Cute, though the determined brainlessness of both the main characters got annoying at times. She's obsessed with beauty (unsurprisingly, in both her culture and the readers'); he's hiding his intelligence (as distinct from wisdom - a) "wisdom" is illegal and b) he doesn't have much). Some nice twists; the enchanted hair is interesting. The "each bit of her wants pampering" talking magic beauty bit...was a bit obviously intended to make her dislike it, but then she didn't notice so I guess it wasn't so obvious to her. I'm glad I read it, but I don't intend to reread. ( )

This was a cute children's book about the stereotypes of fairy tales.  Gray makes light of the traditional clichés and makes them the rules" in her land of Couscous.  The main character, Rose, of course does not fit the clichés and has to make a place for herself.  This was a cute, quick read, but, it would not hold the attention of everyone." ( )

This twisted fairy tale has amusing dialogue, clever connections to past fairy tales and a quirky charm. I wanted her enchanted hair... I found it to be a quick read with a great message. ( )

With a light tone, Gray succeeds in writing a fun story with some serious themes. Rose wishes for beauty, gets it, and then realizes it's not really what she wanted. Yes, it's a critique against a shallow culture that exalts appearance over wisdom. Yes, false wisdom and true wisdom are sometimes confused. Then again, maybe it's a simple princess love story after all.

Plain Princess Rose wishes for beauty to win the heart of Prince Parsley- then changes her mind at the ball. Jasper the Fool accompanies Rose in her quest to reverse the beauty spell before Parsley comes back to marry her. A fun, breezy, and predictable read. ( )