Princess of the Midnight Ball by Jessica Day George is a retelling of the 12 Dancing Princesses featuring a knitting soldier, a few ancient magic users and, obviously, 12 princesses. It read much like the original tale in that everything went by so fast, but it was still a fun, enjoyable read.
What I liked:
This retelling retained many of the original elements of the story; all the original darkness and magic was present. The villain was fairly creepy (would have loved to see more of his world), and the curse(s) made the king's "solution" to his daughters' dancing plausible.
What I didn't like:
I wished I'd gotten to know the princesses better, besides Rose that is. Because there were so many characters and so many things going on, the plot seemed to fly by. Which sometimes made the characters/story feel surface-level only. I was in the mood for a light read, so this didn't bother me too much ... except when certain characters made stupid, cocky moves that created unnecessary complications and danger. Be a good soldier and pull off the operation smoothly; then those pages can be used for other things, like more character development. :)
While not the best fairy tale retelling I've read, this was a light, fun story and came right at a time when I needed an easy, fantastical read. If you like fairy tale retellings and/or are looking for a light fantasy read, give this one a shot.