[Review] Cinderella Is Dead by Kalynn Bayron

 

Cover image from the goodreads website.

Series or Stand Alone: Stand Alone

Release Date: 7 July, 2020

Publisher: Bloomsbury

Genre: Young Adult/YA Fantasy/Fairytale Retellings/YA Romance/YA LGBTQIA+ Romance

ISBN: 9781547603879

Edition: Hardback (available in audiobook and eBook)

Rating: ★★★★☆

Review Written: 14 December, 2020
Warnings: instances of necromancy (and necrophilia? I'm not sure if that's the right warning or not), a lot of patriarchal bs, magic, rigid gender norms, spousal abuse, mild violence

Summary:  

It’s 200 years after Cinderella found her prince, but the fairy tale is over. Teen girls are now required to appear at the Annual Ball, where the men of the kingdom select wives based on a girl’s display of finery. If a suitable match is not found, the girls not chosen are never heard from again.

Sixteen-year-old Sophia would much rather marry Erin, her childhood best friend, than parade in front of suitors. At the ball, Sophia makes the desperate decision to flee, and finds herself hiding in Cinderella’s mausoleum. There, she meets Constance, the last known descendant of Cinderella and her step sisters. Together they vow to bring down the king once and for all–and in the process, they learn that there’s more to Cinderella’s story than they ever knew . . .

This fresh take on a classic story will make readers question the tales they’ve been told, and root for girls to break down the constructs of the world around them.

See more by Kalynn Bayron at her website.

[Review] The Circus Rose by Betsy Cornwell

Cover image from the goodreads website.

Series or Stand Alone: Stand Alone

Release Date: 16 June, 2020

Publisher: Clarion Books

Genre: Young Adult Fiction/Fantasy and Folk Lore/Fairytell Retelling/LGBTQIA+ Fiction/Romance

ISBN: 9781328639509

Edition: Hardback (available in audiobook, eBook, and paperback)

Rating: ★★★★☆

Review Written: 9 September, 2020
Warnings: Magic, Queer relationships, Depictions of Humans being turned into animals

Summary:  

A queer retelling of “Snow White and Rose Red” in which teenage twins battle evil religious extremists to save their loves and their circus family.

Twins Rosie and Ivory have grown up at their ringmaster mother’s knee, and after years on the road, they’re returning to Port End, the closest place to home they know. Yet something has changed in the bustling city: fundamentalist flyers paper the walls and preachers fill the squares, warning of shadows falling over the land. The circus prepares a triumphant homecoming show, full of lights and spectacle that could chase away even the darkest shadow. But during Rosie’s tightrope act, disaster strikes.

In this lush, sensuous novel interwoven with themes of social justice and found family, it’s up to Ivory and her magician love—with the help of a dancing bear—to track down an evil priest and save their circus family before it’s too late.

See more by Betsy Cornwell at her website.

[Review] Kingdom of the Blazing Phoenix by Julie C. Dao

Cover image from the goodreads website.

Series or Stand Alone: Rise of the Empress Duology #2

Release Date: 6 November, 2018

Publisher: Philomel Books (an imprint of Penguin Random House)

Genre: Folklore/Fantasy/Asian Fantasy/Legends/Fairy Tale Retellings

ISBN: 9781524738310

Edition: Hardback (available in paperback, eBook, and audiobook)

Rating: ★★★★☆

Review Written: 6 August, 2020
Warnings: Death, Mild Sexual Scenes, Violence

Summary:  

This fairy tale retelling lives in a mystical world inspired by the Far East, where the Dragon Lord and the Serpent God battle for control of the earthly realm; it is here that the flawed heroine of Forest of a Thousand Lanterns finally meets her match. An epic fantasy finale to the Rise of the Empress novels.

Princess Jade has grown up in exile, hidden away in a monastery while her stepmother, the ruthless Xifeng, rules as Empress of Feng Lu. But the empire is in distress and its people are sinking into poverty and despair. Even though Jade doesn't want the crown, she knows she is the only one who can dethrone the Empress and set the world right. Ready to reclaim her place as rightful heir, Jade embarks on a quest to raise the Dragon Lords and defeat Xifeng and the Serpent God once and for all. But will the same darkness that took Xifeng take Jade, too? Or will she find the strength within to save herself, her friends, and her empire?

Set in an East Asian-inspired fantasy world filled with breathtaking pain and beauty, Kingdom of the Blazing Phoenix is filled with dazzling magic, powerful prose, and characters readers won't soon forget.

Fans of Stealing Snow, Red Queen, and The Wrath and the Dawn will hungrily devour this page-turning read.

See more by Julie C. Dao at her website.

[Review] Forest of a Thousand Lanterns by Julie C. Dao

Cover image from the goodreads website.

Series or Stand Alone: Rise of the Empress Duology #1

Release Date: 11 September, 2018

Publisher: Speak (An imprint of Penguin Random House)

Genre: Folklore/Fantasy/Asian Fantasy/Legends/Fairy Tale Retellings

ISBN: 9781524738310

Edition: Paperback (available in hardback, eBook, and audiobook)

Rating: ★★★★☆

Review Written: 6 August, 2020
Warnings: Death, Mild Sexual Scenes, Violence

Summary:  

Eighteen-year-old Xifeng is beautiful. The stars say she is destined for greatness, that she is meant to be Empress of Feng Lu. But only if she embraces the darkness within her.

Growing up as a peasant in a forgotten village on the edge of the map, Xifeng longs to fulfill the destiny promised to her by her cruel aunt, the witch Guma, who has read the cards and seen glimmers of Xifeng's majestic future. But is the price of the throne too high? Because in order to achieve greatness, she must spurn the young man who loves her and exploit the callous magic that runs through her veins--sorcery fueled by eating the hearts of the recently killed. For the god who has sent her on this journey will not be satisfied until his power is absolute.

Set in an East Asian-inspired fantasy world filled with both breathtaking pain and beauty, Forest of a Thousand Lanterns possesses all the hallmarks of masterful fantasy: dazzling magic, heartbreaking romance, and a world that hangs in the balance. Fans of Heartless, Stealing Snow, and Red Queen will devour this stunning debut.

See more by Julie C. Dao at her website.

[Review] Sherwood by Meagan Spooner

Cover image from the goodreads website.

Series or Stand Alone: Stand Alone

Release Date: 19 March, 2019

Publisher: HarperTeen

Genre: Folklore/Fantasy/Historical Fiction/Legends/Fairy Tale Retellings

ISBN: 9780062933553

Edition: Paperback (available in hardback, eBook, and audiobook)

Rating: ★★★★☆

Review Written: 9 July, 2020
Warnings: Death, Mild Sexual Scenes, Violence

Summary:  

Robin of Locksley is dead.

Maid Marian doesn’t know how she’ll go on, but the people of Locksley town, persecuted by the Sheriff of Nottingham, need a protector. And the dreadful Guy of Gisborne, the Sheriff’s right hand, wishes to step into Robin’s shoes as Lord of Locksley and Marian’s fiancé.

Who is there to stop them?

Marian never meant to tread in Robin’s footsteps—never intended to stand as a beacon of hope to those awaiting his triumphant return. But with a sweep of his green cloak and the flash of her sword, Marian makes the choice to become her own hero: Robin Hood.

See more by Meagan Spooner at her website.

[Review] Sea Witch (Sea Witch #1) by Sarah Henning

Cover image from the goodreads website.

Series or Stand Alone: Sea Witch series

Release Date: 31 July, 2018

Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books

Genre: Fantasy/Fairy Tale Retellings/Fairy Tales/Romance

ISBN: 9780062438805

Edition: Paperback (available in Hardback, eBook, and audiobook)

Rating: ★★★★☆

Review Written: 9 July, 2020
Warnings: Death

Summary:  

Wicked meets "The Little Mermaid" in the captivating origin story of the sea's most iconic villainess, perfect for fans of Heartless and Dorothy Must Die.

Ever since her best friend Anna died, Evie has been an outcast in her small fishing town. Hiding her talents, mourning her loss, drowning in her guilt.

Then a girl with an uncanny resemblance to Anna appears on the shore, and the two girls catch the eyes of two charming princes. Suddenly Evie feels like she might finally have a chance at her own happily ever after.

But magic isn’t kind, and her new friend harbors secrets of her own. She can’t stay in Havnestad—or on two legs—without Evie’s help. And when Evie reaches deep into the power of her magic to save her friend’s humanity—and her prince’s heart—she discovers, too late, what she’s bargained away.

See more by Sarah Henning at her website.

[Review] House of Salt and Sorrows by Erin A. Craig

Cover image from the goodreads website.

Series or Stand Alone: Stand Alone

Release Date: 6 August, 2019

Publisher: Delacorte/Listening Library

Genre: Young Adult Fiction/Dark Fantasy/Fairytale Retellings

ASIN: B07TLZCJHW

Edition: Audiobook (also available in Kindle, Hardback, and Paperback)

Rating: ★★★★☆

Review Written: 23 September, 2019
Warnings: Death, gore

Summary:  
In a manor by the sea, twelve sisters are cursed.
Annaleigh lives a sheltered life at Highmoor, a manor by the sea, with her sisters, their father, and stepmother. Once they were twelve, but loneliness fills the grand halls now that four of the girls' lives have been cut short. Each death was more tragic than the last--the plague, a plummeting fall, a drowning, a slippery plunge--and there are whispers throughout the surrounding villages that the family is cursed by the gods. Disturbed by a series of ghostly visions, Annaleigh becomes increasingly suspicious that the deaths were no accidents. Her sisters have been sneaking out every night to attend glittering balls, dancing until dawn in silk gowns and shimmering slippers, and Annaleigh isn't sure whether to try to stop them or to join their forbidden trysts. Because who--or what--are they really dancing with? When Annaleigh's involvement with a mysterious stranger who has secrets of his own intensifies, it's a race to unravel the darkness that has fallen over her family--before it claims her next.

See more by Erin A. Craig at her Website. Spoilers below the cut.

[Review] A Whole New World by Liz Braswell

Series: Twisted Tales Series #1

Release Date: 14 March, 2017

Publisher: Disney Press

Genre: Young Adult Fiction/Fairy Tales & Folklore / Adaptations

ISBN: 9781484707296

Edition: audiobook

Rating: ★★★☆☆

Review Written: 18 February, 2018

Summary: What if Aladdin never found the lamp? This first book in a new Disney YA series will explore a dark and daring version of Aladdin.

When Jafar steals the Genie's lamp, he uses his first two wishes to become sultan and the most powerful sorcerer in the world. Agrabah lives in fear, waiting for his third and final wish. To stop the power-mad ruler, Aladdin and the deposed Princess Jasmine must unite the people of Agrabah in rebellion. But soon their fight for freedom threatens to tear the kingdom apart in a costly civil war.

What happens next? A Street Rat becomes a leader. A princess becomes a revolutionary. And readers will never look at the story of Aladdin in the same way again.

See more by Liz Braswell at her Website.

[Review] Nettle King by Katherine Harbour

Series: Night and Nothing #3

Release Date: 19 April, 2016

Publisher: HarperCollins 

Genre: Young Adult/Fantasy/Paranormal/Fairy Tales, Folk Tales, Legends & Mythology

ISBN:  9780062286789

Edition: Audiobook

Rating: ★★★★☆

Review Written: 28 October, 2017 
Summary: When her beloved Jack disappears, Finn vows to find him—even if it means a daring odyssey into the land of the dead. But saving Jack comes at a terrible price: a dangerous fissure has opened, giving the dead access to the true world.

The lines between worlds are more blurred than ever. Finn’s sister, Lily, recently returned from the Ghostlands, seems to bear no scars from her time there. But then their friend Moth returns from Sombrus, the magical house once owned by Seth Lot, bearing shocking news. Something evil—a fearsome creature bearing a striking resemblance to Jack—has escaped Sombrus and is now stalking Fair Hollow, killing everyone it encounters, transforming them into terrifying Jacks and Jills and recruiting the Unseelie.

It will not stop until it gets what it wants . . .

Finn.

See more at HarperCollins's website.

[Review] Briar Queen by Katherine Harbour

Series: Night and Nothing #2

Release Date: 02 June, 2015

Publisher: HarperCollins 

Genre: Young Adult/Fantasy/Paranormal/Fairy Tales, Folk Tales, Legends & Mythology

ISBN:  9780062286727

Edition: Audiobook

Rating: ★★★★☆

Review Written: 28 October, 2017 
Summary: Serafina Sullivan and her father left San Francisco to escape the painful memory of her older sister Lily Rose’s suicide. But soon after she arrived in bohemian Fair Hollow, New York, Finn discovered a terrifying secret connected to Lily Rose. The placid surface of this picture-perfect town concealed an eerie supernatural world—and at its center, the wealthy, beautiful, and terrifying Fata family.

Though the striking and mysterious Jack Fata tried to push Finn away to protect her, their attraction was too powerful to resist. To save him, Finn—a girl named for the angels and a brave Irish prince—banished a cabal of malevolent enemies to shadows, freeing him from their diabolical grip.

Now, the rhythm of life in Fair Hollow is beginning to feel a little closer to ordinary. But Finn knows better than to be lulled by this comfortable sense of normalcy. It’s just the calm before the storm. For soon, a chance encounter outside the magical Brambleberry Books will lead her down a rabbit hole, into a fairy world of secrets and legacies . . . straight towards the shocking truth about her sister’s death.

See more at HarperCollins's website.

[Review] Thorn Jack by Katherine Harbour

Series: Night and Nothing #1

Release Date: 24 June, 2014

Publisher: Harper Collins 

Genre: Young Adult/Fantasy/Paranormal/Fairy Tales, Folk Tales, Legends & Mythology

ISBN:  9780062286727

Edition: Audiobook

Rating: ★★★★☆

Review Written: 23 September, 2017 
Summary: Combining the sorcery of The Night Circus with the malefic suspense of A Secret History, Thorn Jack is a spectacular, modern retelling of the ancient Scottish ballad, Tam Lin—a beguiling fusion of love, fantasy, and myth that echoes the imaginative artistry of the works of Neil Gaiman, Cassandra Clare, and Melissa Marr.

In the wake of her older sister’s suicide, Finn Sullivan and her father move to a quaint town in upstate New York. Populated with socialites, hippies, and dramatic artists, every corner of this new place holds bright possibilities—and dark enigmas, including the devastatingly attractive Jack Fata, scion of one of the town’s most powerful families.

As she begins to settle in, Finn discovers that beneath its pretty, placid surface, the town and its denizens—especially the Fata family—wield an irresistible charm and dangerous power, a tempting and terrifying blend of good and evil, magic and mystery, that holds dangerous consequences for an innocent and curious girl like Finn.

To free herself and save her beloved Jack, Finn must confront the fearsome Fata family . . . a battle that will lead to shocking secrets about her sister’s death.

See more at HarperCollins's website.

[Review] Wolves & Roses by Christina Bauer

Series: Fairy Tales of the Magicorum #1

Release Date: 31 October, 2017

Publisher: Monster House Books

Genre: Young Adult/Epic Fantasy/Family/Fairy Tale Retellings

ISBN: 9781101885932

Edition: ARC Ebook
Rating: ★★☆☆☆

Review Written: 18 September, 2017
Summary: Seventeen-year-old Bryar Rose has a problem. She’s descended from one of the three magical races—shifters, fairies, or witches. That makes her one of the Magicorum, and Magicorum always follow a fairy tale life template. In Bryar’s case, that template should be Sleeping Beauty.

“Should” being the key word.

Trouble is, Bryar is nowhere near the sleeping beauty life template. Not even close. She doesn’t like birds or woodland creatures. She can’t sing. And she certainly can’t stand Prince Philpot, the so-called “His Highness of Hedge Funds” that her aunties want her to marry. Even worse, Bryar’s having recurring dreams of a bad boy hottie and is obsessed with finding papyri from ancient Egypt. What’s up with that?

All Bryar wants is to attend a regular high school with normal humans and forget all about shifters, fairies, witches, and the curse that Colonel Mallory the Magnificent placed on her. And she might be able to do just that–if only she can just keep her head down until her eighteenth birthday when the spell that’s ruined her life goes buh-bye.

But that plan gets turned upside down when Bryar Rose meets Knox, the bad boy who’s literally from her dreams. Knox is a powerful werewolf, and his presence in her life changes everything, and not just because he makes her knees turn into Jell-O. If Bryar can’t figure out who—or what—she really is, it might cost both her and Knox their lives… as well as jeopardize the very nature of magic itself.

See more at Monster House Books's website.

[Review] Spindle Fire by Lexa Hillyer

Series: Dividing Eden (#1)

Release Date: 11 April, 2017

Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers

Genre: Young Adult/Fantasy/Fairy Tales & Folklore/Family

ISBN:  9780062440877

Edition: Audiobook

Rating: ★★★☆☆

Review Written: 31 August, 2017 
Summary: Half sisters Isabelle and Aurora are polar opposites: Isabelle is the king’s headstrong illegitimate daughter, whose sight was tithed by faeries; Aurora, beautiful and sheltered, was tithed her sense of touch and voice on the same day. Despite their differences, the sisters have always been extremely close.

And then everything changes, with a single drop of Aurora’s blood, a Faerie Queen who is preparing for war, a strange and enchanting dream realm—and a sleep so deep it cannot be broken.

Perfect for fans of Sarah J. Maas and Leigh Bardugo, Spindle Fire is a tour-de-force fantasy set in the dwindling, deliciously corrupt world of the fae and featuring two truly unforgettable heroines.

See more at HarperCollins's website.