The fourth novel in the Dreaming Princesses series continues the pattern of royal daughters falling under a sleeping curse. In each case, the victims travel to Earth, have an adventure, and then awaken in their world. On Earth, each princess finds they lose “something” (taste, sight, etc.), but when they return to their home in the Rezhina Valley, they gain an ability.
Golden Locks and Riddles focuses again on the characters introduced in book three, the Ormio family with its family of four princesses and one prince. The retellings this time are Goldilocks and the Three Bears for one princess, and The Miser’s Daughter, more popularly known as Rumplestilskin, for the oldest sister.
In one half of the book, Princess Ruby of Ormio awakens on Earth as a camp counselor. Thinking she is still dreaming, she urges a fellow employee, Chase, on two madcap outings. Chase is an underage driver who follows Ruby’s lead despite his reservations. Ruby is so persuasive and uninhibited, however, that she convinces him. Ruby’s misadventures to a chocolate shop, a carnival, even a crosswalk is a delight to read even while the reader is wincing. Ruby helps Chase investigate his missing brother, and in doing so, comes across something from her past as well.
The second part has Princess Diamond, the oldest sister, waking up as Diana Mason in Las Vegas. Her “loss” on Earth are her memories of the Rezhina Valley, Ormio, and her family. Yet, she dreams about all these three at night. Dia is a graduate student working at a pawn shop to save for room and board at Stanford University. Her adventure starts with her first day on the job and meeting her coworkers. They are the counterparts to the people she’s dreaming about, the same people back in Ormio.
And if two threads aren’t enough, the third thread involves princesses from book one through three. They are seeking Ruby and Diamond and hoping to awaken them. Princess Emer and Prince Caden take center stage here, though the others all have their moment to shine.
Retellings of Rumplestilskin are plentiful, not so many with Goldilocks. While the Ruby / Goldilocks portion is shorter than the Dia / Rumplestilskin, Ruby’s narrative is still an exciting adventure. Her story zips by. Ruby’s loss of her inhibitions brings levity to the story, resulting in quite a few laugh-out-loud moments.
The Rumplestilskin story is different from most of the other princess’ narratives that precede it. Identifying who will be the love interest is never in doubt except in Dia’s story. Two potential male characters figure into her retelling, and the unfolding plot is fun to read. Dia’s character, having lost her memory, acts quite differently from all the stories before it. Diana Mason’s refusal to believe she’s a princess works to her plot’s advantage.
The Dreaming Princess series has both high and urban fantasy elements—both cleverly done. The bears in Goldilocks and the gold in Rumplestilskin are integrated in a surprisingly delightful way. The books are highly creative. The romance is clean and wonderful. The humor is top-notch. Quite a few of my “ha” and “LOL” virtual stickies are on my eBook version.
I read Golden Locks and Riddles twice, and a word of advice to the reader. In fairy tale retellings, knowing the story and how it’s re-interpreted is half the fun. But for the Rumplestilskin section, I found it better to forget the source. The character of Rumple, in particular, is quite different in this novel. Enjoy the inspiration for the story, but it veers more than the other retellings.
Riddles, gold, and bears—oh, my! (You knew I had to do this.) This fourth entry in this series is a winner. Go spin some straw into gold and purchase this novel as soon as possible.