Entwined

Come and mend your broken hearts here.

Just when Azalea should feel that everything is before her—beautiful gowns, dashing suitors, balls filled with dancing—it’s taken away. All of it. And Azalea is trapped. The Keeper understands. He’s trapped, too, held for centuries within the walls of the palace. So he extends an invitation.

Every night, Azalea and her eleven sisters may step through the enchanted passage in their room to dance in his silver forest, but there is a cost. The Keeper likes to keep things. Azalea may not realize how tangled she is in his web until it is too late.

♥

Heather Dixon's "riveting" novel certainly entwined me. From the first word, I couldn't put it down, and it has quickly become one of my favorite books of all time. 

I am in the middle of rereading it for the 10th time (not even an exaggeration), so as you can probably infer, I definitely recommend this book. 

(No spoilers included).

The story is a retelling of The Twelve Dancing Princesses (my favorite fairy tale). The part I love best about this book is the fact that it still manages to maintain its innocence while also providing intriguing mystery, thrill, and romance. Overall, it is the perfect book.

I also love the interactions between characters and how each princess has her own distinct personality--which isn't easy to accomplish, as there are twelve prominent characters. Making sure that all of them were included in dialogue and scenes couldn't have been easy. As an author myself, I understand the challenge this poses, and I think that Heather Dixon did a marvelous job of balancing all of the characters. 

After tragedy strikes the family, Azalea and her eleven younger sisters are forbidden from dancing. Unable to repair the broken relationship with their father, the King, before he leaves for war, they feel that more than ever, dancing is the only way to mend their hearts. Confined to the palace and cut off from everyone else, the girls feel more forlorn than ever. But then, Azalea discovers a passage that leads her an her sisters into a silver-frosted forest with a huge pavilion and a mysterious Mr. Keeper for company. Here, the girls can dance as much as they like. But there is trouble afoot, and it may be too late for Azalea to save her family.

I don't want to give too much of the story away, but that's the gist of it. Please read this book. You will not be sorry. I can't express to you how much I love this novel. You will discover the "flickery bit" of magic inside of you as you read, mending your heart along with the girls. This book is a breath of fresh air, a cool summer breeze, a frosty winter breath, a blooming daisy....there aren't enough nature related metaphors to describe my love for it. 

Thanks for writing this book, Heather Dixon. I, along with so many others, are grateful to you.

♥