-building is full of history and political intrigue. There is this weight of years of war that haunts the characters and guides their actions toward peace.

The magic was especially interesting because you can see the dual sides of light and dark magic. The magic of the King Under Stone is really creepy and ominous, but Galen uses ancient remedies and warding objects like rowan and nightshade to protect himself and the princesses.

I especially loved Galen! He is resourceful and clever and decisive. He takes action when others just sit around helplessly. I liked that he fails and makes mistakes, but he just tries again and takes a different approach the next time, and keeps going until he achieves his goal.

Rose is the eldest princess, and it was really sweet to see how she tries to guide and protect her younger sisters. She feels like she has to step into her mother’s shoes and take responsibility and try to support their father the king.

I loved the sweet and clean romance! It was so cute to see Rose and Galen having these little stolen moments together in the garden. It was especially adorable because Rose’s sisters all tease her and Galen, giggling and pestering them.

To see the minor instances of violence in this book, you can check it out on the Screen It First website! https://screenitfirst.com/book/princess-of-the-midnight-ball-523599