retelling

Review: Queen of Hearts by Colleen Oates

~ megs14malloy

Publication Date: May 3, 2016    |    Rating: 4.5-stars!!!

I enjoyed this so much – I listened to the audio to complete some challenges for Retellathon. This book hadn’t even been on my radar (and I LOVE retellings) but I needed an audiobook to get through the week and SCRIBD had this one. After seeing that the overall Goodreads rating was only around a 3.6, I didn’t have the highest expectations going in. I didn’t read any of the reviews in advance, so I have no idea what the issues are with this one after listening to it.

This is essentially an origin story for the Queen of Hearts. I love retellings from the villains perspective, that’s honestly one of my favorite subgenres of YA, and who doesn’t love an origin story? This one felt very true to the atmosphere of the original story but brought a lot of new concepts and unique twists. I loved the deep, dark overall feel of the tale. There were parts that were very gritty and creepy – blood, gore, torture – it’s all in here but not in an obnoxious way. IMO it all works perfectly with the story. Alice in Wonderland is not a feel-good tale; it is dark and scary with twisty-turny, upside-downy things that just make you feel on edge.

I loved the relationship between Dinah (the Queen of Hearts) and her Father. He is a demonic, evil, spiteful little man and I really hope he gets his in the next book! Speaking of the next book, I ordered this and the second book this morning from Book Outlet and I need them like yesterday! This left off on such a cliffhanger – I cannot wait to see where the next book takes Dinah.

Another thing I enjoyed about this was Cheshire. He is an aide to the King and you can tell he is all kinds of devious. I’m not sure at this point what his true motivations are but he sure is a tricky one! He is described with similar qualities to the Cheshire Cat from the original, yet in this tale, he is a man. We also meet Dinah’s main caregiver, Harris, who is just such a sweet man, who loves her like her Father never has. He is just a pure and precious gem who I hope survives the wrath that is the King of Hearts! For Mad Hatter fans, have no fear, he is in here too; as are all the cards, the croquet games and general royal chaos.

Overall, I feel like this book needs some more love. I definitely plan to get the entire series and will probably even read this one again. I am majorly geeking out over this right now. I am going to go back now though and read other reviews; I am really curious to see what others didn’t enjoy about this one!

SIDE NOTE:Retellathon Book #3: I am using this to meet two challenges. The first is challenge #3 ‘Faraway Land’ (to read a retelling that is based off a story from your heritage) – I am choosing to go with my Irish heritage for this challenge. At the time Alice in Wonderland was written, and a time when my ancestors were still there, Ireland was a part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland so technically, this works. I am also using it for challenge #5 ‘Unhappily Ever After’ (to read a retelling with a dark twist) – as this is told from the villain’s perspective, the infamous Queen of Hearts, this works! BAM!

Review: The Beast Within by Serena Valentino

~ megs14malloy

Published: July 22, 2014   |   Rating: 2.5-☆s   |   Villains Series Book #2

Okay. This one was rough. There’s not a lot here and what is, wasn’t great for me. Ugh, this hurts my heart to write this. I have all the books in this series and am obsessed with the covers and naked books. I have read the first book in the series, Fairest of All, and gave it four stars. I don’t know if maybe the fact that Beauty & the Beast is my favorite fairy tale of all time made me judge this one differently -I just don’t know.

First, let’s get this right out of the way: I hated the Prince/Beast. There was nothing redeemable about him and his story arc was completely flat. I don’t feel he evolved as a character at all. Belle ends up with him and you’re like, gurl, NO! While reading his character, all I could picture in my head was Joffrey Baratheon, and any GOT fan knows that is not a pretty picture.

The story was all over the place. Some parts of the book were taken directly form the Disney movie (the original animated one that I have watched 2,568,401 times) which normally wouldn’t bother me, but the dialogue was exact and it didn’t explore any of the scenes at all. It felt so rushed and like there was no heart behind it at all. Picture: Beast saving Belle from wolves, here’s a library, Gaston & Beast fight, a kiss, THE END – in about 20 pages with no coherent connection or exploration of ideas, thoughts, feelings, etc.

One thing I did enjoy was the friendship of the Prince and Gaston prior to him being cursed. That was interesting and I thought that added to the original story in a unique way. Even though this one let me down, I am definitely planning to read the rest of the books in the series. Maybe the others will work for me more as I am not as attached to the stories and characters. I would recommend this for a much younger audience; perhaps tweens wouldn’t feel so bent with it as I was! Thanks for reading my rant – I truly do not enjoy having to write a review like this. It makes me sad 🙁

As a side note, I read this book to complete one of the challenges for Retellathon, which I am currently participating in. I mentioned Retellathon in an earlier post – basically, the first challenge was to read a retelling of your favorite fairy tale. That being said, I really wish I would have enjoyed this more.  What is your favorite fairy tale? Have you ever read a retelling of it that disappointed you?  I want to know! Leave a comment here or contact me through the comment links to the right >>>

Review: Macbeth by Jo Nesbo

~ megs14malloy

Publication Date: April 5, 2018

5-stars!!!! – A tour de force of brutality & ambition!!!

I was so excited when I discovered that the Hogarth Shakespeare series was adding Macbeth to its line up. It is my favorite of all the Shakespeare tragedies and I was looking forward to seeing how Nesbo would give it a modern twist. I have never read any of his books before but had heard very good things. He certainly did not disappoint – this soared above even my highest expectations.

The action takes place in a drug and crime-ridden city in the 1970s. Drug dealers and local crime lords hold as much power and sway over the people as do the police and politicians. The whole atmosphere is dark and visceral; you can smell and feel the dankness and despair. You are instantly dropped into this world and admittedly, at first, I was a bit confused as you are right in the action and all the players are already there. However, it didn’t take long (about 15% on an e-reader) before the tale truly starts to take shape and for me, I was so engrossed, I couldn’t put it down.

The characters are true to their roots as Shakespeare created them and I felt that the main premise of the action was extremely well planned and executed. The modern versions of the plot points were richly imagined and expertly woven into the final narrative. Macbeth, so strong and weak at the same time, so influenced by his Lady, easily steered, brutal yet kind, haunted and driven. Ughhh, it was soooo good! No one in this town was safe once Macbeth and Lady were set on their ultimate drive to power – aspirations and political intrigue, love for one another, plagued by their pasts – their relationship was just so spot on, there is no better way for me to describe it.

Slytherin book recommendation all day long – I absolutely adored this book! Thank you so much to the publisher for providing me with a copy for review. I cannot wait for this one to hit the streets -everyone needs a dose of this! Shakespeare himself would be proud!

Review: Reign of Shadows by Sophie Jordan

~ megs14malloy

Publication Date: February 9, 2016

Rating: 3.5-stars:  This was a good book. A fun, fast-paced, easy read. I made the mistake of reading some Goodreads reviews before I started it, which I generally try to avoid, and kept waiting for the terribleness to set it. It didn’t for me. I had a great time reading this. Granted I didn’t go into it expecting Pulitzer Prize for Fiction quality so maybe that helped.

This story is a retelling of the fairy tale of Rapunzel. In this very dark world, where an eclipse of the sun has darkened the land for almost two decades, we meet Luna, now 17-years old, having lived in the tower since the day of her birth. She is sweet and innocent and obviously dreams of the world outside her tower walls. There is a boy, Fowler, who ends up at the tower and yes, there is instalove on her part. In some reviews people were quite negative on the instalove but I say in this case, it actually kind of works. I mean, the girl has legit been locked in a tower her entire life with only the two adults who have raised her for human interaction. I do not find it surprising or cliche that when a young man her age finally comes into her life she would be instantly attached to him. I mean, when I was 17, I could see a guy for 2-minutes and be smitten and I certainly didn’t grow up in a tower.

The action really picks up when Luna and Fowler are forced to leave the tower and try to make their way to the island of Allu where they anticipate safety. This world is really scary, dangerous and literally dark so they come to rely on one another and over their long journey do grow to love one another. The book left off on an amazing cliff hanger and I am excited to start the second book.

So, in conclusion (hehehe), was this book perfect? No. Were there parts I rolled my eyes at slightly or noted that the author had used the same exact phrasing in previous paragraphs? Sure. Did I have a heck of good time reading it? Yes.
If you are looking for a dark fairy tale retelling that you can read quickly and just forget about life for a while, I would definitely recommend this book!

Review: Wintersong by S. Jae-Jones

~ megs14malloy

Publication date: February 7, 2017

Stunning – 5-stars – I loved this book.

For pretty much the entire book I was thinking I would be giving this one a 4-stars (which is a great rating, it means, I really liked a book) but then I reached the last portion of the story and it stripped my breath from me. So enchanting, so beautiful, so heartbreaking. I will admit that the first 50 to 70 pages of the book, I really wasn’t sure what to think; if I liked it, didn’t like it, what was going on, how the heck do I pronounce these names…but eventually, with a little patience, it started to weave together the most intricate, spellbinding story of forbidden love I have ever read. Perhaps it makes sense to view it as a musical composition, timid at first as the story begins to unfold, solid and constant through the middle then a crescendo as we rush towards our ultimate conclusion.

I do not read a lot of books with a strong romance element, and this story is definitely all about the romance, but this one touched me deeply. I was surprised by how quickly it turned steamy actually and believe I even blushed once or twice! The love between Elisabeth and her Goblin King is somehow fractious, violent and childish all at the same time. Their connection is so tangible, I felt it in my heart; the ups and downs of their lustful and rough coming together. The musical elements of the story were beautiful – they bring it alive – if this were to be turned into a movie, I believe it would have an absolutely revolutionary soundtrack! Overall, I felt drawn into the story, slowly but surely and once I was in, I was in, entire. I cannot wait to read the next book of the series which is titled Shadowsong and was released on February 6, 2018. I actually received a free copy of Shadowsong from the publisher in exchange for an honest review – so, time to get start!

Happy reading bookworms!

Review: A Whole New World by Liz Braswell

~ megs14malloy

This weekend I finished up with a few books, one of them being A Whole New World by Liz Braswell.  This is the first book in the Disney Press Twisted Tales series. I would give this 3.5 stars as I definitely liked it but it didn’t really blow me away.

The first part of the book is written exactly like the beginning of the movie, Aladdin – even some of the dialogue is exact. In this story however, Aladdin doesn’t awaken the genie, Jaraf does. The consequences of that, as you can imagine, are not good. The second half really picks up with Aladdin, Jasmine and friends teaming up to defeat Jafar and free Agrabah from his demonic rule (which includes an army of the dead). In parts it was a bit too simplistic for my tastes but there was a lot of action and overall it was a quick, fun read!

The second book in the series is, Once Upon a Dream, which is a retelling of Sleeping Beauty – the tagline for this one is, “what if Sleeping Beauty never woke up?”  I own this one as well so plan to read it in the Spring.  I love retellings and these ones are interesting as they just change one of the details (albeit an important detail in each one) and go from there – it’s amazing how much one action or decision can change a whole sequence of events that follow it.

Do you enjoy retellings? Which are your favorites?