Fairy Tales – Page 15 – Cannonball Read 17

Fairy tale update with a Latinx spin

Blanca & Roja by Anna-Marie McLemore

January 16, 2019 by KatSings Leave a Comment

Technically it’s a misleading to say this is an update of a fairy tale. Really, this is a reimagining of several, woven together with a Latinx flair and a contemporary openness to LGBTQIA sensibilities. If that sounds like a lot to pack into 375 pages, you aren’t wrong, but I think it’s a decent effort. Blanca & Roja tells the story of the del Cisne sisters, one of whom is destined by a family curse to become a swan. Told from four perspectives, this book […]

If you love fairy tales

The Language of Thorns: Midnight Tales and Dangerous Magic by Leigh Bardugo

January 8, 2019 by Dome'Loki 1 Comment

I’ve always enjoyed fairy tales and became a bit obsessed once I discovered the darker original Grimm Brothers and Hans Christian Anderson collections. This book evokes those tales but the stories have been spun in different and interesting directions, in part because it was created as a volume of fairy tales that the characters in the Grishaverse (the world setting Leigh Bardugo created) would know. In 2012 Leigh’s publisher asked if she would write a prequel story for her first novel Shadow and Bone. But instead […]

A promising start for a new author

The Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert

January 3, 2019 by crystalclear 3 Comments

So, we have Alice and her mother Ella living a fairly transient lifestyle. They seem to constantly run in to bad luck. Things catch fire, or strange things happen, and Alice even gets kidnapped once. Ella’s mother, Althea, is an author of a book, Tales from the Hinterland. It’s a book of dark fairy tales that is no longer published, but has a fanatical cult following. It’s also a book that Alice has never read, despite her efforts to find a copy. One day they […]

Magically Disturbed

Smoke and Mirrors: Short Fictions and Illusions by Neil Gaiman

January 3, 2019 by Ale 5 Comments

For years I’ve had issues with short story collections. The whipping from one plot to another so quickly makes my brain feel like it’s on a very shaky roller coaster. But it’s the genre my mentor most likes to teach, so I’ve found myself reading a lot of it lately. Thanks to his patience, I have a newfound understanding of the short story, and decided to start off the year by revisiting the first short story collection I ever finished, Neil Gaiman’s “Smoke and Mirrors.” […]

If anyone tries the recipe at the end, I would love to know how it comes out!

November 21, 2018 by BlackRaven Leave a Comment

Little Red Ruthie: A Hanukkah Tale by Gloria Koster and illustrated by Sue Eastland was a book I reviewed awhile back for my stores newsletter. I picked it up again to see if it was still the fun Little Red Riding Hood story with a Hanukkah twist. And it is still that fun Little Red Riding Hood story with a Hanukkah twist, turn and lots and lots of sour cream and applesauce to go along with the yummy latkes. Ruthie is going to Grandmothers house […]

Be careful what you wish for…

November 15, 2018 by crystalclear Leave a Comment

This is a Cinderella tale told from the point of view of one of the ‘ugly’ stepsisters. In the original story, Cinderella’s father married and brought his new wife and stepdaughters to his home. The stepsisters were spoiled and enjoyed privileges that Cinderella did not, and lived a life of leisure. Not so in this version. Here, the Jane and Maude Montjoy are the sisters. They live in a dilapidated house and do all of the chores to try to survive. Their mother is set […]

Zirza on A Gothic Classic for a ReasonIt's one of those wish-you-could-read-it-again-for-the-first-time books. I loved it.
Emmalita on “It came to something when you found yourself hoping that the footsteps you heard were ghosts.”I loved the ending! I don’t think it’s been out long enough to talk about why though.
Dixie on Track Her Down by Melinda LeighI am just starting Track Her Down and I have read them all in order till now and thought I...
Roland of Gilead on How can you give us the gift of a crazy character named Rando Thoughtful and then just as suddenly take that gift away? We need to talk, Uncle Stevie.I came across this randomly years after it was written because I was searching "Random Thoughtful. But I have the...
Emmalita on “Only you, Em, would refer to heartbreak as a distraction. I think I would have a more sympathetic response if I asked to marry a bookcase.”Oh my goodness, Gallifrey was beautiful. I’m sure her mittens were gloriously murdery.

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