Wildwood Dancing

I love everything Juliet Marillier writes. She is so good at using her knowledge of folklore to create magical stories in which the heroine must save the day. This book departs from her usual Celtic setting, taking us instead to Transylvania in the time of the Ottoman Empire and a reimagining of the Twelve Dancing Princesses.

The setting takes five sisters from a crumbling castle at the edge of the Wildwood to the Faerie Kingdom at the heart of that wood. I love how the Wildwood seems to tailor itself to the ages and personalities of the sisters. So,… show more.

If your favorite song is “Love Story” try Wildwood Dancing by Juliet Marillier.

There is something about Julier Marillier’s writing that feels ethereal and innocent and mysterious and romantic all in the same moment. Wildwood Dancing is my favorite of hers. It’s a fairytale retelling of the dancing sisters that it’s based in Romania and includes some of the local culture and customs.

I love how the realistic, unique setting blends with the fairytale story, and it really sets it apart for me from other fairytale retellings.

Wildwood Dancing is a fairytale set in the mysterious forests of Transylvania. We explore the world of Faerie through the eyes of Jena, the second eldest of five sisters who live at the castle Piscul Draculi, a name that already evokes a mystical ambiance. The cover of the book is perfectly suited to the Faerie realm and the adventure Jena embarks on as she discovers this unknown world and herself. Although I also love a concrete magic system with spells and formulaic magic, the mystery of the magic in the Other Kingdom brings the story to life as we venture… show more.

It’s no secret to my followers that I am a Marillier super-fan: I have every single one of her books. Marillier is an expert when it comes to taking fairytales and traditional folk stories and reimagining them into historical fantasy novels. Wildwood Dancing is a beautiful example of this: a retelling of ‘The Twelve Dancing Sisters’, set in Transylvania and written for a YA audience. The main character Jena has such strength and courage, and this book makes for a truly enchanting read. 

This is another childhood story that convinced me to look for the deeper magic beneath the surface, a magic tapped into through myths and legends. The world of Wildwood Dancing is filled with vampires (not the sparkly kind), Iele, and Draguta, the witch of the woods. Based on the fairytale of the twelve dancing princesses, the story is set in the mountains of Transylvania, but with the added twist of a place called the Other Kingdom, where the five sisters go every Full Moon. The descriptions are rich and vivid, and the incorporation of Romanian folklore makes it feel even… show more.