Review of Entwined by Heather Dixon

Title: Entwined
Author: Heather Dixon
Published by: Greenwillow Books
Pages: 485
Source: Bought
Format: ebook
Rating: 2.5 stars

Summary from Goodreads: Azalea and her younger sisters dance in the mysterious silver forest every night, escaping from the sadness of the palace and their father’s grief. What they don’t understand—although as time passes they begin to get an inkling of the danger they are in—is that the mysterious and dashing Keeper is tightening his snare with deadly purpose. Luckily, Azalea is brave and steadfast. Luckily, a handsome young army captain also has his eye on Azalea.

This must be the week of fairy tales for me.  Somehow, lately I haven't been able to get enough, be it actual fairy tales or the retellings.  Entwined is based off the fairy tale known as "The Shoes Were Danced to Pieces" or better known as "Twelve Dancing Princesses."  This is one fairy tale that I didn't know much about so the story itself wasn't so much a retelling, rather it unfolded this mystical world of wonder.  With not knowing much of the background to this fairy tale, there was more mystery involved then the normal retelling which always lead to something unexpected and intriguing. 

The story was a bit darker than expected, as it was lined with death, deception, and power struggles.  There were some touching moments as well though that kept me intrigued and not overwhelmed by the darkness.  Especially towards the middle with the interactions of the daughters and their papa, the King.  At first their relationship was strained, but I believe he was always looking out for their interests to the best of his ability.   

I did have a hard time connecting with the characters on this one.  They seemed too out of reality and it always felt like I was reading a story instead of living it.  Azalea and her eleven sisters had different personalities, but at the same time all kind of blended together.  I only remembered some of their names and even then it was hard to not only maintain who each princess was, but also the revolving cast of other characters in the story.  The only character that stood out to me was the villain and that is because I despised him.  I had a hard time with how forceful and controlling he was and was horrified every time he hurt Azalea.  I felt like he didn't have a conscious and was a deranged and certifiable crazy.   

Entwined was a intriguing story, but not exactly my type of retelling.  While I like a bit of uncertainty it was just too dark for my idea of a fairy tale.