Apples Dipped in Gold

Apples Dipped in Gold
by Scarlett St. Clair
 
Book: Fairy Tale Retelling #2
Publisher: Bloom Books
Pub Date: July 16, 2024
Genre: Adult, Romance, Retelling, Fantasy
Format: eBook
Source: Publisher
Book Links: Goodreads  Amazon
 
Orphaned at a young age, Samara is left under the care of her three, horrible brothers. Just when she thinks she cannot take another day of their abuse, a handsome prince offers for her hand in marriage.

Samara’s brothers agree in exchange for a large dowery but on her way to her new kingdom, her carriage is ambushed by Lore, the wicked Prince of Nightshade.

Samara believes that the fae has snatched away her chance at freedom to punish her for her crimes against his kind but punishment is only half of Lore’s plan.

The truth is that the Elven Prince has pined after Samara for seven long years. She is all he can think about—a toxin in his blood. Can the Prince of Nightshade, whose power over poisons rivals none in The Enchanted Forest, manage to find a remedy or will he succumb to her love?
 
My Review: I've read nearly every book by Scarlett and love her writing. Her detail to the mythology and fairy tales is there and you can tell she gives each book her all.  

However, I will say the retellings are heavier in some aspects. For those who've dealth with abuse need to be prepared for how rough the brothers treat their sister. Like damn it makes you want to dive in and stand up for her.  

Samara holds her own well despite how horrid these brothers are to her. And an opportunity to marry a prince may be her way out.  

However, what the fox said was true and there was an attack by thevies. Samara was saved though and her savior another prince. This one with a price.  

As the book progressed, the pace was great, the details perfectly done and an overall amazing retelling that you need to get your hands on.  

 

My Rating:

✪✪✪✪✪

Mistress of All Evil

Mistress of All Evil 
by Serena Valentino

Book: Villains #4
Publisher: Disney Press
Pub Date: October 3, 2017
Genre: Young Adult, Retelling, Fantasy
Format: Hardcover
Source: Bought
Book Link: Goodreads  Amazon

The tale is told as if it's happening once upon a dream: the lovely maiden meets her handsome prince in the woods. The story has been told many times and in many ways. But always the maiden finds out that she is a princess-a princess who has been cursed by a dark fairy to prick her finger on a spindle and fall into an eternal sleep. Though her three good fairies try to protect her, the princess succumbs to the curse. But the power of good endures, as her true love defeats the fire-breathing dragon and awakens the princess with true love's first kiss. The two live happily ever after.

And yet this is only half the story. So what of the dark fairy, Maleficent? Why does she curse the innocent princess? What led to her becoming so filled with malice, anger, and hatred? Many tales have tried to explain her motives. Here is one account, pulled down from the many passed down through the ages. It is a tale of love and betrayal, of magic and reveries. It is a tale of the Mistress of All Evil.

My Review: I love Sleeping Beauty and Maleficent, so naturally I was excited to read this.  

It had an amazing start, Maleficent moves aside and reveals Sleeping Beauty on the floor after touching the Spindle. Just like the movie. 

But that's really where the amazing ends. When you pick up a book about a backstory, that's what you expect to read. However, it's got chapters of Ursula, Snow White, the Odd Sisters and I got so annoyed that I struggled to make it through this book. 

I want to read only about Maleficent, not about her and the other Disney characters. A mention here or there, okay fine. But taking having them take over entire chapters, a big no. 

There were some chapters that was all about Maleficent, which I loved really getting to know about her.  

But overall, this was the worst backstory I've read. It was maybe 20% about Maleficent and 80% of everyone else. 

 

My Rating:

✪

Wonderland

Wonderland 

by Alta Hensley

Book: Wonderland #1-3

Publisher: Dangerous Press

Pub Date: July 18, 2023

Genre: Adult, Romance, Contemporary, Dark, Retelling

Format: eARC

Source: Publisher

Book Links: Goodreads Amazon

I fall into an underground world of luxury and sin. There are threats everywhere. The only man who can save me is the most dangerous of all. WONDERLAND contains the complete trilogy including King of Spades, Queen of Hearts, and Ace of Diamonds. Step through the looking glass to the other side. 

 

My Review: I love a good retelling. Alice in Wonderland is one of my favorites, plus throw in a more adult aspect and I'm in.  

Although, I will say it’s more inspired rather than a retelling, there are some references that show the Alice in Wonderland theming.   

 

Lyriope is the outcast, the family's black sheep. She even has to sneak into family parties otherwise she would be thrown out in a heartbeat. 

 

But then, Nick walks in. Even he didn’t decline an invitation to the party, even if he preferred to be home. But Nick, being who he is, makes an appearance just to save face basically.  

 

Nick goes off to a room where he can be alone and away from the party. The same room that Lyriope finds herself in while hiding from someone at the party and looking for a way out. Surprised to see Nick there. But perhaps a bit more surprised at Nick’s POV and how he seems to know Lyriope just as much as she does about him.  

 

They strike a deal together, which in turn ends up being worth it. As you really get into the series they develop together, feelings blossom even more, and they just thrive together.  

 

If you have to just know how their story goes, have no worries as this book contains the entire series. So, you’ll easily get their whole story in one sitting. The characters and the story were very well done. It has all the spice you could want and then some. Quite possibly one of my favorite series of the year.  

My Rating:

✪✪✪✪✪

A Touch of Darkness

A Touch of Darkness
by Scarlett St. Clair    
 
Book: Hades x Persophone
Publisher: Bloom Books
Pub Date: May 23, 2019
Genre: New Adult, Romance, Retelling
Format: Print
Source: Bought
Book Links: Goodreads  Amazon

Persephone is the Goddess of Spring by title only. The truth is, since she was a little girl, flowers have shriveled at her touch. After moving to New Athens, she hopes to lead an unassuming life disguised as a mortal journalist.

Hades, God of the Dead, has built a gambling empire in the mortal world and his favorite bets are rumored to be impossible.

After a chance encounter with Hades, Persephone finds herself in a contract with the God of the Dead and the terms are impossible: Persephone must create life in the Underworld or lose her freedom forever.

The bet does more than expose Persephone’s failure as a goddess, however. As she struggles to sow the seeds of her freedom, love for the God of the Dead grows—and it’s forbidden.

 

My Review:  Well I got to say that I'm a bit disappointed in this book. There has been so much hype around this book and I love a good retelling, but this book was not all it was hyped to be. 

Persephone is free in a way. Living among everyone else, going to school, making friends, getting her dream career, etc. It all seems to be pretty normal, though she does dwell at times about her not having her own powers and having to rely on her mothers magic to hide her features and so on. Though, I have to say that I HATE her mother in this book. She is way too narcissist and I can't stand that in a character. 

Then you have Hades. The God of the Dead that no one really knows much of. He owns a nightclub that is exclusive. He's know to place bets with people who play a game with him. Usually something impossible for the other person to do and then Hades owns them. It seems mean but as you read more into the book, you'll understand the reason he does what he does. 

So far up to this point, it's been just MEH. 

Once we get past the half way point and Persephone and Hades start to interact more that finally the steam/smutt part of the book starts to come about. Now is it the best? Not really, there are some parts that were worth the long wait and some just felt thrown in. 

It did take until the very end of the book for me to decide if I liked it enough to continue this series. The ending is the momentum I would have loved to see throughout the entire book. Just because of that I'm willing to give the next book a try.

 

My Rating:

✪✪✪

Royally Romanov

Royally Romanov

by Teri Wilson

Book: The Royals #2

Publisher: Pocket Star

Pub Date: July 17, 2017

Genre: Adult, Retelling, Contemporary, Romance

Format: ARC

Source: Publisher

Book Links: Goodreads   

In this charming modern day retelling of the 1956 classic Anastasia, a museum curator falls for a mysterious man who may or may not be a long lost heir to Russia’s imperial Romanov dynasty.

Finley Abbot is organizing the most prestigious art exhibit of her career at the Louvre museum—a retrospective of art from the House of Romanov. But the sudden appearance of Maxim Romanov threatens to turn her into the biggest laughingstock of the art world. When she finds herself falling in love, she realizes there’s even more at stake than her career. How can she trust a man with her whole world when he can’t remember a thing about his past?

After suffering a violent blow to the head, Maxim’s only clue to his identity is a notebook containing carefully researched documentation in his own handwriting indicating that he is the sole surviving descendant of the Grand Duchess Anastasia, previously thought dead in the murder of her family during Russia’s Bolshevik revolution. His struggle to put the mysterious pieces of his past back together leads him to Finley. At first, she’s convinced Maxim is nothing but a con artist. But there’s something undeniably captivating about the beautiful, brooding man who claims to be searching for his identity—something Finley can’t quite bring herself to resist. When he reveals a secret about one of the imperial Fabergé eggs in the collection, she accepts he may actually be telling the truth. But as soon as Finley and Maxim act on their feelings for one another, Maxim is confronted with evidence that calls into question everything he’s begun to believe about himself. 

My Review: I love this take on Anastasia. It was done better than a few Ive read.

Anywho...Finley is smart and loves art. Right now she is working on organizing a huge exhibit, so huge it will mean big things for her career. 

What she didnt expect from this was falling for the guy of which the art is from. But how can you fall for a guy who doesnt know the past? 

Its not Maxim's fault he cant remeber. He was struck pretty hard and,that left his memory blank. But he does know he is related to Anastasia. So thats something to go off right? 

Together they work to figure it all out. Hopefully the pieces will fall into place and all goes well right? If only things could ever be that simple. 

Just as things are building up things hit a wall. It only one piece of evidence to question everything. What will Maxim do and what does it mean for him and Finley? 

Let me tell you the build up to it was amazing. You get smacked at every perfect moment which will only make you want to read the book in one sitting and calmy wait to reas the next book in the series.

My Rating:

✪✪✪✪✪

Ash & Bramble

Ash & Bramble
by Sarah Prineas

Book: Stand Alone
Publisher: HarperTeen
Pub Date: September 2015
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Retelling 
Format: ARC
Source: Publisher
Book Links: Goodreads  Amazon

When the glass slipper just doesn’t fit…

The tale of Cinderella has been retold countless times. But what you know is not the true story.

Pin has no recollection of who she is or how she got to the Godmother’s fortress. She only knows that she is a Seamstress, working day in and out to make ball gowns fit for fairy tales. But she longs to forsake her backbreaking servitude and dares to escape with the brave young Shoemaker.

Pin isn’t free for long before she’s captured again and forced to live the new life the Godmother chooses for her—a fairy tale story, complete with a charming prince—instead of finding her own happily ever after.

Sarah Prineas’s bold fairy tale retelling is a dark and captivating world where swords are more fitting than slippers, young shoemakers are just as striking as princes, and a heroine is more than ready to rescue herself before the clock strikes midnight.

My Review: This is another tale of Cinderella. I've read a few versions and haven't found a version to really grab me and be interesting. But then I picked up this book and I've finally found a winner. Cinderella isn't my favorite princess, but I do love to read books with their own twists on things. 

Okay so... Pin is meeting the godmother right off the bat. She finds her place but hasn't the slightest clue as to how she got there. Pin is a hard worker in this tale, she makes dresses fit for everything you could dream of. She does want to leave this place and run off with the guy she likes. These two are lovely together and both look just lovely in general. They just want to have their own lives and to be free. So they have to escape to get what they want. 

They do manage, but it so doesn't last long. I would have loved it to have lasted a little longer though. But once caught, Pin has been given a new life. One that many girls dream of. To be with a prince and live happily ever after. But its not want Pin wants. Everything is just so twisted and backwards in a good way, that it makes this book such a page turner.  I wanted Pin to find a way out of this and be with who she wants to be with. Make her life become whatever she wants it to be. Not be made for her. 

So Pin will have to figure out just how to get what she wants. Since in this world, its the godmother that is evil and well she has magic. So Pin better have a fool proof plan or be stuck where she's at. It's finally a retelling that I liked and didn't wan't to toss out! Truly a game changer in retelling! 

My Rating:

✪✪✪✪✪

The Collectors Society

The Collectors Society
by Heather Lyons

Book: The Collectors Society #1
Publisher: Cerulean Books
Pub Date: Oct 23 2014
Genre: New Adult, Fantasy, Retelling, Magic
Format: eBook
Source: Publisher/Tour
Book Links: Goodreads    Amazon

From the author of the Fate series and The Deep End of the Sea comes a fantastical romantic adventure that has Alice tumbling down the strangest rabbit hole yet.

After years in Wonderland, Alice has returned to England as an adult, desperate to reclaim sanity and control over her life. An enigmatic gentleman with an intriguing job offer too tempting to resist changes her plans for a calm existence, though. Soon, she’s whisked to New York and initiated into the Collectors’ Society, a secret organization whose members confirm that famous stories are anything but straightforward and that what she knows about the world is only a fraction of the truth.

It’s there she discovers villains are afoot—ones who want to shelve the lives of countless beings. Assigned to work with the mysterious and alluring Finn, Alice and the rest of the Collectors’ Society race against a doomsday clock in order to prevent further destruction . . . but will they make it before all their endings are erased?

*This is the first book in the Collectors' Society series


My Review: Alice all grown up after years in Wonderland! Uh love this idea and the story was done just right. And all grown up is right, as in New Adult way, so just be ready for that. Oh and she is pretty killer, older, stronger, and can kick some ass. 

Now back in England, and Alice has to grab hold on reality. She gets a ticket to it when she is offered a job in New York. the Collectors Society is not just any type of group. They find the true story behind famous stories that have been told. 

Alice and Fin are probably my favorites, though I still liked the others in the book. The characters and the world was written so perfectly and just the right amount of detail to make you picture everything perfectly. I fell for the book quickly and nearly read it all in one sitting (damn work getting in the way).  I was super happy that I will have more to read and have the chance to dive back in and fall in love with the next chapter of Alice's world. This book was just perfect!

✪✪✪✪✪