Guinevere's Gift

Guinevere's Gift by Nancy McKenzie, 2002 Knopf

   Guinevere of Northgallis is fostered to her mother's people as her father lay dying. King Pellinor and Queen Alyse take the girl and raise her alongside this daughter Elaine. Where Elaine is bold and impulsive Guinevere is studious and patient. Gwen's caution contrasts Elaine's disregard for the rules, but the young princess knows her place. Despite a prophecy at her birth that Guinevere would marry the highest king in the land, she is a penniless orphan at the mercy of her family.
     As King Arthur battles the Saxons his vassals are eager to rally behind the young warlord and his army is successful. King Pellinor joins the battle leaving Queen Alyse to manage their lands and oversee preparations for Elaine and Guinevere's marriages. Gwen sees her freedom slowly slipping away as she grows older and must take on more and more responsibilities of a lady. Gwen escapes into the hills above the castle where she discovers the hillmen guard her from harm--Llyr, as a chieftain's son, finds the princess fascinating. His interest nearly results in his expulsion from the clans, but he has promised to help the princess if she ever calls for his aid.
     In Pellinore's absence several cattle have gone missing. A neighboring prince convinces Queen Alyse that it is the hillmen who have taken her livestock. The Queen allows the prince to return with some men to hunt the offenders down. The prince is not trustworthy in Guinevere's eyes and she seeks to warn the hillmen. Llyr helps her go before the council where their lives change forever: the hillmen know of the marsh prince's treachery and warn the princess of more sinister plots. When she returns to the castle Guinevere and her cousin walk into a trap orchestrated by the scoundrel prince.
     Queen Alyse's argument for teaching the girls all aspects of home management is borne out in the concluding conflict of Guinevere's Gift. Alyse shows Gwen that she is more than a strict guardian and she can be trusted to behave in the best interests of her kingdom and family. King Arthur is a minor peripheral character in this tale from Guinevere's childhood. Her story is aimed at middle grade readers with straightforward storytelling, but a plot which can interest readers of all ages.

Black Magic Sanction

Black Magic Sanction by Kim Harrison, 2010 Harper Voyager

     She hasn't quite accepted that she is a day-walking demon, but the Coven of Moral and Ethical Standards is after Rachel anyway. After the shunning, a woman attacks her in the grocery store while she and Ivy shop. Vivian is a member of the Coven, using her white magic with deadly consequences. Rachel is sent to the FIB and made to pay for damages while Vivian is absolved of her part.
     On her way home from the FIB offices, Rachel is summoned to San Francisco where the Coven attempts to railroad her into either being magically neutered, or literally neutered. Rachel is sent to Alcatraz when she refuses where she learns some of the ways the Coven manages trouble-maker witches. The church's gargoyle, Bis, finds Rachel and comforts her until Ivy can summon her back home to Cincinnati.
     Thus begins the tug-o-war between Rachel and the forces who want to control her. Trent Kalamack is still itching to get her under his control, Algaliarept (her demon teacher) attempts to keep her in the ever-after whenever he gets the chance, Pierce (the ghost brought back to life in a previous book) leverages attraction to influence her, and the Coven is on the prowl for her ability to kindle demon magic.
     After several near-death excursions and the loss of a close friend, Rachel makes her stand, accepting her place as a step between witches and demons but refusing to let it be the reason she dies.
     Rachel Morgan doesn't want to use black magic, but her blood is having difficulty kindling standard magic. She is becoming a different entity, and the consequences on her life spiral out of control. Through her friendships and faith in herself Rachel holds her world together and manages to get out okay. Like her reader, Rachel deals with the mess of everyday life as it comes to her and hopes what comes tomorrow won't kill her.

Stolen Songbird

Stolen Songbird by Danielle L. Jensen, 2014 Strange Chemistry

     In the nearby town Cecile's mother is a famous singer and has spent years sending tutors to train her daughter in not only music, but to also provide both general and courtly education. The night before she is scheduled to join her mother and begin a promising career Cecile is kidnapped and sold to trolls who live under the local mountain.
     She is bound to the troll prince Tristan and told she will save the people of Trollus from a curse which has kept them imprisoned for over 500 years. But Cecile's new husband is not what he seems and politics among the people who cannot lie are far more complicated than the girl can imagine.
     Escape from Trollus is impossible, but it is Cecile's only hope, until she begins to know her new husband and the people of his cursed kingdom. Cecile discovers there is more to their imprisonment than anyone tells her and there is more to Cecile than anyone expects.
     Amid all their planning Tristan and Cecile discover they're more than simply allies; their bond helps them acknowledge the human myths are no less mythical than the trolls' restrictions on human-troll interaction. When it all comes tumbling down how will the prince and princess under the mountain respond?
     The beginning of a new series Stolen Songbird explores mythology and magic in an elaborate love story richly drawn along classic lines. What are the trolls really and how does their magic save them, even as the magic slowly dies. Jensen's novel is aimed at more mature readers, though teen readers can follow and enjoy its complex storyline.

A Kingdom of Ashes

A Kingdom of Ashes by Rhiannon Thomas, 2016 HarperTeen

     Aurora escaped Petrichor and the tower where she'd slept the last century away. But the princess has no experience with the world outside her castle. After a couple short weeks it is amazing she still lives and a surprise the King's guards haven't yet caught up to her. When a kind woman in a small-town bakery tries to help the princess it appears her luck has run out.
     King John's guards try to capture Aurora, but her newly discovered fire allows her to escape. The cost, though, is the small town. The king's men prevent the townsfolk from salvaging anything and John has a new weapon against the true heir. Nettle, the singer who befriended Aurora in Petrichor, appears to help the girl escape and survive in the wilderness. The companionship and help allow the girl to make decisions on where to go next.
     Nettle helps Aurora travel across the sea to Vanhelm and Prince Finnegan's protection. Finnegan makes a point to allow Aurora her own decisions. Their search for answers is a partnership neither can allow to drift beyond propriety's bounds. In Finnegan's home country Aurora discovers an affinity for the dragons which destroyed fertile Vanhelm.
     While Finnegan hopes the Sleeping Beauty will find a way to use her magic to save his kingdom, Nettle shows Aurora around the city which is the last of Vanhelm. When Nettle returns to her spying in Aurora's Alyssia Aurora herself is left with Finnegan and her magic to keep her company: neither which help Aurora decide how she feels or what she plans to do next.
     King John announces that he's captured Aurora on her rampages and plans to execute both the traitorous prince and rebellious princess. Aurora decides time has run out. She prepares for the final battle terrified of the tough decisions she must make to save her people.

Princess of the Midnight Ball

Princess of the Midnight Ball by Jessica Day George, 2009 Bloomsbury

     The king of Westfalin and his wife have twelve beautiful daughters each named after a flower. When the queen dies a strange malady takes the twelve girls: every third night the girls, though locked in their room, disappear and their dancing slippers were destroyed. The oldest is Rose; who cares for her eleven younger sisters. Rose is followed by Lily, Jonquil, Hyacinth, Violet, Daisy, Poppy, Iris, Lilac, Orchid, Pansy, and little Petunia.
     The girls are swept through a portal in their floor into the Kingdom Under Stone to dance with the King Under Stone's twelve sons. Their curse compels the princesses to travel and prevents them from mentioning the curse itself. The King is worried about his daughters and offers their hands to anyone who can discover what has happened.
     Galen is a young soldier returning from war when he hears of his king's plight. On his way to help solve the kingdom's problem he encounters and aids an old woman on the road. She, in turn, gives the young man advise and a couple gifts to help him on his quest.
     At the palace, Galen is allowed to test the girls' story. Following the old woman's advice, he is able to follow Rose and her sisters into the Kingdom Under Stone. Rose hopes the young man can help them break the curse, but her faith is tested as Galen's rudimentary magic goes up against the King Under Stone's tested curses which have held more than one regal woman captive.
     With the twelve princesses and their entire kingdom at risk Galen and his skills are the only thing keeping the King under stone. A retelling of "The Twelve Dancing Princesses" Princess of the Midnight Ball tells a story of magic and romance. Readers who enjoyed Cameron Dokey's retelling swill enjoy this take on an oft-ignored classic. Followed by Princess of Glass and Princess of the Silver Wood.