Review: Red Hood by Elana K. Arnold

Title: Red Hood

Author:  Elena K Arnold
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Publishing Date:  February 25th  2020

Pages: 368
Genre: Fairytale Retelling

Series:  Stand Alone
Source:  ARC

 

You are alone in the woods, seen only by the unblinking yellow moon. Your hands are empty. You are nearly naked.

And the wolf is angry.

Since her grandmother became her caretaker when she was four years old, Bisou Martel has lived a quiet life in a little house in Seattle. She’s kept mostly to herself. She’s been good. But then comes the night of homecoming, when she finds herself running for her life over roots and between trees, a fury of claws and teeth behind her. A wolf attacks. Bisou fights back. A new moon rises. And with it, questions. About the blood in Bisou’s past and on her hands as she stumbles home. About broken boys and vicious wolves. About girls lost in the woods—frightened, but not alone.

I love retellings and this one looked really good and intense. I was very excited to get to. I read it a while back and I have put off the review because I  just didn't  know what I wanted to say about this read. I have such mixed feelings. I still don't know exactly what I want to say about this book but I will do my best. This has been a very controversial book for me. I haven't had these feelings for a book in a very long time. I will put my thoughts out there and hopefully not ramble too much. 

Bisou is a girl that has had a bit of a hard life. She lives with her grandmother since she was a little girl. Her mother was killed and her grandmother took over as her parent. She lives a pretty quiet life away from most of the world. She does well in school, she has a great boyfriend, and she is pretty happy with her life. Bisou is a late bloomer and once she experiences becoming a woman, her life suddenly changes. Wolves and boys and violence. This is now Bisou's world.

I am going to try and put all my thoughts into words. There were many things I enjoyed about this book. The mystery, the backstory, woman power. The pacing of the book, the writing for the most part. It was good. I was totally into this book. But I feel the negatives of the book, really just made it hard to purely enjoy the book. 

The characters, I will start with the characters. I loved the characters. I loved Bisou, I loved her grandmother, I really liked Bisou's boyfriend. The relationships in the book are really good. There is a real sense of loyalty and bonding. That I loved. The main characters all had their own strength and weaknesses. I felt they were flawed but in a real way. 

I loved the story of Bisou's grandmothers life. I enjoyed going back and seeing what she had done and why things were the way they were. 

The mystery was good, but it wasn't the mystery of the boy that was killed it was the mystery of Bisou's grandmother and the curse or blessing that is on Bisou's family. Also the mystery of Bisou's and her mother's past. I was totally into wanting to know more. 

What I didn't like. There was good girl power in this book and I enjoyed how the girls stuck together however, I felt as if this book was more on the side of girls good boys evil girls fight back and take over the world. I felt there wasn't enough balance of good and evil among the sexes. There is good and evil in all people in the world. The evil is shared among girls and boys. Its not the chromosomes that make you good or evil. I wish there had also been more of the lives that the boys lived.... what made them think they could get away with violence against other especially woman. I think we as a society need to focus more on why boys get away with what they get away with and what makes them make these violent choices as teens and young adults. Also... there are evil girls out there too. I am female here me roar, I am all about woman sticking together and standing up for each other but there are some bad seeds among us too. I think the message this book wanted to put across was well intended but not well done. 

Another thing I did not like... too much detail about periods and sex and all things I don't want to read about. There were some pretty disgusting things in this book. I do not need to see these nasty things in my mind. It was just too much. Also, I am all for a woman's sexual choices are hers, we shouldn't be treated differently on those choices.... however I am old school when it comes to ages of these things. I this book is a little much for teens, especially the younger ones.

I think this book could have been so good for girls if know there are others out there who would disagree with me and I am okay with that. But these are the issues I had with this book. Mixed feelings all around. There are some other books I read about girl power and girls standing together against violence against woman... one that comes to mind is Reputation by Sara Shepard. Loved that book... it was also marked for the college age kids. I really loved that one and the message was Strong but also done tastefully. I feel this book was a too much on the less tasteful for me.

If you took out the detailed period and sex scenes and the total man bashing.... the writing was beautiful and I was addicted. I had to finish the book. Side note... there was boy bashing but there was two decent male species that were highlighted. So yes not 100 percent boy bashing.  

I also strongly feel this should be more a new adult or adult read not a ya read. 



I think some might really enjoy but it was a little too much for me.... yet I somehow enjoyed it too. So I rated it a three which is confusing with the issues I had with it.... I think the fact I didn't want to put it down had something to do with it. Lots of stuff I didn't like but there were things that kept me reading. 

ELANA K. ARNOLD writes books for and about children and teens. She holds a master’s degree in Creative Writing/Fiction from the University of California, Davis where she has taught Creative Writing and Adolescent Literature. Her most recent YA novel, DAMSEL, is a Printz Honor book, Her 2017 novel, WHAT GIRLS ARE MADE OF, was a finalist for the National Book Award, and her middle grade novel, A BOY CALLED BAT, is a Junior Library Guild Selection. A parent and educator living in Huntington Beach, California, Elana is a frequent speaker at schools, libraries, and writers’ conferences. Currently, Elana is the caretaker of seven pets, only three of which have fur.

Review: Of Beast and Beauty by Chanda Hahn

Title: Of Beast and Beauty

Author:  Chanda Hahn
Publisher: Neverwood Press
Publishing Date:  June 18th, 2019

Pages: 310 
Genre: YA Fairy Tale Retelling

Series:  Daughters of Eville 
Source:  Audio

 

Something evil this way comes.
7 Vengeful Sisters
7 Fairytale Kingdoms
7 Daughters of Eville

Everyone dreams of marrying a prince—except for me. I am nothing more than a pawn in my adoptive mother's diabolical plot against the seven kingdoms.I was the chosen tool, her sharpened blade that would cut the deepest into the heart of the Kingdom of Baist. But like all deadly weapons, my wedding is two-edged sword that could cost me my soul.

For I am Rosalie, one of the adopted daughters of Lady Eville, and it is my duty to enter into a loveless and hate-filled marriage with the narcissistic Crown Prince of Baist. My choices and heart are not my own to give. Yet even in the thick of dire situations, beastly vengeance can give way to beautiful attraction.

This book I discovered while on Audible. I was pursuing and this just sounded good. I love a good Beauty and the Beast retelling. So on my TBR it went and I was finally able to read it. Ash had picked this one out for my February Bingo Challenge. I am so glad she did. This book was so much more than I had ever anticipated. I have read some good and some great and some so so and some not good at all retellings. I am picky since its one of my favorite genres. I really loved this read. It was good, it was different, it was a page turner. Yup I loved it.


Beauty and the Beast retelling with quite a twist on things. It starts with a witch with a daughter who curses a king and forces his son to marry his daughter. They get married they hate each other. The prince thinks the daughter is wicked, the daughter thinks the prince is cruel. Oh and there is a beast roaming the woods killing villagers. The prince and the daughter must find a way to work together to save the kingdom from the beast. There is magic, romance, war, horror, there is a little bit of everything in this story.


My favorite fairy tale is by far Beauty and the Beast, so when I see a Beauty and the Beast retelling I am all over it. It's always a hit or miss. I went into this one not expecting much but hoping for a win. And I got a win. This book was a little slow to take off... What I mean by low is where it was going. It was still good to read, I just didn't see where it was going. So it was a bit before I was totally in, but I feel that if the author didn't take the time in the beginning to really build the characters, I wouldn't have been in as deep once it all went down. Beauty and the Beast is at the heart of thing.... I love story and it's a love story that completely transform characters. So l needed badly to understand and fall in love with the characters, flaws and all. That is what this author did. I completely fell in love with these characters. It was great. I can say that there wasn't one character I didn't strong hate, love, respect, connect too, and many times all of the above at different times in the story. They all had pasts, secrets, regrets, issues to overcome.

The main characters, Rosalie and The Prince, are just great. There was so much to love about both their stories. Neither one of them was really in charge of their own choices and destiny. They were both forced into a marriage that they did not want and a marriage fuled by fear. Neither one able to trust or to truly be who they were. It wasn't until they decided to work together for a common goal when they began to let the walls down and also learn to communicate in a way the other could appreciate and understand. It was then when a friendship could come into play and eventually love. I just loved the love story.

The love story wasn't the only relationship the book focuses on. There are past relationships of love and of family that has shaped the present. There are friendships old and new and there are family loyalties and dynamics that really come into play. They are all intertwined in some way and the way the author weaves them all together slowly to tell such a compelling story is just magnificent. I have always loved stories that are told in pieces, past and present. I feel in these, I really get to know all the characters so very well.

This story was really it's own, even though it was a retelling, it was loosely a retelling. This story had so much more than just the love story, in fact at times the love story was almost in the background. There was love of family, friendships, curses and magic, kingdoms at war, mystery, darkness. It was just wonderful. The writing is beautiful, the story was adventurous and dark. The world the story was set in was vivid and full of color. There were many stories inside a bigger story and it all blended perfectly.

I am really looking forward to reading more from this author, especially this world. Which I am in luck since there are more stories about the witches daughters.



I loved it, nothing but love in the heart and stars in the eyes for this one.

Chanda Hahn is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of Reign An Unfortunate Fairy Tale. She was born in Seattle, WA, grew up in Nebraska and currently resides in Portland, Oregon with her husband and their twin children. She attended North Central University in Minneapolis Minnesota for Childrens Ministry. She was also a children's pastor, bookseller and children's librarian.

Books published by Chanda include the UnEnchanted series a.k.a. (Unfortunate Fairy Tale Series) and The Iron Butterfly series.

Chanda is represented by Mark Gottlieb at Trident Media Group. You can direct any inquiries regarding foreign, film, audio and translation rights to him. www.tridentmediagroup.com

Review: Queen of Hearts by Colleen Oakes

I have Title: Queen of Hearts 

Author:  Colleen Oakes
Publisher: HarperTeen

Publishing Date:  May 3rd, 2016

Pages: 306
Genre: YA Retelling 

Series:  Queen of Hearts Saga #1
Source:  Audio

 

Only queens with hearts can bleed.
This is not the story of the Wonderland we know. Alice has not fallen down a rabbit hole. There is no all-knowing cat with a taunting smile. This is a Wonderland where beneath each smile lies a secret, each tart comes with a demand, and only prisoners tell the truth.
Dinah is the princess who will one day reign over Wonderland. She has not yet seen the dark depths of her kingdom; she longs only for her father’s approval and a future with the boy she loves. But when a betrayal breaks her heart and threatens her throne, she is launched into Wonderland’s dangerous political game. Dinah must stay one step ahead of her cunning enemies or she’ll lose not just the crown but her head.
Evil is brewing in Wonderland and maybe, most frighteningly, in Dinah herself.
This is not a story of happily ever after.
This is the story of the Queen of Hearts.

I have had this on my list for a while now. I tried to read it a couple of times and didn't seem to be in the mood so I would put it down. I finally started and finished this book and I am very happy I did. I really did enjoy the book. The story was interesting and even though it was a little slow I kept reading and the ending just blew me away. It was good, real good. 

Dinah is princess of Wonderland and she knows one day she will become queen. Her father, the king of Wonderland is not a warm person, never says anything encouraging to Dinah, and seems to lack any kind of love. Dinah has found that life in Wonderland keeps getting more complicated. With the help of her crush, Dinah starts a journey to understand the secrets of Wonderland and she discovers nothing is as it seems and there are so many secrets, betrayals, and evil in Wonderland.

This book was really good. I love any twist on Wonderland and any story from the evil one's point of view. I have recently read Heartless and I can say that I think it was hard to read another Queen of Wonderland book after that one. It's a very touch act to follow; however this book did hold it's own. 

I struggled a little bit in my final thoughts of this read for the simple fact the beginning was a little slow for me. There was a lot of time in Dinah's head and I guess it was a bit too much for me. Once the book took off though, a little bit over halfway probably, I didn't want to put the book down. Honestly, I am having a bit of a hard time of this with many books lately. It may just be me.... at any rate, at some point in the book I was so totally into the story. 

I had mixed feelings most of the book when it came to Dinah. Honestly she was a bit spoiled and rotten but there was something buried deep inside of her wanting to escape. She lived her life in fear of disappointing her father, loneliness from missing her mother and her father not really being a part of her life, and jealousy over everything that took her father's attention. She did have some loving servants in her life and one boy that stole her heart. I do believe that it is due to these people that she is still a very strong girl. She lacks when it comes to making good decisions, she has never had much of a role model. She needs direction, leadership, and love in her life and she is getting none. 

There is a handful of characters in this book but really the only one that I was give the chance to really connect to was Dinah. I feel that this is one are the book lacked. This is Wonderland I feel there was so much to work with in character development and I didn't really get it. I do like that I was able to feel and understand Dinah, which is important for the story of Queen of Hearts, but I needed or wanted a bit more with the other characters. 

I do feel this book lacked with aspects and it didn't really hook me until late in the book. In some ways it felt like this was just a build up to a much bigger story. The ending was left on a cliffhanger... this bugged me just a bit since this is when it got really really good. I do understand the importance of the world building and I do think this book fulfilled this part... I just wanted a bit more. 

I will be reading the rest of the series. At least the next book. I need to know where the story will go and I am hoping the thrills and the excitement from the end of the book will continue over to the second book with no speed bumps. 

I did like the story... it needed a bit more but I was able to get involved and invested enough to want to know the rest. 

Colleen Oakes is the bestselling author of books for both teens and adults, including The Queen of Hearts Series, The Wendy Darling Saga and the upcoming YA novel The Black Coats. She lives in North Denver with her husband and son and surrounds herself with the most lovely family and friends imaginable. When not writing or plotting new books, Colleen can be found swimming, traveling or immersing herself in nerdy pop culture.

She currently at work on her third YA fairytale series, a YA thriller and a fantasy collaboration.

You can visit her webpage at: www.colleenoakes.org, find her on Facebook under Author Colleen Oakes or follow her on Twitter @ColleenBlooms.

Review: All the Ever Afters: The Untold Story of Cinderella's Stepmother by Danielle Teller

Title: All The Ever Afters: The Untold Sory of Cinderella's Stepmother

Author: Danielle Teller
Publisher: William Morrow 

Publishing Date:  May 22nd, 2018

Pages: 384
Genre: Adult Retelling

Series:  Stand Alone
Source:  Audio

 

In the vein of Wicked, The Woodcutter, and Boy, Snow, Bird, a luminous reimagining of a classic tale, told from the perspective of Agnes, Cinderella’s “evil” stepmother.
We all know the story of Cinderella. Or do we?
As rumors about the cruel upbringing of beautiful newlywed Princess Cinderella roil the kingdom, her stepmother, Agnes, who knows all too well about hardship, privately records the true story. . . .
A peasant born into serfdom, Agnes is separated from her family and forced into servitude as a laundress’s apprentice when she is only ten years old. Using her wits and ingenuity, she escapes her tyrannical matron and makes her way toward a hopeful future. When teenaged Agnes is seduced by an older man and becomes pregnant, she is transformed by love for her child. Once again left penniless, Agnes has no choice but to return to servitude at the manor she thought she had left behind. Her new position is nursemaid to Ella, an otherworldly infant. She struggles to love the child who in time becomes her stepdaughter and, eventually, the celebrated princess who embodies everyone’s unattainable fantasies. The story of their relationship reveals that nothing is what it seems, that beauty is not always desirable, and that love can take on many guises.

Ash had this on her delightful discoveries one week and I thought it sounded marvelous. I was right it was marvelous. I love a good retelling, a retelling of the known villain's side... even better. I really did enjoy this book. It wasn't quite what I expected, although I really didn't know what I expected, anyway, it was a really good read. 

This is the story of Cinderella from the evil stepmother', Agnes,  point of view. The story starts when Agnes is a little girl of 10 and is sent away to find work because she was one extra mouth to feed. her family couldn't afford to feed her... so she is sent away to work for food and boarding. Her life is hard from the very start, however, she perseveres by making her own way and climbing the status ladder. The story goes through her growing up, meeting Cinderella's father, raising Cinderella, and the truth to what really happened.

There were many things to love about this book. The first would be the cover. I think it's just beautiful, and the inside is just as beautiful. I really did enjoy so much about this story. There is only one thing that kept this from being a higher rating... I will get that out of the way and then go on about all the stuff I loved. 

The only issue I had with this read was the pacing. The beginning was very slow at times and it was hard to keep going at first. The story really picked up once Agnes was about 15- but from 10-15 in her childhood, very slow at times. I was glad I stuck with the book and I know that her past, all of it, was a build-up to the story and it really was important to the end story. So I am happy it was there but just would have enjoyed it more if it hadn't been so slow. 

Now on to all the good stuff. The characters. They were so complex. Every single one of them but really Agnes. Agnes was so complex and so multi-layered. She made so many ill choices, but the reasons were to survive. I couldn't fault her for that. I can't even say she may have had another way. I am not sure this would have been true. She had a hard life, times were difficult, and she didn't come from the right kind of family. So there were times she had to do what she had to do to survive. 

Agnes was smart, strong, independent, resourceful, and so much more. She was one of the strongest characters I have read in a while. She loved her children. Even the one she raised that was not hers. She had resentment sure, but it didn't get in the way of her love for the children or trying to make them better. 

The evil stepsisters... well they had a hard life too and they were so jealous over Cinderella, but even at that, they wouldn't have been so bad if it wasn't for the hate from other. In this story, Cinderella wasn't all that nice herself and really quite a brat. 

What I also loved... there was no good or evil or wrong or right. It was just what it was and everyone had to deal with what they were dealt. 

Now, most of the book is Agnes and her life, so we don't get much romance or much of Cinderella. Which was fine by me. I was totally into Agnes and her life. I did miss the romance a little bit but this was more about the strength of women and not falling in love and being whisked away. 

The story was told from multiple timelines... one the present after Cinderellas has married the prince, the other from Agnes past. It was quite a journey and in the end, I really loved it. The ending was perfect for the story... not perfect for a happy ending, but perfect for the story. 

If you love retellings and ones from the villain's POV, try this one out. I don't think you will be disappointed if you like stories that involved strong female leads. 

Pretty awesome read!

Danielle Teller (formerly Morse, née Dyck) grew up in Canada, where she and her two brothers were raised by the best parents in the world. As a child, she was a bookworm who dreamed of being a writer, but she chickened out and went to medical school instead. In 1994, she moved temporarily to America, and she has been living temporarily in America ever since.

Danielle attended Queen’s University during her undergraduate years, and she received her medical training at McGill University, Brown University and Yale University. She has held faculty positions at the University of Pittsburgh and Harvard University, where she investigated the origins of chronic lung disease and taught in the medical intensive care unit.

In 2013, Danielle quit her job to pursue her childhood dream of being a writer. She lives with her husband, Astro Teller, and their four children in Palo Alto, California. She is currently working on her second novel.

Review: Heartless by Marissa Meyer

Title: Heartless 

Author:  Marissa Meyer
Publisher: Feiwel and Friends 

Publishing Date:  November 8th, 2016

Pages: 453
Genre: YA Fairytale Retelling

Series:  Stand Alone
Source:  Audio

 

Long before she was the terror of Wonderland—the infamous Queen of Hearts—she was just a girl who wanted to fall in love.
Catherine may be one of the most desired girls in Wonderland, and a favorite of the unmarried King of Hearts, but her interests lie elsewhere. A talented baker, all she wants is to open a shop with her best friend. But according to her mother, such a goal is unthinkable for the young woman who could be the next queen.
Then Cath meets Jest, the handsome and mysterious court joker. For the first time, she feels the pull of true attraction. At the risk of offending the king and infuriating her parents, she and Jest enter into an intense, secret courtship. Cath is determined to define her own destiny and fall in love on her terms. But in a land thriving with magic, madness, and monsters, fate has other plans.
In her first stand-alone teen novel, the New York Times-bestselling author dazzles us with a prequel to Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.

I am ashamed to say it took me forever to read this book. I am so ashamed. Meyers is one of my favorites ever authors and I was so excited when I was able to get a signed ARC of this book at BEA. I fangirl ugly cried. Yes, there is an entire story behind it. Anyways. That was in May 2016. Well life happened, I wasn't able to read much for a long time and this book got lost on my shelves. I recently bought the audio to make time for his book and it so did not disappoint. This book rocked. It has the same signature as all her books, you don't know how far you are into it until you are 2am obsessed. Lots of feelings, great writing, and quite an adventure. 

This is the story about the Queen of Hearts before she became the Queen of Hearts. The story of when she was a sweet girl who would do anything for her parents, wanted to own a bakery and fell in love with a court joker. The story before it all went bad and she becomes something else, something evil, something changed. This is the story where heartache and loss breaks a heart that would never mend. 

I know I am late with this read, most have already read this book, but for those that have not or those that just want to know my thoughts... here is my review. I LOVED this book. I think I would love anything Meyers wrote, even her shopping list would make me feel. I really don't think there is anything she writes I wouldn't like. There is something special and beautiful and just heartfelt about her writing. Her characters are so alive and so unique. I feel everything they feel and see all they see. This book, of course, was all that and a dessert too.  

I adored Catherine. She was so brave and smart, and curious, and sweet. I adored the idea of a bakery. I loved how she treated others. She was a sweet innocent girl before she was ruined. She was mistreated by the ones she loved and treated and she put up with it with a smile. I know her parents had the best intentions for her but they didn't take the time to know her, to really see her. This broke my heart, the first of many in this book. Catherine was a sweet soul and she wanted to be loved and to love. To be happy. To be accepted. 

This happened when she met Jest, the court joker. I can't even put into words how much I totally loved Jest. He was fun. Just so much fun. He didn't start off with the best intentions but he fell hard for Catherine, and once this happened all bets were off. They only wanted their happily ever after. 

Now we all now that Catherine is going to become the nasty Queen of Hearts that yells "Off With their heads!" So we all know something is going to happen to see the events that make this sweet girl heartless. I knew it would happen but I was not prepared for it. The entire read, like an idiot, I was still rooting for a happy ending. I loved Catherine so much I just couldn't and wouldn't believe it would all go to hell. Of course, I was in denial. It does and it's heartwrenching and it made me rethink my life. Then the book ended and I didn't, truly didn't, know what to do with my life. 

Tears, yelling, dying inside... it all happened... So many feels! The end!

A favorite and will always be a favorite. I couldn't have wanted anything more from this book. 

I live in Tacoma, Washington, with my husband and beautiful twin daughters. Represented by Jill Grinberg. Learn more about me and my upcoming books at http://www.marissameyer.com.