This was such an edge-of-your seat read! I. Could. Not. Stop. Reading! Wow. It was a bit too dark for me, personally, but it was super suspenseful andThis was such an edge-of-your seat read! I. Could. Not. Stop. Reading! Wow. It was a bit too dark for me, personally, but it was super suspenseful and exciting. The worldbuilding, setting, and magic systems were very cool, especially the shadows! It was neat being immersed in this world that’s magical but with a slight steampunk edge (although it was also pretty gritty, and sometimes hard to figure out goodguys versus villains). Also, it had cool tropes like found-family and assassin-girl and academy-type stories!
It was told in a really unique way in alternating present-and-past timelines, so it was neat piecing together Reen’s story from the flashbacks and the present, while second-guessing along the way. I’m not sure I BREATHED during the entire ending! Whew! *collapses* *thumbs-up*
Shoutout to Bastien for being an amazing cinnamon roll character. He was great! (I almost . . . wish . . . well, there’s a certain other amethyst-eyed character I want him to be! *cough*) All the other characters were very vivid and there were a lot of shifting motives going on, so I couldn’t always root for anyone besides Reen and Bastien (I feel like I was supposed to like Cron but I just never did; I think that’s just me, though).
Unfortunately, zombies and plagues are a no-go for me, and the book is also just . . . dark. Kind of too dark for my personal taste, but that’s just me! (I could have done without the nightmares it gave me. *nervous laugh*) I almost put it down a couple of times because of the disturbingness, but I was hooked and had to know what happened, so I am glad I finished!
Although it wasn’t a personal favorite of mine, it was definitely well-written and gripping, a solid read. I’m sure many other readers of YA would not find it too dark and would enjoy it! It’s perfect for fans of Six of Crows (with less content) and Vespertine (what I’ve heard of it).
(I received a no-strings-attached ARC of this book from the author. I was not required to write a review and all opinions are my own.)
Not my usual genre, but I downloaded it on a whim when I saw a couple of friends share enthusiastically about it being free—and I knew the author was Not my usual genre, but I downloaded it on a whim when I saw a couple of friends share enthusiastically about it being free—and I knew the author was a Realmie so of course it was going to be good. Was scrolling through my Kindle app a couple weeks later, looking for something quick to read to cheer myself up. I randomly opened this one just to see how it started and the next thing I knew I’d read through the whole thing. XD I reeeally don’t read straight-up modern romantic comedy books so I’m way not the right audience for it, and I rarely read totally random things, but despite that and a few things I wasn’t really a fan of, I enjoyed myself and laughed aloud a couple times. It’s cheesy and dorky and geeky and funny, a fluffy rom-com at first-glance, but had some depth and heart and deeper subjects later, which really touched my heart, all mixed together with the fun. I couldn’t stop reading and I was impressed it sucked me in so well despite it not being my usual reading fare. Plus Grayson and Chloe were cute. And fandom references. (It was especially fun since I kept reading Chloe in Abbey’s voice from NCIS. XD) Will have to check out more by this author. :)...more
I LOVED this collection! A couple of the stories weren’t my favorite, but you always get that in anthologies; on the whole I enjoyed it more than manyI LOVED this collection! A couple of the stories weren’t my favorite, but you always get that in anthologies; on the whole I enjoyed it more than many. A few of these tales are going on my top-favorite list. ;)
Everwild - J. M. Hackman (5 stars) — This one was awesome! A boy about to grow out of the foster system is given a choice between two worlds... Fascinating and vivid, and I liked how it ended. Lovely portal fantasy with a few twists. It was great. ^_^ Makes me want to try more by this author—and I fortunately have a novel (Spark) which can help me do just that. ;)
Well of Fate - Savannah Jezowski (5 stars) — Tosk the squirrel was so adorable! What a super-cute—and funny—little tale. Having a squirrel main character who’s a little bit nervous but determined to be a hero, in a mythology setting, was so much fun! And there was an awesome twist near the end! ;) I’m looking forward to checking out the author’s When Ravens Fall novella...
Jericho and the Magician’s Daughter - H. L. Burke (5 stars) — AWK. Featuring Jericho and Rill a few years before the first Spellsmith and Carver book. They’re adorable! And they didn’t know they were in love... quite... yet... Super cute and exciting. It was also neat seeing a little more of Hedward Spellsmith. And of course there was Jaspyr the mechanical fox! It’s a great story and I loved this look at a sort of mini-prequel about Jericho and Rill. ^_^
Dragon’s Oath - Katy Huth Jones (3 stars) — This one was well-written and absorbing but for me personally it wasn’t a favorite since it was a bit sad... But I suspect I’d like it more if I’d read the series that it’s attached to, since I think this might be backstory for some character? Anyway, it was mostly enjoyable and I liked the dragon. :)
The Hallway of Three Doors - D. G. Driver (3 stars) — I’m not sure what my problem was with this one, but it wasn’t a favorite either. I think it confused me some and I wasn’t always sure what was going on; it was also a little more horror-like in a couple parts than I’d like? But some of it was fascinating, and it was definitely unique. :)
Door Number Four - Bokerah Brumley (4 stars) — Quite an interesting story, which almost had a touch of sci-fi feel (just me?), about a boy at a magical academy studying to take care of fantastical creatures, facing his final test... I liked his gruff teacher and all the bright originality. It made me think a little of Ender’s Game (just the academy/test thing, I think?) and overall I liked it. :)
Threshold - Laurie Lucking (5 stars) — AWK. THIS STORY. <3 *hugs it* I don’t want to give anything away about it, but it had a couple of twists on the usual portal fantasy thing, and I was SO WORRIED about how things would turn out, but I absolutely LOVED IT. Shawn was my favorite. He’s the best. :D I got kind of a Peter Pan sort of feel with this one and I loved that. ^_^
Idiot’s Graveyard - Arthur Daigle (5 stars) — One word (name?): Jayden. Jayden is one of my new favorite characters and I’m not even sure WHY, but he’s quite unpigeonholeable and fantastic and giving me Howl/Doctor Strange sorts of vibes. I could easily read a whole novel (or series) about Dana Illwind and Sorcerer Lord Jayden (they remind me a little of things like Skulduggery Pleasant or Jackaby). I learned there was another short story featuring them (in Hall of Heroes, another Fellowship of Fantasy anthology) and instantly read/devoured/loved it. The world is kind of spooky, and yet a little elegant. And it’s so FUNNY. Like... I just love the style. I kept wanting to quote it. All the snark and polite cutting dialog! Anyway, it was a glorious short story and I loved it muchly. <3 Just excuse me while I wish for more tales of Jayden and co. and am tempted to re-read both the ones I have...
Cosmic Cravings - AJ Bakke (4.5 stars) — This was so much fun! XD A little white mouse mage named Bree and her quest for chocolate, a fairy and the crow-sized dragon he rides, and a little girl in modern times. What do they have in common? I liked how the different threads came together, though some of the outcomes were a little rough for me. Enjoyable and funny! :)
Dragon Ward - Jenelle Leanne Schmidt (5 stars) — How fascinating! I won’t spoil anything, but as a fan of this author’s Minstrel’s Call series, I loved how this had two or three different backstory references, when I only expected one! LOVED LOVED LOVED. It was delicious and unexpected. Anyone who hasn’t read the series will enjoy it too. The story of a girl and a dragon, and a strange experience they have... and meeting a certain character, who I love! :D An absolutely delightful tale. ^_^
What Lies Ahead - Lauren Lynch (4 stars) — Wow, that was unique. Roman-times (not my thing, but interesting) historical fantasy with a smidge of time-travel. Eek! :D I quite liked the hero of the story and it made me curious to learn more about him and the Time Drifters series it said this story is related to. :)
Overall, a delightful fantasy short story collection with a theme of mythical doorways. Idiot’s Graveyard, Threshold, and Dragon Ward (at least) are going down as some of my top-favorite little tales. :) Highly recommended....more
Firstly, this book is GORGEOUS. The writing, the descriptions, the setting—I was drowning in beauty. The author’s voice and the poetic descriptions were really enjoyable to read. ^_^
This book is actually three stories in one, which was fascinating. Three stories set in three different time periods, but intertwined and connected by names, places, family... and intriguing items. An eighteenth century portrait, a fox brooch, a World War II photograph... and a castle in France. Almost the entire book is set in France in three different time periods (contemporary, WWII, and the late 1700s), with a dash of contemporary America and WWII England.
My favorite of the three storylines was actually the contemporary one: a young woman named Ellie trying to find a mysterious castle in France and coming up against unexpected roadblocks, like visiting a vineyard and meeting the Irish grandson of the old Frenchman who owns the vineyard. (Loved the grandfather!) Quinn Foley (said Irish fellow) was one of my favorite parts of the book. He had some fun lines and I loved giving him an Irish accent in my head. XD Ellie was spunky and I liked her. Together they make an interesting pair, especially when they’re at odds. :P But I loved when they worked together, too.
Another of the story threads deals with Revolution-era France, and a lady who was supposed to be marrying the lord of a certain castle... when a peasant uprising changes her life and the lives of the aristocracy in Paris and elsewhere. She adapts surprisingly well, and it was neat reading her story of working alongside Robert, the younger brother of her betrothed. I like Robert a lot too. :) This was another era I enjoyed reading about.
Less-favorite (for me), but still super gripping, is the storyline in the World War II era. This one featured Vi, a plucky British gal behind enemy lines in Nazi-occupied-France. I personally don’t really care for reading about this time period—it just depresses me for some reason—but these sections were certainly thrilling, and I did enjoy them sometimes. It was mostly interesting as Vi is Ellie’s grandmother, and so piecing together her past in these flashbacks/third narrative was intriguing. Plus, there was Julien, and I really liked him! And there were a couple of references, like to Sherlock Holmes, which I enjoyed. :)
I loved getting to follow three totally separate, yet somehow connected stories, and putting together pieces as they alternated.
It was also fun how the castle (the Sleeping Beauty, as it was called) was at the center of the three plots; it gave it a connected feeling.
Sometimes you’d hear bits of one of the stories in one of the other stories, which gave it a fascinating, layered feel.
The characters were quite lovable, the romance threads were adorable, and like I said, the writing and description was breathtaking.
What I didn’t like as much was mostly a certain THING that happened, which I saw coming and was fairly obvious, given the evidence, but still. I can’t STAND sad endings, and it was depressing, even if some readers might find it bittersweet and not mind. I won’t give away details, but the NUMBER ONE RULE of romance is you-know-what... and that one broke it. And my heart with it. *cough* If a book wants to make me dislike it, all it has to do is kill a favorite character or have a bad ending... It made me a sad otter. :(
To be fair, there WERE three separate storylines and I was QUITE happy with how two of them turned out, so that’s not bad, statistically. :P Most of the book is a solid, gorgeous 4 star. I knocked off half a star for the sad thing.
Other than said disappointing ending of one of the threads, and simply not usually caring for WWII-era stories (which is totally a me-thing), I don’t really have anything to complain about. (I do still think if certain characters had been more Narnia-like and not been standing around talking about nylons and lipstick, a random side character wouldn’t have died. Air-raid shelters exist for a REASON, people, and you should totally get in them instead of standing around putting on makeup. PLEASE. Sorry, a pet-peeve of mine. XD)
Content: There’s a bit of violence (I mean, WWII...) and involved intensity, but otherwise it’s a clean read, and even though I think it was written for adults, it’s suitable for teens. It’s technically Christian Fiction, though there’s not a huge message or anything, just occasional mentions of faith (surprisingly few, actually) and the quiet touch of God’s presence even amid war-torn France. So even if you don’t technically care for this genre, you won’t find it preachy.
Overall, it was a gorgeously-written, enchanting read, skillfully weaving three storylines together, with memorable characters, and for the most part I really enjoyed it! :)
If you don’t mind a tiny smidgen of tragedy and some bittersweetness mixed in with your historical/contemporary romance-mystery-ish stories, you’ll absolutely love this. ^_^
I’m glad I gave it a read, and I’m now curious about this author’s other work!
I received this book free from the publisher through the BookLook Bloggers book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.
Some Favorite Quotes
“A tourist like you, ya mean?” He tossed a glance down at the half-hidden map in her hand. “I didn’t think they still made maps that folded.”
“Yeah. They do, apparently. I found it in a bookstore at the airport. And good thing, because my GPS hasn’t once found a signal out here.”
***
“And you didn’t come all this way to France just to get arrested, now, did ya?”
***
“... even if it was only for a short time, that time forever changed her. And if it’s succeeded, isn’t that what a story should do? Change us in some way?”
***
“Maybe they’ll see the fairy tale in this place too.”
***
“I like the idea about buildin’ up the wall again. It’s grand. But I thought maybe we could start with the chapel? If you say yes, we’re goin’ to need it first.”
I’m always up for a Christian Fantasy novel! This one didn’t quite hit all the marks for me, personally, but I still enjoye3.5 stars, rounding up to 4
I’m always up for a Christian Fantasy novel! This one didn’t quite hit all the marks for me, personally, but I still enjoyed it for the most part. :) It was fast-paced and exciting—sometimes almost too fast-paced, but made for a fairly quick and mostly enjoyable read! There was a lot of action, which was well-written and kept me absorbed. I definitely didn’t want to put the book down! And the romance was really sweet and I loved it. :)
I was quickly drawn into the fantasy setting, with castles and forests and mountains and kingdoms. The “feel” of it was one that I thought was really neat. I especially loved the winged wolf spirit guardians! Sort of like guardian angels, though it’s mainly the heroine who can see them. There’s a bit of a spiritual battle going on between the wolf guardians and the demons. Malachi, the main wolf, was awesome. :D I also thought it was cool that there are giants in the book! Somehow giants don’t seem to be in fantasy as much anymore and I loved seeing them in this, particularly their enigmatic role in which sides they’re on (if anyone’s). And there are mentions of others like dwarves and goblins, and a griffin appeared right at the very end (yesss!), so I’m curious to continue reading this series and see more of this world!
And then there are the characters. I liked our heroine Alaina and her spirit of determination, and wanted her to succeed, though I’m not as much of a warrior-princess-trope fan as some—but anyone who is will love this! I also loved our energetic prince Thaddeus! He was a great character, and I loved his relationship with Alaina. :D Other side characters were interesting (particularly Malachi, as I mentioned), and there was an awesome gladiator character who was my favorite! (Yes, Hugo, you’re awesome.) Also, a couple of the side-villain characters had really interesting arcs, so that was well-done.
The book at times felt like younger-YA in a sense (particularly since it started with a ten-year-old and then skipped to when she was seventeen), but in another sense it . . . wasn’t. It was kind of dark and gruesome, a bit more on the gritty side than I personally enjoy, which seemed slightly at odds with the rest of the fantasy-adventure type feel of the book, but that could just be me. Just be aware the heroine goes through a lot and there’s torture and fantasy-demons and some disturbing scenes. But otherwise it’s great fun.
Overall, for some reason it wasn’t one of my top favorites, but it definitely kept my interest and I loved the world and characters, and I’m definitely curious to read more in this world!
(I received a free ebook copy of this book from the author (thank you!). All opinions are my own.)...more
This is a small collection with unique, interesting, well-written stories. Not the sort of thing I read often, but they were definitely gripping! :) Contains a short story, a novelette, and two pieces of flash fiction—one is sci-fi, two are contemporary with connections to fantasy, and one is... hard to define, but I suppose it’s contemporary fantasy.
The first one, “Just Pretend”, might be my favorite—I quite enjoyed the feel and setting, following a writer named Siobhan (love the name!) as she’s visiting England, semi-researching her book on the history of folklore, and gets dragged into a family party. I really liked Desmond too. He was great! And they were cute. ;) I can’t really say much else because spoilers, but the connection to fairytales (sort of) was neat, and I really liked the writing too. :) Haven’t quite decided how I feel about how it ended, and I definitely wanted there to be MORE, because I didn’t want it to end, but on the whole it was enjoyable, and I loved the details. It also felt British which was delightful. ^_^ 4 stars.
The second one, “Me and You”, was... interesting. I don’t really know what I think about it? It kept me reading and felt very real and vivid, especially the characters! I just don’t click well with some of the elements—which is just me. Contemporary isn’t my favorite for some reason, and a lot of the issues the heroine deals with just... weren’t my favorite. Entirely me, though! She’s going through an almost-breakup with her husband (which was well-resolved though!) and there’s backstory about a tragic car accident, and a character who might be her imagination... (Or a ghost... or an angel...) The main character’s a writer too, and it was in first-person-present-tense. It was very well written, which I really have to give it points for, and I liked parts of it, just not entirely my thing. :) I’d call this one a novelette, as it was a longer short story. 3.5 stars.
“Primitive” was more like flash-fiction, a very brief one-off sort of thing, sci-fi, mostly looking back at a previous backstory. It was interesting, I just don’t really care for sci-fi much. XD Which, again, is entirely me! It felt a little like a single scene, a window looking into a larger story, if that makes sense; it wasn’t quite a complete story, but intriguing. 3 stars.
“Tad Fallows and the Quarter Pints” is another favorite, which I found intriguing and fun! I really need to re-read Masters and Beginners to remember what the entire links were, but it was neat, and I loved the humorous sort of style it started out with. :) Again, very vivid, and great writing. And anything with a bookshop is bound to be fun. ;) It was also more like flash-fiction, quite short, which made it more impressive to me that all the characters had such distinct personalities and everything! Loved the feel. :) 4 stars.
Overall, a couple of these weren’t really my thing, although one of those WAS extremely well written, and I enjoyed the whole collection in its way. :) Recommend for those who enjoy mostly-contemporary with a dash of fantasy or sci-fi to their short stories, and just well-written, vivid tales with very real characters and the occasional dash of humor. I really like this author’s style, and so much of it was beautiful and imaginative, even in mostly-contemporary settings, and on the whole I had a good time immersing myself in these short stories for something different! :)
I received a free ecopy of this book from the author (many thanks!) for purposes of writing an honest review; these opinions are my own.
Favorite Quote:
If we believe faeries are real, it brings a sense of magic to our very boring, difficult, everyday lives. It gives us a glimpse into a world of adventure, heroism, true love, and happy endings. It inspires us to pull a little magic out of ourselves, and bestow it on others.
This short story is a very quick, fairly intriguing read. It was a nice introduction to the world of the Tales of Taelis series—book one is "Adventures and Adversities", which I hadn’t read yet.
"Admirable" provides a little backstory for William, a character from "Adventures and Adversities", and I enjoyed stepping into this medieval setting (in a fictional place) and meeting William and his sister, both of whom I quite liked. :)
The frequency of typos and errors was somewhat distracting, and William seemed to act older than he was supposed to be (could just be me!) but otherwise it was an interesting and enjoyable read. :)
I did like this peek at this medieval world of castles and such, with some sweet Christian characters, and I look forward to reading more stories in the Taelis series!
This is a very short story which focused on an important question, so it can be a great jumping-off point to get thinking about how we can try to liveThis is a very short story which focused on an important question, so it can be a great jumping-off point to get thinking about how we can try to live like we believe.
It's the story of four young people in our day and age who decide to make a difference in the month before Easter, and it was interesting to follow their separate stories and struggles. I will also note that I'm not the target audience for this story because I don't read much realistic modern fiction, so that's probably just me. :)
To me, it felt like it would be better as non-fiction, since the question raised didn't work too well (for me, personally) as a story. At least not in such a very small number of pages -- I felt like it didn't make God big enough, because I wanted to see more examples of the changes (for the better!) in the lives of the characters... but I understand that it was merely a glimpse at a beginning of what they're doing.
A short, good read for getting you thinking about how you would or wouldn't go about following this same idea in life. It's definitely had me thinking about it, which either way is a good thing. Anyways, I'm glad I read it. :)...more
Ratings ranging from 1-5 stars; rounding to 2.5 stars for whole collection overall -- individual ratings later. :)
I don’t think this is a collection I would have picked up on my own, but I met a wonderful author, Lisa Godfrees, who has a story in this collection, at a writer workshop event, and she was kind enough to give me a copy. It looked like something very different from my previous experience, so I curiously dived in. (I WAS warned that they were dark stories, but I pressed on all the same. :P)
This anthology contains 14 short stories by various authors, as well as an excellent Editor’s Introduction by Travis Perry. The stories were nearly all well-written, gripping, and fascinating—I breezed quickly through them and couldn’t stop. They were also mostly dark, disturbing, or creepy as well—or at least in genres I don’t usually read—which is not my usual cup of tea. XD
I don’t read many short stories, and I also don’t usually read Sci-fi, Paranormal, or Horror, which is where some of the stories in this collection fall, so I don’t think I’m exactly the proper audience to review this? Though some are also Fantasy, Contemporary Fantasy, Time Travel, or have Christian or allegorical elements. The point of the collection was to have varying stories that fall broadly under the Speculative Fiction label, written by various skilled Christian authors, published in 2016. You won’t happen to find language or inappropriate situations in here, but most of the stories happened to be pretty dark and creepy, as it turned out. :P
It was definitely an interesting read, and I liked some of the stories, but most of them were not, overall, for me. I’m rounding the total collection rating to 2.5 stars... some were more or less. Below is a rundown of the contents of this anthology, with my brief thoughts on each.
Please keep in mind, these are only my PERSONAL thoughts/ratings/opinions, and others might like them more. :)
***
FAVORITE OF COLLECTION (5 stars; 1 story)
Cameo - by Linda Burklin
Time Travel 39 pages 5 stars
A young woman in our time finds a cameo necklace, and when she dreams, she seems to—impossibly—go back in time and visit the girl the necklace belonged to, who needs help... This one was super fascinating and I was SO WORRIED about what would happen, but it turned out to be my absolute favorite in the collection. :) The time-travel was really well done and I really liked the characters and the mystery and just... yes. I really, really enjoyed it. :) Some of it was still very creepy, but not as much as it looked like at first. Anyways, I liked. ^_^
***
MOSTLY LIKED (4 stars; 3 stories)
Dental Troll - by Lisa Godfrees
Contemporary Fantasy (/Horror?) 5 pages 4 stars
So, I LOVED this one for most of it. :D It’s well-written, humorous, and fascinating. What if tooth-fairies are made up but there are actually creatures like them, just... different—namely Dental Trolls? A little girl meets one. I thought I was going to love it, but the ending took a turn for the creepy/dark/horrifying and just... no. o.o So I’m taking a star off for that. I mostly loved it, especially the writing and humor and idea, but I didn’t care for this ending, personally. XD
HMS Mangled Treasure - by L. Jagi Lamplighter Wright
Contemporary Fantasy 51 pages 4 stars
Okay, so this one was definitely unique. :D A pirate ship with scary fairy-ish beings is stealing cars in a modern-day city, and a no-nonsense mother decides to get her car back (because it has her son’s doll in it), researching how to deal with fairies, and meeting a strange guy in a trench-coat who I quite liked. It gets points for all the fairy-lore references, in a modern-day setting, with creepy fairy-pirates etc. Some of it was weird, especially the ending, so I’m not totally sure how I feel about it, but it was definitely mostly fun to read about—extra points because of The Tempest reference. XD
A Model of Decorum - by Cindy Emmet Smith
Paranormal 20 pages 4 stars
So... this one was kind of... werewolf-ish. *twitch* Which I don’t usually care for. But it was also kind of a Little-Red-Riding-Hood retelling, and was well-written and interesting and I couldn’t help liking most of it, for some reason. XD But it’s still werewolves, which is kind of creepy for me... but I liked it more than some. :) And it just takes a lot for me to like something I normally wouldn’t, so I’m impressed. XD
***
GOOD BUT NOT FOR ME (3 stars; 5 stories)
Ghost Roommate - by Matthew Sketchley
Paranormal/Horror? 20 pages 3 stars
Even though I don’t really care for stories featuring ghosts, I was super surprised by really enjoying a lot of this. XD It was FUNNY, and I dearly like funny things. It started getting a little weird and then ended at a quite dark/creepy (but also vague?) point, so... it’s probably 3.5, rounding to 3, because I quite liked some of it, but the ending was... um... yeah, no. >.>
The Bones Don’t Lie - by Mark Venturini
Fantasy 27 pages 3 stars
WELL. That was fascinating and rather eerie and also confusing. It’s in a fantasy-world and it kept me interested but I was also confused about the different groups and couldn’t figure out what happened at the end and if it was happy or not. So. That makes me a little twitchy. I don’t know what I thought! o.o
Domo - by Joshua M. Young
Sci-fi 17 pages 3 stars
I don’t do well with sci-fi? Sorry, but it’s true. XD This was about an intelligent robot, featured some chess-games with an old priest, a dog, and some questions of robots and God. It was interesting for sure, but again, just... I’m not totally into sci-fi. :P
The Water Man - by Sherry Rossman
Christian Paranormal? 17 pages 3 stars
This was almost written in a sort of code, which I didn’t totally get till the end. It was interesting, set in an old-folks home, from the point of view of an old man; it’s kind of dark, with a murder mystery sort of thing, and I’m torn on what to think of the ending. Dunno. I think I liked some of it and it was well-written and interesting, just it was super creepy and not... totally... for me.
Graxin - by Kerry Nietz
Sci-fi 28 pages 3 stars
This one was actually super-well written and fascinating—set on some planet’s moon, about a robot searching for a kind of ore, and finding... something mysterious instead. It was intriguing and I felt like it was trying to say some interesting stuff, but I just don’t connect well with sci-fi and the ending was... kinda strange. I think I was rooting for him, but... still... ACK, I don’t know. I can’t decide what I thought about this one.
***
NOT QUITE (2 stars; 2 stories)
The Disembodied Hand - by Jill Domschot
(Uncertain of genre; Christian Paranormal?) 6 pages 2 stars
This one had some interesting bits (maybe an angel?) and was intriguing but kind of confusingly written. I don’t know. It was fine but not my thing.
Nether Ore - by Kirk Outerbridge
Sci-fi 77 pages 2 stars
Okay, so I’m torn. This was the longest story in the collection, and it had me positively hooked. It was super fascinating, original, and unique. It’s kind of like a post-apocalyptic sci-fi place with squids and mines and scientists with creepy-creepy secrets, and elements of a mystery and of residual Christian stuff. It was well-written and I couldn’t stop reading but it was just super-super creepy and just... Nope. Not my thing at all. So I’m torn because in a sense it was really good, and it even had a fairly-good ending, but for me personally, it was too horrifying. O.o Meep. Others might enjoy it, though.
***
ABSOLUTELY NOPE (1 star; 3 stories)
Baby, Don’t Cry - by R V Saunders
Sci-fi? 8 pages 1 star
This is more a “what?” than an “absolutely nope,” but still. I had no idea what the point of this story was, and I think it turned out to be sci-fi but... I’m not even sure. It was weird and confusing and I didn’t understand it until the end (so I’m not going to say because it might be a spoiler but I don’t know) and then I wondered what the point was? Perhaps I’m missing something. Just kind of disturbing and not that interesting for me.
Escapee - by Richard New
Sci-fi/Paranormal 9 pages 1 star
On a space-ship (or two), following a criminal who is more than he seems at first, with a couple of alien creatures. Mixing sci-fi and paranormal, this just... was not my thing. It was okay but kind of creepy. I was intrigued but I don’t care about sci-fi and I’m not a super fan of following the point-of-view of such a creepy person? Other people might like it, but... not me.
Clay’s Fire - by Kat Heckenbach
Horror/Paranormal 8 pages 1 star
Absolutely least-favorite in the collection, this was positively horrifying and I wish I hadn’t read it. I simply don’t do horror like this. Just. No. WHY. Far too creepy for me.
***
Overall, an interesting experience! I think it’s just me personally who didn’t like some of these, or “get” them. If they intrigue you at all, and if you don’t mind a bit of darkness/weirdness, you might find a story or several to enjoy in this collection. And I did enjoy a few. :)
(I was given a free copy of this book by one of the authors, and was not required to write a review. These are, naturally, my own opinions.)...more
I was RIDICULOUSLY pleased when I finished reading this and realized I didn't HAVE to review it, because I got it from the library = no obligations!!!I was RIDICULOUSLY pleased when I finished reading this and realized I didn't HAVE to review it, because I got it from the library = no obligations!!!
(Seriously, the amount of relief I felt was absurd. I think I need to take a break from being a book blogger or something. XD)
Consider the irony of the fact that I ended up writing out my brief thoughts anyway. >.<
I'm a sad case. Send help.
Aaanyway...
My brief thoughts for anyone who's curious:
• Loved the sarcastic banter and dialog! • Not so keen on aaall the “burn the witch!” and grittiness. :P • The romance was alternately adorable and annoying, as per usual. XD • Sometimes some details didn’t seem like they would work... *annoyed at self for nitpicking* *oops* • I felt old because the hero and heroine were both younger than me. >.> • Of course the heroine thought she was “plain” and yet they get a positively gorgeous lady for the cover picture. XD (Also, that dress. <3) • The first half was all romance-in-the-castle and the second half was all action-and-peril which made the pacing seem strange. • I probably would have loved some of it more if I’d read the previous books, but did enjoy meeting the heroes (and duke) from the first two. :) • Not as much Christianity as I thought there’d be? • Heroine and grandmother relationship was neat. • Enjoyed myself for most of it, just nothing on a deeper level that I absolutely loved, somehow. Besides, as I mentioned, the sarcastic banter. XD • Enjoyable read overall, though. :)...more
Tricky to rate... All the parts with Bill Door etc. I simply LOVED! :D So those are like 5-star parts? But the parts with Windle Poons and the snow-glTricky to rate... All the parts with Bill Door etc. I simply LOVED! :D So those are like 5-star parts? But the parts with Windle Poons and the snow-globes/trolleys I just... never clicked with those for some reason, so those are like 2-stars. Dunno. So I'm rounding to the middle for overall. But the Bill Door parts were simply awesome. :D...more
Six interesting retellings of six different fairytales by six skilled authors. I found each of these to be unique and very well written, although each of them are quite different from each other, and I enjoyed some more than others. Overall, a quite good collection of tales! Here are my thoughts on each.
(I received a free e-ARC copy of this collection from the authors.)
THE MOUNTAIN OF THE WOLF (by Elisabeth Grace Foley)
4 stars
This one started out a little slow, so I was nervous I wouldn’t enjoy it, but once it got intriguing I was hooked, and read the second half in breathless anticipation.
The Little Red Riding Hood retelling part of it only came in near the end, but it worked really well and was unique. Not sure I’ve ever read a retelling of that one before! I haven’t read many westerns (I’ve seen a lot more. ;)) but I really enjoyed this one!
It all felt super authentic — descriptions, dialog, characters… all of it. Rosa Jean was a well written character who I quite liked, and Quincy Burnett was awesome! The writing is detailed and skilfully firm — I could really see the setting, even if it made the beginning slow.
Other than a quiet beginning and the fact that it took a little while for anything to be explained (including the fact that I automatically assumed Rosa Jean was a thirty year old woman whose husband had died… um, nope.. whoops), it was really good!
A gripping, vivid, well-written story, which I quite enjoyed and made me happy there at the end. ^_^ *hugs book*
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SHE BUT SLEEPETH (by Rachel Heffington)
3 stars
(5-star story, 1-star ending. Don’t know what to rate it overall, so I'm going with 5+1=3 stars [shush, don't question my maths])
This story was GOLDEN and I ADORED it and it was amusing and cleverly witty and fascinating and fresh and I was grinning the whole time I read it and it was a sparkling 5 star story… until the last second when everything crashed and burned and it ripped my heart out and left me DEVASTATED AND FURIOUS and I can’t say what happened because spoilers but IT WAS NOT OKAY AND I AM NOT OKAY AND I’M SO UPSET I CAN’T EVEN RIGHT NOW.
Some people might not mind such an ending but for me it just totally made everything not okay. I couldn’t even keep reading the collection for awhile because this one ripped my heart out so bad and made me so furious. *SADNESSES OF ALL SADNESS*
It was a modern-turned-time-travel-1897-Romania-Sleeping-Beauty-magical-gypsy-curse kind of story with a beautiful love story (most of the time), and was a magical, clever, fresh, funny, well-written, unique story, with so much personality and charm. I just loved it so much. Which is why it’s so tragic that the ending was… well… tragic. It’s not a fairytale romance, it’s a tragedy. And I need my happy endings or else I’m a heap of displeased as high as Mount Everest. So that was super disappointing, even though the rest was really good! BUT IT MADE SAD AND ANGRY AND UGH.
I just… don’t know what to rate it, since half of me says to give it 5 stars (or at least 4… knocking one off for the ending), and the other half of me wants to rate it 1 star and not even be sorry and howl from the rooftops how such an ending is so many levels of not okay. Bad endings tend to cancel out good stories for me. Plus, I expected something else to happen with Ioan, and it never did? There were a bunch of unwrapped-up things like that. I just… I really thought the ending would come together into something clever and interesting and happy and then it DIDN’T. Lost opportunities, IMHO.
Um. I’ll just be over here in a corner feeling conflicted and royally distraught.
Great story. Awful ending. We’ll leave it at that. (BUT IT WAS SO GOOD. BUT UGH THAT ENDING WHYYY. -_-)
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RUMPLED (by J. Grace Pennington)
4.5 stars
This story was so good! Definitely one of my favorites of the collection. :)
This was a Rumpelstiltskin retelling with a steampunk/sci-fi twist set in an alternate-history America (really intriguing, but I wish we'd learned more about it in the story than we did).
It was much more like the original fairy tale, in terms of plot layout, than any of the other stories in the collection, but I actually loved that because it made the differences, despite the similar framework, stand out a lot more strongly. Because this story was SO Rumpelstiltskin, and yet SO twisted around and fresh and different.
The writing is brilliant but also down to earth. The characters were real and interesting. I liked Amanda, and Byron, what was seen of him, was great. It almost felt like a Beauty and the Beast story occasionally, which was actually cool.
There were mysteries which kept me guessing, and I stayed on the edge of my seat for most of the story, immersed and reading as fast as I could, wondering how it would all turn out.
Overall, it was a beautifully written, entrancing and original tale, with a touching love story and a good dash of suspense, at least for me. I loved it! Definitely a favorite. ^_^
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SWEET REMEMBRANCE (by Emily Ann Putzke)
2 stars
This is one of those “it’s not you, it’s me” things. I knew from the start that this would be a story that would not be a favorite.
World War II, The Little Match Girl, first-person-present-tense, tragic love story, with a lot of darkness and grimness, and favorite character dying, and no happy ending in sight… Those are like some of my least favorite things ever, all rolled in one (seriously, it’s only missing dystopia and zombies. XD) so I knew it just wasn’t my thing.
But I admit I was surprised how sweet the romance was and how beautiful the writing was (in some of the flashbacks, anyway), and I could see why it was written how it was (the flashbacks, which are actually most of the story, are in past-tense, so it made sense to tell it that way), and Romek was the best (*sadnesses*), and it was gripping despite not being my thing.
So I’m giving it an extra star for being well-written and having some good things like that. I just… why can’t stories have happy endings? -_- Anyway, I’m sure many people will enjoy this one, it just wasn’t for me.
I just don’t enjoy tales that are hopeless and depressing, no matter how well-written they are. Just my personal preference.
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DEATH BE NOT PROUD (by Suzannah Rowntree)
4.5 stars
I wasn't sure what to think about this one for awhile, but it surprised me by drawing me in and I ended up really enjoying it!
I found it interesting that it was set in New Zealand in the 1920s, and I enjoyed the slight unfamiliar touches of the setting and time period. Very loosely based on Snow White, I simply LOVED finding little hints and parallels to that fairytale. Unless you knew to look for them, they could easily slip through the cracks and not be noticed, so I found them to be quite clever and fun to look for. :)
It's more of a thriller, murder-mystery type story, and much of the time you don't know who to believe or trust, which only added to the suspense and mystery. Normally I really dislike stories which leave out key bits of information that we ought to know but for some reason I didn't mind in this one. I guessed a lot of things, but despite that the mystery kept me on the edge of my seat.
The heroine, Ruby Black, was somewhat strange and I wasn't sure if I liked her at first, but I found that didn't really matter because by the end the characters were so real to me that I found "liking" or not had no say in the matter. They just... were. The other characters were interesting too, particularly Max, who we saw the most of besides Ruby, and who I was really kept on my toes wondering about.
There was also some poetry and imagery woven in, which only added to the ethereal feel. It was exciting and beautifully written, and the tiniest bit eerie, but in a way that didn't bother me. I just... really really liked it! :) Which surprised me, because it started out a little rocky and I wasn't sure if I'd enjoy it. I'm so glad I kept reading!
Somewhat haunting and gorgeous and strange and unique, and I liked the clever fairytale twists in it. Another favorite!
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WITH BLOSSOMS GOLD (by Hayden Wand)
5 stars!!! Favorite of the collection! ^_^
THIS STORY!! *shrieking* I just loved it so so so much! ^_^
A retelling of Rapunzel, set in Renaissance Italy, this story was like golden sunshine and I LOVED it. What if Rapunzel (in this story, Nella) didn't want to leave her tower?
It starts out a much lighter-hearted story than the rest, but it has its share of reality and war and adventure and peril as well. All of that comes later, but first we must meet quiet Nella, and two princes who are SO much fun to read... seriously, the dialog in this story is FANTASTIC. It's mostly about Nella, who's odd but nice and has to face many fears, and Prince Benedict, who is just... asldkjflk HE'S GREAT OKAY.
The humor in this story is superb and had me laughing aloud several times, or just grinning and grinning, quite unable to stop. The banter Benedict has with Nella, and with his brother (seriously great brother scenes with Benedict and Orlando, even if there weren't a lot) just made my day.
In a way it's a simpler plot than some, but it was just so refreshing and fun and gorgeous and I adored it. <3 When war threatens and peril engulfs our main characters, they must be brave and press on in the face of adversity, with only their love, ingenuity, and faith to guide them.
There wasn't a lot of Christianity, exactly, but it was worked into the story and certainly more prevalent than in the other stories in this collection. I quite liked how it weaved in. I also loved how some of the original fairytale things got worked in, in different ways than you'd expect. The labyrinth, for example, was cool. :D
It was a beautiful, sweet love story and fairytale retelling, with princes and castles and towers and knights, loads of humor, and priceless character interaction and bickering which I seriously cannot say enough about because I LOVED the humor and fun and characters and banter! <3
I just... *flailing* I don't even think I can think of anything I disliked about it. IT WAS AWESOME, OKAY? The perfect note to end this collection on, it left me grinning and beaming and just so happy. ^_^ This story is the BEST. EVERYONE, READ THIS COLLECTION IF JUST FOR THIS STORY!
I loved it so very much and it made me incredibly happy. <3...more
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