A Wicked Thing - Rhiannon Thomas

What happens between Sleeping Beauty waking up and finding her happily ever after?  Rhiannon Thomas tells that story.

Aurora wakes up to find an 18yr old boy standing above her, having just kissed her.  She discovers she's been sleeping for 102 years.  Everyone she's every known is long dead.  Her kingdom is full of political intrigue and she has questions that no one is answering.  What is a princess to do?

Getting to the end of this book I realized that it is NOT a standalone novel.  BUT it was a very intriguing read nonetheless.  I really enjoyed how Rhiannon Thomas wrote this "after" fairytale.  She really captured how it would feel to wake up after 100+ years and not know what's going on.  Politics were definitely in play here.  It felt VERY Game of Thrones-ish but without multiple chapters on different characters.

I would totally recommend.

The Stepsister's Tale - Tracy Barrett

I quite enjoyed this retelling of Cinderella from the Stepsister's perspective. 

Mostly told from the oldest stepsister's, Jane Montjoy, perspective.  The story tells of how Isabella and her father come to live with The Montjoy sisters and their mother, how poor the Montjoys are and what life is like for them.

She weaves in the Cinderella story very nicely however does not end it like the fairytale we are used to. 

I almost forgot that I was reading a retelling until the middle/near the end.  I would recommend this book if you are looking for a light read and enjoy fairytales.

The Golden Braid - Melanie Dickerson

A medieval retelling of Rapunzel.

I'm still not quite sure how I feel about this book.  I love the Rapunzel fairytale but I'm not sure how I feel about Meanie Dickerson's telling of it.

The book starts out with Rapunzel and Gothel living in a little village and after a farmer asks for Rapunzels hand in marriage they up and move to the city of Hagenheim (the whole book is based in Germany in the 1400's).  Rapunzel possesses all kinds of skill sets - painting, knife throwing and sewing however she doesn't know how to read and has her heart set on learning how.  On their journey to Hagenheim, they run in trouble but are saved by a knight.  Later down the road Rapunzel saves the knight.  and they kinda keep doing that throughout the book and eventually feelings develop.

Melanie sticks VERY true to the era with descriptions.  But while she mentions the bible frequently in the book, she also quotes it and her characters also talk a lot about god.  Like more than just passing.  Now I am a bible reader myself and believe in god but this book felt more like a religious novel than a fairytale retelling.  It made me a tad uncomfortable.

That aside, I found Rapunzel herself to be not as well rounded a character as I would have liked in a fairytale book and Gerek (the knight) to be well I dunno.  I felt like this book was trying to be a romance novel (without the sex) but failing and trying to be a fairytale - which it was only because it's a retelling but also trying to be a religious novel.  None of those things mix well in the blender.  Oil and water and air.  Nope didn't happen.

Anyways if this is your cup of tea and sounds intriguing - have at er.  Personally I wouldn't recommend this one.

A Court of Thorns and Roses - Sarah J. Maas

Wow.  Just wow.  If you are looking for a book that takes you on a journey not only within a mythical world but also a journey to learn about interaction between relationships of people well this book is for you.  It's sad, gut renching, beautiful, imagintative, and lovely.   Sarah captures the difference between humans and faerie kind beautifully and that communication can sometimes stand in the way of not only new relationships but old ones too.

Story is about FreayaI was , a human girl about 19 and what happens what she kills a fae creature, the consequences it has on her life and the high fae who comes to claim the debt.  But not all is as it seems and there is a lot more going on behind the scenes.  Journey with Freaya as she goes to the faerie lands and watch as her feels change.  

There is romance, killing and other intense romantic scenes so there is an age bracket I would recommend here.

But recommend this book I definately would.  For me it was THE best boom I have read in a long while.

Dark Tide - Jennifer Donnelly (Third Book in the Waterfire Saga)

The third book did not disappoint.

Story picks up with Serafina leading the Black fins, we find out where Ling is, Becca meets up with Astrid and we finally find out Astrid's secret and all the other tidbits that were left us wondering like a good cliffhanger does.

I liked this one and felt that Jennifer didn't miss a beat.  She seamlessly connects all the stories and continues on.  It almost felt like she wrote all 3 books at once.  VERY minimal reminders in the beginning chapters to remind the reader where the story left off.  I loved that.  The story didn't go much into where Ava was, but seemed to focus more on Ling and then Serafina as a close second. 

I enjoyed this one as much as the other 2 and would recommend especially if you've read the other 2.

Atlantia - Ally Condie

I was expecting a mermaid-ish book and I did not get that.

Instead I was taken deep beneath the waves to the bottom of the ocean and humans dwelling there in dome like structures.  The story is told through one girls eyes - Rio, who is a siren.  What does that mean?  Well you are just going to have to read the book to find out.

I liked how different this book was from the other books I've been reading in this genre.  I liked the world Ally crerated - intricate in detail and how she only gives you tidbits.  I feel like the story is left untold though by the time I finished reading it.  Like whole pieces to a puzzle showing the world.  She only answered the immediate questions of the story line and some tidbits of the broader scope.  Like the boarder pieces in a puzzle and a huge chunk in the middle but other things in between are missing.

It was a mediocre book for me, like it *should* have been a trilogy and not just a standalone novel.  I didn't hate it but I feel like in a month from now I will have forgotten it.

There are many other books I would recommend before this one.

The White Rose - Amy Ewing (Second book in the Jewel series)

Amy did not disappoint in this second book.  Continuing on the journey for Violet, escaping the Jewel and finding our she is more than she seems.  All the surrogates are.

The beginning and middle of this book could have been taken out of the Hunger Games or Maze Runner in the way of escape excitement.  I felt like Violet and Katniss Everdeen (Hunger Games) could have been swapped at one point but then Amy veered right and her story became her own again.  I loved the cliff hanger at the end and how she answered what the surrogates are.  What they will be capable of, the third book will tell.

TOTALLY recommend especially if you've read the first book the Jewel.