Fantasy

Review of Once Upon A Curse 17: Dark Faerie Tales

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Once Upon A Curse: 17 Dark Faerie Tales
An anthology of short stories by a multitude of authors

Overall Star Rating: 

Genre: Fantasy (Fairy Tale Retellings)
Number of Pages: 360

Date Started: June 16, 2016
Date Finished: June 22, 201630278687

Synopsis:(From Amazon)#1 Bestseller in Fantasy Anthologies and Dark Fantasy! Seventeen magical stories from NY Timesand USA Today bestsellers and award-winning authors that will entice you to the darker side of faerie tales. More Grimm than Disney, in this collection you’ll find twists on Snow White, Hansel & Gretel, Rumpelstiltskin, The Snow Queen, Cinderella, The Pied Piper, Alice in Wonderland, and Red Riding Hood, plus new tales paying homage to the old traditions.

Shadows cannot exist without light, however, and you’ll find enough happily-ever-afters to lift your spirits in this anthology full of adventure, dark powers, and ultimately the enduring power of true love.

Short Story Synopsis followed by my review: (each short story will have a review)

YARROW, STURDY AND BRIGHT by Devon Monk – Sweet music cannot hide a wicked heart…
Yarrow, Sturdy and Bright was quite well done.  It had excellent motifs and upheld what one would expect from a fairy tale.  It was quite enjoyable.  “Take the silver dagger.  Carry the copper lantern.  Wear a cloak the color of blood.”  This is an interesting epilogue style retelling of a tale, where the reader learns that all they thought the knew about the original story was off, and the reader cannot help but want Yarrow to succeed, for her own happiness, and that of her town.

FAE HORSE by Anthea Sharp – Faerie bargains can grant any desire, but be careful what you wish for.
I really enjoyed this story as you were immediately taken and put down right into the action.  There were times where I thought that our lovely female protagonist likely was being misunderstood, and other times where I felt that what was happening was (during that time period) justifiable.  I definitely became invested in the characters and wanted to see what would happen to them at the end.  This story is written as a faerie tale and has many elements thereof, but is not a retelling of any one story in particular, to my knowledge.  (Feel free to correct me if you see a correlation I’ve missed!)

THE QUEEN OF FROST AND DARKNESS by Christine Pope – Her heart is the only thing colder than a Russian winter….
The premise of this story is quite nice.  I love the tie in between the name Tatiana for a Snow Queen story when mixed with faerie magic.  There were some parts that were repetitive, “earned it and more” used twice as well as some general editorial/grammatical mishaps: “that didn’t mattered.”  The imagery of the Snow Queen’s lair would have been more gripping if it hadn’t been compared to the Novodevichy Convent and had instead been linked to something most readers would recognize and understand– like a hockey rink.

BONES by Yasmine Galenorn – Sometimes, your most cherished dream can turn out to be a nightmare.
Bones was an interesting read, and had a few good morals within, including: sometimes it is better to keep to the path and not try to run off and that if you get what you want by force it usually doesn’t end up being as soothing and perfect as you had hoped for.  This wasn’t exactly a retelling but moreso a tale written in the same style as many traditional faerie tales.

MAGIC AFTER MIDNIGHT by C. Gockel – The Wicked Stepmother is about to meet her match…
I very much enjoyed this retelling of Cinderella.  It’s nice to see a retelling in which Cindy believes herself to be a victim, but that things are hard on her stepmother and step-siblings too, whether or not she sees it.  I liked that Cindy is a typical teenage girl, and that this story showed how easily manipulated someone who is in a state of turmoil can be.  I didn’t like that the stepmother was constantly stamping her feet.  I found it jarring as most people don’t go stomping around when angry, and there are much better ways to show irritation and displeasure.  There were a few lines that were a bit hard to read and a few times where things were said instead of shown/experienced, but overall it was quite a good story.

DANCE WITH THE DEVIL by Donna Augustine – When the devil makes a deal with a dancer, he gets more than he bargained for.
I love this.  I absolutely love it.  I would have bought the entire book just for this one short story.  Sometimes, all you need is to believe in yourself and let everything else fade away.  Or is that it?  I can’t say much about this one except that it is perfection, and I clearly adore it.

NO GIFT OF WORDS by Annie Bellet – Never steal from a witch…
No Gift of Words jolts a reader into a new world, and doesn’t do a great job of making it an easy to understand place.  The names were jarring and hard to get used to, and there was no basis of time as it seemed to jump forward without explanation.  Although there is a small moral of being nice to all creatures, overall, this one wasn’t as well done as the others, predominantly because of the disconnect between the reader and what time period/culture you are supposed to be in.  Had the author taken more time to make the land/culture accessible, it may have been more enjoyable.

THE GRIM BROTHER by Audrey Faye – Not all walks in the wood end well…
The Grim Brother is very well done.  I quite enjoyed the first person narrative about what can happen when one is not quite as good as everyone seems to think.  This is definitely worth the read, especially for people who love faerie tale retellings.

BEAST INSIDE BEAUTY by Danielle Monsch – Happily Ever After ain’t guaranteed when Once Upon a Time is here.
I love Beauty and the Beast.  I’ve mentioned before that it’s my favourite faerie tale and had been for quite some time.  This story, however, fell hard and flat.  There was really no relation between this story and any faerie tale, and it feels like the author used the idea of a connection between this story and a fairy tale to get traction, as she appears to be planning to do for her series that this story starts.  In one particular part of this story the author uses uncommon vocabulary, which is jarring since the story is, for all intents and purposes a modern story written in common vernacular.  Not a fan.

FAESCORNED by Jenna Elizabeth Johnson – The Morrigan, Celtic goddess of war and strife, must relive a painful memory that reminds her of what she can never have.
If you are going to skip a story, this one isn’t a bad one to consider skipping.  The story itself was alright, but could have been greatly condensed– probably to a few pages.  There is a lot of fighting and a lot of insulting but no basis for it in the beginning.  The story, even as the situation started to be explained, dragged.  It was a trudge to read this, in part because the vocabulary used was never explained, and you were expected to already know what the author was talking about.  Don’t bother trying to use the kindle dictionary to look up the words– they aren’t in there.

DRAWN TO THE BRINK by Tara Maya – Sajiana’s job is to hunt down monsters brought alive from paintings. She never expected to meet one so handsome… or to need his help.
Drawn to the Brink is a great telling of something like a faerie tale, without actually being one.  I really did enjoy this story, though it did have a small bit of grammatical issues.  There is a lack of romance in this story, which makes it even more interesting and entertaining.  While I definitely think this is worth the read, and I quite enjoyed it, I couldn’t help but think that the premise might have been entirely inspired by The Paper Magician by Charlie N. Holmberg.  This story is quite different in the use of magic, and quite enjoyable.  I highly recommend Holmberg’s novel series to anyone who enjoys this short story.

THE VARIANCE COURT by Alexia Purdy – Anna, a struggling college student, discovers a mysterious ring that turns her quiet life chaotic when the ring’s magic doesn’t do what it’s told.
The Variance Court is quite interesting.  I expected there to be some sort of romance or connection between our protagonist and the man she got the ring from, and was quite disappointed in what the ring was ultimately used for.  I think that the story had great promise, and it was squandered on trying to mesh it with an already existing story instead of doing something new and different and going its own way.

THE MORRIGAN by Phaedra Weldon – A young man discovers he has leprechaun blood – and is wanted by dark faerie forces.
The Morrigan is epic!  There’s a lot of Celtic/Irish language and culture mentioned but it’s explained in a way that draws the reader in and makes it understandable.  I liked that there was mention of the common myths that most people know, and how folklore has the information wrong, which is, “how we like it.”  Imagine being grabbed from regular everyday life and finding that you are an extraordinary leprechaun!  This is definitely worth the read!

ALICE by Julia Crane – A twisted tale of Alice and Wonderland. Facing madness and an ominous prophecy, Alice chooses to follow her heart despite knowing her world is about to change forever.
I enjoyed that Alice isn’t the girl we thought she was, but the shift in her relationship with the Red Queen makes the story difficult to get behind.  The tie in of twins was excellent, but I would have much preferred that the twin the Red Queen had wasn’t Alice, as Alice has a particular personality that this short story doesn’t have the time or depth to rewrite.

STILL RED by Sabrina Locke – When the Hunters come, can there be any escape?
I thought that this was a very interesting story, but perhaps not the best or most well done.  It was definitely a twist on the original Red Riding Hood story, but what Red is supposed to be is never fully explained, and what she was in the woods was also never explained.  In many ways this story seems like the ramblings of an insane woman… but maybe that’s the point.

THE FINAL STRAW by Jennifer Blackstream – To banish a gold-spinning demon, first you must guess his name…
The Final Straw was a very cute story.  I enjoyed the use of supernatural creatures and the explanation of what Rumpelstiltskin is.  There isn’t much I disliked about this story, nor can I say too much without giving the plot away.

THE UNICORN HUNTER by Alethea Kontis – Only Snow White knows what really happened in the forest…
The Unicorn Hunter showcases the vulnerability and stupidity of a young girl who doesn’t know anything and wants to trust anyone.  I liked the antagonist more than I liked her.  Snow White did seem to grow at the end, perhaps, so their is hope that maybe someday she’ll be a great queen.

TL;DR:  Of the 17 I strongly recommend reading Yarrow, Sturdy and Bright, Magic After Midnight, Dance With the Devil, The Grim Brother, Drawn to the Brink, The Morrigan, and The Final Straw.  7 out of 17 isn’t bad!

Author Bio:
For more information on any of the authors, click the link next to their name and you’ll get to their amazon page.  Sabrina Locke does not appear to have an Amazon page, which is why there is no link for her.

Review of First Lord’s Fury by Jim Butcher

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First Lord’s Fury
Codex Alera Book 6
By Jim Butcher

Star Rating: 
Genre: High Fantasy

Number of Pages: 784

Date Started: May 23, 2016

Date Finished: June 15, 2016

Synopsis: (From Amazon)6316821

For Gaius Octavian, life has been one long battle. Now, the end of all he fought for is close at hand. The brutal, dreaded Vord are on the march against Alera. And perhaps for the final time, Gaius Octavian and his legions must stand against the enemies of his people. And it will take all his intelligence, ingenuity, and furycraft to save their world from eternal darkness.

Review:
Despite being quite longer than the previous book, this book was what I was waiting for!  There was action, adventure!  There were twists and turns and times when you were unsure if the people you though you could trust were actually trustworthy or not!  Finally, a resolution to this whole series!  And yet…

Not impressed.  Although the ultimate confrontation was great and I enjoyed the tie ins, there was a bit left undone, and I was simply not a fan of one of the biggest sudden twists towards the middle-end of the book, and found it quite irritating that the particular event’s ability to happen had seemingly never been thought of(though Sextus has thought of it…)  I’m glad that the epilogue happened as it did, but I also found that all of it was just so… predictable.  Don’t get me wrong, I love a happy ending, but this seemed almost a bit too… ideal.

Author Information:
The Dresden Files are the first books that Jim Butcher managed to get published.  He is also the author of the Codex Alera, and a new steampunk series, Cinder spires.  He is a gamer, including tabletop, video games, as well as LARP.  He still lives in his hometown, Independence, Missouri.

For a detailed biography of Jim Butcher, and a way to purchase his books, see his Amazon page.

Review of Princeps’ Fury by Jim Butcher

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Princeps’ Fury
Codex Alera Book 5
By Jim Butcher

Star Rating: 
Genre: High Fantasy
Number of Pages: 640

Date Started: February 15, 2016
Date Finished: May 23, 2016

Synopsis: (From Amazon) Princeps_fury
Under Tavi of Calderon, heir to the crown, war-torn Alera rebuilds while politicians and nobles vie for power. But from the south comes news: the dreaded Vord have come to Alera. For a thousand years, Alera and her furies have withstood every enemy and survived every foe.

Review:
I haven’t too overly much to say about this book except: this book dragged.  It was a trudge to force myself through this book, which is probably why not only did it take me quite a while to finish it, but I also read several other books before finishing it.

Like usual, there were moments when you really wanted to see what was going on from one character’s perspective while jolted back to another character.  While everything that happened was necessary, it seemed to take a very long time for anything in particular of substance to happen and stick.  There are a lot of little victory, and some very heavy losses.

After reading this book, I knew I had to finish the series, and I hoped it wouldn’t be as much of a trudge as this one.  (It wasn’t.)

Author Information:
The Dresden Files are the first books that Jim Butcher managed to get published.  He is also the author of the Codex Alera, and a new steampunk series, Cinder spires.  He is a gamer, including tabletop, video games, as well as LARP.  He still lives in his hometown, Independence, Missouri.

For a detailed biography of Jim Butcher, and a way to purchase his books, see his Amazon page.

**This review has been edited based on faulty dates. (6/16/2016)

Review of The Seventh Bride by T. Kingfisher

/ authoramysbrown / 1 Comment

The Seventh Bride
By T. Kingfisher

Star Rating: 

Genre: YA Fantasy

Number of Pages: 237

Date Started: March 13, 2016
Date Finished: March 15, 2016 (early in the morning)

Synopsis:(From Amazon)seventh
Young Rhea is a miller’s daughter of low birth, so she is understandably surprised when a mysterious nobleman, Lord Crevan, shows up on her doorstep and proposes marriage. Since commoners don’t turn down lords—no matter how sinister they may seem—Rhea is forced to agree to the engagement.

Lord Crevan demands that Rhea visit his remote manor before their wedding. Upon arrival, she discovers that not only was her betrothed married six times before, but his previous wives are all imprisoned in his enchanted castle. Determined not to share their same fate, Rhea asserts her desire for freedom. In answer, Lord Crevan gives Rhea a series of magical tasks to complete, with the threat “Come back before dawn, or else I’ll marry you.”

With time running out and each task more dangerous and bizarre than the last, Rhea must use her resourcefulness, compassion, and bravery to rally the other wives and defeat the sorcerer before he binds her to him forever.

Review:
This story is an unbelievably cute fairy tale in its own right.  Not only does the protagonist have spunk and pizzazz but she also isn’t fooled into thinking she’s in a magical perfect situation after being randomly proposed to by a lord.  Although she cannot refuse, she shows the fear that most fairy tale females lack, and because of that, she uses caution which is generally overlooked by not only the Brothers’ Grimm and Hans Christian Anderson characters, but also by Disney princesses.

From the beginning I saw glimpses of fairy tales.  There was mention of fantasy creatures doing mischievous things, and with a miller’s daughter, it would be hard not to expect Rumpelstiltskin to jump out.  Though there were several fairy tale and fantasy story connections from Rumpelstiltskin to Alice and Wonderland mixed with The Wizard of Oz, this book is a completely novel piece– innovative, imaginative, down to earth and impossible to resist the charm of.  Five stars.

Author Bio: (From Amazon)
T. Kingfisher is the vaguely absurd pen-name of Ursula Vernon, an author from North Carolina. In another life, she writes children’s books and weird comics. She has been nominated for the World Fantasy and the Eisner, and has won the Hugo, Sequoyah, Nebula, Alfie, WSFA, Coyotl and Ursa Major awards, as well as a half-dozen Junior Library Guild selections.

This is the name she uses when writing things for grown-ups. Her work includes multiple fairy-tale retellings and odd little stories about elves and goblins.When she is not writing, she is probably out in the garden, trying to make eye contact with butterflies.

www.tkingfisher.com

Favourites Friday: Fantasy

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Cheers for finding more books in the genre you love.  Here for our first featured Favourites Friday we’ll have a lot of Fantasy picks (talk about alliteration.)  Some of these are my suggestions, some my husband’s, and many from various family members, friends, and acquaintances across the world.

My personal recommendations:

  • The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
  • Let the Right One In by John Ajvide Lindqvist
  • Witch for Hire (A Witch’s Path book series) by N. E. Conneely
  • The Ghost Bride by Yangsze Choo
  • The Selkie Spell — though this could be considered folklore/fairy tale retelling (Seal Island trilogy) by Sophie Moss
  • The Paper Magician (series) by Charlie N. Holmberg
  • The Dresden Files (series) by Jim Butcher
  • Codex Alera (series) by Jim Butcher
  • The Dark Tower (series) by Stephen King
  • Neil Gaiman– he has so many books and they are all so wonderful!  My top three adult fantasy recommendations from him would likely be as follows.
    • Neverwhere
    • American Gods
    • The Ocean at the End of the Lane

My husband’s recommendations:

  • The Hobbit/Lord of the Rings (trilogy) by J. R. R. Tolkein
  • The Essential Conan
  • The Icewind Dale Trilogy, The Dark Elf Trilogy, the Legacy of the Drow series, the Paths of Darkness series, The Hunter’s Blades Trilogy, the Transitions series, and the Neverwinter Saga
  • Monster Hunter International (series) by Larry Correia
  • Son of the Black Sword (Saga of the Forgotten Warrior series) by Larry Correia
  • Hard Magic (The Grimnoir Chronicles) by Larry Correia
  • Witch World (Witch World Chronicles) by Andre Norton
  • The Chronicles of Amber series by Roger Zelazny
  • The Aeronauts Windlass (series) by Jim Butcher

 

These suggestions are from various people at a website that I frequent.

Alex recommends:

  • The Blade Itself trilogy by Abercrombie
  • The Farseer Trilogy by Robin Hobb
  • Chronicles of the Unhewn Throne (series) Brian Staveley
  • Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke

Ken recommends:

  • Black Company (Chronicles of the Black Company series) by Glen Cook
  • The Witcher series by Andrzej Sapkowski
  • The Stone and the Flute by Hans Bemmann

Cael recommends:

  • The Last Necromancer (series) by C. J. Archer
  • Kingkiller Chronicles (series) by Patrick Rothfuss
  • Powder Mage trilogy by Brian McClellan
  • Age of Iron (series) by Angus Watson
  • Traitor’s Blade/The Greatcoats series by Sebastien de Castell

Wolf, seconded by numerous others, recommend:

  • Discworld series by Terry Pratchett– I am told that this is more of a satire of fantasy, so be aware of that before starting.

Dixon recommends:

  • The Belgaraid series by David Eddings

Brin recommends:

  • Sword of Truth series by Terry Goodkind
  • Xanth series by Piers Anthony
  • Runelords series by David Farland
  • The Sword of Shanara trilogy by Terry Brooks

Cederic recommends:

  • The Wayfarer Redemption (two trilogies released as a single six book series, and has a follow up sequence) by Sara Douglas

Paul recommends:

  • Dragonlance series by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman

 

Other various friends and family have weighed in for these additional recommendations.

Oran T Kelly recommends:

  • The Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan
  • The Stormlight Archive series by Brandon Sanderson
  • The Once and Future King by T. H. White
  • The Lies of Locke Lamora (Gentleman Bastard series) by Scott Lynch
  • The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms (The Inheritance Trilogy) by N. K. Jemisin
  • A Natural History of Dragons (series) by Marie Brennan
  • The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle
  • Mistborn series by Sanderson
  • Malazan Empire (Malazan Book of the Fallen series) by Erickson
  • The Lightbringer (series) by Brent Weeks

N & C recommend:

  • The Iron Druid series by Kevin Hearne

Kostis recommends:

  • Coldfire Trilogy by C. S. Friedman

Maria Picone recommends:
(Remember Maria recommended I read Furies of Calderon, and you can contact her here)

  • Alex Verus (series) by Benedict Jacka

Shelby recommends:

  • Hidden Fire by Elizabeth Hunter — Shelby says she would definitely recommend this to any readers who like vampires, sex, love, mystery and death!
  • Iron Chronicles by Elizabeth Hunter
  • The Darkness Series by K. F. Breene

Cory recommends:

  • Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin

 

There were more people who gave feedback, and many gave the same answers, so I attributed books generally to the first person who mentioned them.  Thank you so much for being a part of this giant list, and to those of you here looking for something amazing to read, I do hope that these 65 book recommendations featuring 54 book series help you find something fun to read in the Fantasy genre! 🙂

Next month’s genre will be Young Adult Fantasy!

 

 

If you read one of these books thanks to this list, please let me know in the comments below.
Do you like Favourites Friday or this list?  Please like this post.

Like the general style of these posts?  Please like me on my Facebook author page: Amy S. Brown

Review of Cursor’s Fury by Jim Butcher

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Cursor’s Fury
Codex Alera Book 3
By Jim Butcher

Star Rating: 
Genre: High Fantasy
Number of Pages: 448Date Started: January 31, 2016
Date Finished: February 11, 2016
200px-Cursors_fury
Synopsis:(From Amazon)
The power-hungry High Lord of Kalare has launched a rebellion against the aging First Lord, Gaius Sextus, who with the loyal forces of Alera must fight beside the unlikeliest of allies-the equally contentious High Lord of Aquitaine.

Meanwhile, young Tavi of Calderon joins a newly formed legion under an assumed name even as the ruthless Kalare unites with the Canim, bestial enemies of the realm whose vast numbers spell certain doom for Alera. When treachery from within destroys the army’s command structure, Tavi finds himself leading an inexperienced, poorly equipped legion-the only force standing between the Canim horde and the war-torn realm.

Review:
Tavi shows here that while he might have smarts from not having furies, he certainly hadn’t gained any sudden military intelligence.  Luckily Tavi is returned with some friends who do have experience and can help him along.  Stuck dealing with warriors that were known for being extremely tricky to kill and even harder to understand, Tavi finds himself having to use every weapon in his arsenal to find out exactly what is going on around him.

Though there are some ups and downs in this mostly military style story, Butcher shows that treachery can be anywhere and anyone, and that warriors can never be too careful.  Like the previous novels in the Codex Alera, you cannot help but want to know where everyone will end up in the end.
Author Information:
The Dresden Files are the first books that Jim Butcher managed to get published.  He is also the author of the Codex Alera, and a new steampunk series, Cinder spires.  He is a gamer, including tabletop, video games, as well as LARP.  He still lives in his hometown, Independence, Missouri.

For a detailed biography of Jim Butcher, and a way to purchase his books, see his Amazon page.

If you like this review, and the writing style of this quirky reviewer, please consider visiting and liking my Facebook author page: Lizzy March.


Thank you! 

Review of Academ’s Fury by Jim Butcher

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Academ’s Fury
Codex Alera Book 2
By Jim Butcher

Star Rating: 
Genre: High Fantasy
Number of Pages: 720academ

Date Started: January 21, 2016
Date Finished: January 31, 2016

Synopsis:(From Amazon)
For centuries, the people of Alera have harnessed the furies—elementals of earth, air, fire, water, wood, and metal—to protect their land from aggressors. But no fury can save them from the dangers they face within. A mysterious attack from across the sea has weakened the First Lord. Should he fall, a bloody civil war is inevitable. The responsibility of fending off assassination attempts and treachery within the First Lord’s circle of spies falls on Tavi, the one man with no fury to call…

Review:
Tavi no longer has the safety and the security of his home and family.  Having spent the majority of his years learning how to deal with live handicapped– without the advantages every other person has, he had gotten used to it.  As with the first book in the series there is a lot of unexpected and unseen betrayal, and Tavi has to rely on his own senses to tell him who to trust.

This book, just like the one before it, endlessly connects different characters situations together, and flows in a way that makes the book almost impossible to set down.

Author Information:
The Dresden Files are the first books that Jim Butcher managed to get published.  He is also the author of the Codex Alera, and a new steampunk series, Cinder spires.  He is a gamer, including tabletop, video games, as well as LARP.  He still lives in his hometown, Independence, Missouri.

For a detailed biography of Jim Butcher, and a way to purchase his books, see his Amazon page.

If you like this review, and the writing style of this quirky reviewer, please consider visiting and liking my Facebook author page: Lizzy March.


Thank you! 

Review of Dark Companion by Marta Acosta

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Dark Companion
By Marta Acosta

Star Rating: 

Genre: Young Adult Fantasy

Number of Pages: 368

Date Started: January 17, 2016
Date Finished: January 21, 2016Dark Companion

Synopsis:(From Amazon)
Orphaned at the age of six, Jane Williams has grown up in a series of foster homes, learning to survive in the shadows of life. Through hard work and determination, she manages to win a scholarship to the exclusive Birch Grove Academy. She finds herself accepted by a group of amazing girls. She even starts tutoring the headmistress’s gorgeous son, Lucien. He represents everything that Jane has done without in her miserable life, and she thinks that if she can have him, she’ll also have security, family, and safety from the dangerous world.

The more she learns about Birch Grove’s recent past, the more Jane comes to suspect that there is something sinister going on. Why did the wife of a popular teacher kill herself? What happened to the previous scholarship student, whose place Jane took? Why does Lucien’s brother, Jack, seem to dislike her so much?

As Jane begins to piece together the answers to these puzzles, she must find out why she was brought to Birch Grove–and what she would give up to stay there. Because even the brightest people make terrible decisions when they’re offered everything they’ve always needed. And that’s exactly what powerful forces were counting on when they invited a vulnerable and isolated teenager to live among them.

Review:
The author is trying too hard.  The ghetto that Jane is from is especially heinous, and the language she uses is not one that anyone would recognize.  At one point Jane explains that she had to teach herself to be educated and that she only knew the words “go, you, me” and cuss words, which is completely unbelievable.

Countless times Jane states that she doesn’t or couldn’t understand material in class, yet somehow managed to become an A+ student in the best classes at her school.  This is simply said, never explained or shown.  While Jane is having issues staying afloat and doing well in classes, she has somehow decided that she will get a PhD.

Purple prose is definitely evident in this novel as almost every minute detail is described, oftentimes with similes in sentences mentioning far too many colours.  And instead of apt word choice instead “bread stick things” are mentioned several times within three pages.  There are continuous words used that instead of giving context clues about, characters explain the definition.

The supernatural is evident from the start, and it is far too easy to know exactly what Lucian is well before it is properly introduced.  The only truly likeable character is Jack, whom seems to have an uncanny way of spotting supernatural beings, yet this is never fully explained.

Jane is not just plain but also oftentimes self deprecating.  While this might be done to show that high school girls often don’t feel like they are good enough, this was a constant thought of Jane’s stated far too many times.  It’s hard to enjoy a character who thinks of themselves so poorly.

Each chapter began with a quote, but none of the quotes were necessary to the chapters.  Much of the information and lessons learned, that foreshadow what is going to happen in the novel, are given through lessons in class.  Far too often the reader is brought into a class, learning about another book, and then brought back into Acosta’s novel.  If this had happened once or twice it would have been a neat twist.

The best part of this book is the trees and Jane’s reaction to them.  Much like Saratoga (now called Muse, by M. R. Pritchard), this novel had a very unique idea, but it was overrun by the already widely known/written about supernatural.  While Jack has an idea that Jane might be special there is very little time spent describing what makes her special, or dedicated to actually figuring out what she is (if she is, indeed, a supernatural creature herself).

While in the end Jane does realize who she is and that you can take your past with you without letting the bad parts of it control you, the lead up was excruciatingly painful.  Despite knowing better, she constantly puts herself into bad situations, and although she says she wants to study and do well in school, there are multiple described weeks in which she pines over Lucky and can’t concentrate on anything else. 

Author Bio: (From Amazon)
Marta Acosta’s dream job is to write heart-rending obituaries, because she feels they are the most under-appreciated of all literary forms. She’s the author of the recently-released THE SHE-HULK DIARIES, DARK COMPANION, a young adult gothic, the award-winning CASA DRACULA series, and NANCY’S THEORY OF STYLE (under the pen-name Grace Coopersmith).

She’s a Stanford University graduate and was a frequent contributor of features and op-eds to the SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE and the CONTRA COSTA TIMES.

A native of the San Francisco Bay Area, Marta still lives in a fog-belt with her family and dogs. Her many attempts to grow tomatoes have failed, but she can finally bake a loaf of crusty bread. Her current obsession is vintage fountain pens and she’s happy to send personal notes to readers.

 

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Review of The Fairest Beauty by Melanie Dickerson

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The Fairest Beauty
By Melanie Dickerson

Star Rating: 

Genre: Young Adult Fantasy, Fairy Tale Retelling

Number of Pages: 336

Date Started: January 3, 2016
Date Finished: January 5, 2016

Synopsis:(From Amazon)15700446
A daring rescue. A difficult choice.

Sophie desperately wants to get away from her stepmother’s jealousy, and believes escape is her only chance to be happy. Then a young man named Gabe arrives from Hagenheim Castle, claiming she is betrothed to his older brother, and everything twists upside down. This could be Sophie’s one chance at freedom—but can she trust another person to keep her safe?

Gabe defied his parents Rose and Wilhelm by going to find Sophie, and now he believes they had a right to worry: the girl’s inner and outer beauty has enchanted him. Though romance is impossible—she is his brother’s future wife, and Gabe himself is betrothed to someone else—he promises himself he will see the mission through, no matter what.

When the pair flee to the Cottage of the Seven, they find help—but also find their feelings for each other have grown. Now both must not only protect each other from the dangers around them—they must also protect their hearts.

Review:
I’ll start by saying that this is part of a series of fairy tale retellings and I started in the wrong order.  If you want to start in the correct order, I believe the first on is The Healer’s Apprentice.

From the moment I started reading this book, I was enthralled in the world.  I wanted to know if Sophie really was who Pinnosa claimed her to be.  There were so many amazing twists and turns in this book, and although there was almost a dystopian feel, I absolutely adored it.  Although this book it very obviously marketed and listed as a fairy tale retelling, when wrapped deeply in the story and continuing on, I had forgotten that it was supposed to be a fairy tale when Gabe and Sophie reach the Cottage of the Seven, and it took me a few minutes to recall.  The fairy tale itself is expertly entwined with Dickerson’s plot, making this book a quick page turner, and hard to set down.

Again (and as I now suspect, in all of Dickerson’s Fairy Tale Romance stories) religion played a large role.  This time, religion almost played the part of a parent to Sophie, reminding her of morals and values, and that although she had been treated quite unfairly, she should not seek vengeance or harbour hatred in her heart.  Gabe also helped remind her of what God wants– for you to let go of all of your pain, and give it to him.  Everyone needs to learn, at some point, that no one is meant to weather everything alone, and sometimes it is easier to let things go, forgive, and try to forget.

The one inconsistency that drew me out of the novel was the mention of how having a crossbow meant that there would be no reload time versus a long bow.  A crossbow would be more deadly, and likely more accurate (easier to aim) especially on horseback, however, all traditional bows do need to be reloaded.  More importantly, traditional crossbows generally need to be either stepped on or cranked to set the draw string back, which means there would be a bit more time between each shot than if someone had a long bow.  Another inaccuracy mentioned is the arrows that Gabe would use for his crossbow– crossbows use bolts, which while comparable, are slightly different in that they are smaller and don’t have feathers.

71pR6EFJ7UL._UX250_Author Bio: (From Amazon)
Melanie Dickerson is the author of Historical Romances, and her favorite time periods are Medieval, which she has combined with her love of fairy tales, and Regency, which shows her love for Jane Austen and the fact that she has memorized the Pride and Prejudice movie–the one with Colin Firth, of course. She is a 2-time Christy Award finalist, a 2-time Maggie Award winner, winner of The National Reader’s Choice Award for 2010’s Best First Book, and winner of the 2012 Carol Award in Young Adult fiction. She earned her bachelor’s degree in special education from The University of Alabama and has taught children with special needs in Georgia and Tennessee, and English to adults in Germany and Ukraine. Now she spends her time writing, hanging out on facebook, and taking care of her husband and two daughters near Huntsville, Alabama. Visit her on the web at http://www.MelanieDickerson.com.

 

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Review of The Golden Braid by Melanie Dickerson

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The Golden Braid
By Melanie Dickerson

Star Rating: 

Genre: Young Adult Fantasy

Number of Pages: 320

Date Started: January 2, 2016
Date Finished: January 3, 2016

Synopsis:(From Amazon)24867658
The one who needs rescuing isn’t always the one in the tower. 

Rapunzel can throw a knife better than any man. She paints beautiful flowering vines on the walls of her plaster houses. She sings so sweetly she can coax even a beast to sleep. But there are two things she is afraid her mother might never allow her to do: learn to read and marry.Fiercely devoted to Rapunzel, her mother is suspicious of every man who so much as looks at her daughter and warns her that no man can be trusted. After a young village farmer asks for Rapunzel’s hand in marriage, Mother decides to move them once again—this time, to the large city of Hagenheim.

The journey proves treacherous, and after being rescued by a knight—Sir Gerek—Rapunzel in turn rescues him farther down the road. As a result, Sir Gerek agrees to repay his debt to Rapunzel by teaching her to read. Could there be more to this knight than his arrogance and desire to marry for riches and position?

As Rapunzel acclimates to life in a new city, she uncovers a mystery that will forever change her life. In this Rapunzel story unlike any other, a world of secrets and treachery is about to be revealed after seventeen years of lies. How will Rapunzel finally take control of her own destiny? And who will prove faithful to a lowly peasant girl with no one to turn to?

Review:
I’ll start by saying that this is part of a series of fairy tale retellings and I started in the wrong order.  If you want to start in the correct order, I believe the first on is The Healer’s Apprentice.From the beginning there are a few details that make it impossible not to know that our heroine/protagonist is, indeed, Rapunzel.  Starting with the obvious, her name is the same, but then she also has the quite long golden hair.  I greatly enjoyed that Rapunzel’s mother was given much more depth than the usual story allows, and that she appeared to have reasons for what she suggested to Rapunzel and the things she tried to make Rapunzel practice.  All in all, she was quite well done, and while empathetic, still quite villainous.  Rapunzel herself was also greatly characterized, ambitious, and well learned.

This was the first time I have seen a fairy tale so artfully mastered and wrapped around religion and the bible.  I quite enjoyed watching Rapunzel learn the scripture and contemplate what it meant to her, the reader left to assume that her mother had never spent much time speaking of religion.  For many, there needs to be a belief that someone will be there watching out for them, wishing them well, and loving them– especially for those who may not have a physical person out there doing so, and in that regard, entwining religion and God was quite perfect.

Unfortunately, while I did love the majority of the story, the reveal of who Rapunzel truly is (who her parents are) was too easily pieced together based on little snippets of foreshadowing given throughout the book, which made the official knowledge a bit lackluster, since, as a reader, it had been known for quite some time.

Overall, I greatly recommend this book, especially to people who wonder why their parents try to tell them to do certain things, to any that worry no one loves them or cares, and to those who believe every damsel in distress can’t save herself.

71pR6EFJ7UL._UX250_Author Bio: (From Amazon)
Melanie Dickerson is the author of Historical Romances, and her favorite time periods are Medieval, which she has combined with her love of fairy tales, and Regency, which shows her love for Jane Austen and the fact that she has memorized the Pride and Prejudice movie–the one with Colin Firth, of course. She is a 2-time Christy Award finalist, a 2-time Maggie Award winner, winner of The National Reader’s Choice Award for 2010’s Best First Book, and winner of the 2012 Carol Award in Young Adult fiction. She earned her bachelor’s degree in special education from The University of Alabama and has taught children with special needs in Georgia and Tennessee, and English to adults in Germany and Ukraine. Now she spends her time writing, hanging out on facebook, and taking care of her husband and two daughters near Huntsville, Alabama. Visit her on the web at http://www.MelanieDickerson.com.

 

If you like this review, and the writing style of this quirky reviewer, please consider visiting and liking my Facebook author page: Lizzy March.


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