The Dancer and the Dragon Speaker is a fun, fantasy retelling of the Twelve Dancing Princesses and a lesser-known tale. While it is a short read, it makes up for it in adventure and intrigue. This book releases on December 6th, and I had the pleasure of an early copy. All thoughts expressed are my own. Here is the blurb from Goodreads for more information:
Sisters trapped under threat of fire and destruction. Dragons enslaved by a power-hungry prince. A stable hand who must devise a plan to save them all.
Dragons circle the Oneskan palace at night, shrouding the kingdom in fear and mystery. Only Princess Emelia and her sisters know the fiends fly them to the enemy country of Tsantar under cover of darkness, where Prince Leonnar hopes to steal their secrets and gain control of Oneska. Their father’s proclamation that the man who drives away the hovering dragons will marry one of his daughters incites the princesses to redouble their efforts to escape Prince Leonnar’s tyranny.
When the enigmatic new stable hand, Merric, offers to help, Emelia finds him as frustrating as he is attractive. His superior knowledge of dragons gives her new hope, until he shatters her trust by showing more interest in protecting the vile creatures than getting rid of them. But only by finding a way to work with Merric—and with the dragons she detests—will Emelia have any chance of freeing herself, her sisters, and her kingdom from Tsantar’s clutches forever.
Retelling The Twelve Dancing Princesses and The Language of the Birds
The Intertwined Tales is a multi-author series of clean fairytale retellings. Each novella entwines a famous fairytale with a lesser-known story to create one happily ever after. These standalone stories can be enjoyed in any order.
Ratings for The Dancer and the Dragon Speaker
Story: 4/5
Worldview: 4/5
Overall, I really enjoyed the plot of this novella. It took me a few chapters to fully understand everything—but everything came together quickly enough. There are six sisters here, which I’m grateful for because I wouldn’t have been able to follow twelve characters over so short a time. Princess Emelia was a strong FMC who would sacrifice anything for her family, and her sisters all each have their quirk and personality that makes them stand out. Merric is an interesting counterpart to Emelia, and I liked the way he was contrasted to the manipulating Prince Leonnar. I enjoyed the climax and resolution, but I do have some questions at the end that I’m not sure were completely wrapped up.
The worldview was vaguely Christian, in that the characters pray to the Maker (God) and ask for help in difficult circumstances. The novella did have a nice message of trust and not taking everything at surface value. Sort of like a “looks can be deceiving” message.
Overall Thoughts
All in all, a nice novella with an interesting plot and characters. This is my first book I’ve read by Laurie Lucking, but I look forward to checking out some of her other works!
If you’re looking for nonmagical fairytale retellings with a strong Christian theme, I highly recommend the Cornerstone Series. I’ve read A Noble Princess if you want to check out my review for that book as well.
