Helpful Score: 2
Maybe the 'buzz' I had after reading The Stepsister Scheme is wearing off, but I didn't like this one as much as the others. The premise is grand: Visit the land of Talia's birth (that's sleeping beauty to the uninformed) and see it.
Sadly, I found myself muttering "Get to the good stuff" throughout. Oh, we had the usual characters, strange magics, etc., but it felt flat to me. I guess that the series is becoming repetitive to me. I'd have rather seen more the Rumpilstilskin piece of the book to tell the truth.
Still, it was worth three stars and maybe books 4 and 5 of the series will reignite the spark.
Sadly, I found myself muttering "Get to the good stuff" throughout. Oh, we had the usual characters, strange magics, etc., but it felt flat to me. I guess that the series is becoming repetitive to me. I'd have rather seen more the Rumpilstilskin piece of the book to tell the truth.
Still, it was worth three stars and maybe books 4 and 5 of the series will reignite the spark.
Helpful Score: 1
Third book in the Princess fantasy series--which I had thought was going to be a trilogy but now I see another coming out next year. Featuring several fairy tale legends as the main cast of the book--Sleeping Beauty (Talia), Snow White (er...Snow) and Cinderella (Danielle), the women on this trip encounter Roudette (aka Little Red Riding Hood) who has spent her life seeking revenge against The Wild Hunt that killed her family. The fairy tales don't get it quite right...the woodsman was the bad guy, and Roudette has 'bonded' with the Big Bad Wolf in such a way that she's a bit other-than-human.
Roudette is working now as a paid assassin, and the Princesses must first of all figure out just who has hired her wolfiness, and which of them she's specifically targeted. Eventually they realize it's Talia, and they are off to Talia's homeland of Arathea, where she's sought for killing the son of the current queen who also happens to be the father of her twin boys, who are now under the care of said queen. Can Snow overcome fairy magic in order for Talia to get at the evil fairy who hired Roudette? Not by herself, of course--as always, it's a team effort, with Roudette even helping along the way.
I am still surprised by how much I enjoy this series, not being one for girly-girl stories. But these three are anything but your typical girly girls. Great story, easy-to-read writing style and enjoyable fusion of fairy tale, myth and fantasy. Very much looking forward to the next one!
Roudette is working now as a paid assassin, and the Princesses must first of all figure out just who has hired her wolfiness, and which of them she's specifically targeted. Eventually they realize it's Talia, and they are off to Talia's homeland of Arathea, where she's sought for killing the son of the current queen who also happens to be the father of her twin boys, who are now under the care of said queen. Can Snow overcome fairy magic in order for Talia to get at the evil fairy who hired Roudette? Not by herself, of course--as always, it's a team effort, with Roudette even helping along the way.
I am still surprised by how much I enjoy this series, not being one for girly-girl stories. But these three are anything but your typical girly girls. Great story, easy-to-read writing style and enjoyable fusion of fairy tale, myth and fantasy. Very much looking forward to the next one!
Part of an enjoyable series of the continuing lives of Cinderella, Snow White and Sleeping Beauty. This one is darker than some of the others, examining how a character (Sleeping Beauty)would recover from a devastating past.
