libertyreads789's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Before I get into the review, I want to say a quick thank you to NetGalley and the publishers over at Greenwillow Books for allowing me access to the ARC in exchange for an honest review. Greymist Fair grabbed me by the throat when I first read the synopsis and did not let go for a single second since. “The people of Greymist Fair know that the woods are dangerous and magical and that they should never set foot off the road. But when a young tailor discovers a body on the road, her search for the culprit reveals even more strange and dark happenings around her town. Greymist Fair is a murder mystery based on the lesser-known fairytales of the Brothers Grimm.” This book comes out on March 28th and is available for preorder now.
Let’s just get the first thing out of the way now: This cover? It’s stunning. When I opened the ARC and the first page on my iPad was just thing absolutely gorgeous and breathtaking piece of art? Ugh. I wish I had this physically right this second. And what’s great is that there are little pieces of the author’s art at the beginning of every new story. Amazing. And, yes, there are separate stories throughout, but it has the overarching plot of the murder mystery and the setting is always centered around this town. It’s also something that really speaks to this author’s craft and adept hand at story telling. The stories don’t take place one right after the other so we’re piecing things together as we go on. As well, there are moments throughout each story that harken back to the previous one. It’s just masterful. I also appreciate that these stories aren’t watered down to make them more like Disney fairytales. These are truly inspired by Grimm fairytales. There’s always something in a story to make it darker and the author isn’t afraid to just go there. Which I loved. I enjoyed the setting and the characters so much. But the thing that gave an extra dimension to these characters is that each story would follow a specific character so we got to see the town and its people with more depth. I don’t know what to say besides it’s a really good book and I think everyone should pick it up.
The reason this wasn’t a solid 5 star rating for me (and I did consider it) is that this story didn’t have a full emotional impact on me. It wasn’t that the story kept me at arms length (which some do), but I didn’t connect with the characters as much as I would have liked. I don’t even know that I blame the story for this really. I think it might have more to do with what I feel emotional about and what I don’t. Overall, I think it’s an amazing book with great characters and such masterful plotting. If you enjoy fairy tales, if you enjoy fantasy, if you enjoy an author not being afraid to go there, this one’s for you.
blissof_jvanderhoof's review
5.0
In the town of Greymist Fair you will meet several characters from many of the lesser known fairy tales that author Francesca Zappa has been able to pull together nicely, creating a tightly woven, beautiful tale that will forever be here to teach readers the lessons we need to learn about life and the business of living it. The overall lesson that I took from the book, that is now here, in print, for the next generation of children to read, are many and, as follows, below. The book focuses largely on the concept of death and deals with many issues in it.
And, throughout the whole book, as the characters from the lesser fairy tales all have their tale, all in relation to death, who they will either submit to before the end or have to combat in the end, there are lesser known lessons that we find. Ones about magic, friendship, family, there are losses, very little in gains, until the end. Throughout the book we see death as a lonely, controlling creature who all the characters either hide or flee from. One of the major points of the tale, when people die they are turned into wargs. There is even a moment in the book where a character comments that wargs do not normally go after others, and are not the harbingers, servants of death. That the wargs are only this way because of how the villagers let death control them, through their fear of him.
The protector of the village is a witch, a nice change from most stories in which a witch is normally a sinister, nefarious character, here, our heroine. The fact that she needs to keep this hidden from the villagers for the protection of herself is however, still sad. Here thought, another lesson we must learn in life. While it is nice to always be able to tell the truth, we teach our children that the truth always prevails in life, that it is always best to tell it, that truth, in fact, is still something the world might not always accept, sometimes might be better off hidden or not spoken about. And, while I would love to be able to tell the world everything about myself, the sad fact is, I'd have to make them accept me, because most of the world wouldnt accept me willingly. But, as long as I am okay with myself and I have people I love and love me. That is all that matters and that is what the author conveys here, in the story. Because the witch is loved for who she is by the people who know and love her and that is all that matters to her.
The sad fact is that I believe that the world can sometimes not want to hear the truth of the whole matter. While the woman in the story was a witch and she protects the whole village of Greymist Fair from death, she hid that fact from the villagers for the protection of herself, from what they thought and especially later, when she had a daughter, for the protection of her child (who later goes on to be the witch who protects the village). And we learn this in life too. That sometimes the world cannot deal with the whole truth of a situation and that some facts need to be kept to oneself. The witch was not harming anyone, but was, in fact, protecting the village. And, just as in life, when we have a secret that society can’t deal with, sometimes it is better to keep that secret to oneself, or, within the group of people we love, however small that group is. The world is not a perfect place and the world is not always right. Like in Greymist Fair, the world is filled with imperfect creatures!
As much as this is a book for children and young adults, I love it when I, as a forty year old woman, can read a book and find something about myself, while reading it. And really, in reflecting while writing a book review, thinking back on all the thoughts and feelings I had while reading the book, the journey in reading it, I love when I really picked up so much from a book, that I can relate it to my life and myself, as I was able to do here. And as silly as it can be for an adult to find things out about themself in a children's book, you know it's a good book, because the best ones are when anyone can find out things about themself when reading it, as I was able to do in Greymist Fair.
I can remember when I thought about what I wanted to tell my son about God, death, when I thought about how I wanted him to view his life while still having to live with the fact that these concepts are something he will have to deal with, in living. And, I wish I would have had this book or a book about life like this, at the time. Because, I would have read him this story, told him about Greymist Fair and that all the villagers, in having to combat death, had to go on with life, had to live their life to the fullest to keep him away from the town. The story of Greymist Fair teaches children (and, I have found, adults too) that in living and in celebrating life, as the residents celebrated Yule despite the fact that the wargs, and death were coming for the village, only in the celebration of life can we combat death. And it is a beautiful lesson and great to be reminded of on the occasions when we, as adults, can sometimes forget this too! But, in learning this lesson, there is still more to be shared, more to this tale, the celebration is not over yet, still one member of the town, missing the festivities.
In the end, however, it is not the fear of death that you need to forget (some of the characters in the book realize) but the acceptance that death is a part of life. Death is making room for the new, an essential part of the cycle of life. Greymist Fair, after all, is the home of death, too. He had just never been welcomed or accepted there, always feared and discouraged from being a “part of”. And so, during the villagers' celebration of Yule death is welcomed and received as a member of the party and village. Because of this, the wargs are released as the gruesomes beasts they were and are now simply, as the old tales were told, helpers to the lost and wandering. Death further promises not to harm any in the village who still fear him because he has had forgiveness and the acceptance of some of the villagers. It is a beautiful, heartwarming tale, forgiving death (as an actualy being, much like a person) and the acceptance of him!!
I will always be the type of adult who likes to pick up fairy tales and young adult books (books such as this) to be reminded of the things I learned when I was young. When you go about the business of living and so many things are happening in life, sometimes you forget those simpler lessons and need to be reminded. And, sometimes there were things that we, growing into adults, missed along the way, too busy, too anxious, too scared to pick them up. Or, maybe there was no one there to teach them, or the book we happened to read, they weren't there or we didn't pick up on them.
I want to thank Francesca Zappia for Greymist Fair and a story where I could find all these lessons and more. I can't wait to see what she does next as this book was simply wonderful and I recommend it to anyone who can take a small window of time out of their day to engage in a story worth reading, remembering and sharing! I really loved this book and it's well worth the time it takes to read to have heard the story of Greymist Fair. It's a fast read, after all, if you dont think too much about it, as I did, lol! And, the last chapter, I don’t want to ruin it for readers but the whole story works out (the last chapter, great) and like in all fairy tales, there really is a happy ending!
Happy Reading!!
And, throughout the whole book, as the characters from the lesser fairy tales all have their tale, all in relation to death, who they will either submit to before the end or have to combat in the end, there are lesser known lessons that we find. Ones about magic, friendship, family, there are losses, very little in gains, until the end. Throughout the book we see death as a lonely, controlling creature who all the characters either hide or flee from. One of the major points of the tale, when people die they are turned into wargs. There is even a moment in the book where a character comments that wargs do not normally go after others, and are not the harbingers, servants of death. That the wargs are only this way because of how the villagers let death control them, through their fear of him.
The protector of the village is a witch, a nice change from most stories in which a witch is normally a sinister, nefarious character, here, our heroine. The fact that she needs to keep this hidden from the villagers for the protection of herself is however, still sad. Here thought, another lesson we must learn in life. While it is nice to always be able to tell the truth, we teach our children that the truth always prevails in life, that it is always best to tell it, that truth, in fact, is still something the world might not always accept, sometimes might be better off hidden or not spoken about. And, while I would love to be able to tell the world everything about myself, the sad fact is, I'd have to make them accept me, because most of the world wouldnt accept me willingly. But, as long as I am okay with myself and I have people I love and love me. That is all that matters and that is what the author conveys here, in the story. Because the witch is loved for who she is by the people who know and love her and that is all that matters to her.
The sad fact is that I believe that the world can sometimes not want to hear the truth of the whole matter. While the woman in the story was a witch and she protects the whole village of Greymist Fair from death, she hid that fact from the villagers for the protection of herself, from what they thought and especially later, when she had a daughter, for the protection of her child (who later goes on to be the witch who protects the village). And we learn this in life too. That sometimes the world cannot deal with the whole truth of a situation and that some facts need to be kept to oneself. The witch was not harming anyone, but was, in fact, protecting the village. And, just as in life, when we have a secret that society can’t deal with, sometimes it is better to keep that secret to oneself, or, within the group of people we love, however small that group is. The world is not a perfect place and the world is not always right. Like in Greymist Fair, the world is filled with imperfect creatures!
As much as this is a book for children and young adults, I love it when I, as a forty year old woman, can read a book and find something about myself, while reading it. And really, in reflecting while writing a book review, thinking back on all the thoughts and feelings I had while reading the book, the journey in reading it, I love when I really picked up so much from a book, that I can relate it to my life and myself, as I was able to do here. And as silly as it can be for an adult to find things out about themself in a children's book, you know it's a good book, because the best ones are when anyone can find out things about themself when reading it, as I was able to do in Greymist Fair.
I can remember when I thought about what I wanted to tell my son about God, death, when I thought about how I wanted him to view his life while still having to live with the fact that these concepts are something he will have to deal with, in living. And, I wish I would have had this book or a book about life like this, at the time. Because, I would have read him this story, told him about Greymist Fair and that all the villagers, in having to combat death, had to go on with life, had to live their life to the fullest to keep him away from the town. The story of Greymist Fair teaches children (and, I have found, adults too) that in living and in celebrating life, as the residents celebrated Yule despite the fact that the wargs, and death were coming for the village, only in the celebration of life can we combat death. And it is a beautiful lesson and great to be reminded of on the occasions when we, as adults, can sometimes forget this too! But, in learning this lesson, there is still more to be shared, more to this tale, the celebration is not over yet, still one member of the town, missing the festivities.
In the end, however, it is not the fear of death that you need to forget (some of the characters in the book realize) but the acceptance that death is a part of life. Death is making room for the new, an essential part of the cycle of life. Greymist Fair, after all, is the home of death, too. He had just never been welcomed or accepted there, always feared and discouraged from being a “part of”. And so, during the villagers' celebration of Yule death is welcomed and received as a member of the party and village. Because of this, the wargs are released as the gruesomes beasts they were and are now simply, as the old tales were told, helpers to the lost and wandering. Death further promises not to harm any in the village who still fear him because he has had forgiveness and the acceptance of some of the villagers. It is a beautiful, heartwarming tale, forgiving death (as an actualy being, much like a person) and the acceptance of him!!
I will always be the type of adult who likes to pick up fairy tales and young adult books (books such as this) to be reminded of the things I learned when I was young. When you go about the business of living and so many things are happening in life, sometimes you forget those simpler lessons and need to be reminded. And, sometimes there were things that we, growing into adults, missed along the way, too busy, too anxious, too scared to pick them up. Or, maybe there was no one there to teach them, or the book we happened to read, they weren't there or we didn't pick up on them.
I want to thank Francesca Zappia for Greymist Fair and a story where I could find all these lessons and more. I can't wait to see what she does next as this book was simply wonderful and I recommend it to anyone who can take a small window of time out of their day to engage in a story worth reading, remembering and sharing! I really loved this book and it's well worth the time it takes to read to have heard the story of Greymist Fair. It's a fast read, after all, if you dont think too much about it, as I did, lol! And, the last chapter, I don’t want to ruin it for readers but the whole story works out (the last chapter, great) and like in all fairy tales, there really is a happy ending!
Happy Reading!!
chessiezappia's review
Like the summary says, this is based on lesser-known Grimms' Fairy Tales, except for Hansel and Gretel. Most people know that one.
Here are the stories it's based on, in no particular order:
- The Riddle
- The Fisherman and His Wife
- Clever Hans
- The Shroud
- Hansel and Gretel
- The Wolf and the Seven Young Kids
- Godfather Death
Each story in the book weaves together to create one overarching, original plot.
I seriously love the characters in this book. I loved telling the stories. I loved hanging out in Greymist Fair, this cozy little village in the dark dark woods.
CW: Some violence and blood, knife violence, implied child abuse, death. I'll post more if I have them later; I'm writing this the night before the Katzenjammer release and I am very tired, forgive me.
Anyways, I really really hope you enjoy this one!
Here are the stories it's based on, in no particular order:
- The Riddle
- The Fisherman and His Wife
- Clever Hans
- The Shroud
- Hansel and Gretel
- The Wolf and the Seven Young Kids
- Godfather Death
Each story in the book weaves together to create one overarching, original plot.
I seriously love the characters in this book. I loved telling the stories. I loved hanging out in Greymist Fair, this cozy little village in the dark dark woods.
CW: Some violence and blood, knife violence, implied child abuse, death. I'll post more if I have them later; I'm writing this the night before the Katzenjammer release and I am very tired, forgive me.
Anyways, I really really hope you enjoy this one!
ejpass's review
5.0
5/5 stars
Recommended if you like: fairytales, fantasy, short stories, multiple POVs, dark fairytales, spooky season
Big thanks to Netgalley, Harper Collin's Children's Books, and the author for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!
I'm so glad I got this ARC, it's the perfect read for spooky season/Halloween. The book features seven stories that are retellings of lesser known Grimm's fairytales. The stories tell a nonlinear narrative about the inhabitants of the strange town of Greymist Fair. Now, this narrative style won't be for everyone, but I absolutely loved it!
This book is very atmospheric, with the town of Greymist Fair being set in a magical wood with creatures, wargs, that hunt down those who wander from the road. At the same time, the road that leads to Greymist Fair isn't always a straight line, it has a nasty habit of making the journey to the town longer or shorter, sometimes preventing travelers from reaching it entirely. Each of the stories has their own element of spooky to them but manage to maintain that level without getting too scary.
The first story, The Girl Who Outran Death, has Heike, the tailor's daughter, as the main character. Heike's mother has been dead for four years, and so she is the new tailor, though her mother's association with the witch of the woods (however beneficial for the town) means Heike sees few of her neighbors as clients. In this tale, the body of a Greymist Fair villager shows up on the west road, a road that is supposed to be safe from the monsters, sending the town into a frenzy. Heike proves her smarts and her bravery in dealing with the situation, and I enjoyed reading things from her POV.
The Prince's Riddle takes us back in time, to when Heike was a child, and is told from the POV of a prince who can grant wishes. This prince makes people answer riddles before granting a wish, giving hard riddles to the people at court and easy ones to peasants and townsfolk, and refuses to grant wishes to children. The prince ends up in Greymist Fair after joining a traveling caravan/troupe/market, only to be disappointed by their disinterest in his wish granting. I actually didn't find the prince to be that bad, though he certainly has some negative qualities (including being more annoyed that a child is crying after being beaten than by the person doing the abuse). While the prince seems to be a random character/story, his presence serves to provide some background on some of the characters of Greymist Fair, including Wenzel, the innkeeper and Heike's best friend.
Wolf Children answers a mystery you don't even know is a mystery. In it, Liesel, one of the townspeople about Heike's age and the sister of the murder victim from the first story, gets visits from her brother's ghost, who tells her something is afoot in Greymist Fair. Liesel comes across as fairly unfriendly, but in a way that I think is understandable. While she isn't the most likeable character, she has a lot of mettle and does the right thing without a second thought.
Katrina goes back in time again to when Heike's mother was still alive. In this one, the daughter of Lord and Lady Greymist, Katrina, is alive (as are they) and is eager to go into town by herself to hang out with the kids her age. Unfortunately, she gets caught up with Hans, who over all the previous stories has been shown to be bad news, and Fritz, Hans' seemingly not-so-bright friend. Katrina and Hans make a deal to ask the witch of the woods for magic, but as everyone knows, the woods around Greymist Fair are full of things more terrible than a witch. I definitely felt for Katrina since she was both smart enough to know Hans was bad news and to recognize that something wasn't right at the witch's house, she just came to the wrong conclusion(s).
The Secret of Grey Lake was definitely my least favorite, largely because Hans gets something he wants. This story takes place in the 'present' and is really Fritz's story, not Hans'. Fritz finds a wish-granting fish in Grey Lake and Hans begins demanding wishes. Poor Fritz, who wants a friend but also kind of knows Hans is a little shit, does what Hans asks to the detriment of literally everyone but Hans (and maybe the fish, the fish seems fine, lol). On one side, this story goes to show what happens when you give heartless, arrogant people too much power, but on the plus side we also get to see Fritz come into his own and the consequences for the people who abuse their power. Despite his mistakes, I do actually like Fritz as a character.
Doctor Death again takes place in the past, largely prior to Heike's birth, and focuses on Doctor Death, aka the traveling doctor that sometimes visits the town, as well as Heike's mother, Hilda. Doctor Death actually has a pretty interesting life story and I enjoyed learning about him and his practice and companion.
The Wargs of Greymist is the last story in the collection and takes place pretty much immediately after the end of The Secret of Greymist Lake. In it, the village is being sieged by the monsters of the woods, with fear driving them toward their targets. This last story features Wenzel as the main character, and we really get to see him in his element of taking care of Heike and making people happy at the inn. I thought this story had a nice holiday feel and was a nice note to end on. The ending felt appropriate too.
My favorite two characters were definitely Heike and Wenzel. Heike has so much life in her, and she seems both friendly and responsible. She's protective over the people she cares about, but she's also willing to do what's right by the town, even if the 'witch' association gets her some side eyes. Wenzel is someone who has had hardships but has turned around and decided to put the love and kindness in the world that he wishes he'd gotten as a young child. One of the things I liked about him was that he was genuinely happy to run his parents' inn and liked having guests there. I liked getting to see things from Fritz's POV since it made him a more likeable character. I also wouldn't have minded seeing more of Liesel, even if she wasn't the most likeable, especially at first.
Overall, I enjoyed this book and thought it was the prefect October read. I really liked the format of nonlinear short stories as well.
Recommended if you like: fairytales, fantasy, short stories, multiple POVs, dark fairytales, spooky season
Big thanks to Netgalley, Harper Collin's Children's Books, and the author for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!
I'm so glad I got this ARC, it's the perfect read for spooky season/Halloween. The book features seven stories that are retellings of lesser known Grimm's fairytales. The stories tell a nonlinear narrative about the inhabitants of the strange town of Greymist Fair. Now, this narrative style won't be for everyone, but I absolutely loved it!
This book is very atmospheric, with the town of Greymist Fair being set in a magical wood with creatures, wargs, that hunt down those who wander from the road. At the same time, the road that leads to Greymist Fair isn't always a straight line, it has a nasty habit of making the journey to the town longer or shorter, sometimes preventing travelers from reaching it entirely. Each of the stories has their own element of spooky to them but manage to maintain that level without getting too scary.
The first story, The Girl Who Outran Death, has Heike, the tailor's daughter, as the main character. Heike's mother has been dead for four years, and so she is the new tailor, though her mother's association with the witch of the woods (however beneficial for the town) means Heike sees few of her neighbors as clients. In this tale, the body of a Greymist Fair villager shows up on the west road, a road that is supposed to be safe from the monsters, sending the town into a frenzy. Heike proves her smarts and her bravery in dealing with the situation, and I enjoyed reading things from her POV.
The Prince's Riddle takes us back in time, to when Heike was a child, and is told from the POV of a prince who can grant wishes. This prince makes people answer riddles before granting a wish, giving hard riddles to the people at court and easy ones to peasants and townsfolk, and refuses to grant wishes to children. The prince ends up in Greymist Fair after joining a traveling caravan/troupe/market, only to be disappointed by their disinterest in his wish granting. I actually didn't find the prince to be that bad, though he certainly has some negative qualities (including being more annoyed that a child is crying after being beaten than by the person doing the abuse). While the prince seems to be a random character/story, his presence serves to provide some background on some of the characters of Greymist Fair, including Wenzel, the innkeeper and Heike's best friend.
Wolf Children answers a mystery you don't even know is a mystery. In it, Liesel, one of the townspeople about Heike's age and the sister of the murder victim from the first story, gets visits from her brother's ghost, who tells her something is afoot in Greymist Fair. Liesel comes across as fairly unfriendly, but in a way that I think is understandable. While she isn't the most likeable character, she has a lot of mettle and does the right thing without a second thought.
Katrina goes back in time again to when Heike's mother was still alive. In this one, the daughter of Lord and Lady Greymist, Katrina, is alive (as are they) and is eager to go into town by herself to hang out with the kids her age. Unfortunately, she gets caught up with Hans, who over all the previous stories has been shown to be bad news, and Fritz, Hans' seemingly not-so-bright friend. Katrina and Hans make a deal to ask the witch of the woods for magic, but as everyone knows, the woods around Greymist Fair are full of things more terrible than a witch. I definitely felt for Katrina since she was both smart enough to know Hans was bad news and to recognize that something wasn't right at the witch's house, she just came to the wrong conclusion(s).
The Secret of Grey Lake was definitely my least favorite, largely because Hans gets something he wants. This story takes place in the 'present' and is really Fritz's story, not Hans'. Fritz finds a wish-granting fish in Grey Lake and Hans begins demanding wishes. Poor Fritz, who wants a friend but also kind of knows Hans is a little shit, does what Hans asks to the detriment of literally everyone but Hans (and maybe the fish, the fish seems fine, lol). On one side, this story goes to show what happens when you give heartless, arrogant people too much power, but on the plus side we also get to see Fritz come into his own and the consequences for the people who abuse their power. Despite his mistakes, I do actually like Fritz as a character.
Doctor Death again takes place in the past, largely prior to Heike's birth, and focuses on Doctor Death, aka the traveling doctor that sometimes visits the town, as well as Heike's mother, Hilda. Doctor Death actually has a pretty interesting life story and I enjoyed learning about him and his practice and companion.
The Wargs of Greymist is the last story in the collection and takes place pretty much immediately after the end of The Secret of Greymist Lake. In it, the village is being sieged by the monsters of the woods, with fear driving them toward their targets. This last story features Wenzel as the main character, and we really get to see him in his element of taking care of Heike and making people happy at the inn. I thought this story had a nice holiday feel and was a nice note to end on. The ending felt appropriate too.
My favorite two characters were definitely Heike and Wenzel. Heike has so much life in her, and she seems both friendly and responsible. She's protective over the people she cares about, but she's also willing to do what's right by the town, even if the 'witch' association gets her some side eyes. Wenzel is someone who has had hardships but has turned around and decided to put the love and kindness in the world that he wishes he'd gotten as a young child. One of the things I liked about him was that he was genuinely happy to run his parents' inn and liked having guests there. I liked getting to see things from Fritz's POV since it made him a more likeable character. I also wouldn't have minded seeing more of Liesel, even if she wasn't the most likeable, especially at first.
Overall, I enjoyed this book and thought it was the prefect October read. I really liked the format of nonlinear short stories as well.
lpcoolgirl's review
5.0
This book was dark and atmospheric and just so easy to read! Such a great story!
More...