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ellelainey's review
5.0
Book – Glamour
Author – Kayla Bain-Vrba
Star rating - ★★★★★
No. of Pages – 41
Cover – Gorgeous!
POV – 1st person, one character
Would I read it again – Yes
Genre – LGBT, Fantasy, Fairytale
** COPY RECEIVED THROUGH NETGALLEY **
This was a super cute story about a cobbler's son with an evil stepmother. It reminds me of the fairytale of Rumpelstiltskin, with someone lying or exaggerating their powers to seem important. Only, it was Pip's stepmother who lied to get rid of him.
There are no chapter headings, which usually bothers me in a story of 40 pages, but there were plenty of scene breaks that helped offer opportunities to put the book down, if needed, or just give a breather to process the story, so that evened out the lack of chapter headings.
The writing was great. I've been a fan of Kayla's writing for a while now; this story just cemented the fact that I'm probably going to love everything she ever writes. The plot was told in a fairytale format, so there wasn't any lingering over excessive-description or backstory. It was a simple matter of these are the characters, this is their story, and that really worked here. The characterisation was great; although it was told in 1st person, meaning that we knew Pip better than anyone else, we still got a great sense of who the other characters were.
I loved Pip as a character; he was sweet, a true romantic and still mourning the loss of his mother. I loved the way he let us into his life with little snippets of important info when it was important, such as the story of the forest and the little dark haired boy he'd been friends with in his childhood. Ren was a really interesting character, but I like that the story didn't try to deviate too far from Pip's story to tell us about Ren. Everything we found out about him came from Pip's observations and conversations.
Overall, a well written fairytale that had interesting characters and a sweet, romantic plot. I loved every minute.
~
Favourite Quote
“I slowly slid off the boulder into the soft grass and spread out, staring up at the fluffy cotton clouds in the brilliant sky. Maybe somewhere out there my true love was thinking of me, staring up at the same lake of sky, wondering where I was and how he would find me.”
“While the creature was trying to suck out Stepmother's soul, there would probably me a minute or two of confusion while it realized she didn't have one.”
Author – Kayla Bain-Vrba
Star rating - ★★★★★
No. of Pages – 41
Cover – Gorgeous!
POV – 1st person, one character
Would I read it again – Yes
Genre – LGBT, Fantasy, Fairytale
** COPY RECEIVED THROUGH NETGALLEY **
This was a super cute story about a cobbler's son with an evil stepmother. It reminds me of the fairytale of Rumpelstiltskin, with someone lying or exaggerating their powers to seem important. Only, it was Pip's stepmother who lied to get rid of him.
There are no chapter headings, which usually bothers me in a story of 40 pages, but there were plenty of scene breaks that helped offer opportunities to put the book down, if needed, or just give a breather to process the story, so that evened out the lack of chapter headings.
The writing was great. I've been a fan of Kayla's writing for a while now; this story just cemented the fact that I'm probably going to love everything she ever writes. The plot was told in a fairytale format, so there wasn't any lingering over excessive-description or backstory. It was a simple matter of these are the characters, this is their story, and that really worked here. The characterisation was great; although it was told in 1st person, meaning that we knew Pip better than anyone else, we still got a great sense of who the other characters were.
I loved Pip as a character; he was sweet, a true romantic and still mourning the loss of his mother. I loved the way he let us into his life with little snippets of important info when it was important, such as the story of the forest and the little dark haired boy he'd been friends with in his childhood. Ren was a really interesting character, but I like that the story didn't try to deviate too far from Pip's story to tell us about Ren. Everything we found out about him came from Pip's observations and conversations.
Overall, a well written fairytale that had interesting characters and a sweet, romantic plot. I loved every minute.
~
Favourite Quote
“I slowly slid off the boulder into the soft grass and spread out, staring up at the fluffy cotton clouds in the brilliant sky. Maybe somewhere out there my true love was thinking of me, staring up at the same lake of sky, wondering where I was and how he would find me.”
“While the creature was trying to suck out Stepmother's soul, there would probably me a minute or two of confusion while it realized she didn't have one.”
slytheerin's review
3.0
The beautiful cover, the description, and the fact that it was a LGBT romance, I immediately felt very curious about Glamour. And Glamour is a cute romance indeed. This short story is perfect for the romantics and for the one who’s longing for their childhood fairytales.
Pip lives in a small town with his father, a cobbler, and his stepmother who hates him so much that she feels no remorse to spread a rumor that will put Pip in the hands of a greedy Aelfin. But... What if this misadventure brings to Pip what he truly desires? What if he meets Love, True Love?
The only character we have the opportunity to familiarize with is Pip. And being an authentic romantic has no secret for Pip. Love, fairytale, and charming princes are his main fantasizes. And more precisely, there is a certain memory – of a boy from his childhood – that helps him to avoid reality and boring men around him. Even if he’s too much of a dreamer, Pip is rather cute, hoping more than anything to see his daydream comes true.
Written like a tale, the story doesn’t take its time. It gets directly to the point, without any details or slowness that would totally benefit the romance. It can be frustrating sometimes; I would have enjoyed seeing more of Pip and Ren getting close to each other. But Glamour reminded me of my childhood fairytales anyway; there are some heartless characters, a hint of magic, and a prince charming.
In conclusion; Even If I would have loved to get more of it, I spent a lovely time with Pip and his Prince. Glamour can be compared to a cozy cocoon, I think.
Pip lives in a small town with his father, a cobbler, and his stepmother who hates him so much that she feels no remorse to spread a rumor that will put Pip in the hands of a greedy Aelfin. But... What if this misadventure brings to Pip what he truly desires? What if he meets Love, True Love?
The only character we have the opportunity to familiarize with is Pip. And being an authentic romantic has no secret for Pip. Love, fairytale, and charming princes are his main fantasizes. And more precisely, there is a certain memory – of a boy from his childhood – that helps him to avoid reality and boring men around him. Even if he’s too much of a dreamer, Pip is rather cute, hoping more than anything to see his daydream comes true.
Written like a tale, the story doesn’t take its time. It gets directly to the point, without any details or slowness that would totally benefit the romance. It can be frustrating sometimes; I would have enjoyed seeing more of Pip and Ren getting close to each other. But Glamour reminded me of my childhood fairytales anyway; there are some heartless characters, a hint of magic, and a prince charming.
In conclusion; Even If I would have loved to get more of it, I spent a lovely time with Pip and his Prince. Glamour can be compared to a cozy cocoon, I think.
lucyp21's review
3.0
I thought this was a cute fairytale retelling. I loved Pip as a character, how he stuck to his guns about only marrying someone he loved and how he reacted to being imprisoned by the Aelfin King. He was a really sweet character to read about and I found myself rooting for him from the first page. I loved the little backstory between Pip and Ren with the forest and their mums knowing each other and how things escalated between Pip and the King. The magic system was also something I wanted to know more about.
Unfortunately, I think the romance and the plot could have both used a little more development.I feel like the King let them go a little too easily and everything was fixed very quickly
I would give this 3.5 stars and would recommend it to anyone who wants a quick, short fairytale.
Unfortunately, I think the romance and the plot could have both used a little more development.
I would give this 3.5 stars and would recommend it to anyone who wants a quick, short fairytale.
orrla's review
3.0
A Hearts on Fire review.
This short retelling of Rumpelstiltskin follows a cobbler’s apprentice, Pip, whose stepmother resents that his father won’t move to the castle and a life of supposed luxury until Pip has been married. To get him out of her way, she lies and makes a deal with the Aelfin king saying the Pip can turn pebbles into jewels. The king kidnaps Pip and throws him into a dungeon until Pip can produce slippers made of fine gems. In the dungeon Pip meets a glamour witch and makes a surprising reconnection with someone from his past.
This little story was a straightforward retelling of the classic fairytale. Pip was a sweet and talented boy weighed down by his stepmother’s aspirations and greed. I enjoyed the magical elements of this book and the subtle difference from the original tale. I also enjoyed the twist at the end which, while predictable, was fun and different. All in all, though, I felt the characters could have been better developed and even though this was a short story more time could have been spent on the end. I would have liked there to have been more consequences for defying the king, too, and I would have liked to know more about Pip’s mom.
Fairytale lovers and people looking for a quick read would be interested in this book, but it wouldn’t be the first book I’d recommend.
This short retelling of Rumpelstiltskin follows a cobbler’s apprentice, Pip, whose stepmother resents that his father won’t move to the castle and a life of supposed luxury until Pip has been married. To get him out of her way, she lies and makes a deal with the Aelfin king saying the Pip can turn pebbles into jewels. The king kidnaps Pip and throws him into a dungeon until Pip can produce slippers made of fine gems. In the dungeon Pip meets a glamour witch and makes a surprising reconnection with someone from his past.
This little story was a straightforward retelling of the classic fairytale. Pip was a sweet and talented boy weighed down by his stepmother’s aspirations and greed. I enjoyed the magical elements of this book and the subtle difference from the original tale. I also enjoyed the twist at the end which, while predictable, was fun and different. All in all, though, I felt the characters could have been better developed and even though this was a short story more time could have been spent on the end. I would have liked there to have been more consequences for defying the king, too, and I would have liked to know more about Pip’s mom.
Fairytale lovers and people looking for a quick read would be interested in this book, but it wouldn’t be the first book I’d recommend.
dbguide2's review
4.0
So this was sort of a retelling of Rumpelstiltskin (whom I love, thanks, Robert). Add gif of Robert. And it had some Cinderella elements to it too, so that was cool.
It was a quick read (I first thought it was a full-length novel and was disappointed when I saw it was actually a novella. But then I realized that if it were a full-length novel, I would probably lose interest along the way.
It was a cute read, yes. But that was all it was. The characters, as adorable as they were, lacked that certain thing about them that made me want to care about them.
The main character (Pip) is cute and I did like him, but I found him to be spineless – he didn’t really stand up for himself and there was a definite theme of instalove with the prince – Ren, and really, can’t we get away from the idea of instalove?
The descriptions and the setting were done rather well. I can tell the author spent time on that and crafted the world rather well. If only she spent more time on the characters, they too would be as good as the description.
It was a quick read (I first thought it was a full-length novel and was disappointed when I saw it was actually a novella. But then I realized that if it were a full-length novel, I would probably lose interest along the way.
It was a cute read, yes. But that was all it was. The characters, as adorable as they were, lacked that certain thing about them that made me want to care about them.
The main character (Pip) is cute and I did like him, but I found him to be spineless – he didn’t really stand up for himself and there was a definite theme of instalove with the prince – Ren, and really, can’t we get away from the idea of instalove?
The descriptions and the setting were done rather well. I can tell the author spent time on that and crafted the world rather well. If only she spent more time on the characters, they too would be as good as the description.
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