Ghoulia13 and I have really been on an Ever After High kick lately. After vowing not to start collecting EAH, then making exceptions for the Rebels only, I think it’s safe to say that we are now fully, officially fans of Ever After High (damn you Mattel and your Webisodes that tie into the toys, making us want them even more!). I already have a pretty good collection of both Royals and Rebels, with more on the way. Briar Beauty’s Thronecoming Book is the first EAH playset I’ve purchased. Initially I wasn’t going to get it, but when I saw it was in the form of a book that unfolds to reveal three rooms, I was sold! The playset retails for $49.99 and comes with the Thronecoming Briar Beauty doll. I love playsets that come with a doll, especially one that isn’t sold separately. It makes me feel like I’m getting a bargain.
The Briar Beauty doll that comes with the Thronecoming playset is not as formally dressed as the Thronecoming dolls that are sold separately. The separate dolls all come in elaborate ball gowns, but Briar’s dress is a short dress. She does, however, come with a masquerade mask like the other Thronecoming dolls.
The playset looks like a large book with a front cover featuring an illustration of Briar inset into a plastic frame, making it look like a cameo.
The playset comes with a little silver “lock” that hooks onto one of the plastic swirled branches on the front cover (upper right). It’s like my own private book of fairy tales.
It also has a space in the “spine” of the book into which Briar fits perfectly, framed in yet another cameo.
The Briar Beauty Thronecoming Book comes with furniture and accessories, including a doll stand. It looks fairly confusing when you first take everything out of the box, but it comes with detailed, illustrated instructions, so putting it together wasn’t as difficult as I first feared. The part of the box holding the doll comes with a cardboard mirror. It’s similar to other “three-dimensional” cardboard accessories that come with the doll to make the packaging attractive. However, don’t throw the box out before removing this mirror! The silver mirror part comes out to reveal a bookmark on the reverse side.
You’ll also need this silver mirror to slide into the pink plastic mirror on the wall of Briar’s dorm room.
The first of the three rooms is Briar’s dorm room. Briar’s bed is actually stored in the spine of the book:
The bed has four legs that fold out from underneath. The detachable headboard for the bed does double duty as one of two chair backs that come with the set. When I use the tall chairback as the bed headboard (the reverse side, with the briar branches). I use the short chairback to make a bench for the table that comes with the set, making it a vanity for Briar’s room.
Bed with tall headboard and chair with short back.
The table comes with small accessories that fit into holes in the table, including a cake, a goblet, a pitcher, a covered jar, and a hand-held mirror.
There are small pegs in the wall of her dorm room to hold things like the masquerade mask that came with Briar, or a hanger to hang up her clothes.
Briar has plenty of room to entertain friends. Today, Blondie Locks stopped by.
The second room of the playset is the Thronecoming dance room. You have to reuse some of the accessories, such as the table and chair, to decorate it. When I use the Thronecoming room, I remove the headboard of the bed, turn it around, and use the other side as the tall chairback. This side is “quilted” like upholstery to match the cushion of the chair. The table, with food, also fits in the Thronecoming room.
The Thronecoming room features a cardboard DJ booth with a hole into which you can place Briar. This is the only issue I have with the Thronecoming Book. I wish the set had come with a plastic DJ booth rather than a cardboard one. Using cardboard accessories is taking the cheap way out, especially for a playset that costs $50.
Where is Melody Piper when you need her?
The Thronecoming room opens on top to reveal another level, much like the Monster High School playset, with stairs as well. Here Blondie Locks is attempting to sneak up to the balcony.
The third room isn’t really a room. It’s just a backdrop of the grounds of Ever After High in the evening, with the high school behind it.
So the description of “three rooms” in the playset isn’t entirely accurate, but I like this “room” the best. It perfectly captures the magical, fairy-tale feel of the Ever After High line, and makes a perfect backdrop for photography. Wouldn’t you agree?
Dollsville, USA 