If the Shoe Fits (Meant To Be #1), By Julie Murphy ~ 5.0 Stars

Tags

Adult Fiction, Diversity, Fairytale Retellings, Humor, Romance

Thanks to NetGalley and Hyperion Avenue for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: August 3rd, 2021

304 Pages

Synopsis: After just having graduated with a degree in shoe design, and trying to get her feet on the ground, Cindy is working for her stepmother, who happens to be the executive producer of America’s favorite reality show, Before Midnight. When a spot on the show needs filling ASAP, Cindy volunteers, hoping it might jump-start her fashion career, or at least give her something to do while her peers land jobs in the world of high fashion.

Turns out being the only plus size woman on a reality dating competition makes a splash, and soon Cindy becomes a body positivity icon for women everywhere. What she doesn’t expect? That she may just find inspiration—and love—in the process. Ultimately, Cindy learns that if the shoe doesn’t fit, maybe it’s time to design your own. (Goodreads)

If the Shoe Fits is the first book in the Meant To Be series, and what a spectacular kick-off it is! This is the Cinderella retelling I didn’t know I needed. Brimming with diversity including the enchanting plus size Cindy, this gives plenty of nods to the original while giving it a perfect modernization.

Cindy is a wonderful role model for positive body image. While acknowledging the shortcomings of society and the fashion industry in regards to the way plus size women are viewed and treated, Cindy is completely comfortable in her own skin. She’s smart, funny, and is officially my new favorite fictional heroine of 2021. The romance between her and Henry is sweet and charming. Cindy’s relationship with her family is equally wonderful and I especially loved the friendship between her and her stepsisters. I can’t stand reality dating shows, but because of the interesting characters which included a librarian, I actually enjoyed the fictitious Before Midnight. The ending was a satisfying happily-ever-after, even though Cindy and Henry had to go the extra mile for it.

From what I’ve heard, each book in the Meant To Be series will be written by a different author. I don’t know who they’ll be, but after Julie Murphy’s offering, they have some pretty big shoes to fill. I HIGHLY recommend this to anyone looking for a clever, unique, imaginative rom-com, filled with likable, diverse characters and a fabulous twist on a fairytale classic!

The Shadow in the Glass, By J.J.A. Harwood ~ 4.0 Stars

Tags

Abortion, Fairytale Retellings, Historical Fantasy, Miscarriage, Physical Abuse, Rape References, Romance, Supernatural, Suspense, YA Fiction

Thanks to NetGalley and HarperVoyager for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: May 4th, 2021

416 Pages

Synopsis: Once upon a time Ella for more than her life as a lowly maid.

Now, forced to work hard under the lecherous gaze of the man who she once called stepfather, Ella’s only refuge is in the books she reads by candlelight, secreted away in the library she isn’t permitted to enter.

One night, among her beloved books of far-off lands, Ella’s wishes are answered. At the stroke of midnight, a fairy godmother makes her an offer that will change her life: seven wishes, hers to make as she pleases. But each wish comes at a price and Ella must decide if it’s one she’s willing to pay…

A smoldering, terrifying new spin on Cinderella—perfect for fans of Laura Purcell and Erin Morgenstern. (Goodreads)

The Shadow in the Glass is an extremely dark retelling of Cinderella  that bears little resemblance to the Disney version, but is definitely something that the Grimm brothers would have appreciated. It’s very different and unique, with a hint of Goethe’s Faust woven in, but it may not be everyone’s cup of tea. I however, found it utterly delicious and was captivated from the very first page.

Ella is a complicated character whose actions will leave readers emotions in turmoil. Despite her difficult circumstances, she starts out as an innocent naive young girl, but quickly descends into a morally gray area as she makes her wishes. The decisions she makes are somewhat understandable, but they’re truly terrible and lead her farther and farther down the dark path she’s on. The third person narrative brings the reader directly into Ella’s mind and helps bring all her emotional pain to life which is why I remained empathetic toward her for the most part.

The setting and world building are wonderfully written, and I loved the blend of Victorian era fantasy, gothic, and supernatural elements. Skillfully underlying this is the appalling conditions of the poor, particularly women, who had no rights, no protection, and more often than not, nowhere to turn. The ending, has left me conflicted, and a day after I finished, I haven’t decided whether I liked it or not. I don’t want to say anything more, except that it’s definitely NOT a happily-ever-after. There was some repetition and I think the narrative could have been tightened a little, but for the most part this stayed a page-turner for me from beginning to end.

The Shadow in the Glass is a beautifully told and memorable dark fairytale and Ella will stay in your mind for long time after you’ve finished. It includes a few themes that could be triggers for some readers, including: physical abuse, references to past rape and the possibility of future rape, abortion, and miscarriage. I highly recommend this to readers who enjoy dark fantasy, flawed characters, and don’t mind the inclusion of difficult themes. 

Malice, By Heather Walter ~ 5.0 Stars

Tags

Abuse, Bullying, Fairytale Retellings, LGBTQ Relationships, Mystery, Suspense, YA Fiction

Thanks to NetGalley and Del Rey for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: April 13th, 2020

496 Pages

Synopsis: Once upon a time, there was a wicked fairy who, in an act of vengeance, cursed a line of princesses to die. A curse that could only be broken by true love’s kiss.

You’ve heard this before, haven’t you? The handsome prince. The happily-ever-after.

Utter nonsense.

Let me tell you, no one in Briar really cares about what happens to their princesses. Not the way they care about their jewels and elaborate parties and charm-granting elixirs. I thought I didn’t care either.

Until I met her.

Princess Aurora. The last heir to Briar’s throne. Kind. Gracious. The future queen her realm needs. One who isn’t bothered that I am Alyce, the Dark Grace, abhorred and feared for the mysterious dark that runs in my veins. Humiliated and shamed by the same nobles who pay me to bottle hexes and then brand me a monster. Aurora says I should be proud of my gifts. That she…cares for me. Even though it was a power like mine that was responsible for her curse.

But with less than a year until that curse will kill her, any future I might see with Aurora is swiftly disintegrating—and she can’t stand to kiss yet another insipid prince. I want to help her. If my power began her curse, perhaps it’s what can lift it. Perhaps, together, we could forge a new world.

Nonsense again.

Because we all know how this story ends, don’t we? Aurora is the beautiful princess. And I—

I am the villain.

Malice is a master class in how to create a fairytale retelling. With her debut novel, Heather Walter has taken the beloved tale of Sleeping Beauty and embroidered it with gorgeous and unique embellishments that drew me in immediately from the first chapter and didn’t release me for hours after I finished. You all know how I endeavor not to include any spoilers in my reviews if I can help it, and I’m even more determined in this case because this is a tale you need to experience on your own with no preconceived notions or expectations. It’s both character-driven and plot-driven, with each perfectly complementing the other. This first book mainly concentrates on Alyce, and how she and her dark magic become a force to be reckoned with. While her relationship with Princess Aurora plays a role in who she becomes, their romance doesn’t truly factor in until the latter half of the book. I do warn that there’s a pretty passionate scene between Alyce and Aurora, so this is definitely not for younger YAs. A few of the secondary characters are molded from familiar characters, both from the original story and the Disney adaptation, but they all take on completely original characteristics of their own. The world building is visually detailed and helps bring the kingdom of Briar to life. While there’s not a lot of action in the first part of the book, I was so enthralled with Briar, its history and inhabitants, that I didn’t mind at all. The final few chapters though fairly explode, and the climactic ending has left me impatient for the sequel in this planned duology. I HIGHLY recommend this for older teens and adults who are looking for diverse fairytales with complex characters, rich world building, and engrossing storytelling. 

The Mirror: Broken Wish (The Mirror #1), by Julie C. Dao ~ 5.0 Stars

Tags

Fairytale Retellings, Fantasy, LGBTQ, Romance, Suspense, YA Fiction

Thanks to NetGalley and Disney-Hyperion for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: October 6th, 2020

320 Pages

Synopsis: 1865 Hanau Germany 

Sixteen-year-old Elva has a secret. She has visions and strange powers that  she will do anything to hide. She knows the warnings about what happens to witches in their small village of Hanau. She’s heard the terrible things people say about the Witch of the North Woods, and the malicious hunts that follow. But when Elva accidentally witnesses a devastating vision of the future, she decides she has to do everything she can to prevent it. Tapping into her powers for the first time, Elva discovers a magical mirror and its owner—none other than the Witch of the North Woods herself. As Elva learns more about her burgeoning magic, and the lines between hero and villain start to blur, she must find a way to right past wrongs before it’s too late.

Broken Wish is the first book in the upcoming The Mirror series which in itself is an exciting premise. Four books following a multigenerational family by some of the most popular YA authors today: Julie C. Dao, Dhonielle Clayton, J.C. Cervantes, and L.L. McKinney. I started this last night around 8:00 p.m. and finished it three hours later. It’s a highly entertaining fairytale retelling of Snow White with a little of The Red Shoes thrown in, and it perfectly captures Germany in the latter half of the 19th century. Dao is a wonderful storyteller who is known for her richly detailed world building and complex characters, and that’s very much on display here. But included in this beautifully written fantasy is the thoughtful exploration of the difficulty of being unique in a world where differences are often met with ignorance and cruelty. It’s a tale of friendship, loyalty, and the ramifications of broken promises, that all lead up to a shocking ending. I cannot recommend Broken Wishes highly enough. It’s an exciting and original YA fantasy whose storyline will enthrall you and characters will capture your heart. The series continues with Dhonielle Clayton’s Shattered Midnight (July 2021), which jumps to 1920s New Orleans, and sounds from the title to perhaps be a retelling of Cinderella. I’m going to be impatiently counting down the months.

 

The Glass Queen (The Forest of Good and Evil #2), By Gena Showalter ~ 4.0 Stars

Tags

Fairytale Retellings, Humor, Romance, Suspense, YA Fiction

Thanks to NetGalley and Inkyard Press for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: September 29th, 2020

552 Pages

Synopsis: Dare to enter the Forest of Good and Evil, where strength is weakness and weakness is strength. Don’t miss book two of New York Times bestselling author Gena Showalter’s magical, romantic and fascinating fairy-tale series, in which the fairy tales we know and love are prophecies of the future…

Pitied.

Sickly.

Unfit to rule.

Princess Ashleigh Charmaine is known as the Glass Princess, fragile enough to shatter with the whisper of the wind. Born with a weak heart, she dreams of being treated like anyone else. Unlike her headstrong sisters, she received no magical ability at birth and lives every day expecting to die. Until an oracle announces that Ashleigh is fated to play the part of Cinderella, wed a handsome royal and save the Kingdom of Sevon from the evil king and queen who once ruled the land.

As war rages, Ashleigh begins to doubt her role in the fairy tale prophecy. Animals despise her, she can’t carry a merry tune, and she has zero social graces. Worse, the king she’s supposed to enchant is the newly crowned sovereign of the winged warriors known as the Avian…and he despises her too.

When Ashleigh develops a terrifying magical ability to commune with dragons and create fire from air—a power she cannot control—she must work with King Saxon to save their kingdoms and their lives. By the stroke of midnight she must warm his icy heart…or forever break her own. Will Ashleigh ever become the queen she’s prophesied to be…or will she lose everything she’s come to love?

After finishing The Evil Queen, the first book in prolific author Gena Showalter’s new series The Forest of Good and Evil, I was quite excited to be approved for The Glass Queen. While the previous book was a retelling of Snow White, this sequel explores the fairytale of Cinderella. Both books have wonderful world building and absolutely fascinating and diverse characters. There’s no insta-love here and I enjoyed seeing the way Ashleigh’s and Saxon’s relationship slowly developed, although the dialogue between them was a little cheesy at times. As much as I love long stories, I do think these books would benefit from being shortened a little. This sequel at over 500 pages has a few slow moments. Overall though, The Glass Queen is another ingeniously written fractured fairytale by Showalter that’s filled with complex characters, mystery, suspense, sharp-edged humor, passionate romance and most importantly, baby dragons! I would recommend this series to adults and YAs sixteen and older though, due to some slightly steamy sexual scenes. They’re not anywhere near as graphic as the ones she writes in her adult series like Lords of the Underworld, but I wouldn’t feel comfortable recommending them to a young teen. I’m really looking forward to seeing what fairytale gets skewered next!

 

 

Of Curses and Kisses (St. Rosetta’s Academy #1), by Sandhya Menon ~ 4.5 Stars

Tags

Diversity, Fairytale Retellings, Mystery, Suspense, YA Fiction

Thanks to NetGalley and Simon Pulse for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: February 18th, 2020

384 Pages

Synopsis: From the New York Times bestselling author of “When Dimple Met Rishi,” comes the first novel in a brand-news series set at an elite boarding school, that’s a contemporary spin of Beauty and the Beast.

Will the princess save the beast?

For princess Jaya Rao, nothing is more important than family. When the loathsome Emerson clan steps up their centuries-old feud to target Jaya’s little sister, nothing will keep Jaya from exacting her revenge. Then Jaya finds out that she’ll be attending the same elite boarding school as Grey Emerson, and it feels like the opportunity of a lifetime. She knows what she must do: Make Grey fall in love with her and break his heart. But much to Jaya’s annoyance, Grey’s brooding demeanor and lupine blue eyes have drawn in. There’s simply no way she and her sworn enemy could find their fairy-tale ending…right?

His Lordship Grey Emerson is a misanthrope. Thanks to an ancient curse from a Rao matriarch, Grey knows he’s doomed when he turns eighteen. Sequestered away in the mountains at St. Rosetta’s International Academy, he’s led an isolated existence—until Jaya Rao bursts into his life, but he can’t shake the feeling that she’s hiding something. Something that might just have to do with the rose-shaped ruby pendant around her neck…

As the stars conspire to keep them apart, Jaya and Grey grapple with questions of love, loyalty, and whether it’s possible to write your own happy ending.

I love contemporary retellings of classic fairytales so when I saw Of Curses and Kisses, by Sandhya Menon on NetGalley, I just had to request it. Except for a couple of issues, this modernization of Beauty and the Beast kept me thoroughly entertained.

I’m not afraid to admit it. I’m a sucker fo fairytale retellings. And you probably won’t be surprised that one of my favorite fairytales is Beauty and the Beast. So when I saw Of Curses and Kisses on NetGalley I knew I had to request it even though I wasn’t thrilled with the title (love the cover though!) 

After a somewhat slow start during the first 40 pages or so, I found myself completely captivated by this modern day version of the beloved classic. I’ve seen other reviewers complain about Jaya, saying she’s cold and standoffish. Which to be honest, she is, at least at first. But I completely understood why. This is the oldest daughter of an Indian royal family, and as such, has had numerous weighty expectations on her shoulders all of her life. But balancing this is her close relationship with her younger sister Isha, and her protectiveness toward her is both irritating and touching. And speaking of Isha, she’s actually my favorite character in this story. At fifteen-years-old, she’s been shamed in Indian society and the media for a mysterious incident that isn’t actually revealed until you’re several chapters in. Unsurprisingly, the “scandal” is completely overblown, and the fact that Isha is a sweet, innocent girl with a sunny disposition, makes this even more hurtful. I also love her determination to become an engineer despite her family and just about everyone else frowning upon this. Grey is also a wonderful character whose backstory will tug at your heartstrings. In addition to the curse hanging over his head, he’s been neglected his entire life by an uncaring father who irrationally blames him for his mother dying in childbirth. The relationship between him and Jaya starts out rocky, but it progressively develops into a lovely romance.

The story itself, despite being a retelling, is creative and original. For example, Menon turns the rose that slowly loses its petals into an exquisite rose-shaped pendant whose rubies begin to fall out one by one as Grey’s eighteenth birthday approaches. Yes there are nods to the original fairytale as well as the Disney adaptation, but there are many unique twists and although I was pretty certain Jaya and Grey would attain their happy ending, I was kept guessing as to how things would unfold.

I HIGHLY recommend Of Curses and Kisses to anyone who loves imaginative fairytales retellings with plenty of diversity and complex characters. I have no idea what the next book in the St. Rosetta’s Academy series will entail, but after this magical beginning I can’t wait to find out!

 

 

 

Stealing Snow (Stealing Snow #1) ~ By Danielle Paige – 1.5 Stars

Tags

Fairytale Retellings, YA Fiction

Thanks to NetGalley and Bloomsbury USA for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: September 20th, 2016

384 Pages

Synopsis: Seventeen-year-old Snow has spent the majority of her life within the walls of the Whittaker Institute, a high security mental hospital in upstate New York. Deep down, she knows she’s not crazy and doesn’t belong there. When she meets a mysterious, handsome new orderly and dreams about a strange twisted tree she realizes she must escape and figure out who she really is.

Using her trusting friend Bale as a distraction, Snow breaks free and races into the nearby woods. Suddenly, everything isn’t what it seems, the line between reality and fantasy begins to blur, and she finds herself in icy Algid–her true home– with witches, thieves, and a strangely alluring boy named Kai, none of whom she’s sure she can trust. As secret after secret is revealed, Snow discovers that she is on the run from a royal lineage she’s destined to inherit, a father more powerful and ruthless than she ever could have imagined, and choices of the heart that could change everything…including Snow’s return to the world she once knew.

I’m a big fan of Danielle Paige’s Dorothy Must Die series, so when I heard she was coming out with a new series based on the Snow Queen I was so excited, especially after seeing the beautiful cover. Sadly, after spending the last week forcing myself through Stealing Snow, the question on my mind is what the holy heck happened?! There are just so many things that are wrong with this book, starting with it being an extremely messy mash-up of Frozen, and the Snow Queen, with some elements of Snow White thrown in. The tv series Once Upon a Time did something similar a couple of years ago, to far greater effect.

Here though, it just seems as though things are thrown together in a frenetic fashion and there’s no real cohesion. Another issue I had was with Snow herself.

Locked up for years for years over a childhood incident, which I actually thought was an over-reaction by her mother, I expected to feel more sympathy towards her. It’s obvious she’s not insane, although she does have anger management issues, and when in a rage she tends to bite people. Even going from human mental patient, to magical snow princess, there’s very little personal growth. She just a very bland character who I found impossible to connect with. There was also my first ever “love square”. Yep. You read that correctly. Snow has not one, not two, but THREE love interests! Oh dear God no! Given the way I feel about love triangles, this left me completely, er, cold.

Sorry about that pun. I couldn’t resist! To add insult to injury, there was absolutely no chemistry between the four, and as a result the romance came off as unbelievable and contrived. And lastly, my final disappointment/annoyance concerns the secondary characters and the world-building, both of which came across as boring, one-dimensional, and uninspiring.

There was one character, Gerde, who actually did have an interesting backstory, but there just wasn’t enough of it. The only reason why I’m giving this 1 1/2 stars is because there were some really neat elements like Snow’s badass powers:

And the intriguing variety of snow creatures and monsters.

Unfortunately, this wasn’t nearly enough to save the story for me.

As always, I remind you this is simply my opinion. However, Stealing Snow seems to be garnering a majority of poor reviews, so if you’re a fan of fairytale retellings, please look this up on Goodreads or another book review site before shelling out any money for it. Otherwise, in this case I’d advise you to:

 

Break Me Like A Promise (Once Upon a Crime Family #2) ~ By Tiffany Schmidt – 4.0 Stars

Tags

Fairytale Retellings, Illegal Organ Transplants, Mystery, Suspense, YA Fiction

Thank you NetGalley and Bloomsbury USA Children’s for providing an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Synopsis: All Magnolia Vickers has ever wanted was to follow father’s path as head of the Family Business. But new legislation is poised to destroy the Family’s operations in the black-market organ trade and Maggie’s recent behavior has wrecked the business-savvy reputation she’s worked her whole life to build.

She’s given an ultimatum: shape up or step aside.

Then Maggie messes up: she downloads a virus onto her father’s computer , and must sneak it off-estate for repair. When Alex, a tech wiz, uncovers the type of information on the machine, he offers Maggie a choice: her Family can give him a kidney, or he’ll irreparably scramble the data. Maggie agrees, but has no intention of keeping her promise or ever seeing him again. That night, Alex shows up at her Family estate with copies of the confidential Family files and the shocking revelation–the kidney is for him.

The Vickers aren’t willing to let Alex out of their sight, so he moves onto their estate and Maggie is assigned to be his keeper. A task she resents and he enjoys making as challenging as possible. But procuring black market organs is becoming increasingly difficult, and as Alex’s health declines, she’s surprised to find herself falling for him. 

Like it or not, Maggie must accept that if she wants to save Alex’s life and carve out a place in the new legalized organ business, she’s going to have to fight for both.

Break Me Like A Promise is the second book in Schmidt’s Once Upon A Crime series, after last years Hold Me Like A Breath. While the first book is loosely based on The Princess and the Pea, the sequel puts a modern day spin on The Frog Prince. I had some issues with the first book in regards to character development and world-building. It was intriguing enough though that I’ve been looking forward to this sequel. And I’m happy to say I actually wound up liking it more. The main character in this story is Magnolia who appeared in a small secondary role in the first story. I have to be honest and say for the first half of the book I couldn’t stand her. She’s a pampered, entitled, spoiled little princess, who cares nothing for anyone around her. Especially aggravating is her disinterest in the patients who rely on her family for providing organs for transplant. This is partly explained by her phobia of blood, but her self-involved attitude and callousness gets to be incredibly annoying. But then Alex enters her life, and while the signs are initially subtle at first, it eventually becomes obvious that he has a profound effect on her, and it’s for the better. Not surprisingly they pretty much despise each other at the onset, but slowly they realize they have more in common than they think, and a very sweet romance develops. Alex is the main reason I wound up liking this book as much as I did. He may not have had the privileged upbringing that Maggie did, but he displays a strength of character that in the beginning of the story, she does not possess. The interplay between them, beginning with insults and teasing, develops into more meaningful exchanges, which were pure pleasure to read. However, because so much attention is focused on Maggie and Alex, other parts of the book suffered. Secondary characters for the most part are neglected and while the concept of organ-trafficking is developed a little more–mainly by bringing in the battle to legalize the business–it takes a back seat to the romance. Overall, though this is a case where the sequel successfully builds upon the original book. There’s something nefarious happening besides the main plot line involving some mysterious hacking into the Families computers, and it’s left me quite curious as to how things will play out in the next book. Break Me Like A Promise is a solid read and I unhesitatingly recommend it for fans of YA suspense and mystery.

Spinning Starlight ~ by R.C. Lewis – 3.0 Stars

Tags

Fairytale Retellings, Family Relationships, Science Fiction, Young Adult Fiction

I received this e-Arc from NetGalley and Disney-Hyperion in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: October 6th, 2015

Synopsis: Sixteen-year-old heiress and paparazzi darling Liddi Jantzen hates the spotlight. But as the only daughter in the most powerful tech family in the galaxy, it’s hard to escape it. So when a group of men show up at her house uninvited, she assumes it’s just the usual media-grubs. That is, until shots are fired.

Liddi escapes, only to be pulled into an interplanetary conspiracy more complex than she ever could have imagined. Her older brothers have been caught as well, trapped in the conduits between the the planets. And when their captor implants a device in Liddi’s vocal cords to monitor her speech, their lives are in her hands: One word and her brothers are dead.

Desperate to save her family from a desolate future, Liddi travels to another world, where she meets the one person who might have the skills to help her bring her eight brothers home–a handsome dignitary named Tiav. But without her voice, Liddi must use every bit of her strength and wit to convince Tiav that her mission is true. With the tenuous balance of the planets deeply intertwined with her brothers’ survival, just how much is Liddi willing to sacrifice to bring them back?

I don’t know if I’ve mentioned this, but I love fairytale retellings so when I saw this new spin (Sorry, I couldn’t resist) on the classic The Wild Swans, by Hans Christian Anderson, I was quite excited. Sadly for me, despite a fascinating plot, and compelling characters, the story got bogged down by a myriad of technical details and convoluted world-building which had me having to re-read passages in order to make sense of things, and let me tell you that’s not easy to do on a Kindle.

Given that this is a science-fiction adaptation of a fairytale, there’s lots of world building. When Spinning Starlight begins, there are eight planets (although other worlds are added later). Travel between them is done through “conduits” which are like transportation portals. The problem is they’re starting to break down. The villain of the piece thinks that by trapping the Jantzen brothers inside them, they can be used as some sort of stabilizing anchor. At least I think that’s the method behind the madness. Even now after I’ve finished the book though, I’m still not sure. This is just one of the many, many things I found confusing. Honestly, I felt like a dunderhead throughout much of the book. 

What worked for me though were the characters. I loved Liddi and Tiav. Liddi is this wonderful mix of sass and vulnerability. Great things have always been expected from her, yet so far she hasn’t been able to display any of the technical genius that her older brothers have shown. The story is told from her perspective so the reader is let into all her personal thoughts and feelings. You can completely understand her frustration and insecurity. By the end of the book, she finally comes into her own, and it’s a pleasure to see. Tiav is also a likeable character and even though you don’t get to know him as intimately as Liddi, there’s no doubt he’s courageous and loyal despite battling his own insecurities and responsibilities. The romance takes a backseat through most of the book, which is a good thing because there’s so much going on this would have just been one more unnecessary complication.

I think what I really loved about this book was the relationship between Liddi and her eight older brothers. Because their parents died when Liddi was only six the brothers are extremely protective and caring toward her. Liddi completely adores them yet because of her lack of technical prowess, doesn’t feel like she truly belongs. You can literally feel how much they all love each other, especially when during the passages when Liddi is remembering certain events in her childhood. It not only gives you more insight into her, but also into this rather unique family of geniuses.

I’m giving Spinning Starlight 3.0 stars because due to my own weaknesses concerning technology, I’m just not sure if I’m being completely fair. I think for those of you who are more left brain thinkers, this might be a decent read for you, especially if you like science fiction. I also want to say that this book is supposed to be a companion to the author’s first YA novel Stitching Snow. It’s set in the same universe, but with different characters. Unfortunately I’m left feeling extremely conflicted and frustrated, although because I loved the characters and the premise so much, I probably will try going back and read the first book. Hmph. I hate feeling this way after finishing a book. It makes me quite cranky.

Letters to Zell ~ Camille Griep – 3.5 Stars

Tags

Adult Fiction, Fairytale Retellings, LGBTQ

 I received this e-Arc from NetGalley and Amazon Publishing/47North in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: July 1, 2015

Synopsis ~ Have you ever wondered what happened after the perfect endings in some of the most beloved fairytales? For Zell (Rapunzel), CeCi (Cinderella), Bianca (Snow White), And Rory (Sleeping Beauty), it’s not all hearts and flowers. Each of them is struggling with a personal crisis which are all detailed through letters. Will they be able to find their “happily-ever-afters”?

At times hilarious, and at times sad this intriguing novel opens, with a crisis in Grimmland, which ultimately starts a chain reaction. Zell has moved to Oz to run a unicorn sanctuary with her husband without a word of warning to her three closest friends and book group members. While they’re initially angry, Zell’s actions cause each of her friends to re-evaluate their lives, and what they’re looking for in their own happy endings.

Under pressure to produce a royal heir, CeCi wishes only to become a world class chef.

Bianca is not only being forced to marry a man who she likes, but doesn’t love, but also to decide the method of her step-mother’s death which will take place at her wedding.

Rory is desperately trying to keep her marriage intact, despite her husband’s roving eye.

I think my favorite character is the foul-mouthed Bianca, who is torn between her duty to Grimmland and her love for Rachel, a mortal in the outside world. Bianca has a funny cynical view of the world which had me laughing out loud. She initially comes across as being somewhat bitchy, yet her letters reveal a softer side. 

CeCi is also an endearing character. She puts up with her obnoxious step-mother living in palace mainly for the sake of her two blind step-sisters who she cares for. She and Edmund (Prince Charming), adore each other yet she keeps secret her desire for a culinary career because she doesn’t think he’ll understand. 

Rory, for me is the weakest character. She out of all the characters comes across as a stereotypical goody-two-shoes Disney princess. Trapped in a loveless marriage, she eventually takes a selfish way out in complete disregard of the hurtful consequences. While I emphasize with her pain, there are so many different actions she could have taken.

Letters to Zell is slow to start but picks up the pace about fifty pages in. I think this because the back and forth nature of the letters take a little getting used to. While the worldbuilding is good, I wish a little more history was included in regards to the fairytale realms. The story unfolding through letters is clever but doesn’t always have an authentic ring to them. They mainly serve to push the story forward. What’s important to me though is that the underlying theme of pursuing your dreams and not allowing yourself to be trapped by societal conventions and other’s expectations is successfully conveyed in an imaginative and entertaining manner.

Despite it’s flaws I did enjoy this and I think if you’re a fan of fairytale retellings and authors like Gregory Maguire you should give this a try.