Marian and the Elf is the second book in the Elves & Legends series by Anabelle Raven. The books in this series are loose fairy tale retellings set in a high fantasy world of humans and elves with magical powers. I thoroughly enjoyed the first book, Ella and the Elf, so I decided to give this one a try. Although I don't usually enjoy Robin Hood-inspired stories as much as princess ones, this book had both! This version of Marian is a rebel princess who becomes a pirate in an attempt to escape her cruel father. Generational trauma is something that this book shares with its prequel and ..read more

I recently had the exciting opportunity to review an ARC of The Cursed Beauty, the newest fairy tale adaptation by Valia Lind. This book is part of her Skazka Fairy Tales series, which is about a Russian-inspired fantasy world with a heavy focus on romance. As the first full-length novel I've read that takes place in this world, I found it refreshingly sweet. The Cursed Beauty is a retelling of "Sleeping Beauty" that places more focus on the love story than the magical elements of the fairy tale. It's a straightforward romance about a princess and her bodyguard and the class differen ..read more

The Time Princess app recently added a new type of visual novel that has gotten a lot of pushback from players. Traveler's Notes stories are quite possibly the most unanimously disliked new feature in the game. These stories contain fewer clothing items and no companion relics, which have enhanced the player experience in Time Princess since it began. Although I played the first Traveler's Notes visual novel, I didn't bother writing about it because there was nothing in it that piqued my interest. The new one, Alice: Ideal Wonderland, is inspired by Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland, a ..read more

I don't read a lot of retellings of "Little Red Riding Hood" because they usually change the wolf character into a werewolf and eliminate the theme of trusting strangers (which is why I wrote my own version). However, since I enjoyed The Rose Gate by Hanna Sandvig because of the unique modern-day setting and fae worldbuilding, I decided to check out its prequel, The Wolf Gate. This book contains the expected werewolves, but it also does a good job of conveying the theme of trust and stands out from other fairy tale adaptations due to its modern high school setting. It remin ..read more

Over the past several years, I have reviewed various princess media. The majority of the shows, books, and movies I've discussed have been rooted in fantasy with a few exceptions. Historically, princesses were the daughters of real-life monarchs and other leaders, but most of their appeal is rooted in legends, myths, and fairy tales. Sometimes, the lines between fantasy and reality can become blurred when using real historical figures as protagonists. In the case of media like Anastasia, Reign, or Six, audiences understand that the primary function of these presentations is to entertain them w ..read more

 One good "Cinderella" retelling deserves another. The Soulless Slipper is the second of three "Cinderella" adaptations by Abigail Manning. They say you shouldn't tell the same story twice, but when you can do so in such a unique and masterful way, then why not? The Soulless Slipper is part of Abigail Manning's Fairmyth Chronicles, which seamlessly combines classic fairy tales with famous Greek myths. This book gives the story of Hades and Persephone a romantic fairy tale flair. When I was in a creative writing class years ago, I wrote a short story that retold this myth with th ..read more

It's been ten years since LoliRock first took the stage on Netflix, and rumors of a potential third season inspired me to watch the show again as I did with Winx Club, which recently previewed its upcoming reboot in Italy. LoliRock is a French Magical Girl show about a lost princess who must master her new powers while trying to liberate a mysterious faraway kingdom. It hits all the right plot notes to fit the Magical Girl algorithm, but poor writing prevents it from being a memorable entry in the genre. One thing that makes LoliRock unique is its focus on music. The t ..read more

Yesterday was the last day of World Princess Week. The week itself was mostly uneventful. Instead of celebrating squarely within the rigid August 25th-31st timeline, Disney had pop-up events throughout the month in anticipation of it. However, they topped the week off with a grand finale in mind by drawing attention to a short YouTube series that may have otherwise fallen under the radar. The series, aptly titled after the new Disney Princess brand campaign, is called "Create Your World: Making a Disney Song." As you may have guessed, the title of the new song is "Create Your World." The web s ..read more

We are two days into World Princess Week, the annual celebration of the Disney Princess brand, which takes place from August 25th to 31st this year. The beloved brand has moved on from its Ultimate Princess Celebration campaign to begin a new marketing campaign called "Create Your World." The campaign kicked off at the beginning of the month with a commercial entitled "The Magic Within" in which little girls imagine Disney characters and symbols popping into their ordinary lives so they can live the modern princess life. This particular brand campaign seems more consumer-based t ..read more

It's been a bit of a wait, but Rainbow SpA has delivered on their promise of an original animated mermaid show! From the creators of Winx Club, Mermaid Magic premiered on Netflix a few days ago with ten fun-filled episodes. Although the show didn't have quite as much underwater content as I was hoping for, it's a solid new Magical Girl series with beautiful animation and a female-empowering plot. I was thrilled to dive into the world of Merlinda, Sasha, and Nerissa and learn about their incredible powers on their journey to save Mertropia (originally called Mertropolis) pirates ..read more