fairy tales – Page 8 – Down the Rabbit Hole

Review: Spinning Starlight by R.C. Lewis

August 30, 2015August 31, 2015 Andge @ Down the Rabbit Hole

Sixteen-year-old heiress and paparazzi darling Liddi Jantzen hates the spotlight. But as the only daughter in the most powerful tech family in the galaxy, it’s hard to escape it. So when a group of men show up at her house uninvited, she assumes it’s just the usual media-grubs. That is, until shots are fired.

Liddi escapes, only to be pulled into an interplanetary conspiracy more complex than she ever could have imagined. Her older brothers have been caught as well, trapped in the conduits between the planets. And when their captor implants a device in Liddi’s vocal cords to monitor her speech, their lives are in her hands: One word and her brothers are dead.

Desperate to save her family from a desolate future, Liddi travels to another world, where she meets the one person who might have the skills to help her bring her eight brothers home-a handsome dignitary named Tiav. But without her voice, Liddi must use every bit of her strength and wit to convince Tiav that her mission is true. With the tenuous balance of the planets deeply intertwined with her brothers’ survival, just how much is Liddi willing to sacrifice to bring them back?

Haunting and mesmerizing, this retelling of Hans Christian Andersen’s The Wild Swans strings the heart of the classic with a stunning, imaginative world as a star-crossed family fights for survival in this companion to Stitching Snow.

4 Drink Me Potions

Thank you to Netgalley and Disney Book Group for this copy in exchange for an honest review

**Spinning Starlight comes out on October 6, 2015**

Can I first just say that I absolutely adored this book? Oh, and that TITLE along with the cover? Just. Gorgeous.

For an adaptation and fairy tale retelling of a story that’s not as famous as some others, Lewis did a fantastic – no, a SPECTACULAR – job of spinning out Hans Christian Andersen’s The Wild Swans in her own way. And going into this, I had not read her previous novel, Stitching Snow, but I think I may have to after seeing the remarkable way she spins a tale. (Yes, I’m really going all out with the word spin here.)

Liddi initially impressed me as some spoiled girl who lived in the spotlight because her family’s big and rich in this interplanetary kingdom. She went to parties, had media following her around everywhere and a house (with a talking operating system as her friend) to herself. But that was just initially, which lasted all of maybe ten seconds. It was immediately apparent that she was none of these things. She hated the paparazzi. She never asked for the attention that came with being born into the Jantzen family, and there was so much pressure to live up to that name and the glory of each and every single one of her 8 big brothers.

Now, the tech speak and the physics of things went beyond me. That’s not my specialty. At all. But the feeling of isolation and the need to create something technological to impress the world WAS understandable. Lewis didn’t immediately make it clear what this world was exactly. It was maybe revealed in the odd sentence here and there. For example, the world is called Seven Points. What’s that supposed to mean? Okay, 7 planets as each individual points? That makes sense. Wait, what are they each called? What is the one she’s on? Is there something special about each one?

Okay, the answers slowly piled in but it took a while to understand it. There was no information dump at all, which is a blessing and curse at the same time. It took more effort on my part to get into the story in the beginning when I was confused with half of what was going on and the terminology that was being thrown around. So maybe a little information dump, more like an information pile, would have been appreciated. That’s my only complaint.

From there, danger dropped onto Liddi and the story unfolded a little slow. Who was the bad guy? Where were her brothers? If you knew of The Wild Swans, you’re just waiting for the pieces to start falling together.

But the wait was worth it. Once Liddi lost her voice and the whole evil plot involving her brothers was laid out, it was better than I thought it could be. A surprising twist there, new characters there, it took me on a wild ride indeed. It was absolutely genius in mixing this tale with sci-fi aspects like portal travelling and being trapped in a hyperdimensional state, not fully in the physical world but not fully out of it either.

Lewis put her own mark on Andersen’s basic plot and really made it her own. I want to say so much more about plot things, but I don’t want to ruin the surprise of just what they are so that limits it.

What I will say is that I didn’t think it was possible to enjoy a book that contained more descriptive writing than dialogue. It wasn’t possible for that if Liddi couldn’t speak. We were just constantly in her head, reading her thoughts and her emotions. The anxieties of time limiting her and the constant fear for her brothers’ safety. Her memories and flashbacks to her past when more of her brothers lived at home with her and when her parents were still alive. There was so much GOOD content and it was written well. It had to be or else all these monologues would just get beyond tiring. It’s an easy trap to fall into and I can’t stress enough how well Lewis did to keep me interested.

And the relationships. Oh my, the feels! There was so much love for her brothers, each and every one of them. It was clear she would do absolutely ANYTHING for them. Come on, there are EIGHT brothers. That’s a lot of people to love, but the flashbacks really helped us understand their relationship with her and how much they all loved and wanted to protect their baby sister, no matter what. There was also a romantic sort of love as well, which didn’t get my heart racing as much as other books may, but it was the sweet kind of love that is reminiscent and suiting for fairy tales. So I’m definitely not complaining.

The ending was not what I expected, but that’s not to say it wasn’t good either. And it was summed up in a quote that I must put down here, which is a testament of how relateable Liddi’s character can be to anyone who reads Spinning Starlight.

“Some journeys can only be made once. Some partings aren’t what they seem. Some endings must be so something else can begin.”

And with that thought hanging on the mind, so did the story end as well.

Overall Recommendation:
Spinning Starlight was a beautifully written prose and modern adaptation of The Wild Swans. With a protagonist who was mute, the writing did centre more on the inner monologue in Liddi’s head than dialogue with others, but that in itself was done so well that it didn’t feel like it dragged the story. It enhanced it. Mixing the old fairy tale with new sci-fi elements and tech speak, it may get confusing in the beginning but I definitely recommend you check out this clever and gorgeous retelling for yourself. I don’t think it would disappoint.

Review: The Ugly Stepsister by Aya Ling

August 23, 2015August 31, 2015 Andge @ Down the Rabbit Hole

When Kat accidentally rips apart an old picture book, she’s magically transported into the world of Cinderella–as Katriona, one of the ugly stepsisters!

Life turns upside down now that she’s a highborn lady and must learn how to survive the social season, including how to get through the door in a huge metal hoop skirt. To get back, she’ll have to complete the story, right to the end of happily ever after.

But the odds are huge: the other stepsister is drop-dead gorgeous, the fairy godmother is nowhere to be found, and the prince, despite being insanely hot, openly dislikes balls. Can she ever return to the modern world?

4 Drink Me Potions

Thank you Xpresso Book Tours and Giselle for the copy in exchange for an honest review

Now, who doesn’t love a good fairy tale retelling? I sure love ’em, and it’s clear that author Aya Ling does too (and that’s not just because I read her exact words describing this in the Acknowledgements –which yes, I do read too). She provided a beautiful backdrop in Cinderella land for The Ugly Stepsister.

The story jumps right to it. Our protagonist Kat is terribly shy with boys and loves to just hide in her room with a good book in hand rather than party it up like the other girls at school. Now why does that sound so familiar?

Oh right. That’s ’cause I can totally relate to that when I was around that age. As I’m sure many other readers out there can also relate to that sentiment.

Anyway, there was an immediate understanding and bond with Kat which made me like her all the more. Soon after, she falls into a completely crazy world of fairy land, but nothing seems to be working right. How does one find a fairy godmother? What’s with all these corsets? And what? The other stepsister is NOT ugly? How can that be? Kat has a lot on her hands to get the story going so that the prince would fall for Cinderella in this tale. Oh, and not to mention, all these crazy antics are pure hilarious entertainment for the goblins that had cursed Kat to this fate.

I loved a whole lot of this book. Kat had to go through a lot to first just even understand how this old historical-like kingdom system worked. And then to do it all alone, with barely any help from the goblin intermediate that would pop up in her room at night occasionally to just ask for progress. She was strong and through it all, it pushed her out of her comfort zone. Talking to hot guys? Check. Facing down lords and other royalty while trying to not completely make a fool of herself? Check. Having to live with a horrible mother who only cared to find Kat a suitor? Check.

It was slow towards the middle, I will admit. I felt Ling didn’t have to drag the plot out so much with all the horrid parties Kat had to attend in order to “find an appropriate suitor”. And man, her awful sister! Did I want to strangle that girl sometimes? And this was coming from the point of view as the sister and NOT as Cinderella? That says a lot how much I hated her.

But overall, the story brought out a lot of greatness. Kat was an amazing girl. She fought hard for things in this kingdom that mattered only in her “normal” modern day life. It didn’t matter that she kept telling herself at night that these people were only just characters in a book. She was living it and these people mattered to her regardless. Haven’t you ever felt that way about characters in a book before?

And the romance . Oh my goodness. Prince Edward was swoon-worthy (of course!). What kind of Cinderella retelling would it be without a gorgeous prince? But he wasn’t just a face. He cared about things that other high ranking nobles didn’t. His cousin was just as amazing, choosing a profession that helped the common people. It’s always good in a book to enjoy the PERSONALITIES of the hot guys the protagonist is vying for.

Alas, the ending melted me. It absolutely did. I won’t say much beyond that so it wouldn’t ruin a thing, but it did make sense from a writing point. I loved it; it was ingenious of course. But it was definitely bittersweet as well.

Overall Recommendation:
The Ugly Stepsister is not just some fairy tale retelling. There are so many of those already, aren’t there? It’s a beautiful twist of possibly the greatest classic fairy tale, and it contains such remarkable elements. With immense detail into what life would be like in Cinderella’s kingdom, and a protagonist with such strong convictions to get home, this story leaves you cheering for Kat to finish the fairy tale story and crying with her when things go so horribly wrong. I love fairy tale retellings and this definitely made it to the list of books I thoroughly enjoyed.

Review: Scarlet by Marissa Meyer

June 5, 2015 Andge @ Down the Rabbit Hole

Series: The Lunar Chronicles #2

Cinder, the cyborg mechanic, returns in the second thrilling installment of the bestselling Lunar Chronicles. She’s trying to break out of prison–even though if she succeeds, she’ll be the Commonwealth’s most wanted fugitive.

Halfway around the world, Scarlet Benoit’s grandmother is missing. It turns out there are many things Scarlet doesn’t know about her grandmother or the grave danger she has lived in her whole life. When Scarlet encounters Wolf, a street fighter who may have information as to her grandmother’s whereabouts, she is loath to trust this stranger, but is inexplicably drawn to him, and he to her. As Scarlet and Wolf unravel one mystery, they encounter another when they meet Cinder. Now, all of them must stay one step ahead of the vicious Lunar Queen Levana, who will do anything for the handsome Prince Kai to become her husband, her king, her prisoner.

4 Drink Me Potions

Scarlet was not a disappointment after the high bar its predecessor, Cinder, set.

Even though the story follows Scarlet Benoit, there are still quite a number of chapters dedicated to Cinder and her predicament after the events of the previous novel. I truly appreciated that as I absolutely ADORE Cinder. That, however, also gives less time for us as readers to follow along with Scarlet and Wolf’s adventures as the book is split between all their different POVs.

First, I’d like to mention that the introduction of Cadet – I mean Captain Thorne was my favourite part. He is an amazing character, fun and laughable to offset the seriousness of Cinder’s attitude. They make a great pair. Friendship goals! No competition for Kai, no worries, but they are probably the best platonic relationship between a male and female I’ve seen in a long time.

Scarlet I couldn’t relate to as much as I did with Cinder. Maybe it was partly due to a diverted focus from just her as we swing back and forth between Cinder and Scarlet’s situations. But I just think that she’s a little too hot-tempered for me. Like, we’re first introduced to her and she’s seen pelting tomatoes at a wall behind the restaurant at which she’s supposed to DELIVER those same tomatoes. I dunno. Red temper for a redhead?

I DID enjoy the mysterious Wolf. I wasn’t sure what exactly he was. Wolf? Man? Both? And I definitely was wondering how he would fit into the overall plot that concerns Queen Levana and her goals for Earth. Let’s just say, I was pleasantly surprised to see how seamlessly Marissa Meyer was able to combine two fairy tale stories together with this dystopian world and its problems. Definitely kept me on the edge of my seat.

Having Scarlet and Cinder’s lives collide was also done so well, especially in the midst of the battle scenes that were more prevalent in this novel. That was probably the part in the story that I kept waiting for. I am fully anticipating how their stories are going to mesh with Rapunzel’s next. Onto Cress!

The only thing about this book that I might complain a little bit about is that it personally didn’t push me to keep on reading as much as Cinder did. That’s not to say that it wasn’t a fast read or wasn’t enjoyable. It just didn’t…excite me as much. It could also be because of my love for Cinder was so much greater. The unfairness of her situation and her personality just made it so hard to not love her and want the best for her.

I could say a whole lot more for this review, but I think it’s come to that point where I have such high expectations for Meyer that it’s rather normal for everyone to hear how amazing this novel was. Whether as a part of the larger series or as a stand-alone novel, Scarlet pieces together more of the crazy adventures that await our fairy tale characters, as well as keeps the excitement and originality at a high level. She’s just one amazing author that writes beautiful stories. Enough said.

Overall Recommendation:
Scarlet was exactly as how I’d imagined it. Another great fairy tale story, this time centred on Little Red Riding Hood, with fun and realistic characters set in a creatively crafted dystopian world. I don’t know how Meyer does it. She takes these age-old people and spins them into something new and exciting, while staying true to certain essentials of the fairy tales. A definite must read! The suspense is ratcheting up.