Author: Jody Wallace
Grade: C
Read: January 1, 2010
Susannah is the eldest daughter in a small kingdom of the middle kingdoms. When she is born the fairy Malady places upon her a curse that she will marry "a man not of her choosing." This curse was apparently soooo horrible that the Kings and Queens of the middle kingdoms banned Malady from the human realms. Before the ban could be read into effect however, Malady gave them a parting curse: No male children would be born to the nobility. Ever again.
The Kings and Queens try to bargain with the fairy council but the fae claim it would be against professional ethics to involve themselves in curse interference unless serious damage has been done. There are daughters still being born to the nobility, their are sons in the peasant and merchant classes being born ergo no real damage has been done.
But there has been damage done. The laws of the middle kingdoms decree that noble women can't marry outside their class, own property, live on their own or rule and those laws mean that there are many cranky, unmarried noble women living at home. The shortage of noble husbands also means that for many kingdoms, the time of the inheritance will be coming to an end. Who will rule when the generation of noble male rulers that now exists is at an end? Enter Susannah and her sisters. They are twelve young women living at home ranging in age from thirty to 13. When it is discovered (by them only) that Sussanah can do magic, they resolve to solve the problem.
Things go wrong of course. The door Sussanah was supposed to open into the realm of fairy actually opened into an enchanted kingdom full of young men who want nothing but to dance with the princesses who walk through the door. As the princesses begin to take nightly excursions to this enchanted realm where they wear out their slippers, their parents grow concerned. And angry. What is happening? Why? Guards don't work. Separating the girls doesn't work. Nothing works until . . . .
Enter Jon Tom. A Detective, something unheard of in the kingdoms. This handsome commoner assures the Queen that he will be able to get to the bottom of the mystery of the 12 dancing princesses. . . . .
This book was a cross between a medieval fantasy and a modern day farce. While the humor was mild it was definitely on the silly side. The characters all have modern sensibilities. And the resolution of the problems seemed nonsensical to me. I also didn't get the "evil" of Sussanah's curse since it sounded as though she would have been marrying a man of her parents choosing anyway.
It was a light read and taken as that it is in the OK realm. Readable but nothing to write home about.
On the other hand, I am thrilled to have this book off my TBR pile where it has languished for several months! One down and many to go.
Tea: Celestial Seasonings has several good varieties of Red Tea. I recommend the Moroccan Pomegranate
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