Toddler Tycoons or {Put This One on Your TBR List}: Review of Wildwood Dancing Series by Juliet Marillier by Karen S. Wiesner

 

Toddler Tycoons or {Put This One on Your TBR List}: Review of Wildwood Dancing Series by Juliet Marillier

by Karen S. Wiesner

 

Beware spoilers!

 

The entertainment industry these days seems to be populated with toddler tycoons. The attention spans of those making the choices about what the population will be allowed to read, watch, play, or listen to is on par with that of a toddler. At that age, children tend to have trouble focusing on one thing for long, and they're forever abandoning the "old" in favor of something new that will only temporarily hold their interest. To add insult to injury, these "toddlers" are looking for profit above all. If it's not there in sufficient quantities, it doesn't matter how good the material is. Some of the most valuable works of art have been abandoned for little more justification than that it's the belief of some toddler tycoon that it wasn't profitable enough to warrant continuance. Many of us who enjoy these entertainments have become wary about investing ourselves and our money in anything that reaches into series territory for fear that the work will be dumped unceremoniously at any point. In the process, satisfactory resolution to the material may never be obtainable.

 

 

It's unfortunate that my first attempt at jumping into author Juliet Marillier's body of work was met with this situation. It was 2023 that I read The Bridei Chronicles, her third series of historical fantasy novels. I'd purchased them as hardcovers. In this set of stories, Bridei is sent to be educated by Broichan, a druid, in the sixth century (depicting King Bridei I of the Picts). Before long, Bridei finds a baby of the Good Folk, whom he names Tuala. The two grow up together. Even as they fall in love, their union calls them to very different destinies. How they reconcile themselves to their fates is developed throughout the series. I reached the end of the third book and realized there were no more stories forthcoming, despite that there were unresolved threads in the series! I was appalled. At that time, Marillier had spoken of the publisher for the work deciding not to continue it and hoping, for the most part, that she'd done an adequate job of tying up loose ends. I wasn't satisfied with the way things ended. I left the series very disappointed, though I admit I was impressed with the writing as a whole. Characters, conflicts, settings, relationships were all fantastically and beautifully rendered.

 

Concerned about embarking on another series that could be forsaken by the publisher, I instead tried one of Marillier's rare single titles. My review of Heart's Blood was posted on the Alien Romances Blog in early 2024 here: https://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2024/01/karen-s-wiesner-put-this-one-on-your_0103362056.html. I did enjoy it immensely but wasn't willing to invest in another series, which is what the author specializes in.

 

In mid-2026, the author came up on my library app, and I recalled how much enjoyed her approach. Marillier roots her fantasy elements into historical fact in an intriguing way. I remembered vividly that her writing style was timeless, beautifully lush and elaborate, and I decided to try another of her series. Ebooks for her Wildwood Dancing Series were immediately available (the only ones that were) so I checked them out.

 

 

Wildwood Dancing, Book 1, is a fascinating reinvention of the Brothers Grimm's The Twelve Dancing Princesses, though I feel The Frog Prince might have been an inspiration as well, as the author didn't marry herself fully to either fairy tale. In this series, there are only five sisters and the main character "princess" (Jena) isn't spoiled. The frog is her close friend whom she values. In addition to these influences, this particular story also plays with 16th-century Transylvania folk legends about Dracula, which injected an awesome angle into what might have otherwise been a straightforward story. Jena is the point of view character, the second oldest daughter of a wealthy merchant. As one of five daughters, ages five to seventeen, Jena and her sisters enter a portal in the woods surrounding their castle to the Other Kingdom every full moon. There, they dance and mingle with magical creatures. When their father falls ill and has to recover for the winter on the coast, Jena and her oldest sister are left in charge with his merchant partner as well with their father's relative. In their childhood, Jena and her cousins Costi and Cezar were tricked by a magical creature. Costi was lost to them, and Cezar never forgot. Ever after, he's sought revenge. Each visit through the portal brings the sisters back to a deteriorating home situation, as Cezar vies more and more power.

 

These stories are cited to be young adult stories targeting 12 to 15 year olds. I'm not sure there are many in that age range these days that would choose something this complex, but the tales are certainly age-appropriate. Adults who are interested in the story themes should feel free to indulge, as I'm convinced the pair are suited just as well or possibly more so to and for adult readers.

 

 

Cybele's Secret, Book 2 of the Wildwood Dancing Series, features Paula, the fourth sister of five and a scholar. It's been six years since the events in the first story. Within the first couple hundred pages, the author finally decides to get caught up with events from the last installment, and we see a happily ever after for Jena and Iulia, while the eldest sister Tati, who'd chosen to remain in the Other Kingdom with her love Sorrow, is presumed to be happy with her choices. Little sister Stela is now eleven.

 

In Cybele's Secret, Paula has accompanied her father on a business trip to Istanbul. They're on the hunt for the statue of the goddess Cybele. The setting provides a rich tapestry for the events of this story, with a compelling Robert Langdon urgency to them, as the quest for ancient artifacts and the secrets associated with them become more and more dangerous. There's a connection between this plot thread and events from the first book with dreams Paula has of her sister Tati. It is within those dreams that Paula learns the eldest sister was trapped beyond the portal because of her decision to stay with Sorrow, who can't leave the Other Kingdom. The fairy queen won't allow Tati to leave either without payment in the form of a dangerous quest undertaking to  gain favor with the fairies. Within Cybele's Secret, the gentle love story between Paula and her bodyguard was wonderfully drawn. Paula herself was a formidable and worthy heroine, as her sister Jena was before her, displaying wisdom and tenacity beyond her years.

 

Both books started a little slowly as the author set up locations, characters, backgrounds, and conflicts. For the first couple hundred pages, nothing serious seemed to be happening and there was little suspense other than that of (in Book 1) five young girls being put into positions of power in a time period where women were largely ignored and overlooked as intelligent beings. In Book 2, Paula also faced too many people who underestimated her and tried to cram her into their narrow definitions of what a female her age should be. The situation with the frog in Wildwood Dancing was predictable but including "Night People" (vampires), fairies, and other creatures that inhabit the Other Kingdom added a unique, welcome twist to the plots of both stories.

 

From the first book, I assumed each sister would get her own story, but it was clear in the early part of Book 2 that the author tried to tell several of the sisters' stories already, in brief summaries instead of full narratives. Perhaps Marillier anticipated that what she was planning as a series could be cut off before she could complete them all. The author spoke of intending to write Stela's story, but, when the publisher asked her to be done with Wildwood Dancing Series, advising she start a new one, Marillier let go of the idea of a larger series and moved on to something different.

 

Alas, any possibility of a trilogy has been tabled, once again, by the toddler tycoon of the entertainment industry. Sigh. How is it I always end up choosing the truncated series by this author? Surely not all her series can end abruptly with readers longing for more of the world and its characters and feeling disappointment that there will be no continuation? Luckily, Wildwood Dancing is a standalone series with both books telling a full, encapsulated tale within its own installment. While I might want Stela's story, I knew in advance of finishing my reading of Book 2 that it wasn't a possibility.

 

While I would love to read all of Marillier's series, I continue to be wary about investing time and money only to find that a series was left unresolved because of toddler tycoon syndrome. I imagine the author has also had a lot of disappointments in this regard over the years as she writes for a fickle entity that favors new and profitable over wonderful and worthy. (Not to imply that Marillier doesn't regularly provide all four of those aspects in her wonderful work.) As such, I'll be checking her ebooks or audiobooks out from the library (app) prior to considering making a purchase. This will allow me to ensure I haven't inadvertently purchased expensive books in a series that will never be finished.

 

Juliet Marillier is an author that any fan of history and fantasy, especially when combined, is sure to love. All of these series are recommended with the reservation that you'll deserve more in the case of some of them--more that some toddler tycoon huckster has deprived you of for poor reasons. However, this is balanced by the fact that you'll want more from this author anyway. Her books are addictive and her writing talent is well-worth your attention. 

Karen Wiesner is an award-winning, multi-genre author of 156 titles and 16 series. 

Visit Karen here: https://www.writers-exchange.com/Karen-Wiesner/