A kingdom of shadows. A soldier sworn to protect. A princess silenced by love.Plagued by her mother’s matchmaking attempts, Princess Lily, the eldest of twelve sisters and heir to a mighty kingdom, struggles to prove herself worthy of her inheritance while avoiding the attention of unwanted admirers. Tradition forbids marriage with the man she loves, so she would rather rule alone than marry … alone than marry someone who only wants the crown.
Fleeing an overzealous suitor, Lily stumbles into a secret underground kingdom where she and her sisters encounter a mysterious sorcerer-prince and become entangled in a curse that threatens the ones she loves most. She must find a way to break the curse before time runs out, or risk sentencing herself and her sisters to a lifetime of darkness.
Fantasy, romance, and adventure combine in the fairy tale-inspired Firethorn Chronicles, an interconnected series of stand-alone tales drawn from The Twelve Dancing Princesses. Follow the sisters on their journeys in a land where sorcery is feared and dragons fly.
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The Firethorn Crown is a retelling of the twelve dancing princesses, a tale I hadn’t heard of before. I was instantly mesmerized by the world of princesses and dragons. Doue’s writing style draws you in and makes you feel as though you are right there, dancing alongside the sisters.
Lily is the heir of the Kingdom of Ituria. Unable to have the man she loves by her side, she opts to rule alone. A persistent suitor drives her to escape him in a hidden realm. Unfortunately, this is no safe haven. Lily must now rescue her sisters from a curse while continuing to dodge the unwanted attentions of her admirer. The pressure Lily feels over marrying a suitable man pales as she struggles to free her sisters from the trap she unwittingly got them caught in. You can’t help but sympathize with her.
It’s not a romance book. The love story is key to the plot, but secondary to the adventures of the sisters. It’s a very sweet relationship though.
Also, I admire Doue’s skill in handling such a large cast of characters. I found myself confused a couple of times but overall the author did a great job keeping the twelve sisters distinct.
I devoured this book in just over a day. I was hooked and with nowhere to go, I gave myself up entirely to the Twelve Dancing Sisters of Ituria.
This was an engaging retelling of “The Twelve Princesses”. The author creates beautiful and well-detailed backdrops for her scenes that are easy to imagine. The various gowns the girls wear throughout the story are exquisite. I would love to see some fan art of some of them. There are a lot of characters in this story, and it took a little effort to keep them all sorted out through the first half of the book. The final act of the book is fantastic, and I really like how it ended. It’s a clean New Adult book that can be read by anyone who like romantic fantasy.
A delightful twist on a fairytale classic.
I’ve always enjoyed fairytales, and I thoroughly enjoyed this adaption of “The 12 Dancing Princesses” told from the princesses’ point of view.
While I struggled to keep track of all the girls (after about eight or nine of them, their names escape me) “The Firethorn Crown” succeeded in staying focused by keeping the main bulk of the story centered around Lily, the oldest princess, and the next few older girls.
I enjoyed all the lush settings we are treated to in the novel, and though they don’t feature much, the pocket sized dragons that populate the princesses’ world are wonderful additions that add a fun extra flair.
All in all, a lovely, delightfully lengthy novel that gave me much pleasure to sink into the world thereof.
I base my star ratings on how likely I am to recommend a book to other book lovers I know… Since I’ve already recommended this book to a few people, then it certainly earns a five star rating
I’m skeptical of fairy-tale retellings, but I absolutely loved this story. Before I knew it was a retelling of The Twelve Dancing Princesses, I fell into the story in a way that I haven’t for a long time. I was pleased with the cast of characters, with the author’s attention to detail, with the way she managed to include all twelve girls without causing confusion, and–most of all–with the love triangle. While love triangles seem to be obligatory recently, I felt Doue handled this one in a gracefully realistic way. For all of these reasons, I’m starting the next book, The Midsummer Captives, as soon as I finish this review.
Thanks for a beautiful retelling, Ms. Doue. Nicely done.