The Twelve Blessings of the Two River Valley is an original nontraditional fairy tale. Dreams and magical palace delights below the earth coexists with another world with another type of reality and darkness which raises the question of what is real and what is false. The illusions and comingling of the theme of life and death was perplexing. The jumbled characters were like shadows roaming incoherently about, being but not seeing, leaving the story disconnected. It was difficult remembering and distinguishing between over a dozen very unusual names, but then it was a mythical world after all. Yet, it made the story feel rather disjointed and confusing which bogged the reading down. I struggled just to get through the book since there wasn't really anything to capture my interest. I thought the storyline was weak, and the characters were undeveloped. Toward the end was an adult twist in two of the characters regarding sexual identity and preference. There was a resolution at the end of some of the struggles in the story but for me the story unfortunately didn't really work. ( )

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this as a Member Giveaway. No compensation was received other than a coupon code so I could read this work at no cost. (Est. value: 99 cents)

Some readers may remember the fairy tale of the soldier who discovered the secret of the dancing princesses and where they went night after night.

This work covers what usually isn't told, which is what comes after what is supposed to be happily ever after.

The story draws from several sources for inspiration, and is an interesting take on what happened to the princesses once their dancing secret is revealed.

Recommended for readers that prefer the original versions of fairy tales (not the cleaned-up Disney retellings), and those who like a more macabre feel to their legends and tales. ( )