Fairy Tale Retellings

Review of Game of Hate and Lies by LJ Andrews

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Synopsis:
When wicked men first took the boy she loved, she was a child.
Now they’ve taken him again, but this time…she’s a queen.


For weeks, Malin plotted and schemed with the kingdom’s cruelest crooks, the Nightrender and the Guild of Kryv, to infiltrate a wicked masquerade.

They survived. They escaped. Most of them.

To the underbelly of the kingdom, the Nightrender never made it out of his own scheme. To Malin, he’s only Kase, the man who owns her heart, and who is once again a prisoner of their enemies. Malin and the Kryv will stop at nothing until he’s free. Even if it means claiming her birthright to a throne that brings death and war.

But when they discover Kase has been locked in a cruel spell, Malin must find a way to steal his new twisted memories before he is lost to them for good.

The only trouble is when Kase looks at Malin, all he sees is an enemy with a death sentence.

Return to the vicious world of the Eastern Kingdom. Part Viking, part Cinderella, the battle continues with more schemes, spicy romance, and epic adventure.


*Author Note* This book contains the spiciest scenes yet in this series. As a member of the mom-of-a-teenager club, I would recommend those who are not old enough to vote to read responsibly. There are open-door love scenes.

Review:
Could not wait to see what happened in this one. It really did a great job of showing how in politics and war you have to have patience and slowly follow a plan to get results. I could definitely feel and understand Malin’s pain as she had to work so very hard to get Kase back. While seeing Malin and Kase together and how they found each other again was quite epic, there is also great loss in this book that made me quite sad. I’m already fairly far into the next book in this series, because this series is just amazing and perfectly binge worthy.

Star rating: ✯✯✯✯✯

Review of Night of Masks and Knives by LJ Andrews

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Synopsis:
Wicked men stole the boy she loved. But when she found him again, he’d become more wicked than them all.

Malin Strom has been searching for Kase, her childhood sweetheart, since he was lost at the annual masquerade years ago.

With her gift for stealing memories, Malin crosses more than one dangerous line to take secrets from those who know what goes on behind the curtain of the wicked festival.

But when her brother is traded into the masquerade as punishment for using magic to hide Malin’s gift, her only chance to save him is to enlist the services of a brutal crook—the Nightrender—and he bears a striking resemblance to a face from the past.

No longer the boy she knew, her lost love, Kase, now rules as the amoral leader of brutal thieves. Pulled into his world of tricks and schemes, tantalizing attraction returns, but so do the secrets behind Kase’s disappearance, and the masquerade.

When their plan to save Malin’s brother takes them back to the dangers of the festival, painful betrayal forces Malin to face a cruel choice: save her brother’s life? Or give up the thief who has always held her heart.


Filled with luscious world building, spicy romance, and epic battles, this first book in the Eastern Kingdom is part Viking, part Cinderella.

Review:
This book had me drawn in from the beginning. Kase might be dark and lost in his own pain, not wanting to let others in because they could be hurt, but Malin was willing to do whatever it takes to free not only her brother but Kase as well. Seeing the two try to reacquaint themselves and deal with the darkness that people often face (though perhaps not to that extreme) when growing up and taking on more responsibilities. I absolutely love this well developed world where no one is a stock character; everyone has hopes, thoughts, dreams, ambitions. I also love how Andrews ties in fairytale elements without mimicking the plot of said fairytale. There is more spice in this book than some of the previous ones but it isn’t overly descriptive. I absolutely adored this book, and have already started the second in this series (technically the 5th in the Broken Kingdoms series). Highly recommend.

Star rating: ✯✯✯✯✯

Review of Crown of Blood and Ruin by LJ Andrews

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Synopsis:
War begins. But secrets have the power to end…everything.

Fallen princess. Traitor. Queen.

Forsaking her people and her birthright, Elise Lysander takes her place at the side of the new fae king of a broken land. Revered by some, hated by many, Elise’s fight for her love and freedom is only beginning.

As secrets of Castle Ravenspire come to light, Elise and Valen discover their enemies hold more power than they ever imagined.

It will take more than blades to defeat them.

Fulfilling a dangerous request from Valen’s imprisoned brother. Destroying a prophecy of fate kept in the hands of Elise’s brutal sister. And an unwilling alliance with a shadowed thief from a neighboring kingdom that might end in victory or more death.

Blood is calling. War will answer.

But for Elise and Valen this fight could be their hard-fought salvation…or a vicious end to everything they love.


Filled with luscious world building, banter-filled romance, and epic battles, this final book in the Northern Kingdom is part Viking, part fairy tale. One-click to start reading today.

*This is the final book in Elise and Valen’s love story, however, more tales will continue in the Broken Kingdoms. Romance and spice increases and is recommended for readers 17+ for the remaining books in the series.*

Review:
What an epic ending to Elise and Valen’s story! I will say I did expect most of the ending. I hadn’t expected a lot of the middle of this book, or the setup for the second one, but this book was quite epic. Highly immersive and you want to keep reading to figure out exactly what happens next. As we know, I love Beauty and the Beast, so I was quite happy to read this. I really loved the growth of all of the characters throughout the three books and how they developed both strength wise and opening up. I have already started the next book, and look forward to finishing it!

Star rating: ✯✯✯✯✯

Review of Court of Ice and Ash by LJ Andrews

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Synopsis:
She chose him. He chose revenge. But some choices have deadly consequences.

When Elise agreed to break a vicious curse over the man she loved, she never imagined he was a lost fae prince. But Valen left her to carry out vengeance for his slaughtered family. So when she joins the outlaw fae in their uprising against her own sister, all Elise wants is to forget the prince who holds her heart.

But fate has a different plan.

Reunited in the rescue of a mutual friend, Elise and Valen are forced to decide where they stand in the battle of crowns. As their passion reignites, so too do the dangers threatening to pull them apart for good: a strange magical blight infecting the land, betrayal by one of their own, and a devastating secret not even a fae prince saw coming.

The wicked game for the right to rule has begun. But who will save Elise and Valen from a dark magic with the power to destroy their love forever?

Review:
Elise is stuck in a horrible situation where she must fight for justice, and while she wanted to do so with the man she loved, instead she has to go on as if he hadn’t destroyed her. Seeing Valen fight himself and his true desires was very validating. This book is well paced, hard to put down, and I could not wait to read more. Absolutely loving the twists and turns, and so very glad for how it came together at the end. Of course I’m already on the next book, which would say I do highly recommend this…


Star rating: ✯✯✯✯✯

Review of Curse of Shadows and Thorns: A dark fairy tale romance by LJ Andrews

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Synopsis:
A rebellious princess. A cursed rogue. A forbidden love that will bring a kingdom to its knees.

As niece of the king, Elise Lysander cares about two things: sneaking into gambling dens, and avoiding an advantageous marriage at all costs.

When her uncle holds the life of her deathly-ill father over her head, reluctantly, Elise puts her fate into the hands of Legion Grey, the handsome and mysterious dowry negotiator. He may be arrogant and infuriating, but soon Legion incites a blistering, forbidden passion she can’t ignore.

As their attraction grows, so do the dangers: attacks from black-eyed people, a cursed enemy who is more beast than man, and rumors of fae returning for the crown they believe was stolen from them long ago.

After a bloody coup upends the kingdom, Elise flees with Legion, but nothing is as it seems. The man she allowed into her heart reveals his own secret plans with the return of magic—and he has every intention of using Elise to see them through.

With war between magic and mortal on the horizon, Elise must pick a side to protect her kingdom. Does she stand with her people who stole the throne? Or with a man who lied his way into her heart and whose secret past could bring her destruction?
 
Filled with luscious world building, banter-filled romance, and epic battles, this first book in the Broken Kingdoms series is part Viking, part Beauty and the Beast. One-click to start reading today.
 
This series will be 9-10 books with four different couples, but characters will be interconnected throughout the entire series. 
 
*Author Note* Be prepared, these fairy tale retellings might begin as a slow burn romance, but the series progresses with the spice and steam. Book 1 is not the standard for the heat of the romance and each book gets spicier.

Review:
I started this book because I’d finished the Hades and Persephone series I’d been reading and wanted to continue along the fairy tale/myth route. This book, I wasn’t sure of when I started. I already had it on my kindle and picked it based on the title; not actually remembering any description. Later I realized I’d found it off booktok, but I digress. I was quite pleased I picked it, as I fell into it right away.

Most of the characters, save Elise, in the royal family seem unredeemable. Following her adventures really resonated with me, for I believe most will feel like her about marriage. The world was well built and developed, the characters the same. Now, I had figured out our “main twist” from almost the beginning, however, I absolutely never would have expected how the end would come about. Oh my goodness! I had to immediately start the second book because I absolutely fell in love with Elise and Legion and need to know what happens next!

Star rating: ✯✯✯✯✯

Review of Glow by Raven Kennedy

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Synopsis:
The Booktok hit: The Plated Prisoner Series continues in book 4. This dark adult fantasy romance is inspired by the myth of King Midas and the gold-touched woman who realizes her true worth.

“I was nothing but a road to Midas. A means to get to where he wanted to go, and I paved that path in gold.”

My life has been made up of gilded lies. But death has been shaped from rot.

Like a phoenix caught fire, I will need to rise from the ashes and learn to wield my own power. Because my wings may have been clipped, but I am not in a cage, and I’m finally free to fly from the frozen kingdoms I’ve been kept in.

Yet the world doesn’t want to let me.

That’s the thing when you turn against a king—everyone else turns against you.

Good thing I have a different king in my corner.

But even with the dark threat of Slade Ravinger, the other monarchs are coming for me.

So I will fight for him and he will kill for me, and if we need to become the villains, then so be it.

Because so long as I live in this world, I won’t be used again.

Please note: This is an adult fantasy series with dark elements that may be triggering, including past emotional and physical trauma, violence, adult language, and explicit romance. Read at your own discretion.

Review:
Firstly, this book was SLOWWWW. 700 pages. And 10 chapters where we learn about the past, and spend so much time wondering about Auren. It did make the book feel like a bit of a drudge at the beginning with a small pacing issue, especially given how long the novel is. I think Kennedy did an admirable job in representing a repressed person and what trauma responses they can have, as well as how hard it is to work back up to being functional both with a disability/part of you taken away as well as not being oppressed anymore.

I very much enjoyed getting to see more of Slade and understand more of how he came to be in Orea as well as why he can be so dark. It was good to see a few more characters having a bit more time to shine, and I definitely enjoyed learning more of Rissa and Polly. It was also quite neat having Argo so close all, as well as those who he is used to; something I can relate to because often times people are scared or nervous around horses.

The spice in this was very well written, detailed, and why I’m also going to be tagging this under “Romance”. Definitely prefer Slade over Midas, that’s for sure!

Book 5 is due out in June, so I’ll probably be rejoining this world around then!

Star rating: ✯✯✯✯

Review of A Taste of Poison: A Snow White Retelling by Tessonja Odette

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Synopsis:
A runaway princess wanted for murder.
A deadly huntsman who’s after her heart…

Half-fae Astrid Snow is used to being disliked. With magic that makes her mirror back one’s worst qualities, she has more enemies than friends. And when she’s accused of poisoning her father, her stepmother—the formidable Spring Queen—becomes her greatest enemy yet. Forced into hiding, she finds solace at the Seven Sins Hotel. It provides the perfect subterfuge she needs. For who could ever find an outlaw in a hotel famed for sin?

Bear shifter Torben Davenport lost everything to the gambling halls. To pay off his debts, he serves the fae royals as their personal Huntsman, locating hard-to-find fugitives with his scent-based magic. When the Spring Queen offers him a bargain that will erase his debts for good, he’s willing to do what it takes—even if it means finding the queen’s runaway stepdaughter and cutting out her heart.

Astrid won’t go down without a fight, even if her assailant is a strikingly handsome Huntsman. If she can evade the bear-shifter’s claws, maybe she can make him an ally. It’s easier said than done, especially after she accidentally gets herself handcuffed to her infuriating captor.

Can Astrid cut through Torben’s icy demeanor and convince him to help her find the real killer? Or will she lose her heart in more ways than one?

ACOTAR meets Kingdom of the Wicked in this standalone fairytale retelling of Snow White. If you like brooding heroes, just one bed, and grumpy sunshine romances, then you’ll love this swoon-worthy story in the Entangled with Fae series.

*NOTE this book is upper YA/NA featuring mature situations, moderate violence and gore, substance abuse, and some adult language. The romance is slow burn but leads to moderate steam.

A Taste of Poison is a complete stand-alone novel set in the same world as The Fair Isle Trilogy. Journey back to Faerwyvae or begin your adventure for the first time with this enchanting tale. Each book in the Entangled with Fae series can be read on its own and in any order. Happily ever after guaranteed!

Review:
Wasn’t completely sure how I’d feel about this one since Astrid was so interesting. I quite enjoyed how the Huntsman got caught up and found himself more involved than he intended. I also had figured out who our big bad was going to be which I am quite please with myself for! This story had such depth and I quite loved all of the different places and people we got to meet and experience. It was beautiful seeing Astrid learn to let herself be and feel, and I think that’s something a lot of us relate to. Emotions are hard. It can be very difficult to process them and many times you can find yourself stagnant and trapped by memories and bad things, be that by what you use to get away from it or the thoughts themselves, but it’s important in life to keep moving forward and growing and working through. Quite enjoyed it, and very much enjoyed the connection that Astrid and Torben have!

Star rating: ✯✯✯✯✯

Review of Kiss of the Selkie: A Little Mermaid Retelling by Tessonja Odette

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Synopsis:
A handsome fugitive seeking a marriage of convenience.
A selkie with a lethal kiss sent to seal his fate…

To evade a vicious sea queen’s clutches, selkie Maisie hides on land surviving as a thief. But when she rescues a human from drowning and illegally brings him to shore, she must answer for breaking fae law. As punishment, she’ll have to hunt down the man she saved…and kiss him. But with a kiss that can kill, Maisie’s mission means more than seduction. It means murder.

Son of a notorious fae-killer, Dorian was never meant to survive the shipwreck that was orchestrated to assassinate him. Now that he’s on the forbidden fae isle, he’ll do anything to gain citizenship—even marry a fae bride. Desperate for a hasty marriage, he holds a bridal competition in the isle’s most theatrical city, where displays of frivolity aren’t just encouraged—they’re expected. And if Maisie can act like a proper debutante and join the pageantry, she’ll get near enough to deliver her fatal kiss.

But getting close to her target brings complications she didn’t expect. As she pretends to compete for Dorian’s heart, it starts to feel less like an act…and more like falling in love.

If Maisie doesn’t deliver her kiss by sunrise on the last day of the competition, she forfeits her life. But if she succeeds, Dorian dies. When the pageant ends, will there be a true victor? Or only death and broken hearts?

ACOTAR meets Bridgerton and The Selection in this standalone fairytale retelling of The Little Mermaid. If you like enemies-to-lovers romance, bridal contests, and snarky fae royals, then you’ll love this swoon-worthy story in the Entangled with Fae series.

*NOTE this book is upper YA/NA featuring mature situations and some adult language. The romance is slow burn but leads to moderate steam.

Kiss of the Selkie is a complete stand-alone novel set in the same world as The Fair Isle Trilogy. Journey back to Faerwyvae or begin your adventure for the first time with this enchanting tale. Each book in the Entangled with Fae series can be read on its own and in any order. Happily ever after guaranteed!

Review:
I absolutely loved this book. In truth, there was a small element taken from The Little Mermaid, but it was a fully story and then some on it’s own. A completely well flushed out and brilliant story about characters we come to care about. Maisie isn’t your typical princess, and it’s interesting to see how her unconventional upbringing has warped her senses of both propriety as well as morality. We already knew there was something unusual about Maisie, but I loved learning more about Podaxis and all of the other multitude of characters within this story. I absolutely love how this other gives such depth and vibrancy to all of her characters and lets you get to know so many while keeping the knowledge organic within the story. Maisie’s connection with the sea witch is absolutely brilliant, and I very much adored the slow burn enemies to lovers heat and passion between Maisie and Dorian. Highly recommend, and cannot wait to start the next in the series!

Star rating: ✯✯✯✯✯

Review of Heart of the Raven Prince: A Cinderella Retelling by Tessonja Odette

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Synopsis:
A playboy prince in want of a decoy bride.
A servant girl desperate for a disguise…

Raven shifter Prince Franco is every social climbing debutante’s dream. He’s handsome, heir to the Lunar Court throne, and deliciously single. Every young woman wants to bed him, wed him, or steal a moment of his time. Except, of course, for Ember Montgomery.

Half-fae Ember craves freedom from her conniving stepfamily. As if they weren’t enough to deal with, a chance encounter with the arrogant Prince Franco leaves her humiliated and in a fiery rage. Nothing could convince her the prince is anything but a rake. But when the opportunity to evade her scheming stepmother falls into her lap, she’ll pay the price—even if it means impersonating the prince’s newest flame…

To prove himself a worthy heir, Prince Franco must marry a princess. But after far too many unsatisfying trysts, he’s given up on love. With the social season in full swing, and bringing with it a horde of husband-hungry socialites, he’ll do anything to delay the pressures of both marriage and the crown. And what better solution than an alliance with a desperate servant girl glamoured as his false future bride?

Locked in a bargain, Ember must pose as a princess until midnight at the full moon ball. Until then, all she has to do is wear the glamour, pretend to court the prince, and above all else, not fall in love. But when feelings emerge on both sides, she starts to wonder if there’s more to their contrived courtship than either of them planned…

Can Ember and Franco find love when the masks come off? Or will illusions and lies prove stronger than their hearts?

ACOTAR meets Bridgerton in this standalone fairytale retelling of Cinderella. If you like slow burn romance, fake engagements, and snarky fae royals, then you’ll love this swoon-worthy story in the Entangled with Fae series.

*NOTE this book is upper YA/NA featuring mature situations and some adult language. The romance is slow burn but leads to moderate steam.

Heart of the Raven Prince is a complete stand-alone novel set in the same world as The Fair Isle Trilogy. Journey back to Faerwyvae or begin your adventure for the first time with this enchanting tale. Each book in the Entangled with Fae series can be read on its own and in any order. Happily ever after guaranteed!

Review:
I wasn’t sure I was going to love this one as much as I liked the Beauty and the Beast one, because it had been so full of passing wisdom on how people think and act and how easy it was to get lost in a book. Ember has her own passion to be lost in, but she also had to find herself, whereas Gemma already knew herself and was trying to find a place in the world that would accept her. That being said, it’s hard not to love Ember. Ember is a damsel, in distress, that has every intention of saving herself. Her humanity is endearing, and her desire to help others is as well. Seeing how Franco grows from their interactions, as well as what Ember gains in return, is brilliant and I’m so very glad I read this! I had been a little worried that something dastardly would happen towards the end, given how The Curse of the Wolf King had such upheaval when you thought everything was neatly tied together, and there was; just not what I had thought it might be. All in all, I quite enjoy this series, and the underlining perhaps unintentional lesson that one doesn’t need to marry to be whole and in an equal partnership. Also I LOVE the wisps!!!

Star rating: ✯✯✯✯✯

Review of Curse of the Wolf King by Tessonja Odette

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Synopsis:
A beastly fae king with a deadly curse.
A devious bargain to break it…

All Gemma Bellefleur wants is to leave her past behind and forget the day scandal broke her heart. But when she’s captured by a trickster fae king who threatens to hold her for ransom, she’ll find herself at the top of the gossip column yet again.

Unless…

Plagued by a curse that will soon claim his life, the human-hating King Elliot will do anything to save himself. And if Gemma can use that to her advantage, she might be able to bargain her way to freedom. All she has to do is help him break his curse.

There’s just one hitch—to do so, they’ll have to trick someone into falling in love with the beastly, brooding Elliot.

With a devious alliance made, their scheme begins, bringing Gemma and Elliot into very close quarters. Soon, an unexpected desire stirs where once there was only hate. But Gemma must fight it. For when the curse is broken, Elliot will return to his true form—a wolf—and be lost to her for good.

Can Gemma sacrifice her budding feelings to save the king’s life? Or will love force her to give up something even greater…her heart?

ACOTAR meets Bridgerton in this standalone fairytale retelling of Beauty and the Beast. If you like slow burn romance, wolf shifters, and brooding fae royals, then you’ll love this swoon-worthy story in the Entangled with Fae series.

*NOTE this book is upper YA/NA featuring mature situations and some adult language. The romance is slow burn but leads to moderate steam.

Curse of the Wolf King is a complete stand-alone novel set in the same world as The Fair Isle Trilogy. Journey back to Faerwyvae or begin your adventure for the first time with this enchanting tale. Each book in the Entangled with Fae series can be read on its own and in any order. Happily ever after guaranteed!

Review:
Firstly, fairy tale retelling so obviously I needed to read it. I really enjoyed the development of the characters and the way in which trauma is shown. Trauma impacts people far more than most leg on, and honestly, considering that, Gemma is quite well adjusted. I absolutely loved seeing the development of Gemma’s relationships with those in Elliot’s court, but I did think that it was quite obvious what was going to happen. Despite knowing that, it was still quite an enjoyable read. I absolutely adored seeing how Elliot changed and grew throughout the book.

Star rating: ✯✯✯✯✯