Let's have a moment of applause for Diane Zahler. I have never seen another author do what she has done. 
 While she reworked a fairy tale into a fantasy novel before, Zahler does something slightly different in her second novel "A True Princess" -- she blends together two different fairy tales into one delicately-wrought fantasy story, and then drapes it with some Germanic/Norse folklore. It's a charming, cleverly-written little story that succeeds in surprising you. 
 As a baby, Lilia was found in the river, and was raised by a kindly farmer... until his selfish, spiteful second wife decides to sell her off to the miller. So Lilia decides to run away from home, and is accompanied by her foster siblings Kai and Karina, who don't like their stepmother either. But they soon run into trouble -- the Elf King and his hauntingly beautiful, bratty daughter. 
 Unfortunately Kai is magically entranced by the Elf King's daughter, and Karina and Lilia can't get him to leave with them. The Elf King will release Kai, but only if he is brought the cloak clasp of Odin himself. So Karina and Lilia must go undercover in a nearby kingdom, whose prince is running a mysterious contest to find a bride with royal blood... and it reveals something shocking about Lilia's past. 
 As you've probably guessed, "A True Princess" is one part "Snow Queen," one part "The Princess and the Pea," one part "Der Erlkonig" and one small part Norse mythology. And it's a testament to Zahler's skill that she is able to weave together these different stories into one seamless whole. You wouldn't know they were from different stories unless you were already familiar with them. 
 Lilia is also a really likable heroine -- she's smart, unselfish, gutsy and loyal, and her dreams add an element of mystery to her character. Karina is a little more "ordinary," but she's just as gutsy and sweet as Lilia, and despite Kai being absent for more than half the book, he and the lovelorn Prince Tycho are solid love interests. And it's interesting to see the "snow queen" character as a bratty, grasping child-woman 
 And Zahler's writing is truly lovely -- delicately wrought and full of jewel-toned descriptions ("She moved with the sway of a willow, and she wore a dress of willow green, made of a material silkier and more flowing than any I knew") and smooth, natural-sounding dialogue. The only problem is the assumption that any "true" princess" cannot be ill-mannered or unattractive. Just sayin'. 
 "A True Princess" is a lovely little book that blends myth, poetry and fairy tales into one delicayely-drawn fantasy novel. Definitely a delight.