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Merissa (13600 KP) rated End of Ever After: A Cinderella Retelling in Books
Nov 14, 2018
End of Ever After A Cinderella Retelling by E.L. Tenenbaum
End of Ever After is the first in a series of fairy tale re-tellings by E.L. Tenenbaum. After reading this one about CinderElla, I can only say that I WILL be reading the others. This was a fantastic re-telling of the original story, rather than the Disney version. I loved how it was played out, told as past and present tense intermingle, giving you hints of what is to come without knowing the full details.
I thought the names given to the characters were excellent, and I thoroughly enjoyed putting the descriptions of the characters and their new names to the ones I already know. Some of the characters hide their truths, others wear them as a shield. Either way, this book is full of characters to love or loathe. I will say from the start that Matteus was a favourite of mine, and I only hope for a HEA in his future! As for the ending here? Sheer perfection for the story. I couldn't envisage it any other way, and don't want to either.
With no editing or grammatical errors that disrupted my reading, I found this book to be wonderfully paced, giving a rich story without too many or not enough embellishments. I loved this world, and can't wait to return to it. Absolutely recommended by me.
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
I thought the names given to the characters were excellent, and I thoroughly enjoyed putting the descriptions of the characters and their new names to the ones I already know. Some of the characters hide their truths, others wear them as a shield. Either way, this book is full of characters to love or loathe. I will say from the start that Matteus was a favourite of mine, and I only hope for a HEA in his future! As for the ending here? Sheer perfection for the story. I couldn't envisage it any other way, and don't want to either.
With no editing or grammatical errors that disrupted my reading, I found this book to be wonderfully paced, giving a rich story without too many or not enough embellishments. I loved this world, and can't wait to return to it. Absolutely recommended by me.
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Goddess in the Stacks (553 KP) rated Frankenstein in Baghdad in Books
Jul 23, 2019
This book won at least two awards; the International Prize for Arabic Fiction and France's Grand Prize for Fantasy, and the author had previously been named one of the 39 best Arab authors under the age of 39. I picked it up to read for the Year of the Asian Reading Challenge, since the Middle East is all-too-often neglected in regional groupings like that. People don't think of it as Europe or Asia. I also try to read translated books on occasion, in an effort to diversify my reading. So this hit a number of my interests - I wish I had actually liked the book more!
It's an interesting retelling of Frankenstein - which I haven't actually read, and now feel like I really should. But it bounces around between several viewpoints. It's not too many to keep straight, but it's definitely too many to truly care about. And it suffers from an unreliable narrator - it's written as several stories told to an author from multiple people that he's woven together into a single narrative, and while he does that well, it suffers from contradictions between how different characters recall things, scenes that don't play a part in furthering the plot but the characters thought they were important, and no authoritative "this is what REALLY happened" to draw it all together.
And I very much dislike unreliable narrators, so that alone is enough to make me dislike the book. If you like ambiguous narratives and vigilante stories, however, you might enjoy this, and the writing style itself was quite engrossing.
You can find all my reviews and more at http://goddessinthestacks.com
It's an interesting retelling of Frankenstein - which I haven't actually read, and now feel like I really should. But it bounces around between several viewpoints. It's not too many to keep straight, but it's definitely too many to truly care about. And it suffers from an unreliable narrator - it's written as several stories told to an author from multiple people that he's woven together into a single narrative, and while he does that well, it suffers from contradictions between how different characters recall things, scenes that don't play a part in furthering the plot but the characters thought they were important, and no authoritative "this is what REALLY happened" to draw it all together.
And I very much dislike unreliable narrators, so that alone is enough to make me dislike the book. If you like ambiguous narratives and vigilante stories, however, you might enjoy this, and the writing style itself was quite engrossing.
You can find all my reviews and more at http://goddessinthestacks.com
Ross (3284 KP) rated Dispel Illusion in Books
Jan 3, 2020
A consistent end to the trilogy
The D&D time-travel series comes to and end with this third book. Here the action is split between a timeline in the 90s following the first two books, with a future narrative of Nick's adult life in the 2000s and 2010s, and finishing up with a retelling of the events of the first book, from "future Nick's" PoV.
I still have issues with the science, multiverse and time-travel execution here as with the first books, but appreciate the way the story was woven together. Some of Lawrence's fantasy books have the different timeline feature and once again he expertly weaves them together so the overall story emerges at a good pace.
At one point, I thought the book was going to go down the Bill & Ted route as a cop-out ("in the future we will come back to this point and leave this key here and voila here it is") but this was actually quite well handled and wasn't the cop-out I feared.
The book benefits from a more stretched timeline as we see significant events from Nick's adult life, rather than dwelling on his teenage years solely. Likewise there is more of a focus on the D&D, which was somewhat lacking in book 2, and with key learnings from that featuring in the real world storyline.
Overall, I think I enjoyed this series, but I have my hang-ups about time-travel and multiverse theories in general. A good bit of escapism, if a little heavy on the pretend science at times.
I still have issues with the science, multiverse and time-travel execution here as with the first books, but appreciate the way the story was woven together. Some of Lawrence's fantasy books have the different timeline feature and once again he expertly weaves them together so the overall story emerges at a good pace.
At one point, I thought the book was going to go down the Bill & Ted route as a cop-out ("in the future we will come back to this point and leave this key here and voila here it is") but this was actually quite well handled and wasn't the cop-out I feared.
The book benefits from a more stretched timeline as we see significant events from Nick's adult life, rather than dwelling on his teenage years solely. Likewise there is more of a focus on the D&D, which was somewhat lacking in book 2, and with key learnings from that featuring in the real world storyline.
Overall, I think I enjoyed this series, but I have my hang-ups about time-travel and multiverse theories in general. A good bit of escapism, if a little heavy on the pretend science at times.
Lyndsey Gollogly (2893 KP) rated Red and Her Wolf (Kingdom Seires #3) in Books
Nov 30, 2020
199 of 200
Kindle
Red and her Wolf ( Kingdom book 3)
By Marie Hall
Long ago there lived a beautiful child. Her name was Violet. Fair of skin, with blonde hair and large blue eyes. Born of wild magic, she was a woman with a child's heart. Innocent and lovely, but not at all what she seemed--you see Violet went by another name: The Heartsong.
She was the child of fairy magic, the physical manifestation of all fae kinds unbridled power. Cosseted and pampered, she grew up in isolation, never knowing who she really was, or why there were those who'd seek to harm her.
Ewan of the Blackfoot Clan is a wolf with a problem. He's been sent to kill the Heartsong, but the moment he lays eyes on the blonde beauty he knows he'll defy the evil fae he works for to claim Violet as his own.
This is the tale of Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf, as it really happened...
This is not an erotica, just a good old fashioned romance.
Think this is my favourite so far. A twisted retelling of Little Red Riding Hood and it was so good! I love my fairytales and always sort of cringe when they are redone I like how Marie Hall tells her version of these tales. I enjoyed the first two and this one so far was definitely my favourite giving Red a whole new look and purpose! I’d love a big bad wolf of they came like Ewan. Was also nice to pop in on Alice and the Hatter!!
Kindle
Red and her Wolf ( Kingdom book 3)
By Marie Hall
Long ago there lived a beautiful child. Her name was Violet. Fair of skin, with blonde hair and large blue eyes. Born of wild magic, she was a woman with a child's heart. Innocent and lovely, but not at all what she seemed--you see Violet went by another name: The Heartsong.
She was the child of fairy magic, the physical manifestation of all fae kinds unbridled power. Cosseted and pampered, she grew up in isolation, never knowing who she really was, or why there were those who'd seek to harm her.
Ewan of the Blackfoot Clan is a wolf with a problem. He's been sent to kill the Heartsong, but the moment he lays eyes on the blonde beauty he knows he'll defy the evil fae he works for to claim Violet as his own.
This is the tale of Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf, as it really happened...
This is not an erotica, just a good old fashioned romance.
Think this is my favourite so far. A twisted retelling of Little Red Riding Hood and it was so good! I love my fairytales and always sort of cringe when they are redone I like how Marie Hall tells her version of these tales. I enjoyed the first two and this one so far was definitely my favourite giving Red a whole new look and purpose! I’d love a big bad wolf of they came like Ewan. Was also nice to pop in on Alice and the Hatter!!
Wreck-It Ralph Storybook Deluxe
Entertainment and Book
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• Relive the incredible story of the Disney animated film Wreck-It Ralph! • Create and Race your...
A Curse So Dark and Lonely
8.5
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In a lush, contemporary fantasy retelling of Beauty and the Beast, Brigid Kemmerer gives readers...
The Raven and the Dove
8.5
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Four fates collide in this avian-inspired, epic fantasy retelling of Tristan and Isolde perfect for...
Debbiereadsbook (1617 KP) rated Blaine's Beast in Books
Jan 8, 2023
Needed Rohan and Beast
Independent reviewer for GRR, I was gifted my copy of this book.
This is a retelling of a fairy tale, but please shove your knowledge of that fairy tale aside, cos this was brilliant! Bar one teeny tiny thing!
Blaine finds himself caught out in a storm, and then surrounded by wolves and then looked after by some lovely, if slightly odd, people. But nothing is as it seems and when Blaine finds out the truth, he vows to help fix things.
I thoroughly enjoyed this, I really did.
While, to me, it was very obvious who Rohan was, I liked that THAT fact wasn't dragged out for too long.
What surprised me was how things went down at the end. I was happily reading away, there was an ending of sorts and I was expecting that to be it. But I still had 25% to read! And then things happened and I loved being surprised!
It's steamy, and smexy and dark and gritty. It has a few sweeter moments too.
BUT!
And this is the only reason I can't stretch to 5 stars. It pains me, but its my review.
We ONLY get Blaine. And I wanted Rohan and Beast, I really did. I needed them to tell their story. And I don't get them. So, I was not very happy about that. I wanted in their head, you know? How they felt about Blaine arriving, then leaving, then things happening at the end. I needed that, and I don't get it.
so, 4 very good stars
*same worded review will appear elsewhere
This is a retelling of a fairy tale, but please shove your knowledge of that fairy tale aside, cos this was brilliant! Bar one teeny tiny thing!
Blaine finds himself caught out in a storm, and then surrounded by wolves and then looked after by some lovely, if slightly odd, people. But nothing is as it seems and when Blaine finds out the truth, he vows to help fix things.
I thoroughly enjoyed this, I really did.
While, to me, it was very obvious who Rohan was, I liked that THAT fact wasn't dragged out for too long.
What surprised me was how things went down at the end. I was happily reading away, there was an ending of sorts and I was expecting that to be it. But I still had 25% to read! And then things happened and I loved being surprised!
It's steamy, and smexy and dark and gritty. It has a few sweeter moments too.
BUT!
And this is the only reason I can't stretch to 5 stars. It pains me, but its my review.
We ONLY get Blaine. And I wanted Rohan and Beast, I really did. I needed them to tell their story. And I don't get them. So, I was not very happy about that. I wanted in their head, you know? How they felt about Blaine arriving, then leaving, then things happening at the end. I needed that, and I don't get it.
so, 4 very good stars
*same worded review will appear elsewhere
Tides of Torment (Immortal Realms #2)
Elle Beaumont and Christis Christie
7.0
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He’s the king of the sea. She’s a pirate captain. Together they must save the middle realm. ...
Fairytale Retelling Fantasy Romance Mythology
ClareR (6054 KP) rated Daughters of Sparta in Books
May 21, 2023
I had read The Shadow of Perseus first, so I knew what to expect from Daughters of Sparta, and I also knew that I was going to love it!
First of all, these books read as historical fiction, NOT as myths. There are no gods or goddesses intervening in the lives of mortals, messing it all up. The mortals are all perfectly capable of doing that themselves.
Secondly, the women are strong in the context of the time they live in, not by our modern standards. Women were completely reliant on their husbands and families; sold off to the men who would most benefit their fathers. As is the case with Klytemnestra (spelt with a ‘K’ here, but it can be a ‘C’ as well!) and Helen.
To be fair, both women have a lot about them. Klytemnestra commits the ultimate two fingered salute to her husband, and Helen removes herself from the possibility of dying in childbirth. There’s also the fact that Helen seems to be constantly searching for affection and love. Denied both by her mother, she doesn’t get those things from her husband either, probably because they never get to know one another. And Paris certainly doesn’t show her love or affection once they get to Troy. She must feel supremely uncomfortable around the other women in Troy once the Greeks turn up and start killing all of their husbands.
Don’t get me wrong, I love the Greek myths where the gods are involved, but I really like this version too. Really very enjoyable, I raced through this book. I’m hoping that Claire Heywood has another retelling in the pipeline!
First of all, these books read as historical fiction, NOT as myths. There are no gods or goddesses intervening in the lives of mortals, messing it all up. The mortals are all perfectly capable of doing that themselves.
Secondly, the women are strong in the context of the time they live in, not by our modern standards. Women were completely reliant on their husbands and families; sold off to the men who would most benefit their fathers. As is the case with Klytemnestra (spelt with a ‘K’ here, but it can be a ‘C’ as well!) and Helen.
To be fair, both women have a lot about them. Klytemnestra commits the ultimate two fingered salute to her husband, and Helen removes herself from the possibility of dying in childbirth. There’s also the fact that Helen seems to be constantly searching for affection and love. Denied both by her mother, she doesn’t get those things from her husband either, probably because they never get to know one another. And Paris certainly doesn’t show her love or affection once they get to Troy. She must feel supremely uncomfortable around the other women in Troy once the Greeks turn up and start killing all of their husbands.
Don’t get me wrong, I love the Greek myths where the gods are involved, but I really like this version too. Really very enjoyable, I raced through this book. I’m hoping that Claire Heywood has another retelling in the pipeline!