This sadly didn't hold up for me as well as it did 10+ years ago when I first read it... now I'm a little afraid to re-read some of her books I love more for fear of being disappointed!

Four fairy tales, two retold and two new, in beautiful prose by a master spinner of the fairytale. Overall, it doesn't quite reach the grade set by the author herself.

I hadn't read this since I was a wee lass. <3

My quest to re-read every Robin McKinley book definitely goes better when I stick to her older stuff (yes, this means you, Sunshine *shakes fist*)

The style on these stories is very influenced by the Andrew Lang fairy books, so how you feel about them will probably depend on how you feel about the style of those "classic" fairytales. I quite enjoyed them, though the endings on a couple were pretty simplistic and the association of beauty (and slimness) with goodness was very... fairy-tale-y.

I particularly liked the spin on "The Frog Prince", which didn't take the easy route of "selfish princess learns a lesson" like most re-tellings do. The Twelve Dancing Princesses" had charm, and the soldier POV character was likable, but didn't really bring anything new to the tale.

I still love McKinley's prose, but these stories didn't engage me like her previous books. Mostly because I already knew them - sans "The Door in the Hedge" which was my favorite of the entire collection. Usually, I don't mind that - I appreciate how McKinley can make familiar stories seem new and interesting in her retellings. But for some reason the shorter form just didn't work as well for me--unlike her full-length retellings, like "Beauty" or "Spindle's End". Still, I really enjoyed myself.

I was really in a mood for a fantasy fairytale-like book, so The Door in the Hedge was a great choice. It was actually my second attempt on reading it, and in this case, I feel like the audiobook worked much better.

I enjoyed all four stories, though the first one, The Stolen Princess, was definitely my favourite. The writing style is beautiful and truly feels like those old fairy tales. Overall, the classic fantasy atmosphere made for a really cosy, whimsical read that I really enjoyed.

I'm excited to discover more of this author's works now!

This is a Robin McKinley compilation of several short fairy tales. I found it to be mostly uninspiring, like almost all short stories, but enjoyable and charming for what it is. There are four stories, some much longer than others, and our theme for the day is princesses. There are two original tales, as well as two retellings: the princess and the frog (my favorite, and the shortest) and the twelve dancing princesses.

Overall, I remain puzzled by the fact that I ADORE McKinley's Damar-world books, but have been somewhat less than impressed by everything else I've read from her.

This is a collection of short stories. They are straightforward, well written fairytales, including some less familiar ones.

CC: typical fairytale magic

A collection of mostly sweet stories. As with all collections, some are better than others. The character development, scenery, drama, and plotting is good, and McKinley does a good job making the stories both fresh and familiar.

Still, some of the tales are a little turgid and plodding, some are dull and predictable, and there’s not much excitement. The first story is a little weak, but they get stronger as you read further. The style is a bit too descriptive. The romance in the original stories is not developed too well.

Pretty mixed overall.

It’s alright. I’ve read better. I know they’re fairytales, but I wish she would have given the women more agency. The originals weren’t bad in that respect, but none of the princesses speak in the 12 dancing princesses and that’s not fair to me.

Couldn't sleep, this was available as an e-book from the library, read it all in a go...

It holds up pretty well, at least for an after-midnight Deirdre. The titular story is not really my favourite, and most? all? of the stories feature some good ol' fairytale instalove, which is less and less palatable to me even in the hands of Robin McKinley. Her writing, though- the matter-of-fact, dreamlike quality of it still rings true, and she captures some moments of pain and poignancy well.

A collection of four short stories - two retellings and two original fairytales - beautifully written and magical, as only Robin McKinley can do it. I enjoyed the stories, but some of them were better than others, and there were a couple that I wished were full length.

Nothing says romance like: "I'm no longer young so I'll take the oldest."

I know it was in the original story but geesh...if ever there was a time to take creative license.

This collection of short stories contains two familiar favorites (The Frog Princess and 12 Dancing Princesses) and two new works (at least, new to me: The Stolen Princess and The Hunting of the Hind.) All of them rely heavily on the McKinley brand of poetic writing that sucks you in and makes no sense if you pause long enough to think about it.

I enjoyed the stories well enough but the classic stories contained nothing new and the original stories nothing I wanted. Maybe fleshed out versions would work better. But all of them had more in common with Spindle's End than The Blue Sword