Back in 2021 I was on the blog tour for Malice, the first book in a sapphic duology retelling Sleeping Beauty from the point of view of the villain – well, the second half of the series is here, and it’s a fantastic and surprising end to the story!
A lyrical, original, queer take on Beauty and the Beast, perfect for those who love historical retellings and thought-provoking emotional journeys.
A double review today, for a pair of novellas that are so good, I’m almost angry I didn’t write them…
This YA fantasy sounded so promising, pitched as Sleeping Beauty meets Indiana Jones, but let me down so badly!
This YA fantasy retelling of the Tale of Shim Cheong is as gorgeous as its cover!
I really enjoyed The School for Good and Evil, Soman Chainani’s middle grade series that takes on fairy tale tropes, so I was looking forward to his collection of reinvented fairy tales – and this certainly is a gorgeous book!
I’ve had the hardest time putting my thoughts about this Rumplestiltskin retelling into some kind of order – there’s a lot to love, but also some very strange aspects…
Monday’s rolled round again, and the random number generator this week picked book #214, The Fairy’s Tale by FD Lee!
Whoever said fairy tales were easy has never been a wannabe fairy godmother. The truth is, making dreams come true can be a total nightmare.
Bea is a lowly cabbage fairy, but she dreams of being an official Fairy Godmother. So when Bea is finally given a chance to prove her worth she is determined to make a success of it. Besides, how hard can a Happy Ever After story be? Every girl wants to be rescued by a handsome man, don’t they?
Apparently not.
Bea’s heroine doesn’t want to be in her story, and her hero is much more interested in the ugly sister. The same ugly sister who is trying to overthrow the Kingdom.
Suddenly, Bea must confront the fact that her characters are as real as she is – and just like her, they are determined to go their own way. The problem is, if Bea fails to finish the story, she faces a fate much worse than being put to sleep for a hundred years.
Now Bea must figure out what Happy Ever After really means – and whose Happy Every After she’s prepared to fight for…
I love a snarky take on fairy tale tropes, so this take on fairy godmothering as an industry seems like it will be right up my street! This is a self-published book I picked up at Worldcon 2019, where I met the author in person after following her on Twitter for ages – which means it’s sat on my shelf for nearly two years at this point, eek. It’s the beginning of a series, so I’m really hopeful that if I like it as much as I think I will, then there’s plenty more to dive into!
Have you read this one? I’d love to know your thoughts – or if you have any recommendations for other sideways looks at fairy tales!
Today’s random number pick is book #284, Poisoned by Jennifer Donnelly!
Once upon a time, a girl named Sophie rode into the forest with the queen’s huntsman. Her lips were the color of ripe cherries, her skin as soft as new-fallen snow, her hair as dark as midnight. When they stopped to rest, the huntsman pulled out his knife . . . and took Sophie’s heart.
It shouldn’t have come as a surprise. Sophie had heard the rumors, the whispers. They said she was too kind and foolish to rule — a waste of a princess. A disaster of a future queen. And Sophie believed them. She believed everything she’d heard about herself, the poisonous words people use to keep girls like Sophie from becoming too powerful, too strong . . . With the help of seven mysterious strangers, Sophie manages to survive. But when she realizes that the jealous queen might not be to blame, Sophie must find the courage to face an even more terrifying enemy, proving that even the darkest magic can’t extinguish the fire burning inside every girl, and that kindness is the ultimate form of strength.
I loved Donnelly’s take on the Cinderella story in Stepsister, which I reviewed here, so I when I spotted her Snow White retelling pop up on NetGalley I couldn’t resist requesting it. However, I then went into a big YA slump in the second half of last year, so this kind of got pushed to the sidelines a little bit. I’m definitely starting to enjoy YA again, so I’m really looking forward to diving into this soon. There are so many interesting things you can do with Snow White, and I’ve seen people say that this draws more from the bloody Grimm story than the sanitised Disney version, so I’m intrigued. Hopefully I can get to this before long!
Have you read this one, or is it on your TBR? I’d love to know your thoughts!
I’d be impressed if you’ve managed to spend the last couple of months in the fantasy community without hearing a lot of hype for this book – unfortunately for me, I think all the buzz raised my expectations for this atmospheric fantasy romance a little too high.
A Cat, A Book, and A Cup of Tea 