A Dance of Silver and Shadow by Melanie Cellier

A Dance of Silver and Shadow (Beyond the Four Kingdoms, #1)

by Melanie Cellier

When Princess Liliana and her twin sister set sail for new lands, Lily hopes to find adventure and romance. But the people of Marin live under the shadow of a curse—one powerful enough to destroy entire kingdoms. To protect them all, Lily and eleven other princesses are forced to participate in a mysterious and secret tournament.

Lily spends her nights competing in a magical underground realm and her days unraveling the dangers of this new court. Although she needs the help of the Marinese prince, Lily knows she can’t let herself grow too close to him. There’s no time for romance when the duchy is about to fall to the encroaching darkness and the winner of the tournament faces a terrible fate. But Lily and her twin have a secret advantage. And Lily grows increasingly determined to use their magical bond to defeat the tournament, save the princesses, and free Marin. Except she might have to sacrifice true love to do it.

In this reimagining of the classic fairy tale, The Twelve Dancing Princesses, there’s a lot more at stake than worn out dancing slippers.

Reviewed by phyllish on

5 of 5 stars

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Amazing!  Melanie Cellier cannot write fast enough for me.  I have consumed every book she has written and love the way she puts such interesting twists on the classic fairy tales.  If you don't remember the details of The Twelve Dancing Princesses, I suggest you take a couple minutes and read it before reading this book.  This link has the full story - it is super short and easy to read quickly.  Yeah, I know because part-way through I decided that a refresher would be a good idea.

Not only is the romance and adventure in this story rich and compelling, the relationship between Lily and her twin sister Sophie is so sweet.  Lily is compassionate and brave and yet she is willing to sacrifice her own happiness to protect her sister and the ten other princesses forced to compete in the Princess Tournament.

The struggles that Jon and Lily went through as each one dealt with being torn between their responsibilities to their families and countries and their hearts were heartfelt and touching.  Their emotions were shared in such a way as to make my heart ache for them.

As with her other retellings, though I could guess the outcome of this story I had no idea how that outcome would be reached and was fascinated throughout the story as I read to see its unfolding.

Lily and Sophie first appeared in The Princess Companion by the same author.  It might be good to read that before starting on this one, though it isn't necessary to understand what is going on here.  (I read it last year and gave it 5 stars, but did not write a review at the time.)

There were many hints in the story as to future books that will come out of this story to tell the tales of the princesses and princes involved in the Tournament, and I'm looking forward to reading each and every one.

One last comment.  The story was certainly suspenseful, but it also kept me smiling at the sweetness and at the subtle tongue-in-cheek humor used.
This review was originally posted on Among the Reads

Last modified on

Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 9 September, 2017: Finished reading
  • 9 September, 2017: Reviewed