Princess of the Silver Woods by Jessica Day George

When Petunia, the youngest of King Gregor's twelve dancing daughters, is invited to visit an elderly friend in the neighboring country of Westfalin, she welcomes the change of scenery. But in order to reach Westfalin, Petunia must pass through a forest where strange two-legged wolves are rumored to exist. Wolves intent on redistributing the wealth of the noble citizens who have entered their territory. But the bandit-wolves prove more rakishly handsome than truly dangerous, and it's not until Petunia reaches her destination that she realizes the kindly grandmother she has been summoned to visit is really an enemy bent on restoring an age-old curse. The stories of Red Riding Hood and Robin Hood get a twist as Petunia and her many sisters take on bandits, grannies, and the new King Under Stone to end their family curse once and for all.


The first book I ever read by Jessica Day George was Princess of the Midnight Ball, which I received for Christmas many years ago.  From that moment on I loved her books.  From the Dragon Series to East of the Sun, West of the Moon, I couldn't put her books down.  Still, the Princess series, of which Princess of the Silver Woods is the final, have always been my favorite.  And the last installment in the trilogy is no disappointment. 

Princess of the Silver Woods follows Princess Petunia, the youngest of twelve princesses once cursed to dance every night for the evil King Under Stone.  Nine years later, and six years after Poppy's story in Princess of Glass (my personal favorite of the installments), the new King Under Stone, Rionin, and his brothers are once again after "their" brides.

The story starts off with the accidental kidnapping of Petunia by Oliver, the forgotten Earl of a torn apart estate.  When he returns Petunia to her destination - A Grand Duchesses estate that just happened to be the one that once belonged to Oliver's family - he sees shadows on the estates grounds.  Shadows with substance.

The story launches into a tale filled with old fables and red cloaks.

One of my favorite things about the book was the continuity.  The book had all of the princesses in it, including major appearances of Galen, Heinrich, and minor ones by Christian and other of the Princesses present and future husbands.  They also continued the mythologies of King Under Stone and the Nine Princesses who fathered his sons. 

However, I did have a few complaints, ones I've seen talked about in other reviews also.  One of those being the fact that the princes and the new King Under Stone fell for many of the same tricks as they did in the first book.  Another being the rushed and short scene that was the only thing besides Petunia's red cloak that linked the story to Little Red Riding Hood.  The last being the fact that many things were repeated beyond necessary amounts of time.

Still, even with those faults, the book was amazing, and definitely a worthy end to one of my favorite trilogies.  You should definitely read this book, but I would recommend at least reading Princess of the Midnight Ball first.

Rating:  5/5

Language:  Mild
Violence:  Mild
Sensuality:  Mild