Tag: fairytale

The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh | Review

Posted October 23, 2017 in Reviews / 10 Comments

So I promised myself that this fall I would make more of an effort to read fantasy books, especially ones that I own. I decided to start this initiative with a book that’s been on my radar for years, The Wrath and the Dawn. Armed with the paperback that I had preordered over a year ago and the First Draft podcast featuring the author, I embarked on a journey into Eastern fantasy and folklore and indulged in this A Thousand and One Nights retelling. Now, I was saving this book in a sense, as literally almost every single one of […]

How Could You Be So Heartless?

Posted October 24, 2016 in ARCs, Reviews / 6 Comments

Heartless is one of the most fantastic ARCs I have ever been privileged enough to receive. I waited two hours in line at YALLWest and it was a hot mess getting it (it was pretty much a swarm) but I can’t be more thankful that I acquired it, because it’s a haunting tale that really shows the range of Marissa Meyer’s writing capabilities. Set from the perspective of the Queen of Hearts before she was royalty, Heartless follows Catherine, the daughter of a Marquess in the land of Hearts who wants nothing more than to open a bakery. Baking is […]

An Unpopular Opinion on Winter by Marissa Meyer | Review

Posted December 21, 2015 in Books, Reviews / 30 Comments

I am an outlier. A black sheep. The reader who seemed to have missed the memo that this was an amazing, flawless, work of utter perfection. So I’m going to start with a disclaimer: I love Marissa Meyer. I’ve met her twice. I think her skill at writing fairy tale retellings is magnificent. Her characters have depth and feel like my own friends. I coveted the release of Winter. I dragged myself to Barnes & Noble after an eleven hour work day to buy it in person to ensure that I received a copy that was in pristine condition. And […]

A Thousand Nights by E. K. Johnston | ARC Review

Posted October 19, 2015 in ARCs, Reviews / 13 Comments

My Review “Good men fall to monsters every day. Clever men are tricked by their own pride or by pretty words. That is what happened to the king in the tale she tells.” Very rarely do I find myself reading -and finishing- a book that was completely and totally not what I was expecting. Somehow, however, A Thousand Nights slipped through my bookish radar and when I finally got my hands on a much-coveted copy at ALA, I was somehow convinced it was going to be your average, run of the mill, Disney-washed Arabian folk tale retelling that was heavy […]

The Summer of Chasing Mermaids by Sarah Ockler | ARC Review

Posted May 28, 2015 in Reviews / 10 Comments

*Many thanks to Simon & Schuster for the review copy! I love fairytale retellings and adaptations, so when I discovered that The Summer of Chasing Mermaids was a contemporary story influenced by The Little Mermaid, I knew I had to read it. Contemporary novels that take influence from myths and legends are often so creative, and I deeply admire Sarah Ockler’s talent at weaving in influences of the famous tale into a beautiful and emotional contemporary novel. This book had a lot more depth than I was expecting. At first glance it may seem like a fluffy, beach read but […]

Damsel Distressed by Kelsey Macke | Review

Posted February 23, 2015 in Books, Reviews / 8 Comments

“She inserts herself into the life that I’m barely living in the first place.” -32 There’s nothing that I love more in books than a good fairytale retelling, so when I came across Damsel Distressed I was so excited to read one that added a twist to the normal conventions. Damsel Distressed is not only a contemporary retelling of Cinderella, but it inverts the typical tropes of the story and has the ugly step-sister archetype as the protagonist, with “Cinderella” as the evil stepsister to invade Imogen’s life. I adored reading such a creative way to retell a tired-a-true fairytale, […]

Splintered by A.G. Howard- Review

Posted January 26, 2015 in Books, Reviews / 10 Comments

“Sometimes a flame must level a forest to ash before new growth can begin.” First and foremost, Splintered has a beautiful and evocative cover. Combined with the fact that I love fairy tale retellings, and it was inevitable that I would add this novel to my collection. Now I’ll be honest and admit that I’ve never been the biggest Alice in Wonderland aficionado, but I love the imagery and know that it’s popular enough to have inspired dozens upon dozens of retellings in the past few years. I went into Splintered hoping it would be a quality retelling amidst […]

Fairytale Retelling Reading Challenge 2015

Posted December 8, 2014 in Readalongs/Readathons / 21 Comments

Today I’m excited to announce my first challenge I will be taking part in for 2015! It’s the Fairytale Retelling Reading Challenge hosted by the lovely Mel over at The Daily Prophecy. I’m really excited to be participating seeing as fairytale retellings seem to be a trend in YA that’s not ceasing to grow anytime soon, and there are a lot of them on my TBR for the upcoming year! According to Mel, here are the guidelines for the challenge: The challenge runs from January 1st – December 31st 2015. The goal is to read fairytale retellings, but if you […]

Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge- Review

Posted August 22, 2014 in Books, Reviews / 22 Comments

Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge My rating: 4.5/5 Stars Publisher: Balzer+Bray (2014) Length: 342 pgs Genre: YA Fiction/Fantasy/Romance, Fairy-Tale Retelling Format: Hardcover, checked out from my local library Goodreads Synopsis: Based on the classic fairy tale Beauty and the Beast, Cruel Beauty is a dazzling love story about our deepest desires and their power to change our destiny. Since birth, Nyx has been betrothed to the evil ruler of her kingdom-all because of a foolish bargain struck by her father. And since birth, she has been in training to kill him. With no choice but to fulfill her duty, Nyx resents […]

Scarlet by Marissa Meyer, Review

Posted April 5, 2014 in Books, Reviews / 4 Comments

Scarlet by Marissa Meyer My rating: 3/5 Stars Publisher: Feiwel & Friends (February 2013) Length: 454 pgs Series: The Lunar Chronicles, #2 Format: Paperback, purchased from my local independent bookstore Goodreads Synopsis: Cinder, the cyborg mechanic, returns in the second thrilling installment of the bestselling Lunar Chronicles. She’s trying to break out of prison–even though if she succeeds, she’ll be the Commonwealth’s most wanted fugitive. Halfway around the world, Scarlet Benoit’s grandmother is missing. It turns out there are many things Scarlet doesn’t know about her grandmother or the grave danger she has lived in her whole life. When Scarlet […]