Without a doubt this is one of my favorite 'Once Upon a Time' books in a long time. This isn't to say I haven't enjoyed the more recent books (The Diamond Secret or The Rose Bride), but they didn't grab me quite as much as some of the earlier books (The Storyteller's Daughter or The Midnight Dance). Often I think the problem rested on the fact that the novel didn't stay as true to the original tale as I perhaps wanted it to.

Violet Eyes more than makes up for those that strayed. Viguie managed to weave the original tale--of the bedraggled, thoroughly un-Princess like Princess arriving at the castle and being forced through numerous tests to prove herself--into a well-rounded and enchanting read. My problem with the original tale had always been that it seemed so ridiculous and cock-eyed that the King and Queen would act in such a way, but also that the so-called Princess would put up with it.

I think they had the right idea, but just want about things the wrong way. I won't argue that the King and Queen, Richard's parents, weren't screwy to put some of the Princesses gathered through their paces, and that their methods weren't a little too...extreme at times, but there was something very endearing about them. Or maybe amusing is a better term? Poor Richard would try to get them to answer his questions and instead be given these half-answers that were obviously cryptic and frustrating.

Richard, for his part, was a truly decent fellow and I believed in his feelings for Violet, as well as hers for him. Considering she lived for portents and he was sick of being fawned over and treated like a prized stallion, its really no wonder they both had an instant attraction. I think however the fact it deepened, and they both saw each other in their respective environments, it what sold it for me.

The other Princesses were by and large glossed over with simplistic and superficial identifiers. The few who stood out in any great significance--Goldie, Arianna, Genevieve, and Celeste--were important to the story to prove this or that point. I appreciated that instead of making fast friends with the Princesses and forcing a fake almost martyrdom on each to withdraw, Viguie had each continue (or not) as befit who they were and their personalities. No one quit the competition because of their friendship with Violet. In fact Violet makes as much a statement late in the book to another Princess stating "We were competitors first, friends second" (pg 147).

Some of the book took a little bit of a stretch to pass muster, but its a fairy tale first, novel second so these things are forgivable. ( )

I loved this book! It was a great re-telling of "The Princess and the Pea" and I did not want to put it down. The character were all really fun and I loved watching the relationship between the Prince and Violet as it developed. This book was really fun and entertaining with a wonderful story about love, friendship, and a little bit of mystery thrown in to keep you guessing. ( )

A quick read. "Violet Eyes" is a sweet little re-telling of "The Princess and the Pea". Not a lot of character depth to it. The book mainly focuses on getting the re-telling of the fairy tale done. Basically, a farm girl falls in love with a prince (kinda the opposite of The Princess Bride). Afterwards she suddenly learns that she is really a princess. She was raised by peasants to avoid being killed by her kingdom's enemies. Because she is a princess, she qualifies to compete for her prince's hand in marriage against other princesses in the land.

Although this is YA, it would be perfectly fine for an advanced younger reader or to read to a small child that loves fairy tales. ( )

I actually quite enjoyed this book. Though the romance between Richard and Violet comes out of nowhere, I enjoyed it nonetheless. The thing that really got me interested in reading it was the idea of the challenges, and I couldn't wait to figure out what the tests were going to be. A fun read for people looking to unwind after a long day. ( )

This was a cute little book. Due to its size I wasn't expecting that much of story and character development, but just a nice and hopefully well written The Princess and the Pea retelling, which is probably why I wasn't disappointed with Violet Eyes. Truth to be told, some parts even surprised me, like the romance between Violet and Richard –they certainly ARE NOT your common fairy tale peasant girl and charming prince, who swoon over each other with a peck on the back of the hand, nooo, Violet and Richard really kiss like the fiery teenagers-going-on-young-adults that they are, I also enjoyed the silly competitions the King and Queen came up with to test the girls, the friendship that grew between them despite it, and the small twists in the tale, like the one in the end regarding the pea.
Like I said: it’s a cute little book, meaning: there's nothing extraordinary about it, but there's nothing wrong with it too.

*PT* http://cuidadocomodalmata.wordpress.com/2011/07/14/read-a-thon-e-minis/ ( )