A Curse of Salt by Sarah Street

Pages: 340 

Publisher: Hodder Children's Books 

Released: 25th of May 2023 

A heartless king trapped by a curse

A brave sister searching for answers

And a love so strong it will drown the raging sea ...

THIS FAIRYTALE IS CURSED

Prepare for stormy seas and swoony romance in this addictive retelling of Beauty and the Beast set on board a cursed ship where love blooms in the darkest of hearts ...

A heartless beast

A sister's sacrifice

And a love so strong it will drown the raging sea ...

THIS FAIRYTALE IS CURSED

In a kingdom that fears the sea, Ria Lucroy longs to be brave.

Bodies are washing ashore and everyone knows who's to blame. Legends of the Heartless King shroud the continent in fear; they call him a pirate, a monster, a god. When his mercenaries raid her father's merchant ship, Ria's family is faced with a horrifying demand. They will spare his life, in exchange for one of his daughters.

Determined to save her sisters, Ria launches herself into the world of pirates. Face-to-face with the Heartless King, she finds he is far more than the stories told. He is a man, with a human name and blood-stained hands, bound to the seas by a centuries-old curse. As their chemistry blooms into something more, Ria finds herself caught in an ancient web of secrets.

Battling creatures of the deep alongside those that reign its surface, Ria discovers how to love a heartless man and that some curses aren't so easy to break.

What I Have to Say 

What could be better than a version of beauty and the beast set on a pirate ship, I really loved this book. I have read so many retellings of beauty and the beast, but they always manage to surprise me. And this one is completely unlike any I've ever read.  The addition of pirates to this fairy tale just made it perfect for me. 

Ria is a wonderful character. I really liked her loyalty, her daring and her pluck. She was everything I love in a YA main character. Pairing her with the Heartless King and fitting her into the rest of the crew, made for just the perfect cast of characters. I loved every single one of them and it really felt like they fit together as a good crew. 

The prose in this book was beautiful, making it a joy to read as well as being just a damned good story. 

I want more adventures from this crew and this ship!! 

5 stars 

My thanks goes to Hodder and Netgalley for providing me with this gifted copy for review. 

Market of Dreams and Destiny by Trip Galey

Pages: 400 

Publisher: Titan

Released: 12th of September 2023 

Enter the bazaar of the bizarre where fate and fortunes are for sale in this high-stakes magical adventure across a London not quite like our own, perfect for fans of Neverwhere and The Night Circus.

Below Covent Garden lies the Untermarkt, where anything and everything has a price: a lover’s first blush, a month of honesty, a wisp of fortune. As a child, Deri was sold to one of the Market’s most powerful merchants. Now, after years of watchful servitude, Deri finally spots a chance to buy not only his freedom but also his place amongst the Market’s elite when he stumbles into the path of a runaway princess desperate to sell her royal destiny.

But news of the missing princess and her wayward destiny spreads. Royal enforcers and Master Merchants alike are after it. Outmanoeuvring them all would all be hard enough had Deri not just also met the love of his life, a young man called Owain, whose employers are using the Market for their own nefarious schemes.

Deri soon finds that the price of selling the royal destiny, making a name for himself, and saving the man he loves is dear. The cost of it all might just change the destiny of London forever.

What I Have to Say 

What I love most about Fae books is how creative they are. Market of Dreams and Destiny was no exception to this. I loved the picture of an alternate Victorian London with magic and deals built into every part of the society. My favourite bit was the bells, which one of the main characters, Deri, can talk to. 

The climax of this book was complicated. With the plot revolving around deals and loopholes exploited, there was a lot of information to pay attention to. It was hard to follow in some places, but I kept up mostly. There was only one part where I got lost and that part I managed to pick up again by the end. Just be warned that this is a book you need to really pay attention to. 

I really really enjoyed this interpretation of the goblin market. As complicated as it was, I haven't seen anyone go this detailed into thinking how it would work or what it would be like before. I have to say this is definitely going on my list of must reads for fae enthusiasts. 

4 stars 

My thanks go to Netgalley and Titan for providing me with this gifted copy for review. 

Fair Rosaline by Natasha Solomons

Pages: 336f 

Publisher: Manilla Press 

Released: 3rd of August 2023 

Was the greatest ever love story a lie?

The first time Romeo Montague sees young Rosaline Capulet he falls instantly in love.

Rosaline, headstrong and independent, is unsure of Romeo's attentions but with her father determined that she join a convent, this handsome and charming stranger offers her the chance of a different life.

Soon though, Rosaline begins to doubt all that Romeo has told her. She breaks off the match, only for Romeo's gaze to turn towards her cousin, thirteen-year-old Juliet. Gradually Rosaline realises that it is not only Juliet's reputation at stake, but her life.

With only hours remaining before she will be banished behind the nunnery walls, will Rosaline save Juliet from her Romeo? Or can this story only ever end one way?

A subversive, powerful untelling of Shakespeare's best-known tale, narrated by a fierce, forgotten voice: this is Rosaline's story.

What I Have to Say 

This was so interesting. I love a retelling with some grit, really getting down to the practicalities of things and showing how unhealthy something is that has been so romanticised. The author took a deep dive into the original Shakespeare and it shows in the retelling. Picking up on things like the fact that Romeo's age is never mentioned but Juliet's is emphasised and reading something wholly new into the text. 

Romeo's villainous nature was really well done. Even if you don't read the blurb before going in (or you read it a while ago and only vaguely remember it, like I did), you pick up very quickly that Romeo is not what he seems. There are little seeds of bad behaviour spread throughout the text that quickly builds up to a full picture even before the truth is revealed to Rosaline. I don't think I've ever been quite so desperate for a character to go to a nunnery before! 

Most of all, this made me want to read Romeo and Juliet again and see all the details that the author has drawn out for this retelling. I want to see it in a new light after reading this and I think that's a beautiful thing. 

4 stars 

My thanks go to Netgalley and Manilla Press for providing me with this gifted copy for review. 

 

Dowry of Blood by S.T Gibson

 Pages: 292 

Publisher: Orbit 

Released: 31st of January 2021 

This is my last love letter to you, though some would call it a confession. . .

Saved from the brink of death by a mysterious stranger, Constanta is transformed from a medieval peasant into a bride fit for an undying king. But when Dracula draws a cunning aristocrat and a starving artist into his web of passion and deceit, Constanta realizes that her beloved is capable of terrible things.

Finding comfort in the arms of her rival consorts, she begins to unravel their husband's dark secrets. With the lives of everyone she loves on the line, Constanta will have to choose between her own freedom and her love for her husband. But bonds forged by blood can only be broken by death.

What I Have to Say 

This book was beautifully written, the language used was evocative and well thought out, but I felt the plot was a little too uneventful for my liking. The ending was wonderfully action based but everything else was just them travelling around and meeting one another. 

I loved the polyamory. The synopsis calls them rival lovers but all four main characters of this book are in love with each other. The relationship between Constanta, Magdalena and Alexi is perfect and beautiful and honestly relationship goals for anyone whether polyamorous or monogamous. They just could have done without Dracula in the mix. 

I really don't have more to say about this book. If you like beautiful writing and polyamory and don't mind a more sedate book, then it's perfect for you. 

3 stars 

My thanks go to Orbit and Netgalley for providing me with this copy for review. 

Savage Her Reply by Deidre Sullivan

Pages: 256 

Publisher: Little Island 

Released: 1st of October 2020 

A dark, feminist retelling of The Children of Lir told in Sullivan's hypnotic prose. A retelling of the favourite Irish fairytale The Children of Lir. Aife marries Lir, a king with four children by his previous wife. Jealous of his affection for his children, the witch Aife turns them into swans for 900 years.

 Retold through the voice of Aife, Savage Her Reply is unsettling and dark, feminist and fierce, yet nuanced in its exploration of the guilt of a complex character. Voiced in Sullivan's trademark rich, lyrical prose as developed in Tangleweed and Brine - the multiple award-winner which established Sullivan as the queen of witchy YA. Another dark & witchy feminist fairytale from the author of Tangleweed and Brine

What I Have To Say 

I couldn't connect to this story at all. It just felt unemotional and I didn't have any sympathy for the character. I wanted to hear her side of the story but it was told so matter-of-factly that I just couldn't really feel for her. 

The book was set out in a really interesting way and I really liked all the poems between the chapters, but the paragraphs detail what happened in the original story felt unnecessary. It was good to see when Aife's version diverged from the original, but a lot of the time it was just telling us what would happen in the next chapter. 

I wish I could have enjoyed it more. I wanted to like it but it just fell completely flat. 

2 stars 

My thanks go to Netgalley and Little Island for providing me with this copy for review. 

Saving Neverland by Abi Elphinstone

Pages: 320 

Publisher:  Penguin Random House 

Released: 5th of January 2023 

Number 14 Darlington Road, looks like a perfectly ordinary townhouse - at first glance, anyway, but magic is good at hiding . . . when it's waiting for the right person to discover it . . .

Martha Pennydrop is ten, and desperate to grow up. But growing up is a tricky business. It means turning your back on imagination, fun and magic, because those were the things that led to the Terrible Day when something awful nearly happened to Martha's younger brother, Scruff, which would have been All Her Fault.

But when Martha and Scruff discover mysterious gold dust in their bedroom in their new house - along with a window that's seemingly impossible to close - it's the start of an incredible adventure to a magical world: Neverland! The Pennydrop's new house used to belong to another family - the Darlings - who once visited this world themselves. Now Peter Pan is back, and in need of their help. Neverland is in the icy grip of a terrible curse - cast long ago by Captain Hook. And only Martha and Scruff can save it . . .

A reluctant Martha and excited Scruff are swept to Neverland and into the company of the Lost Kids. But when Scruff is kidnapped, Martha must rediscover all the imagination, magic and belief she has buried deep inside herself for so long, to save him - and Neverland itself. 

What I Have to Say 

Magic, adventure and a lovely sprinkle of danger, this series is perfect for all sorts of younger readers. Whether they already have a love of Peter Pan or if this is their first foray into Neverland, they will fall in love with it and it's many exciting features. 

I haven't read the original book, but I have seen the Disney movie, so I wasn't completely unaware of the world. There's mentions of the original characters to spark excitement in anyone who is already familiar with the story, but there's also plenty of new stuff to enjoy as well.  

One of the things I really loved was the riddles and rhymes in the book. It took me back to a childhood reading Redwall books. Though a very different story than Redwall, the riddles and little poems in the book are definitely reminiscent of that series and honestly should  be included in all books because they just plain fun.  

I liked the themes of family, what lengths Martha would go to in order to get her brother home safely, but my favourite bits were her struggle between wanting to grow up in order to keep him safe and her childlike wonder and excitement. I really liked the book's message about how growing up isn't always about not playing and having fun. 

All in all, I really enjoyed this and think it would be great for any reader young or old. 

 

My thanks go to Penguin Random House and Netgalley for providing me with this copy for review. 

Bloodmarked by Tracy Deonn

Pages: 576 

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's UK 

Released:  8th of November 2022 

The shadows have risen, and the line is law.

All Bree wanted was to uncover the truth behind her mother’s death. So she infiltrated the Legendborn Order, a secret society descended from King Arthur’s knights—only to discover her own ancestral power. Now, Bree has become someone new:

A Medium. A Bloodcrafter. A Scion.

But the ancient war between demons and the Order is rising to a deadly peak. And Nick, the Legendborn boy Bree fell in love with, has been kidnapped.

Bree wants to fight, but the Regents who rule the Order won’t let her. To them, she is an unknown girl with unheard-of power, and as the living anchor for the spell that preserves the Legendborn cycle, she must be protected.

When the Regents reveal they will do whatever it takes to hide the war, Bree and her friends must go on the run to rescue Nick themselves. But enemies are everywhere, Bree’s powers are unpredictable and dangerous, and she can’t escape her growing attraction to Selwyn, the mage sworn to protect Nick until death.

If Bree has any hope of saving herself and the people she loves, she must learn to control her powers from the ancestors who wielded them first—without losing herself in the process.

What I Have to Say 

I love these books so much!! I love Bree and Alice. I love the world of Legendborn and Bloodcasters and how the problems of race and privilege are woven into the story, without bogging it down. I love the tension and the action and just learning more about this world. I don't love the cliffhangers, which leave me hanging so often, but they definitely do their job to keep me reading! 

This book was a good sequel, it wasn't quite as good as Legendborn but I still enjoyed it immensely. I loved learning more about the world and seeing it expand as they moved out of Legendborn territory and into the wider world of magic users. And I definitely loved seeing more of Alice as she is so badass and perfect. I also really loved how dark it got with the regents.  I can't wait to see Bree kick their asses. 

My only hang-up really was that Bree didn't fight many of her own battles. She had all this training in weaponry and fighting, but because she can't call ether she can't fight at all? I felt that was a bit of a cop out. Especially when seeing Alice trotting around all happy with being able to protect herself because she has a pair of brass knuckles. I just don't like seeing Bree sidelined like that and made to be something to be protected rather than the awesome powerful girl she has the potential to be. 

Other than that though, I really loved it. I can't wait for the next instalment! 

My thanks go to Netgalley and Simon and Schuster for providing me with this copy for review. 

Not Good For Maidens by Tori Bovalino

Pages: 352

Publisher: Titan Books 

Released: 13th of September 2022 

Louisa doesn’t believe in magic, until her teenage aunt Neela is kidnapped to the goblin market.

The market is a place of magic, where twisting streets, succulent fruits, glimmering jewels, and death are on offer to the unwary human. An enticing place that her mother and aunt barely escaped seventeen years ago, paying a terrible price.

With only three days before the market disappears, Lou must navigate the treacherous market, controlled by bloodthirsty goblins who crave vengeance against her family. She must learn the songs and tricks of the goblins to save Neela, or the market might just end up claiming her too.

What I Have to Say 

This was the dark faerie story I wanted! It was deliciously dark, with the kind of Fae that will trick you and kill you for no other reason than it brings them pleasure. I really enjoyed the twists and turns of this book and guessing what would happen next. 

I loved the relationship between Laura and Eitra. This is how paranormal romance should be done. The Goblin being so Other and dark that Laura doesn't know whether to trust her or not and Eitra being just sympathetic enough to think that maybe she might be different, leaving you questioning who's side she's really on. 

I did think that Lou was rushing in to the market without a plan a bit too much. Especially the first time. She went in with no idea how to find Neela and somehow that was okay? There's not knowing what to expect and there's going in completely blind and just hoping it would turn out okay. 

But even with this, I absolutely loved this book. I hope Tori Bovalino does more fae stuff in the future. 

(5 stars) 

My thanks go to Netgalley and Titan books for providing me with this copy for review. 

Stepsister by Jennifer Donnelly

Synopsis (from Goodreads) 

Pages: 352

Publisher: Hot Key Books 

Released: 14th of May 2019 

'In an ancient city by the sea, three sisters - a maiden, a mother, and a crone - are drawing maps by candlelight. Sombre, with piercing grey eyes, they are the three Fates, and every map is a human life . . .'

Stepsister takes up where Cinderella's tale ends. We meet Isabelle, the younger of Cinderella's two stepsisters. Ella is considered beautiful; stepsister Isabelle is not. Isabelle is fearless, brave, and strong-willed. She fences better than any boy, and takes her stallion over jumps that grown men fear to attempt. It doesn't matter, though; these qualities are not valued in a girl. Others have determined what is beautiful, and Isabelle does not fit their definition. Isabelle must face down the demons that drove her cruel treatment of Ella, challenge her own fate and maybe even redefine the very notion of beauty . . .

Cinderella is about a girl who was bullied; Stepsister is about the bully. We all root for the victims, we want to see them triumph. But what about the bullies? Is there hope for them? Can a mean girl change? Can she find her own happily ever after?

What I Have to Say 

This books was so beautiful, full of feminism, strength and fairy tale scenery, but it felt a little disconnected to the original Cinderella story. I felt that Isabelle should have felt more guilt over how she and the rest of her family treated Ella. She just didn't really think about it that much. I liked the way they showed how her mother had treated her and turned her into a girl who would bully her sister and cut off her own toes in order to win the prince, but if felt like the change back from that was a little abrupt. 

That said, I loved Isabelle's character so much. I loved how both the stepsisters had their own strengths that aren't seen as "feminine" and "attractive". Isabelle being so brave and so fierce, a natural born fighter. You can see her destiny and her strength from really early in the book. The potential to be beautiful. And Tavi, academic and so, so smart. It was so great to see this story changed to bring these other strengths to the forefront, to show how they can be celebrated. 

I was also glad that the book did all that without completely stepping on the girls who are more sweet and gentle. Ella was still seen as a strong woman and while the stepsisters were obviously jealous of her in the original story, they didn't really hate her and managed to find their place alongside her as strong women. 

Anyone who's a fan of fairytales, anyone who wants to see different types of strong women. This is a must read for feminists. 

My thanks go to Hot Key Books for providing me with this free copy for review. 

A Curse So Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer

Synopsis (from Goodreads) 

Pages: 496 

Publisher: Bloomsbury 

Released: 29th of January 2019 

Fall in love, break the curse. 

It once seemed so easy to Prince Rhen, the heir to Emberfall. Cursed by a powerful enchantress to repeat the autumn of his eighteenth year over and over, he knew he could be saved if a girl fell for him. But that was before he learned that at the end of each autumn, he would turn into a vicious beast hell-bent on destruction. That was before he destroyed his castle, his family, and every last shred of hope.

Nothing has ever been easy for Harper Lacy. With her father long gone, her mother dying, and her brother barely holding their family together while constantly underestimating her because of her cerebral palsy, she learned to be tough enough to survive. But when she tries to save someone else on the streets of Washington, DC, she's instead somehow sucked into Rhen's cursed world.

Break the curse, save the kingdom. 

A prince? A monster? A curse? Harper doesn't know where she is or what to believe. But as she spends time with Rhen in this enchanted land, she begins to understand what's at stake. And as Rhen realizes Harper is not just another girl to charm, his hope comes flooding back. But powerful forces are standing against Emberfall . . . and it will take more than a broken curse to save Harper, Rhen, and his people from utter ruin.

What I Have to Say 

Until I read this book, I thought that I was fed up of Beauty and the Beast retellings. I mean there are some amazing ones out there, but in the last few years, we've had rather a lot quite close together. But A Curse So Dark and Lonely is a Beauty and the Beast retelling like no other. It was a beautifully unique take on the story while also keeping the heart of the story strong and powerful. 

Obviously I have to comment on Harper's cerebral palsy. This is the first character I've seen in a fantasy story with a disability like this and I felt it was handled beautifully. I'd love to see a review from some with cerebral palsy myself as I can't say anything about the accuracy of the writing, but Kemmerer made sure that it was a part of who she was and while also making sure not to see her only as her cerebral palsy. Harper was beautiful, strong, capable and determined. She wanted to learn how to do everything and refused to let her disability hold her back, except when it came to dancing (because who isn't going to be put off by passed experiences?) It felt so real and I loved her so much. 

The fact that Rhen went through most of the story not as a physical beast was so interesting. I had my doubts about it at first, but it worked so well. Because at the start of the story? Rhen was a bit of a beast personality-wise. It was interesting to see how much the curse had made him close himself off, how the very fact that he was turning into a monster at the end of every season and killing everyone he cared about was shutting him off and making it pretty impossible for him to find the love that would break the curse. Until Harper of course. Watching him and Harper move around each other and slowly open up to each other was also just perfect. 

I think this is the retelling of Beauty and the Beast that has felt the most real to me. Because the love was so real that it hurt. 

My thanks go to Netgalley and Bloomsbury for providing me with this copy for review. 

Sherlock Holmes and the Baker Street Curse by Sam Hearn

Synopsis (from Goodreads) 

Pages: 160 

Publisher: Scholastic Fiction 

Released: 2nd of August 2018 

Welcome to Baker Street Academy, where there's always a mystery to be solved! Luckily Sherlock Holmes is on the case, with his friends John Watson and Martha Hudson. Told through Watson's diary, with energetic comic-strip illustrations, this introduction to Arthur Conan Doyle's classic characters will have every young super-sleuth hooked!

What I Have to Say 

A fantastic introduction to the Sherlock Holmes characters for any young reader. This book was an amazing blend of comic strip type illustrations, prose, emails, and so much more! It showcased so many different ways that there are to tell a story, but still with the classic voice of John Watson threaded through to tell the story in his diary as a nod to the original books. 

This is the second book so I was coming in after not reading the first adventure. There were a lot of references to it, including Moriarty being in Switzerland sending ominous, vaguely threatening postcards, which were wonderful and hilarious. So I do think that reading them in order is a good idea, but it didn't put me off too much, so it's not essential.

The story itself was really clever. I figured it out pretty quickly, but I think that is more about the fact that I'm a grown up who's read a lot of mysteries, including a few of the original Holmes books, so I feel that when I was younger I wouldn't have found the twist so obvious, because it is a good twist! Just a little overdone in Sherlock Holmes re-imaginings.

This is definitely a book for a young budding detective!

My thanks go to Scholastic for providing me with this copy for review. 

Storm-wake by Lucy Christopher

Synopsis (from Goodreads) 

Pages: 352

Publisher: Chicken House 

Released: 5th of April 2018

Moss has grown up on the strangest and most magical of islands. Her father has a plan to control the tempestuous weather that wracks the shores. But the island seems to have a plan of its own once Callan -- a wild boy her age -- appears on its beaches. Her complex feelings for Callan shift with every tide, while her love for the island, and her father, are thrown into doubt...

And when one fateful day, a young man from the outside world washes up on the beach, speaking of the Old World, nothing will ever be the same.

What I Have to Say 

Lucy Christopher's beautiful writing, combined with her imaginative retake of The Tempest make a beautiful book that's perfect for anyone looking to escape to a beautiful island full of dark secrets. I loved the characters, so connected to their Shakespearean counterparts but also so unique and full of life. 

I loved the close friendship between Moss and Callan, the way they were so close that they belonged to each other in a way that if there had been other children around, probably wouldn't have been the case. It was a unique relationship and so interesting to explore, especially when other people are added to the picture. 

This is the kind of book that makes you want to read it a few times. There's so much detail in the book and so many secrets that come out, meaning that there's so much more to pick up on in the second reading. I'm looking forward to a second and maybe even a third reading. 

My thanks go to the Chicken House for providing me with this copy for review. 

As I Descended by Robin Talley

Synopsis (from Goodreads) 

Pages: 384

Publisher: Mira Ink 

Released: 6th of September 2016 

Maria Lyon and Lily Boiten are their school’s ultimate power couple—even if no one knows it but them.

Only one thing stands between them and their perfect future: campus superstar Delilah Dufrey.

Golden child Delilah is a legend at the exclusive Acheron Academy, and the presumptive winner of the distinguished Cawdor Kingsley Prize. She runs the school, and if she chose, she could blow up Maria and Lily’s whole world with a pointed look, or a carefully placed word.

But what Delilah doesn’t know is that Lily and Maria are willing to do anything—absolutely anything—to make their dreams come true. And the first step is unseating Delilah for the Kingsley Prize. The full scholarship, awarded to Maria, will lock in her attendance at Stanford―and four more years in a shared dorm room with Lily.

Maria and Lily will stop at nothing to ensure their victory—including harnessing the dark power long rumored to be present on the former plantation that houses their school.

But when feuds turn to fatalities, and madness begins to blur the distinction between what’s real and what is imagined, the girls must decide where they draw the line.

What I Have to Say 

I think Robin Talley is one of my new favourite authors. I was gripped completely by Lies We Tell Ourselves and adored it completely. As I Descended was just as good. I was interested to see the interpretation of Macbeth, to see what take Talley would use. I think her beautiful writing combined with the spooky atmosphere of the book, made something wonderful. 

I wasn't sure at first whether I would like the switch that Talley made, from the three witches of Macbeth to Ouija boards and haunted lakes, but I found it really helped to make the atmosphere of the book. 

As perfect as it was and as beautiful  Lily and Maria were in the roles of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth, I wasn't as keen on the ending. I felt it didn't follow as closely to the play as it did. I may be biased, because Talley didn't reference the part I was most interested to see, the descent into madness of Lady Macbeth (although don't worry, there is plenty other madness in this book). I understand that it didn't fit so well into the book though, so I forgive it. I just would have liked more parallels. 

Despite that tiny point against it, I really did love this book. I would recommend it to everyone, it was fantastic. 

Queen of Hearts by Colleen Oakes

Synopsis (from Goodread) 

Pages: 306

Publisher: Harper Collins Children's Books

Released: 5th May 2016 

As Princess of Wonderland Palace and the future Queen of Hearts, Dinah’s days are an endless monotony of tea, tarts, and a stream of vicious humiliations at the hands of her father, the King of Hearts. The only highlight of her days is visiting Wardley, her childhood best friend, the future Knave of Hearts — and the love of her life.

When an enchanting stranger arrives at the Palace, Dinah watches as everything she’s ever wanted threatens to crumble. As her coronation date approaches, a series of suspicious and bloody events suggests that something sinister stirs in the whimsical halls of Wonderland. It’s up to Dinah to unravel the mysteries that lurk both inside and under the Palace before she loses her own head to a clever and faceless foe.

What I Have to Say 

This was awful. I don't often say this, but I honestly feel completely cheated by this. It wasn't what the blurb promised at all. The characters showed barely any similarities with their counterparts in the original story and most of the time I couldn't really find much sympathy with Dinah because she just felt spineless and spent most of her time moping while trying to suck up to her father. I feel she could have done something more to help herself. 

I initially liked the idea of the Mad Hatter being Dinah's little brother. It seemed like and interesting idea and could have really worked out. Except that the "madness" he showed completely lacked the whimsy of the original character or the realities of mental health disorders. It felt like an insulting caricature of madness made by someone who has a medieval idea of what madness is. 

 

Basically this was a book that tried to show a darker side of Alice in Wonderland and got too far away from the original text. It was very short, but reading it honestly dragged because I wasn't enjoying a word of it. 

I really wish that I could have enjoyed this more, but the fact is, I just didn't. 

My thanks go to Harper Collins and Netgalley for providing me with this copy for review. 

A Thousand Nights by E.K Johnston

Synopsis (from Goodreads) 

Pages: 336

Publisher: Macmillan Children's Books

Released: 22nd of October 2015

Lo-Melkhiin killed three hundred girls before he came to my village, looking for a wife. 

When Lo-Melkhiin - a formidable king - arrives at her desert home, she knows that he will take her beautiful sister for a wife. Desperate to save her sister from certain death, she makes the ultimate sacrifice - leaving home and family behind to live with a fearful man. But it seems that a strange magic flows between her and Lo-Melkhiin, and night after night, she survives. Finding power in storytelling, the words she speaks are given strange life of their own. Little things, at first: a dress from home, a vision of her sister. But she dreams of bigger, more terrible magic: power enough to save a king ...if only she can stop her heart from falling for a monster.

What I Have to Say 

I don't know much about the story that this is based on, but this didn't read like it was trying to fit into the footsteps of another story. It read as a fresh. beautifully lyrically written piece, showing the importance of love, family and faith. The main character sacrifices herself for her sister at the start and remains loyal to her throughout, while the sister in turn keeps her faith in her and does what she can to help. 

The setting of the story was beautifully written.  I enjoyed the rich descriptions of desert life, both in the desert Wadi and the King's Qasr. For me, it added to the fairy-tale quality of the reading, even though it was and in a lot of ways still is based on a real place. I don't know how much was fabricated and how much was based on research, but it sounded like a really vibrant and interesting culture. 

The magic was wonderful as well. Again, it had that same fairy-tale quality, the idea that stories become truth if enough people believe in them, how a person can be elevated to the level of a god simply by people putting their faith in them. But it did just feel a little contrived, but in the way that a lot of fairy-tales feel this way. 

This is a must read this year for any fairy-tale fans.