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jessiquie's review
4.0
As someone who loves a good fairytale in any of its forms (original, classics, re-tellings, adaptations, films, TV series etc), I can't help but love this cute little re-telling by Aussie author Shannon Curtis.
Like Cutris' other work, Enamoured isn't a straight fairytale retelling, rather its a cross over between the world of fairytales and real life romantic suspense. You see, our fairytale Heroine, Melanie, is trying her hardest to secure evidence against her corrupt father. It's through this search and a few unfortunate stumbles that she meets Cole, an undercover cop assigned to the case. Although the pair don't initially hit it off (it is a fantastic meet and greet though!), they soon become allies in the fight for justice. A fight they just might be able to win if Melanie's fairy godmother Esmerelda wasn't so hell pent on keeping her Frog Prince fairytale on track. What ensures is a funny, and loveable story that will leave you feeling fantastic, if not a bit fairytale homesick.
As a whole Enamoured is a faiytale in itself, just not in the classic and traditional way. For it shows what happens when a fairytale, such as the Frog Prince, becomes so off track that the Princess finds her own Prince, and works through the dangers on her own. It's a novella where women aren't simply damsels-in-distress but take an active role in their future (similar in some ways to the retelling of [b:The Bloody Chamber and Other Stories|49011|The Bloody Chamber and Other Stories|Angela Carter|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1348808640s/49011.jpg|47950]by Angela Carter) and kick back when fate and destiny would rather they sit around and wait. It's a story where Rumpelstiltskin doesn't play by the rules, and Esmerelda the Fairy Godmother struggles to find a way to save her Frog Prince fairytale from being utterly ruined.
On that note however, I have to point out some of the slight flaws I had with the novel. The first being it was too short. I know its a novella and thus not a full length book, but by God I hope she writes a sequel to this story one day because I couldn't get enough. And while this isn't necessarily a bad thing normally, it is when you reach the end of the story and find yourself going 'huh? Where's the rest?'. You see the character's in this novella are so adorable and true to life, that you can't help but hope that Melanie and Cole finally get their happy ever after in the end. In the magical sense too, it seems like there's a lot more to Esmerelda and Rumpelstiltskin then meets the eye, and boy do I want to see what these two get up to next.
Enamoured is the perfect little novella for any fairytale lover, or simply someone looking for a bit of fun in the form of a short, sweet and romantic read with a tad bit of suspense thrown in for good fun.
Highly recommend this to anyone who wants a short but sweet read, and fairytale lovers with an open mind.
Read as part of my Australian Women Writers Challenge 2013
This review originally appeared on my blog on September 28, 2013 and can be found here: http://nevendbookshelf.wordpress.com/2013/09/28/review-enamoured-by-shannon-curtis/
Like Cutris' other work, Enamoured isn't a straight fairytale retelling, rather its a cross over between the world of fairytales and real life romantic suspense. You see, our fairytale Heroine, Melanie, is trying her hardest to secure evidence against her corrupt father. It's through this search and a few unfortunate stumbles that she meets Cole, an undercover cop assigned to the case. Although the pair don't initially hit it off (it is a fantastic meet and greet though!), they soon become allies in the fight for justice. A fight they just might be able to win if Melanie's fairy godmother Esmerelda wasn't so hell pent on keeping her Frog Prince fairytale on track. What ensures is a funny, and loveable story that will leave you feeling fantastic, if not a bit fairytale homesick.
As a whole Enamoured is a faiytale in itself, just not in the classic and traditional way. For it shows what happens when a fairytale, such as the Frog Prince, becomes so off track that the Princess finds her own Prince, and works through the dangers on her own. It's a novella where women aren't simply damsels-in-distress but take an active role in their future (similar in some ways to the retelling of [b:The Bloody Chamber and Other Stories|49011|The Bloody Chamber and Other Stories|Angela Carter|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1348808640s/49011.jpg|47950]by Angela Carter) and kick back when fate and destiny would rather they sit around and wait. It's a story where Rumpelstiltskin doesn't play by the rules, and Esmerelda the Fairy Godmother struggles to find a way to save her Frog Prince fairytale from being utterly ruined.
On that note however, I have to point out some of the slight flaws I had with the novel. The first being it was too short. I know its a novella and thus not a full length book, but by God I hope she writes a sequel to this story one day because I couldn't get enough. And while this isn't necessarily a bad thing normally, it is when you reach the end of the story and find yourself going 'huh? Where's the rest?'. You see the character's in this novella are so adorable and true to life, that you can't help but hope that Melanie and Cole finally get their happy ever after in the end. In the magical sense too, it seems like there's a lot more to Esmerelda and Rumpelstiltskin then meets the eye, and boy do I want to see what these two get up to next.
Enamoured is the perfect little novella for any fairytale lover, or simply someone looking for a bit of fun in the form of a short, sweet and romantic read with a tad bit of suspense thrown in for good fun.
Highly recommend this to anyone who wants a short but sweet read, and fairytale lovers with an open mind.
Read as part of my Australian Women Writers Challenge 2013
This review originally appeared on my blog on September 28, 2013 and can be found here: http://nevendbookshelf.wordpress.com/2013/09/28/review-enamoured-by-shannon-curtis/
thiefofcamorr's review
3.0
Katharine is a judge for the Aurealis Awards. This review is the personal opinion of Katharine herself, and does not necessarily reflect the opinion of any judging panel, the judging coordinator or the Aurealis Awards management team.
tellemonstar's review
4.0
See full review here
Enamoured was a great, fun-to-read novella. Fans of the Charley Davidson series will enjoy this. But my most favourite thing is that is is by an Australian author. Yay! Shannon Curtis managed to create an interesting, fulfilling story where you really wanted to find out exactly what Melanie’s father did, who Cole/Colin is and what is it the Rumplestiltskin did last time to have Esmeralda in such a tizzy. We find out some of these answers, but the rest are left tantalisingly unanswered, promising a second novel.
I had Enamoured devoured in about an hour and a half and was left wanting more. I really hope there is going to be more.
Enamoured was a great, fun-to-read novella. Fans of the Charley Davidson series will enjoy this. But my most favourite thing is that is is by an Australian author. Yay! Shannon Curtis managed to create an interesting, fulfilling story where you really wanted to find out exactly what Melanie’s father did, who Cole/Colin is and what is it the Rumplestiltskin did last time to have Esmeralda in such a tizzy. We find out some of these answers, but the rest are left tantalisingly unanswered, promising a second novel.
I had Enamoured devoured in about an hour and a half and was left wanting more. I really hope there is going to be more.
ruthsic's review
3.0
Enamoured is a fairytale retelling of the Frog Prince set in the modern world. The fairytales occur in the human world on selected souls, who are unknowing aided by their fairy godmothers to carry out the tale. The story's main protagonist, Melanie is trying to collect evidence against her corrupt and shady stepfather and meets Cole, an undercover cop who is on the same case. Interspersed with this story, is the fact that Rumpelstiltskin and Esmeralda, her 'godmothers' on this tale, are trying to set her up with the real Frog Prince, Gabriel. However, all tales don't necessarily go as planned, when Fate has a hand in it.
I felt the story to be good - but it was divided into two parts, the fairytale part and the Mel-Cole-stepfather case part. The two stories on their own had merit, but together didn't mesh well enough. Gabriel had basically nothing to do. The tension between Rump and Esmeralda is tempting, but as I said, both could have very easily been two different stories. That was the only failing in this novel, which otherwise had a good storyline, albeit a bit like a rom-com movie.
Received a review copy from Harlequin Enterprises Australia via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review
I felt the story to be good - but it was divided into two parts, the fairytale part and the Mel-Cole-stepfather case part. The two stories on their own had merit, but together didn't mesh well enough. Gabriel had basically nothing to do. The tension between Rump and Esmeralda is tempting, but as I said, both could have very easily been two different stories. That was the only failing in this novel, which otherwise had a good storyline, albeit a bit like a rom-com movie.
Received a review copy from Harlequin Enterprises Australia via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review
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