I received a copy of Philip Pullman’s Fairy Tales from the Brothers Grimm free to review from Netgalley. Growing up in Scotland, my parents often read to me or I read the original, non Disneyfied versions of traditional fairytales. I can still remember being particularly horrified that, in the traditional version Snow White’s wicked stepmother was forced to wear burning hot iron shoes and to dance until she died and that Cinderella’s stepsisters had their eyes pecked out. At my university, one of the courses you could choose to study was Traditional Fairy Tales, which demonstrates just how deeply embedded in the European psyche these stories are. In this collection, Pullman chooses from among the many variants of the traditional stories, occasionally adding his own spin and after each story gives a little background into each tale along with an explanation of what changes he made. it’s a fascinating read and well worth picking up. I gave Fairy Tales from the Brothers Grimm four stars out of five The Goddess Test by Aimee Carter Series: Goddess Series #1 Genres: Young Adult, Contemporary Fantasy Format: eBook Pages: 298 pages Buy from Amazon • Kobo • iTunes • Audible • Having read and loved Aimee…
I received a copy of Philip Pullman’s Fairy Tales from the Brothers Grimm free to review from Netgalley. Growing up in Scotland, my parents often read to me or I read the original, non Disneyfied versions of traditional fairytales. I can still remember being particularly horrified that, in the traditional version Snow White’s wicked stepmother was forced to wear burning hot iron shoes and to dance until she died and that Cinderella’s stepsisters had their eyes pecked out. At my university, one of the courses you could choose to study was Traditional Fairy Tales, which demonstrates just how deeply embedded in the European psyche these stories are. In this collection, Pullman chooses from among the many variants of the traditional stories, occasionally adding his own spin and after each story gives a little background into each tale along with an explanation of what changes he made. it’s a fascinating read and well worth picking up. I gave Fairy Tales from the Brothers Grimm four stars out of five The Goddess Test by Aimee Carter Series: Goddess Series #1 Genres: Young Adult, Contemporary Fantasy Format: eBook Pages: 298 pages Buy from Amazon • Kobo • iTunes • Audible • Having read and loved Aimee…
The Dream Keeper by Mikey Brooks tells the story of Parker and Kaelyn, two teenagers who must work with Dream Keeper Gladamyr in order to defeat Fyren and save Dreams. it is aimed at middle grade readers and to be perfectly honest I struggled to finish the book. Harry Potter or Percy Jackson this is definitely not. It is the first in a series, but I doubt I will be reading the next one. What I liked The concept. I thought the concept was interesting and well thought out – sleeping humans being sent to either Mares or Favor and the impact an imbalance in those two realms could have. I would have liked to have seen more of the impact of dream deprivation on the human population to show just how devastating that could be. I did feel though that the author had the magic system well thought out and planned. Gladamyr. I felt this character was interesting and intriguing. I liked his history and that it was his choices that made him what he is in the story. What I didn’t like The writing style. In fairness, I received an advanced readers copy of this book via…
The Dream Keeper by Mikey Brooks tells the story of Parker and Kaelyn, two teenagers who must work with Dream Keeper Gladamyr in order to defeat Fyren and save Dreams. it is aimed at middle grade readers and to be perfectly honest I struggled to finish the book. Harry Potter or Percy Jackson this is definitely not. It is the first in a series, but I doubt I will be reading the next one. What I liked The concept. I thought the concept was interesting and well thought out – sleeping humans being sent to either Mares or Favor and the impact an imbalance in those two realms could have. I would have liked to have seen more of the impact of dream deprivation on the human population to show just how devastating that could be. I did feel though that the author had the magic system well thought out and planned. Gladamyr. I felt this character was interesting and intriguing. I liked his history and that it was his choices that made him what he is in the story. What I didn’t like The writing style. In fairness, I received an advanced readers copy of this book via…
All Our Yesterdays by Cristen Terrill is a YA dystopian sci-fi time travel novel which tells the story of spoiled teen Marina and freedom fighters Em and Finn. The twist – Marina and Em are the same character, only four years apart in age. Em and Finn have travelled back in time to try to prevent the creation of the dystopian police state in which they are living. To do this, they must kill “the doctor” a figure with close connections to all three of them. It is the first in a two-book series although it could work as a standalone, depending on your interpretation of the ending. What I liked Character development. One of the great strengths of All Our Yesterdays is seeing the characters’ journey. Through time travel timey wimey we meet three characters at two separate stages of their lives, Marina/Em, Finn and James. We see how their experiences in a four-year period have changed them. Through Em we see where Marina will end up if Em and Finn are unable to complete their task. The Marina we meet at the beginning is, let’s face it, one of the most annoying, bratty teens in YA – think…
All Our Yesterdays by Cristen Terrill is a YA dystopian sci-fi time travel novel which tells the story of spoiled teen Marina and freedom fighters Em and Finn. The twist – Marina and Em are the same character, only four years apart in age. Em and Finn have travelled back in time to try to prevent the creation of the dystopian police state in which they are living. To do this, they must kill “the doctor” a figure with close connections to all three of them. It is the first in a two-book series although it could work as a standalone, depending on your interpretation of the ending. What I liked Character development. One of the great strengths of All Our Yesterdays is seeing the characters’ journey. Through time travel timey wimey we meet three characters at two separate stages of their lives, Marina/Em, Finn and James. We see how their experiences in a four-year period have changed them. Through Em we see where Marina will end up if Em and Finn are unable to complete their task. The Marina we meet at the beginning is, let’s face it, one of the most annoying, bratty teens in YA – think…