This really wasn’t so much a fairy tale as a tale of discovery with fairy tale overtures. There’s a wicked father, a frustrated step-father, a prince and a not-quite-princess in disguise. There’s intrigue, courage, love, war, betrayal: what more does a good tale need?

Nothing.

Bella is a happy peasant girl, daughter to a blacksmith, who happens to be friends with the king’s youngest son. That is, until her life is turned upside down the year she turned 13. She discovers that her real father is a knight, but a cruel one; he has remarried and has sent for her, tearing her from the family she loves. On top of that, Prince Julian is sent as a hostage/prisoner/guest to the enemy country, where it turns out — because of his brother’s vanity — that his life may be forfeit. What is Bella to do, but try and save his life?

I loved this little book. With elements from Beauty and the Beast, Cinderella, Joan of Arc, Diane Stanley wove a captivating little tale of a courageous girl with a huge heart. It wasn’t as magical as I was expecting, though there were some elements of magic. It was more religious than I was expecting (the climax is attributed to a miracle of God), but I feel that’s what this story needed, especially since Bella had a role similar to Joan of Arc. I also liked the format; Stanley deftly wove the story from numerous perspectives; different chapters being narrated by different characters. This very easily could have been distracting, at the least, but I thought that it actually added to the charm of the story.

Which made it, if not a fairy tale, then a really good book.