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angelofthetardis's review
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
3.5
This was quite exciting for me, as it's my first ever ARC read - the book isn't actually released until the end of the month. I don't know the author; I was selected via a Facebook group I follow.
The premise is fairly simple; something's rotten in the state of Fairy Blue. Queen Cinderella is turning into her stepmother while her 'ugly' stepsister poses nude and gets herself a recording contract; Snow White runs a beauty magazine and faces a constant battle to convince everyone she's still the fairest in the land; and the Big Bad Wolf is hunting children for a very good reason...
My first impression is that the author has given a lot of thought to the worldbuilding aspect. Taking elements from different fairy tales as well as other inspiration, she's painted a brilliant picture of the land of Fairy Blue. I can see each province so clearly; from the pretty much abandoned Straw Province to the business Silver Province, I can imagine the world in any size, from a small city to a huge country, and it just works. And the rules within the world are seamlessly worked into the story too - there's very little need to question why something works in the way that it does; it all fits together nicely. Even then the backstories are woven into the story in such a way that they both fit with the existing fairy tales, but also fit with the overall narrative the writer is aiming for.
That being said, I did feel like I had been dropped into the middle of a story when I first started reading - I had to stop for a moment and establish whether this was the second book in a series (it isn't). For the first few chapters, I found myself thinking of each chapter as a separate short story set in the same 'verse as this was the only way I could make sense of the action. While they are all interlinked, you go from Snow White to the Big Bad Wolf to the Pied Piper to the Little Mermaid without warning or real explanation. However, as things progress the narrative settles into an easier flow and a more straightforward multi-chapter story.
It's certainly more of a 'twisted' take on a fairy tale, with a darker tone and language, so definitely not suitable for younger readers. I do enjoy this sort of take, more reminiscent of the original tales than the sanitised versions we know from Disney films, as quite often they raise valid questions about the thought behind the story. This is no exception - the author's version of the Pied Piper in particular made me realise just how creepy that particular story is (it's not one I was overly familiar with, but I know the basics, and I'll not look it it in the same way again!).
The writing itself makes for a mostly easy read and is very engaging. However, there are moments where I had to go back and reread paragraphs to try and make sense of a comment or action, and on a couple of small occasions the writer uses words that just don't seem to quite fit with the rest of the prose, which I found a little jarring. But overall, the words cast a very good spell!
Reading this book was an enjoyable experience, but I think it is one I'd need to read multiple times to fully 'get' everything. I wish the author the best with its release!
The premise is fairly simple; something's rotten in the state of Fairy Blue. Queen Cinderella is turning into her stepmother while her 'ugly' stepsister poses nude and gets herself a recording contract; Snow White runs a beauty magazine and faces a constant battle to convince everyone she's still the fairest in the land; and the Big Bad Wolf is hunting children for a very good reason...
My first impression is that the author has given a lot of thought to the worldbuilding aspect. Taking elements from different fairy tales as well as other inspiration, she's painted a brilliant picture of the land of Fairy Blue. I can see each province so clearly; from the pretty much abandoned Straw Province to the business Silver Province, I can imagine the world in any size, from a small city to a huge country, and it just works. And the rules within the world are seamlessly worked into the story too - there's very little need to question why something works in the way that it does; it all fits together nicely. Even then the backstories are woven into the story in such a way that they both fit with the existing fairy tales, but also fit with the overall narrative the writer is aiming for.
That being said, I did feel like I had been dropped into the middle of a story when I first started reading - I had to stop for a moment and establish whether this was the second book in a series (it isn't). For the first few chapters, I found myself thinking of each chapter as a separate short story set in the same 'verse as this was the only way I could make sense of the action. While they are all interlinked, you go from Snow White to the Big Bad Wolf to the Pied Piper to the Little Mermaid without warning or real explanation. However, as things progress the narrative settles into an easier flow and a more straightforward multi-chapter story.
It's certainly more of a 'twisted' take on a fairy tale, with a darker tone and language, so definitely not suitable for younger readers. I do enjoy this sort of take, more reminiscent of the original tales than the sanitised versions we know from Disney films, as quite often they raise valid questions about the thought behind the story. This is no exception - the author's version of the Pied Piper in particular made me realise just how creepy that particular story is (it's not one I was overly familiar with, but I know the basics, and I'll not look it it in the same way again!).
The writing itself makes for a mostly easy read and is very engaging. However, there are moments where I had to go back and reread paragraphs to try and make sense of a comment or action, and on a couple of small occasions the writer uses words that just don't seem to quite fit with the rest of the prose, which I found a little jarring. But overall, the words cast a very good spell!
Reading this book was an enjoyable experience, but I think it is one I'd need to read multiple times to fully 'get' everything. I wish the author the best with its release!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Pedophilia and Body shaming
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