Fairy-Tales

Friday Film Review: The Princess Bride

Friday Film Review: The Princess Bride

The Princess Bride (1987) Genre: Fantasy/Fairy Tale/Romance Grade: A- “Death can not stop true love.” “Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die.” I’ve actually been a little scared to write this review. It’s been such a favorite story of mine – both the book which I read yonks ago(…)

REVIEW:  The Ugly Duchess by Eloisa James

REVIEW: The Ugly Duchess by Eloisa James

Dear Ms. James, Last year I read and really enjoyed your book When Beauty Tamed the Beast, yet for some reason I haven’t gotten around to diving into your extensive backlist yet. When I saw that The Ugly Duchess was available for review, though, the plot blurb drew me in immediately. Our hero and heroine,(…)

REVIEW:  The Understory by Elizabeth Leiknes

REVIEW: The Understory by Elizabeth Leiknes

  ETA: Bancroft Press is giving away copies of this book and The Sinful Life of Lucy Burns, which I also reviewed and recommended. Enter before tomorrow, June 1st, though! Dear Ms. Leiknes: After reading, reviewing, and greatly enjoying your debut novel, The Sinful Life of Lucy Burns, I was happily surprised to receive an(…)

REVIEW:  Princess Furball by Charlotte Huck

REVIEW: Princess Furball by Charlotte Huck

Dear Ms. Huck, Your book “Princess Furball” was recommended to me by etv13, one of our readers here, after I posted a review of the movie “Donkey Skin.” I instantly fell in love with the name since I have two little Princess Furballs at home. Well, I finally got my own copy of the book(…)

Friday Film Review: Peau D’ane (Donkey Skin)

Friday Film Review: Peau D’ane (Donkey Skin)

Peau D’ane (Donkey Skin) (1971) Genre: Romantic Fairy Tale Grade:B+ Last year after I had reviewed a series of Cinderella movies, a friend recommended that I try this French fairy tale called Donkey Skin – or Peau D’ane. I was game and rented it from Netflix. Talk about beautiful European WTFery. Holy heck. This one(…)

REVIEW: The Duke Is Mine by Eloisa James

REVIEW: The Duke Is Mine by Eloisa James

Dear Ms. James: I confess that my dislike for the portrayal of one character in this book really overshadowed everything else.  I haven’t been following this new series of yours closely but I understand that you are revisiting classic fairy tales.  This story is based on the Princess and the Pea.  The Princess and the(…)

REVIEW: Lord of the Abyss by Nalini Singh

REVIEW: Lord of the Abyss by Nalini Singh

Dear Ms. Singh: This is the fourth book in a connected series with the three other stories written by three other authors. I haven’t read the other three and I don’t feel like my reading experience was impaired in any way.  The prologue lays the table.  A long lived people leaved peacefully and prosperously in(…)

REVIEW: Goldilocks and His Three Bears by A.M. Riley

REVIEW: Goldilocks and His Three Bears by A.M. Riley

Dear Ms. Riley. I requested this book by saying, “I’ll trust A.M. Riley to take me anywhere.” I was not blown away by the blurb and the excerpt looked flippant so if it had been anyone else, I would not have requested it. But you? I trust your writing (despite not being able to finish(…)

REVIEW: Cat’s Tale: A Fairy Tale Retold by Bettie Sharpe

REVIEW: Cat’s Tale: A Fairy Tale Retold by Bettie Sharpe

Dear Ms. Sharpe, I was a big fan of your previous reworking of the story of Cinderella, Ember, so when I heard you had another novella out based on a fairy tale, I was intrigued. I was slightly dismayed to discover that Cat’s Tale was based on Puss in Boots, which is a fairy tale(…)

REVIEW: Petals and Thorns by Jennifer Paris

REVIEW: Petals and Thorns by Jennifer Paris

Dear Ms. Paris, Around the time we were having the discussion of rape fantasies here at DA, Jane asked for recommendations of books similar to Cara McKenna’s Willing Victim, and your novella, Petals and Thorns, came up on Twitter. Reader MaryK, who hadn’t read it, thought it might fit the bill of what Jane was(…)

REVIEW: Jaq’s Harp by Ella Drake

REVIEW: Jaq’s Harp by Ella Drake

Dear Ms. Drake: I don’t read a lot of futuristics but I’m trying to be more adventurous in my reading so when this Carina Press book popped up on NetGalley, I requested it. It’s a no risk proposition to try out new books via NetGalley. Jaq’s Harp is a short story with six chapters. I’m(…)

Friday Film Review: Ella Enchanted

Friday Film Review: Ella Enchanted

Ella Enchanted (2004) Genre: Fractured Fairy Tale Grade: B I’d been toying with watching this movie for a while, ever since I got in the Cinderella kick, but negative comments about its adaptation from the book always put me off. But then I thought, “Jayne you haven’t read the book so what do you care?”(…)

Friday Film Review: Tri orísky pro Popelku/Three Wishes for Cinderella

Friday Film Review: Tri orísky pro Popelku/Three Wishes for Cinderella

Tri orísky pro Popelku (Three Wishes for Cinderella, aka Three Nuts for Cinderella, aka Drei Haselnüsse für Aschenbrödel) (1973) Genre: Fairy Tale Grade: B Estara’s comment about this Czech/East German TV production got me interested in seeing it. But wishing to see it and actually getting my hands on a Region 1 NTSC copy proved(…)

Friday Film Review: The Slipper and the Rose

Friday Film Review: The Slipper and the Rose

The Slipper and the Rose (1976) Genre: Fairy Tale/Musical/Romance Grade: B The first time I saw this musical version of Cinderella was a few years ago on the Disney Channel. I thought I’d watch it and laugh at Richard Chamberlain singing but ended up pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed the movie. While it’s(…)

REVIEW: Awakened by a Kiss by Lila DiPasqua

REVIEW: Awakened by a Kiss by Lila DiPasqua

Dear Ms. DiPasqua: I placed a recommended note by your book after I read it because I appreciated the freshness of the location (France), the spirit of the stories (that woman are often oppressed during certain time periods and must find their own ways of gaining agency), and the clever mirroring of the fairy tales.(…)