Ave, people!
How are you? (Yes, I’m really asking that)
Today, I’m gonna use the title of this this post as an excuse to talk about the last book I read I‘m gonna tell you how I got out of a month-long reading slump. (Though tis’ true, I really couldn’t read anything lately… Just wasn’t in the mood, I guess).
So, let’s get to it, shall we?
Princess of the Midnight Ball by Jessica day George
As you can tell, this book is about a princess. 12 of them, actually.
Yep, it’s a retelling of The Twelve Dancing Princesses by Brothers Grimm, and a good one too.
I’ve seen mixed reviews about it (as usual, there never is unanimous consent for anything these days, and rightly so, I might add) so I guess mine will fit in the positive-ones category.
See, as I’ve already told you multiple times in this post, I wasn’t in the mood for anything lately, not just books: since I came back from Giffoni, I have tried many things, but none of them would catch my interest for more than a day.
I’ve marathoned the first season of White Collar (again), rewatched Kingsman, Magic in the Moonlight, Shutter Island (again), started like 7 books and left them there, rewatched Mulan (which usually isn’t my first choice when it comes to my Disney Movies Rewatch, though I enjoy it just fine), went to the cinema to finally see Ant-Man (I should totally write a review, but yep, I’m that lazy), went out with my friends a lot more than I usually do, and many, many other things…
At last, I was so demotivated (I’m having a rough time trying to figure out what to do next, now that I have my college degree) that I started (re)watching Barbie movies.
And guys, I swear, that did the trick.
I’m not a snub when it comes to cartoons and such; infact, I love them. My bedroom bookshelves hold more than 500 mangas, I have original DVDs with episodes from Naruto, Mermaid Melody etc. and don’t get me started with Disney – see above – and Marvel (and DC, but mostly Marvel).
So it wasn’t a surprise that the “answer” came from that category. Don’t get me wrong, I wouldn’t watch just anything, I am kinda picky in my own way; I just think that, if the story and the characters are good, you can work with that.
With Barbie movies you have to be a bit flexible, their target is indeed children (especially little girls) from what, 3 to 13? But that doesn’t mean they can’t be watched by anyone, or that the product can’t have any kind of potential for a good movie.
So, i started marathoning them, and watched like 15 movies in 3 days (still managing to go out and getting some decent sleep hours) and THAT got me in the mood for reading again.
The thing is, I love fairy tales and legends, and I love retellings. I must have read/seen hundreds of them.
So, I got on the internet and searched for books about the same source material as the Barbie movies I just saw, I found a goodreads list, picked one, and started reading it (hence Princess of the Midnight Ball).
And I liked it.
A light read, with not so bad characterization (for those who strongly disagree, just try yourself and give 12 princesses a different personality in a span of a few hundred pages to make them recognizable enough) and a convincing spin on the classic tale (!spoiler! – sort of – the princesses do not go dancing on their own will).
There are 3 books in this series (because it is a series): the first one revolves around all of them (as the title says), but Rose, the eldest sister, gets to be in the front line. The second one, Princess of Glass, is a Cinderella retelling with Poppy, one of the 12 sisters, as the main protagonist. The third one combines Robin Hood and Red Riding Hood’s stories, with Petunia, the youngest of the lot, taking the spotlight.
So far I’ve only read the first one, but I’m planning on reading the other two very soon.
Meanwhile, here’s my fancast for Galen and Rose
Marshall Williams as Galen
Evan Rachel Wood as Rose
So, that’s how I got out of my most recent reading slump.
What about you? How do you deal with this kind of situations? And what kind of books do you recommend in these cases?
Let me know 😉
Bye Bye, Apple Pies!
A dream is a wish your heart makes 