Curses by Lish McBride

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Wonderfully descriptive and charming characters!

17yo Merit is cursed to be a beast until she agrees to marry someone who her mother approves of. She meets 19yo Tevin, a professional conman, and they strike a bargain. Merit’s mother has set her up with three worthy candidates and Tevin is going to help Merit navigate their intentions because she doesn’t trust her instincts after being jilted by her boyfriend Jasper. Jasper left Merit after her mother offered him money to leave. Merit feels trapped by her mother and she doesn’t feel anything for the three candidates. As she confides in Tevin, the two of them become friends and more. As they work together, they unknowingly walk into danger and discover deception and they’re going to have to rely on each other more than they realize.

Likes/dislikes: I enjoyed the wonderful descriptions of the setting. The humor is cute and funny. I grew to love the charming characters.
Mature content: PG for brief passionate kissing.
Language: PG for 7 swears and no f-bombs.
Violence: PG-13 for bloody death of an animal.
Ethnicity: Merit is white, other characters are of mixed ethnicity, including fairy.

Beasts and Beauty by Soman Chainani

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Fairytale retellings anthology!

Fairytale retellings in quick snippets!
Cleverly retold fairytale shorts. I think my favorites are the Cinderella and the Hansel and Gretel retellings because they both have wonderful twists in the storyline. 4 stars!

Gilded by Marissa Meyer

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Suspenseful, dangerous and interesting fairytale retelling!

Serilda enjoys creating stories to tell and embellishing the tales every time she retells them. One snowy night, she hears noises outside her house. She dares to go outside and she sees two moss maidens trying to hide from hunters. Serilda helps them hide but lies to the Erlking to keep them safe. He’s intrigued by her story of being able to spin straw into gold so he sends for her to come to his castle. After that, she’s bound to keep going back to the castle because the Erlking won’t let her go. She meets Gild, who the Erlking classifies as a poltergeist. Gild has the gift of magic that allows him to spin straw into gold. He helps Serilda but requires payment in return each time he helps her. The first two times, Serilda gives him the gifts the moss maidens gave her when she saved them from the Erlking. The third time, she offers her future firstborn child as payment. That is the only thing she has to offer. Gild accepts this offer, so his magic will work. Everything grows more complicated and the people Serilda love become endangered. The Erlking is heartless, cold and brutal. He will do whatever it takes to get what he wants.
Gilded is one of the best fairytale retellings I’ve read because Marissa Meyer adds twists and brings original characters to the story. Suspenseful, dangerous and interesting fairytale retelling, 5 stars!

The Bone Spindle by Leslie Vedder

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Fun read!

Fi hunts for books and historical artifacts. She’s been given a message to meet someone for a proposition. That someone is Shane, a treasure hunter that’s given up her inheritance to her brother. The two of them search the vacated woods known as the Witches Jewelry Box. Adventure and action make up most of the story along with the flashbacks and memories that build the characters’ backgrounds. Transitions were sometimes abrupt and jarring and the love between characters didn’t feel truly believable. Still a fun read, 4 stars!

Heartless by Marissa Meyer

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Intrigue, mystery, and adventure!

Catherine loves to bake and wants to be a professional baker but her parents think that baking is servants’ work and they want her to marry the king, even if it’s against her wishes. The king seems very interested in Catherine’s baking and possibly for marriage with her. She’s not remotely interested. Jest, the new joker, fascinates Cath and the two of them develop a relationship. The Jabberwock continues to terrify and attack the people and Cath tells the king that he should be doing something about it. The king happens to be more interested in parties and happy thoughts than the safety of the kingdom. This fairytale retelling is full of intrigue, mystery and adventure as we learn the story of the Queen of Hearts from Wonderland. Enjoyable, suspenseful and heartbreaking, 5 stars!

The Little Mermaid’s Voice by Shonna Slayton

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The Little Mermaid’s Voice by Shonna Slayton
The story opens as the Little Mermaid watches the prince walk away. The sea witch tricked her. Fast forward one hundred years and the mermaids are still suffering from restrictions placed on them because of the Little Mermaid’s actions. She was the present Queen’s sister. Mairin is a daughter of the Queen and she wants to breathe above water but that’s one of the restrictions placed on her people; no going to the surface. An advisor approaches her and gives her the job of going to the surface and tells her how to get to the location where she needs to be. When she arrives she’s told that she has to keep the human prince alive per the agreement made by the Little Mermaid all those years ago. The prince’s descendants have to be kept safe. A finman approaches Mairin and taunts her into listening to his idea to save her kingdom. Go above the surface, make the prince fall in love with her then break his heart by leaving him. This will break the curse and allow the restricted barrier to be broken. Edwin is the descendant that Mairin has to protect and when he boards the Titanic, she has to find a way to get aboard also. What follows is an adventure that takes a dreadful turn. This story meshes fairytale with history, 4 stars!

Beauty’s Rose by Shonna Slayton

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Set in the 1980’s, Beauty’s Rose tells the story of Margot visiting an Aunt in France. Aunt Suzette owns a cozy bookshop in a small French town steeped in traditional tourist attractions, royalty, knights, jousting, and festivals. Margot meets several people her age and enjoys the scenery of Chapais. Burke is an aloof mystery to the town and Sylvain seems to be a player. When Margot starts having dreams involving conversations with a beast, she thinks she’s losing her mind. Aunt Suzette’s friends, who are actually fairies (Clove, Sage, and Thyme), let Margot in on the curse that’s taking over the local prince’s life. Burke and Margot become friends and end up trapped in a hidden mansion together as he transforms into the beast. I was saddened when the story ended because I wanted more! A gentle, contemporary 1980’s fairytale retelling about love, loyalty, and sacrifice.

A Curse So Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer

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Surprise ending!
A Curse so Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer is one of the best fairy tale retellings that I have read.
The writing demanded my attention from the first chapter and each chapter ends in a bit of a cliffhanger! I had to force myself to stop reading to go to bed. Harper is kidnapped but for reasons that are different from what she ever expected. She’s been kidnapped from Washington D.C. to help break a prince’s curse. Prince Rhen and his top guard, Grey, are the only two that know about the curse and the secret that Rhen is horrified about. Lilith cursed Rhen years ago and he’s turned into a violent monster every season since. Once he changes, he has no memory or control, and because of that he’s ending up killing the royal family, his family. Harper doesn’t like Rhen at first but she understands him better the more she gets to know him. Grey is an intimidating guard but a kind and caring soul. Each season, Rhen becomes a different creature but he’s always violent and ruthless. Harper helps Rhen and his kingdom by pretending to be a princess. A cruel ruler threatens to take over the kingdom and Harper and Rhen tell her that the princess’s father is sending reinforcements to stop her. Rhen, Harper and Grey continue to work together and become closer. This story is full of action, loyalty and bravery and ends in an intense surprise, 5 stars!

Sea Witch Rising by Sarah Henning

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Sea Witch Rising by Sarah Henning. The story begins fifty years after Sea Witch. Evie is known as the Sea Witch and sea residents go to her for magic and to have their wishes fulfilled. Runa’s twin sibling, Alia, wished to become human so she could marry the prince. Runa begs for the help of Evie so she can bring her sister back home. Complications arise under the sea and on dry land. Deception, manipulation, and revenge tell this story, 4 stars!

Sea Witch by Sarah Henning

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I love this cover!

Sea Witch, by Sarah Henning, opens as three young children play together and one ends up gravely injured. The story jumps to their teen years, the present time in this setting, when the Prince turns sixteen and the kingdom celebrates. Prince Nik and his best friend Evie dance and remember their third friend that is no longer with them. I like the alternating between the present time, and four years earlier around the time tragedy strikes, because it gives insight into the characters and their backgrounds and builds suspense. As the village prepares to celebrate, a young woman named Annamette appears. She confides in Evie her secrets and deepest wishes. This is where complications begin. With magic, royalty and the sea, problems brew and lives change drastically. Sea Witch is the beginning of transformation and the ending of innocence and freedom for Evie, 5 stars!