One of my favorite types of fantasy however, would have to be Fairy Tale Retellings! Theres just something so fun about reading and books and being like.. hey! I recognized that from this fairy tale or I see something going on that I know was in a Disney movie I watched just last week! So today I'm here to rant about some of my all time favorite fairy tale retellings (that if you haven't read.. shame on you! You need to read them now!)
(Do you like my photo taking skills? Some books are just so pretty they need to be captured via phone cameras!)
Cruel Beauty by Rosamund
Summary: Graceling meets Beauty and the Beast in this sweeping fantasy about one girl's journey to fulfill her destiny and the monster who gets in her way-by stealing her heart.
Based on the classic fairy tale Beauty and the Beast, Cruel Beauty is a dazzling love story about our deepest desires and their power to change our destiny.
Since birth, Nyx has been betrothed to the evil ruler of her kingdom-all because of a foolish bargain struck by her father. And since birth, she has been in training to kill him.
With no choice but to fulfill her duty, Nyx resents her family for never trying to save her and hates herself for wanting to escape her fate. Still, on her seventeenth birthday, Nyx abandons everything she's ever known to marry the all-powerful, immortal Ignifex. Her plan? Seduce him, destroy his enchanted castle, and break the nine-hundred-year-old curse he put on her people.
But Ignifex is not at all what Nyx expected. The strangely charming lord beguiles her, and his castle—a shifting maze of magical rooms—enthralls her.
As Nyx searches for a way to free her homeland by uncovering Ignifex's secrets, she finds herself unwillingly drawn to him. Even if she could bring herself to love her sworn enemy, how can she refuse her duty to kill him? With time running out, Nyx must decide what is more important: the future of her kingdom, or the man she was never supposed to love.
This book really took me by surprise. It wasn't what I was expecting... but in the best way. I though it would be a more traditional beauty and the beast story but it ended up being way more unexpected. There was more magic, mystery, and confusion than I ever thought there could be. It starts off with Nyx being forced to mary the devil himself... Ignifex. A man she was born to hate, Nyx was destined to marry him, and then kill him.
“You deserve all that and more. It made me happy to see you suffer. I would do it all over again if I could.' I realized I was shaking as the words tumbled out of me. 'I would do it again and again. Every night I would torment you and laugh. Do you understand? You are never safe with me.' I drew a shuddering breath, trying to will away the sting of tears."
Nyx is a very strong character and I absolutely loved seeing her challenge Ignifex. She was feisty and not willing to give up but the whole time she was in kind of an inner battle with her feelings. She didn't know what to make of Ignifex, whether or not he was good or bad.
"He opened his eyes and stared up at me as if I were the door out of Arcadia and back to the true sky. 'That's what makes you my favorite.' He reached up and wiped a tear off my cheek with his thumb. 'Every wicked bit of you.”
Ignifex of the other hand was a rather confusing character as well, plus theres a really twisted love triangle thrown into the mix the especially messes with your head. Throw in some magic rooms in a twisted and dark castle and you get a mystery that leaves your head spinning until the very end! OMG I just loved this book! Nyx was a character I totally loved because for once the beauty wasn't all innocence and goodness she was able to connect and relate to Ignifex because they both have a darkness in them that they cannot ignore. Loved the romance, the story telling, and most of all how it continued to surpass me an puzzle me almost to a point of confusion. A solid 4 stars Cruel Beauty is not a book to miss.
The Cinder Series by Marissa Meyer
Omg where do I even begin for this series.... it is flat out other worldly! I'm going to spare you the four summaries of each of the books (especially since some of them may contain spoilers) but these books are a must read if you have not already read them. First off Marissa Meyer gives a futuristic spin to your favorite fair tales (those of which include, Cinderella, Little red ridding hood, Rapunzel, and even Snow White) and creates characters that you will absolutely fall heads over heels in
L-O-V-E with (my favorites being Cress and Thorne because they are just to die for ADORABLE!)
“Captain,” she murmured.
“I think I’m in love with you.”
An eyebrow shot up. She counted six beats of his heart before, suddenly, he laughed.
“Don’t tell me it took you two whole days to realize that. I must be losing my touch.”
The whole plot focuses around Cinder, a girl who is the futuristic version of cinderella. She has a horrible step mother and two equally despicable step sisters to go along with it. The twist is that Cinder is part Cyborg and has a mechanic leg.
“I'm sure I'll feel much more grateful when I find a guy who thinks complex wiring in a girl is a turn-on.”
She is also a mechanic in the book which comes in handy more times than one if I might add. This all changes when she meets the prince at her stand and he's looking for assistance fixing a drone. Cinder is careful not to let her robotic foot apparent and has the prince fooled that she is 100% normal. This obviously leads to later problems, but the plot gets even more complicated when the fantasy stories start to intertwine, this begins in Marissa Meyers second installment of the series, Scarlet. Please, please, please read these! You will not be disappointed trust me! It is SO fun realizing how she subtly (and not so subtly) incorporates the fairy tales into these futuristic, knock your socks of novels (these books will have you yelling at the pages in outrage...not that I do that or anything..) A five star read, please give the Cinder series a chance to blow your mind!
Heartless by Marissa Meyer
Summary: Catherine may be one of the most desired girls in Wonderland and a favorite of the unmarried King, but her interests lie elsewhere. A talented baker, she wants to open a shop and create delectable pastries. But for her mother, such a goal is unthinkable for a woman who could be a queen.
At a royal ball where Cath is expected to receive the King’s marriage proposal, she meets handsome and mysterious Jest. 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 a secret courtship.
Cath is determined to choose her own destiny. But in a land thriving with magic, madness, and monsters, fate has other plans.
This book melted my heart! It was totally what I expected in some parts (like her spot on world building of Wonderland- it was like I was in Wonderland) but totally unexpected in other places (like the relationship she's build between Catherine and Jest is really not what I expected at all)
“You have my heart, Jest. I don't know if you deserve it or not. I can't tell if you're a hero or a villain, but it doesn't seem to matter. Either way, my heart is yours.”
The romance was a lot more sweet and quirky rather than dark and mysterious, which is what I was expecting. I still really enjoyed it though. Now we need to take a moment to appreciate the beautiful and seriously spot on Wonderland.
“When pleased, I beat like a drum. When sad, I break like glass. Once stolen, I can never be taken back. What am I?”
Between the magical hats that literally affected how people saw those that wore them, to the crazy tea parties, and elaborate jester performances this book was utterly entrancing and I love every minute of it. Marissa Meyers writing skills have seriously grown and you can see it in this book! So much detail and she was really able to create characters that you could understand and yet were a little unbalanced, much like the world of wonderland itself.
“To be all right implies an impossible phase. We hope for mostly right on the best of our days.”
She didn't skimp on the danger of the world, nor the intensity, but there was a air of sweetness to the whole tale that added in a another layer and just made the whole story more dynamic and unpredictable. The ending did rip my heart out, though I suppose I should have seen that coming because the books is literally called Heartless. A 4 star read if you are a fan of Marissa Meyer (and you LOVED her Cinder series as much as I did) or you love a good fairytale retelling than I highly recommend you check out Heartless by Marissa Meyer!
Reign of Shadows by Sophie Jordan
Summary: Seventeen years ago, an eclipse cloaked the kingdom of Relhok in perpetual darkness. In the chaos, an evil chancellor murdered the king and queen and seized their throne. Luna, Relhok’s lost princess, has been hiding in a tower ever since. Luna’s survival depends on the world believing she is dead.
But that doesn’t stop Luna from wanting more. When she meets Fowler, a mysterious archer braving the woods outside her tower, Luna is drawn to him despite the risk. When the tower is attacked, Luna and Fowler escape together. But this world of darkness is more treacherous than Luna ever realized.
With every threat stacked against them, Luna and Fowler find solace in each other. But with secrets still unspoken between them, falling in love might be their most dangerous journey yet.
With lush writing and a star–crossed romance, Reign of Shadowsis Sophie Jordan at her best.
This book is a spin off of Rapunzel and starts off with Luna, a girl who has lived her whole life locked up in a tower. The only time she gets to escape is when she hunts outside, and thats mostly at night, and only on rare occasions due to trying to prevent being caught.
“The world was a merciless place. Hard and cruel. Except when you found someone to trust and love. Life, however fleeting, possessed meaning then.”
Her existence is a secret. She has only really known two other people in her life, The two people that swept her away to safety. That all changes when she meets Fowler. Out on a nightly hunt she crosses paths with him, gets a glimpse of his merciful and kind soul and ends up swept into some unexsapable trouble. Together they end up back at Lunas tower, where her caretakers are furious that Luna would think to invite an outsider into their home. Her existence much remain a secret, if anybody would find out about the lost princess her life would become a prize, she would have a price on her head and any of the little freedom she had would disappear. Fowler is taken by surprise by luna and the book gets even more interesting when the secret of Luna's blindness become apparent one night in the tower. Together the two end up on a enviable quest and run for their lives. Everything the two have both known with change, and for the time being they only have each other. If they can even trust one another.
This book was a througheloy enjoyable read and the romance is really tender and soft and makes me want to curl up all night and read into the late hours. The romance is a nice break because it doenst make me want to tear my hair out in frustration with how annoyingly aboivous the characters are but rather its nice as you see the warm, loving relationship between the two unfold.
“I felt her heart pounding against her ribs and directly into me. Or maybe it was my heart. Curled against each other like two locked pieces of a puzzle, I could not tell where I ended and she began. There was just this. Us. One shared heart.”
They would do anything for one another, so much so that they would put their lives in danger for each other at the drop of a hat. This book is filled with tons of adventure, danger, and a magical realm that will keep you on your toes. With a force of evil wanting Luna dead the two will be battling until the end to keep one another safe. A 3 star rating I highly recommend this book!
Read any good fairy tale retelling? Love Marissa Meyer as much as me? Please let me know in the comments below!
-BubblyBooks
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