She was tired - oh so very, very tired. Never - not in her entire life - had Evony Elorrietta ever known such total, draining fatigue. Forced into hiding when her aunt, Queen Raina and her mother, Queen Charmaine mysteriously disappear within a week of each other, Evony spirits herself, her brother and her sister away to safety somewhere within her Aunt Raina's kingdom. Under the alias of Edith, the lovely princess has found work as a seamstress for a truly odious and abusive woman, in the hopes that she will somehow discover what has happened to the missing twin queens of the realms of Abawyth and Elawyth.

Several months later, Raina's daughters - six sets of twins - become victims to an incredibly strange malady that proves almost incurable. Night after night, the princesses inexplicably disappear, only to return by dawn, completely exhausted and with only vague memories of what has transpired the night before. The call goes out to the surrounding kingdoms that a champion is needed to rescue the 'Sleepy Princesses of Abawyth' - with the promise that whomever successfully vanquishes the spell, will have one of the princesses' hands in marriage. Many gallant princes have tried, and all have failed in the quest...

Stavos Varonin was not as blind as so many nobles and royals. From the moment he saw the pretty young maid dash across the street - directly into his horse's path - he suspected something about her. The young woman's physical gestures - even the simplest movements of her hands - revealed that the damsel who called herself Edith had not always been destitute. The same was true of the children - of their polished manners and the boy's knowledge of horses; his tendency to be bold and fearless of strangers.

Ah yes, Stavos enjoyed a good mystery. After all, interest in the inexplicable circumstances surrounding the royals of Abawyth was the very thing that had lured him to the kingdom - the enigma of the twelve sleepy princesses of Abawyth. And yet now - now his mind was all the more intrigued. Not only was the obscurity of what caused the profound and baffling drowsiness of Abawyth's princesses laid out before him, but he also found his curiosity piqued over the riddle surrounding the very lovely Evony and her siblings.

As Stavos traveled through the village resting on the outskirts of Abawyth Castle, his mind reeled with possibilities. His musings were drawn back to why he had come to Abawyth in the first place - to solve the conundrum surrounding the twelve beautiful princesses of Abawyth kingdom; to solve the seemingly impenetrable puzzle, thereby winning the hand of one of Abawyth's princesses, as his father, King Letholdus of Ethiarien, had commanded.

I absolutely loved this book! I do enjoy reading fairy tale retellings, and this was no exception. I have heard of the fairy tale of The Twelve Dancing Princesses - which is the fairy tale that Midnight Masquerade by Marcia Lynn McClure is based on. While I vaguely remember the plot of it, I couldn't actually tell you the version that I read as a child, if I've ever read one before.

I will say that as a child, I watched 'HBO's Fairytale Theatre' or 'HBO's Storyteller's Theatre' - something like that - which was a children's program that I watched every Saturday morning. I may have seen an episode based on The Twelve Dancing Princesses, then. Anyway, I definitely will give Midnight Masquerade by Marcia Lynn McClure an A+! and I look forward to reading more by this author in the future. ( )

I love fairy tales and retellings, so when I heard about this one, I couldn’t wait to read it! This is a retelling of the Twelve Dancing Princesses story. I have to admit, I was not really familiar with this fairy tale. I do have vague recollections of some sleepy princesses going through shoes quickly, but I didn’t really remember the story. So I can’t say how much of the original showed up in this retelling.

This is a cute story with a happy ending. Stavos is the prince who comes to town to solve the mystery of the dancing princesses. He is handsome, rich, strong, smart, and very honorable! Evony is a princess in hiding, smitten with Stavos from the moment she meets him, and also honorable! The story has ‘bad guys’, danger, and suspense. It is a fairy tale, so of course you know it ultimately has a happy ending, but there are still some tense moments which keep the story interesting.

Even though this is a cute story with a happy ending, this is NOT a children’s story. While there is nothing ‘R’ rated in the story, there is a bit of ‘sizzle’ in the kissy scenes and the motives of the bad guys are less than honorable. There is also a tiny bit of violence. It should be fine for teens, but probably not for a younger child, even if she is an advanced reader.

This is a quick, fun read with a handsome prince, and beautiful princess, and a happy ending. What more could you ask for! ( )

4 STARS

I did not realize it was a take on a old fairy tale. I did think the story was familiar in some ways. Now I know why. I love fairy tales but this was not one I read as often as others.

I really like Evony. She is a smart, brave and a hard worker. She cares about her family. She has a lot of secrets and is not sure who to trust.

Stavos when he almost ran over Evony with his horse stopped to help her. He would not take a no for answer. He paid her employer money for her to be off work for two days, Carried her home when he realized her foot was too sore for her to walk. He replaced her broken eggs and bought other groceries too for her and her younger brother and sister.

Stavos was given the task to come and find out what was ailing the twelve princess. He was also told by his father to marry one of the 12 princess to as his reward.

Of course it is a clean read as most fairy tales are. Their is a Wicked Step parent, Prince and Princess and dancing. It was romantic and left me smiling at the end of it. So what else does it need. I thought she did a good job making it fresh and new.

This is the first book of Marcia Lynn McClure that I have read but I do have a few books of hers on my kindle that I will be reading soon in the future. In fact I just won one am excited to read it more now. I will be reading more of her books soon. I can see myself rereading this book again and again.

I was given this ebook to read and asked in return to give honest review and be part of its blog tour. ( )