In a manor by the sea, twelve sisters are cursed.
Annaleigh lives a sheltered life at Highmoor, a manor by the sea, with her sisters, their father, and stepmother. Once they were twelve, but loneliness fills the grand halls now that four of the girls' lives have been cut short. Each death was more tragic than the last—the plague, a plummeting fall, a drowning, a slippery plunge—and there are whispers throughout the surrounding villages that the family is cursed by the gods.
Disturbed by a series of ghostly visions, Annaleigh becomes increasingly suspicious that the deaths were no accidents. Her sisters have been sneaking out every night to attend glittering balls, dancing until dawn in silk gowns and shimmering slippers, and Annaleigh isn't sure whether to try to stop them or to join their forbidden trysts. Because who—or what—are they really dancing with?
When Annaleigh's involvement with a mysterious stranger who has secrets of his own intensifies, it's a race to unravel the darkness that has fallen over her family—before it claims her next.
Review: My interest in this book started when I saw the GORGEOUS cover. And I sort of just decided to read it. I didn’t know that it was a retelling of the twelve dancing princesses until I got a few chapters in, but it was a pleasant surprise. I love the story of the twelve dancing princesses, so of course, that gives this book some extra points, plus some more points since I’ve never seen a retelling of the twelve dancing princesses before.
The story starts off with a….funeral. This is a bit of a strange start, but it does give you some space to understand the main character and her family’s backstory. Annaleigh is the main character and her sisters consist of Lenore, Rosalie, and Ligeia who are the triplets, and Honor, Mercy, and Verity who are called the Graces. I have to admit, at the start, I found it hard to remember all the characters and distinguish between them. But after a while, the reader gets to know more about them.
I found that her dad and Morella, her stepmother were very complicated characters. Annaleigh seemed to think that her father was nice and nonviolent at the start, but as the story goes on you can see that he acts quite different depending on the situation.
Morella was portrayed as an outsider who was clueless about the Iland’s traditions. But I wondered if she was really clueless or she’s secretly an evil step-mother.
Going into this the first thing I noticed was the ATMOSPHERE. It felt enchanting and eerie at the same time. There’s just something really captivating about the concept of a manor at sea. The descriptions of the dresses and the balls were glamorous and sparkling-all fairytale-like. And the mansion along with the Annaleigh’s chilling moments were described in a way that made me wonder “How does she do that?”
And then the last bit of the book got so crazy and suspenseful, it was like I just couldn’t stop reading! I did not see that ending coming, I was just like “What is going on??!!” It was a pretty big plot twist.
However, the ending disappointed me a little. There are a couple of things related to their gods that were a part of it, and it had me confused.
The author mentioned little bits about religion here and there, but I never really grasped the concept.
All in all, this book is a sweet and dark tale that you can easily get lost into.
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