Mini Reviews 21

When in doubt, just chuck them all in at once! Here's some stuff I read a while ago, so nothing is fresh in my mind. Bleh.

Dearest by Alethea Kontis
This follows Friday as she becomes embroiled in an enchantment where seven brothers are all turned into swans by day. Can she find a way to break the curse with just a needle and her wits?

I really enjoy this series and I like how seamlessly the many different fairy tales are woven together into a fun story. I liked Friday and the brothers as well. A good, well-written fairy tale retelling. Definitely want more from this author!

Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff
When Kady and Ezra's planet is invaded and they must escape or die, they had to put aside the petty problem of just having broken up. But far from being safe on the escape ships, they are surrounded by lies, half-truths, and a whole different set of problems. Will they come out alive?

This story gripped me from the very start. I love the format, the fun files and emails and schematics that fit like pieces of a puzzle together into a strange and unexpected whole. This is definitely a story that will get your heart pounding and have you questioning everyone's motives throughout. The ending threw me for a big loop. Definitely need to get my hands on the next book.

Calamity by Brandon Sanderson
Things are looking bleak for David and his broken team, after Prof gave in to his epic powers. It would seem that nothing can stop him in his desires for power. But David refuses to give up and will go wherever and do whatever is necessary to save his friend.

I have really loved this series. It's fast-paced and exciting and funny. It has surprises around every corner and I definitely didn't expect the ending. I think I felt a little let down after all the build up, but perhaps I expected it to be, well, epic. Anyway, enjoyed the series, I would definitely read more about this world.

Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys
In 1945, there was an epic tragedy involving the Wilhelm Gustloff - a ship full of people hoping to escape the advancing Soviet army. This book tells the story of this disaster from the viewpoints of four very different young people.

This was a very painful story to read. It's hard to read about stories that you know are about disaster or tragedy, especially of this scale. I had absolutely no idea about this piece of history, as I think most people don't. It's surprising and sad how lost their stories are. I am glad to have learned more about it, would like to read historical accounts of these people. I did find that the one Nazi was kind of a caricature of badness. Just an all-around rotten person. Mind you, he didn't seem to notice he was evil, but I found him hard to believe. Anyway, I recommend it, just to get a taste of what happened in this very much ignored historical event.

Book Review: Jack: The True Story of Jack and the Beanstalk by Liesl Shurtliff

Jack: The True Story of Jack and the Beanstalk by Liesl Shurtliff
Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers
Publication date: April 2015
Pages: 304
Source: e-book ARC from Netgalley
For: Review
Series: Companion to Rump

Summary (from goodreads):

Jack has always been told that giants are not real. But if that’s the case, how do you explain the huge, foot shaped pond in the yard, or the occurrence of strange and sudden storms in which the earth quakes and dirt rains from the sky? When his father is carried away in such a storm, Jack gives chase in the only logical way: by trading the family cow for some magic beans that will give him access to a land beyond the clouds. He arrives to find that the giants themselves have giant-sized troubles. With the help of an overachieving little sister, a magic goose and a chatty cook (who is not interested in grinding human bones into bread, thank you very much!) Jack sets out to save his dad and save the day.

Things I Liked:
I've really enjoyed these twisted fairy tale retellings of Shurtliff's.  I'm not a big fan of the Jack and the Beanstalk story, but this made it more interesting and more understandable.  I liked how it showed reasons for the giants raiding and how a giant world was just normal for them and the little people were more like "elves" that we would think of in our world.  I thought it was clever, though the ending seemed a bit convenient.

Things I Didn't Like:
This one dragged just a bit in places for me, but I still was interested enough to keep going.

Read-alikes:
A bit like the League of Princes by Christopher Healy

BOOK CONTENT RATINGS:
s-factor: none

mrg-factor: none

v-factor: none

Overall rating: ****

If you buy through my Amazon linkage, I will get a very small percentage

Book Review: Rump: The True Story of Rumpelstiltskin by Liesl Shurtliff

Rump: The True Story of Rumpelstiltskin by Liesl Shurtliff
Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers
Publication date: April 2013
Pages: 272
Source: e-book from library
For: Fun!

Summary (from goodreads):

In a magic kingdom where your name is your destiny, 12-year-old Rump is the butt of everyone's joke. But when he finds an old spinning wheel, his luck seems to change. Rump discovers he has a gift for spinning straw into gold. His best friend, Red Riding Hood, warns him that magic is dangerous, and she’s right. With each thread he spins, he weaves himself deeper into a curse.
To break the spell, Rump must go on a perilous quest, fighting off pixies, trolls, poison apples, and a wickedly foolish queen. The odds are against him, but with courage and friendship—and a cheeky sense of humor—he just might triumph in the end.

Things I Liked:
Yes! This is everything a fractured fairy tale should be. I will never look at Rumpelstiltskin another way.  This is the best retelling of that crazy weird story I've ever heard.  I loved Rump and found his struggle with the way things were and his own weaknesses quite good.  It was interesting how he was both good and bad and who the "villains" were and just everything. The trolls! The aunties! Pretty much the whole thing. Red! Need more of her.

Things I Didn't Like:
Um, can't think of anything

Read-alikes:
Reminded me of the League of Princes series by Christopher Healy

BOOK CONTENT RATINGS:
s-factor: none

mrg-factor: none

v-factor: none

Overall rating: *****

If you buy through my Amazon linkage, I will get a very small percentage

Book Review: Crimson Bound by Rosamund Hodge

Crimson Bound by Rosamund Hodge
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Publication date: May 2015
Pages: 448
Source: e-ARC from Edelweiss
For: Review

Summary (from goodreads):

When Rachelle was fifteen, she was good—apprenticed to her aunt and in training to protect her village from dark magic. But she was also reckless—straying from the forest path in search of a way to free her world from the threat of eternal darkness. After an illicit meeting goes dreadfully wrong, Rachelle is forced to make a terrible choice that binds her to the very evil she had hoped to defeat.

Three years later, Rachelle has given her life to serving the realm, fighting deadly creatures in an effort to atone. When the king orders her to guard his son Armand—the man she hates most—Rachelle forces Armand to help her hunt for the legendary sword that might save their world. Together, they navigate the opulent world of the courtly elite, where beauty and power reign and no one can be trusted. And as they become unexpected allies, they discover far-reaching conspiracies, hidden magic, and a love that may be their undoing. In a palace built on unbelievable wealth and dangerous secrets, can Rachelle discover the truth and stop the fall of endless night?

Things I Liked:
I wanted to love this so much more.  I was not as thrilled as I was with her last book.  It took me so much longer to get into it and to care about the characters - and I'm still not sure about Rachelle.   I loved the Red Riding Hood themes and how small bits of that story made its way into here.  I thought the ending was intriguing and good, if a bit strange in its execution.  Loved the Zisa and Tyr story too.  A bit of Hansel and Gretel, I thought.  Anyway, good but I was kind of expecting to adore it like I did Cruel Beauty.
 
Things I Didn't Like:
I was a bit too confused about Bloodbound and Forestborn and all that.  It was a bit too vague for me to really get what they were, etc. I thought the setting was good, but I wasn't as enthralled as I was with the setting from Cruel Beauty.  I suppose it's terrible to compare the two, but I can't seem to help it. It was still a very good book.

Read-alikes:
Read Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge instead :)

BOOK CONTENT RATINGS:
s-factor: !@
a few

mrg-factor: XX
some, mostly not described

v-factor: ->->->
rather a lot of monsters in this book

Overall rating: ***

If you buy through my Amazon linkage, I will get a very small percentage

Book Review: Fairest by Marissa Meyer

Fairest by Marissa Meyer
Publisher: Macmillan Audio
Publication date: January 2015
Length: 6 hrs, 36 min
Source: Audiobook from publisher
For: Review
Series: Lunar Chronicles, Book 3.5?

 

Summary (from goodreads):

In this stunning bridge book between Cress and Winter in the bestselling Lunar Chronicles, Queen Levana’s story is finally told.

Mirror, mirror on the wall,
Who is the fairest of them all?

Fans of the Lunar Chronicles know Queen Levana as a ruler who uses her “glamour” to gain power. But long before she crossed paths with Cinder, Scarlet, and Cress, Levana lived a very different story – a story that has never been told . . . until now.

Things I Liked:
I adore these retellings, though this one was a lot shorter and maybe not quite as complete a story as I would have liked.  I guess it's more like a novella.  It doesn't actually retell the whole Snow White story (as I assume Winter will be more along those lines), but the story behind the evil queen of that tale.  I felt very sorry for Levana throughout the book, and I found myself very sad at the choices she made. I listened to this on audio, and I thought the narrator, Rebecca Soler, was good but not great.  I also own a hard copy, cause I'm like that. I am excited to get to the next book (only a few weeks)!

Things I Didn't Like:
Too short :).  I found the narrator's voice was really great at young girls tones, but her male voices were...not good.  It sounded like a teenage girl's diary read aloud.  Which, I guess it kind of was.

Read-alikes:
Start with Cinder by Marissa Meyer

BOOK CONTENT RATINGS:
s-factor: none

mrg-factor: X
a bit

v-factor: ->

Overall rating: ****

If you buy through my Amazon linkage, I will get a very small percentage

New and Upcoming Retellings, 2015-2016

It's been like a year since I've listed some new and upcoming retellings! (For a more complete listing of retellings, check out my classic retellings and fairy tale retellings lists.)  I've noticed some trends lately, though I didn't list all the books that fit these as several don't have covers yet.  We have lots of Sherlock Holmes tales (not surprising, since the copyright is up), a handful of Frankenstein tales (some not out until 2017), as well as some lovely obscure fairy tale retellings.  Here are some newly released and upcoming retellings I've discovered.


Tear You Apart by Sarah Cross
This is a companion to her other book, Kill Me Softly (a sleeping beauty retelling).  It came out in January of this year and is a retelling of Snow White.


One Witch at a Time by Stacy DeKeyser
This one is also a companion book; the first one is The Brixen Witch (the Pied Piper).  This one is a retelling of Jack and the Beanstalk, not one that's seen a lot of retellings.  It came out in February of this year. 


Beastkeeper by Cat Hellisen
This is a retelling of Beauty and the Beast, about the beast (a girl) and the curse that follows her family.  It came out in February of this year as well.


The Cottage in the Woods by Katherine Coville
As you can probably tell from the cover, this is a retelling of the Goldilocks story, but from the point of view of the bears.  Definitely not many of this fairy tale that I've read.  I'm intrigued!  It came out in February this year.


Valiant by Sarah McGuire
Another unusual fairy tale retelling, this one tackles the Brave Little Taylor.  I've yet to get my hands on it, but I'm interested enough to pick it up.  Arrived in April of this year.


Rook by Sharon Cameron
There have been a handful of Scarlet Pimpernel retellings lately, and here's another that's set in the future.  I'm pretty much a sucker for anything retelling that story, cause it's one of my faves.  Came out in April 2015.


Hold Me Like a Breath by Tiffany A. Schmidt
This one says it's loosely based on the Princess and the Pea, and it's first in a series called Once Upon a Crime Family.  I'm sold! Came out in May 2015.


Lock & Mori by Heather Petty
One of several Sherlock retellings that's come out recently.  This one looks intriguing as an origin story, and Moriarty is a girl (obviously).  Coming out September 2015.


The Beast of Cretacea by Todd Strasser
I'm not sure if this is a straight up retelling of Moby Dick or not, but based solely on the characters of Ishmael and a Captain Ahab, I'm putting it in there.  This is a futuristic tale, set in space.  Coming October 2015.


Winter by Marissa Meyer
If you haven't heard about this one, you've been living under a rock.  Yeah! I'm so excited for it to finally come out - in November. Also, in case you didn't know, a retelling of Snow White.


Teen Frankenstein by Chandler Baker
I'm gonna let you guess which book this one is based on. :)  It's first in a new series called High School Horror, with plans to tackle Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and The Phantom of the Opera in the next books. This one comes out in January 2016.


Blackhearts by Nicole Castroman
This one is a retelling of the tale of Blackbeard, also not something that there's much of (though, I might just be ignorant of others).  It's coming in February of 2016- and I LOVE that cover!


The Shadow Queen by C.J. Redwine
And here is another Snow White retelling, there are so many!  Coming in February of 2016.


The Great Hunt Wendy Higgins
And for another unusual retelling, this one is based on the Singing Bone, a Grimm brothers fairy tale that I know nothing about. Coming in March 2016.


Exit, Pursued by a Bear by E.K. Johnston
Not your typical retelling I believe, as this one "riffs on Shakespeare's The Winter's Tale," and it sounds rather interesting.  Coming next March.


Tru and Nelle by G. Neri
This is also not a straight up kind of retelling, as it's "inspired by the friendship between Truman Capote and Harper Lee."  It sounds rather interesting, nonetheless.  Coming in March 2016.


Red: The True Story of Red Riding Hood by Liesl Shurtliff
This is the third in Shurtliff's series, the first two retelling Rumplestiltskin and Jack and the Beanstalk.  I've enjoyed both of them, so I'm eager to try this one as well.  Coming in April next year.


A Fierce and Subtle Poison by Samantha Mabry
And one more unusual retelling, this one is based on Nathaniel Hawthorne's short story “Rappaccini's Daughter,” which I've never heard of.  Sounds rather interesting and makes me want to find that short story.  Coming in April 2016.


Suffer Love by Ashley Herring Blake
And to round things out, we have a contemporary retelling of Romeo and Juliet.  This one comes out in May 2016.

Any favorites? Any that I missed?

If you buy through my Amazon linkage, I will get a very small percentage