Entwined by Heather Dixon

A retelling of "The Twelve Dancing Princesses", Heather Dixon's Entwined is a story of family, loss, magic, and of course dancing.
Azalea, the eldest daughter of the King and Mother (the girls all call the King "sir" instead of father) is called upon to host the annual Yuletide ball, as Mother is very pregnant and very sick. When she is supposed to close the ball with the King, the Prime Minister Fairweller (a younger man, very sober) comes instead to dance with Azalea. The ball is abruptly ended and it is not until the next morning that Azalea discovers why--Mother has died.
The youngest of the princesses, Lily (the 12th daughter, all of whom have flower names), was delivered right before Mother died. The King, distraught and grief-stricken, though unable to show his daughters such, rides off not long after the funeral to fight a war with neighboring country.
Without their parents, the princesses are trapped in the palace during mourning, in which they cannot leave the castle and most depressing for them all, no dancing. Mother loved to dance and when the girls surreptitiously dance they feel connected to their mother. When Azalea finds a magic passage to a beautiful pavilion with a dark man trapped in the passage. In their anger towards their father, the girls swear not to tell anyone--especially the King--about where they go in the evenings.
So begins the fairy tale in earnest. Entwined is wonderfully written, Azalea is a proud, stubborn, determined young woman who wants to fulfill her promise to her mother of taking care of her sisters, and she wants the best futures for all of them (and herself!). It's a great story that doesn't ignore the King, and the personalities of the sisters are developed as well. Definitely a recommended read.