Violet Eyes

‘Violet Eyes’ by Debbie Viguié is a retelling of The Princess and the Pea. It is also a part of the series called “Once Upon A Time” Is Timeless. Each book in the series is separate from the others.

Seventeen years ago in the kingdom of Cambria, soldiers from the neighboring kingdom of Lore snuck into the castle and killed the royal family. When the people found out, they rose up to defeat the soldiers and the army of Lore that tried to take over. The highest ranking nobles of Cambria were crowned king, queen, and prince. There were, however, rumors that the month old baby princess’ body was never found.

Violet was the daughter of William, who was a farmer, and his wife Sarah. In the morning after a great storm, a nobleman was found on the ground with a head injury. It wasn’t until he woke up that they learned that he was Prince Richard.

The king and queen had determined that it was time for their son to get married. And so he was sent to all the neighboring kingdoms to invite the princess’ to a contest where his parents would determine who was worthy of being his wife. Richard was returning home when he was caught out in a storm and his horse slipped on some mud and he was thrown from the saddle and hit his head. While he recuperates in the farm house, he finds himself falling for Violet who is like none of the other women he has spent time with lately. Finally he is able enough to ride and he returns to the castle, wishing all the while that he could simply marry Violet and be done with it.

It isn’t until after the prince leaves that Violet’s parents tell her that they aren’t her birth parents. A woman came to the door late one night with a month old baby, telling them to keep her safe and don’t give her to anyone who might come looking for her later. The woman never came back for the baby, but the couple later heard about how the royal family was killed, except maybe not the baby princess. They weren’t sure, but kept the secret to themselves. But when they saw that Richard liked Violet and she returned his affection, they sent her onto the castle to be a part of the princess contest.

Will the king and queen let her compete? Will anyone believe her story? How will the other princess’ like another competitor? Will Violet be able to make any friends? And is her love for Richard worth competing at all?

This is a great story and a wonderful version of this fairy tale. Although the descriptions of how sensitive the princess’ are are sometimes unbelievable! One princess was so sensitive that when a rose petal fell on her foot, she couldn’t walk for three days! That was definitely overdone, but part of the story is supposed to be slightly outlandish.

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