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3.25 AVERAGE
3.25 AVERAGE
I got this as part of the Kindle First reads, and I thought that this month I might actually read the book I got through it. This is the first time I've DNFed a book. I just can't bring myself to keep going with this, it's just really not my thing. The characters are ok, there are some funny bits, and it's not a terrible book. I just don't like the views of the characters (except Bianca, I guess). The reason I picked this up was because it was in letter format. The fairytale princesses were a bonus. But the letters aren't written like they're letters. Especially the speech in it. It's more just multiple POVs than anything else. I just wasn't enjoying it, and I have other books that I'm looking forward to that I'd much rather be reading than this. Maybe I'll come back to this in the future but I doubt it.
I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads. I honestly did not finish this book. While some people may enjoy it, I could not get into it and it was just boring to me.
I liked this book a lot. The writing style was good and the characters engaging. The author took a tired subject and managed to make it fresh and entertaining. It's a fun read. The ending was well thought out and tied up the book well.
"Important Fucking Correspondence from Snow B. White."
I unabashedly loved this book. It is full of humor and a lot of allusional gems to fairy tales and other works of beloved literature ranging from Oz to Narnia. And yet . . . it is not a frivolous story. These women (whom we would think of as Snow White (Bianca), Cinderella (CeCi), and Sleeping Beauty (Rory)) reveal real lives with real problems in their letters to their friend Zell (Rapunzel), who has recently upset their social structure by moving away with her husband and children to pursue her dream of raising unicorns. Her Pages (story) were done, so she was free to go "off-script," as it were. In doing so, she allowed CeCi, Bianca, and Rory to dream of a different life after their Pages are completed.
But not every fairy tale ends with Happily Ever After. The friends have to find a new equilibrium as their relationships change, and yet fulfill their own Pages lest the very fabric of their reality (the Realm of fairy tales) is destroyed.
A wonderful read. I can't recommend it highly enough.
But not every fairy tale ends with Happily Ever After. The friends have to find a new equilibrium as their relationships change, and yet fulfill their own Pages lest the very fabric of their reality (the Realm of fairy tales) is destroyed.
A wonderful read. I can't recommend it highly enough.
TL;DR Review
3.5 stars mostly for Bianca, omg.
More reviews @ The Bibliosanctum
Longer Review
Narrator: Amy McFadden | Length: 9 hrs and 52 mins | Audiobook Publisher: Brilliance Audio (July 1, 2015) | Whispersync Ready: Yes
Full Disclosure: A review copy of this book and audiobook was provided to me by the publishers. I would like to thank the author and the publishers for providing me this opportunity. All opinions expressed from here forward are my own.
This story starts when Zell (Rapunzel) unexpectedly leaves her friends to move to the “boonies” (Oz) to run a unicorn farm with her husband Jason and her twins. Zell’s circle of friends consist of the prim and proper Rory (Briar Rose/Sleeping Beauty), the foul-mouthed and cynical Bianca (Snow White) and the levelheaded CeCi (Cinderella). The inhabitants of fairy tale land know that they’re supposed to live out their pages to their happily ever after. On top of that, they are aware of the “outside” world, which is where normal humans live, humans who supposedly give power to their pages through their belief, which supposedly makes it even more important that they act a certain way. Zell, Rory, and CeCi have all achieved their happily ever after, even though it seems they still long for something more. Bianca is still getting to her happily ever after and is slated to be married to a kindly prince she doesn’t love. With Zell’s sudden departure, her friends find themselves in a sudden flux as they begin to rebel against their stories and start to find themselves. This book is told through a series of letters from each woman to Zell as they go from the pain of dealing with her departure to creating a happily ever after on their own terms.
Imaginative retellings are one of my favorite types of story because I love seeing how authors reimagine old characters and old stories, and this book was on one of my recent Top Ten Tuesdays of books that I was looking forward to listening to/reading this year. This story was like a fairy tale version of Real Housewives. Zell apparently met her prince while he was roaming the woods blind and she was pregnant with twins. She restored his eyesight and they married. You don’t learn too much about Zell other than little tidbits of her story, which was disappointing. Rory is married to a prince who doesn’t care for her much. She tries to be perfect and tell herself that loves comes eventually, even though she loved someone else before marrying her prince. She’s one of those women who tries to act like everything is beautiful while inwardly falling apart. CeCi has a great relationship with her prince. They truly love one another, but she’s starting to feel they’re beginning to drift in two different directions. The things she loves to do (cooking) she has to hide from him because he said that part of her fairy tale is over and she’s no longer a servant. However, she wants to do this because she loves it, and she wants to share this love with him. And then there’s Bianca… Oh, Bianca…
Bianca was probably favorite Princess because instead of sweet Snow White sobbing in the forest with her animals friends and the dwarves…
… we get Bianca who doesn’t take anyone’s shit, who’s cynical about love and the role women play in these stories, who admits that she’s sexually attracted to women and men and gratuitously uses the word “fuck.”
Yeah, this Snow White is who we get, but with less tattoos. (But I think she’d totally get the tattoos if she thought she could get away with it.) Bianca argues: “It’s irresponsible storytelling. Love can certainly include the occasional experimental romp in handkerchiefs or a playful smack on the behind with a riding crop, but it doesn’t involve isolation and belittlement. Star is already worthy of Sabian. What does she have to reinvent herself for?” Despite Snow White’s general curmudgeonly attitude, she does have a gentle heart. While she despises what her stepmother put her through, she has no desire to exact revenge and isn’t looking forward to having to possibly execute her in her happily ever after. She doesn’t blame her father, who loves to travel, for not being around to protect her. She petitions the powers to allow Huntsman to return from exile because she believes that he did the only thing he could considering the circumstances. She has no desire to marry the prince she’s fated, too, even though she lauds his great qualities and believes him to be a great man and a good friend to her. She doesn’t want what the pages tell her is her happily ever after. She wants to create her own. They all want to create their own. They want to be the narrators of their own stories.
A few complaints I do have is that the letter writing format can be a little jarring and disjointed. Sometimes, it’s too much like being a “chaptered” story where one letters is just really a continuation of the last letter’s story. Some of the moments that were so important to the characters were glossed over in their letters. Also, certain letters can get a little tiresome, even repetitive, especially Rory’s whose letters have to continuously be a “Everything is fine” mantra, even though I understand why they’d be like that. Sometimes, this book felt like it was going into young adult territory with some of the dialogue and scenarios. I’ll also concede that sometimes it’s hard to get to the meat of their issues with the way they complain. Like wanting to write Bianca off as just a catty witch instead of seeing the woman who wants to just be and leave this vengeance thing behind. These type of things can take readers out of the story.
However, don’t think this is a serious read. While there are certainly serious themes here, this book is infused with humor. While some of it made me smile, I won’t say it was laugh out loud funny. Some of the jokes were a little corny, but the narrator, Amy McFadden, caught the varying tones of the princesses well. Rory’s voice was whimsical and dream like. CeCi’s voice was conversational and levelheaded. Bianca’s voice was tough and unladylike. She didn’t do a great job with male voices, but readers should take care to remember she’s reading these letters in the tone of the princesses, so it makes sense the male voices wouldn’t be that great. She’s creating a semblance of a male voice as the princess would. These princesses are catty, cordial, selfish, selfless–in other words they’re very flawed as any person. They complain, they whine. But if you look through their words you can see more shaping up. If stories that turn your favorite princess into less that some self-sacrificing damsel upsets you, turn away from this book. This was one of the more fun retellings I’ve read, but this absolutely won’t be for everyone. I’d rate this between 3 and 3.5 stars, but I am feeling generous because I liked some of the themes. With that being said, I’ll leave you with this quote from Snow White:
“We’re all at risk of becoming imprisoned within our own mirrors. By our expectations of ourselves. We are vain or unkempt, bitches or sycophants, mothers or monsters, queens or servants.”
3.5 stars mostly for Bianca, omg.
More reviews @ The Bibliosanctum
Longer Review
Narrator: Amy McFadden | Length: 9 hrs and 52 mins | Audiobook Publisher: Brilliance Audio (July 1, 2015) | Whispersync Ready: Yes
Full Disclosure: A review copy of this book and audiobook was provided to me by the publishers. I would like to thank the author and the publishers for providing me this opportunity. All opinions expressed from here forward are my own.
This story starts when Zell (Rapunzel) unexpectedly leaves her friends to move to the “boonies” (Oz) to run a unicorn farm with her husband Jason and her twins. Zell’s circle of friends consist of the prim and proper Rory (Briar Rose/Sleeping Beauty), the foul-mouthed and cynical Bianca (Snow White) and the levelheaded CeCi (Cinderella). The inhabitants of fairy tale land know that they’re supposed to live out their pages to their happily ever after. On top of that, they are aware of the “outside” world, which is where normal humans live, humans who supposedly give power to their pages through their belief, which supposedly makes it even more important that they act a certain way. Zell, Rory, and CeCi have all achieved their happily ever after, even though it seems they still long for something more. Bianca is still getting to her happily ever after and is slated to be married to a kindly prince she doesn’t love. With Zell’s sudden departure, her friends find themselves in a sudden flux as they begin to rebel against their stories and start to find themselves. This book is told through a series of letters from each woman to Zell as they go from the pain of dealing with her departure to creating a happily ever after on their own terms.
Imaginative retellings are one of my favorite types of story because I love seeing how authors reimagine old characters and old stories, and this book was on one of my recent Top Ten Tuesdays of books that I was looking forward to listening to/reading this year. This story was like a fairy tale version of Real Housewives. Zell apparently met her prince while he was roaming the woods blind and she was pregnant with twins. She restored his eyesight and they married. You don’t learn too much about Zell other than little tidbits of her story, which was disappointing. Rory is married to a prince who doesn’t care for her much. She tries to be perfect and tell herself that loves comes eventually, even though she loved someone else before marrying her prince. She’s one of those women who tries to act like everything is beautiful while inwardly falling apart. CeCi has a great relationship with her prince. They truly love one another, but she’s starting to feel they’re beginning to drift in two different directions. The things she loves to do (cooking) she has to hide from him because he said that part of her fairy tale is over and she’s no longer a servant. However, she wants to do this because she loves it, and she wants to share this love with him. And then there’s Bianca… Oh, Bianca…
Bianca was probably favorite Princess because instead of sweet Snow White sobbing in the forest with her animals friends and the dwarves…
… we get Bianca who doesn’t take anyone’s shit, who’s cynical about love and the role women play in these stories, who admits that she’s sexually attracted to women and men and gratuitously uses the word “fuck.”
Yeah, this Snow White is who we get, but with less tattoos. (But I think she’d totally get the tattoos if she thought she could get away with it.) Bianca argues: “It’s irresponsible storytelling. Love can certainly include the occasional experimental romp in handkerchiefs or a playful smack on the behind with a riding crop, but it doesn’t involve isolation and belittlement. Star is already worthy of Sabian. What does she have to reinvent herself for?” Despite Snow White’s general curmudgeonly attitude, she does have a gentle heart. While she despises what her stepmother put her through, she has no desire to exact revenge and isn’t looking forward to having to possibly execute her in her happily ever after. She doesn’t blame her father, who loves to travel, for not being around to protect her. She petitions the powers to allow Huntsman to return from exile because she believes that he did the only thing he could considering the circumstances. She has no desire to marry the prince she’s fated, too, even though she lauds his great qualities and believes him to be a great man and a good friend to her. She doesn’t want what the pages tell her is her happily ever after. She wants to create her own. They all want to create their own. They want to be the narrators of their own stories.
A few complaints I do have is that the letter writing format can be a little jarring and disjointed. Sometimes, it’s too much like being a “chaptered” story where one letters is just really a continuation of the last letter’s story. Some of the moments that were so important to the characters were glossed over in their letters. Also, certain letters can get a little tiresome, even repetitive, especially Rory’s whose letters have to continuously be a “Everything is fine” mantra, even though I understand why they’d be like that. Sometimes, this book felt like it was going into young adult territory with some of the dialogue and scenarios. I’ll also concede that sometimes it’s hard to get to the meat of their issues with the way they complain. Like wanting to write Bianca off as just a catty witch instead of seeing the woman who wants to just be and leave this vengeance thing behind. These type of things can take readers out of the story.
However, don’t think this is a serious read. While there are certainly serious themes here, this book is infused with humor. While some of it made me smile, I won’t say it was laugh out loud funny. Some of the jokes were a little corny, but the narrator, Amy McFadden, caught the varying tones of the princesses well. Rory’s voice was whimsical and dream like. CeCi’s voice was conversational and levelheaded. Bianca’s voice was tough and unladylike. She didn’t do a great job with male voices, but readers should take care to remember she’s reading these letters in the tone of the princesses, so it makes sense the male voices wouldn’t be that great. She’s creating a semblance of a male voice as the princess would. These princesses are catty, cordial, selfish, selfless–in other words they’re very flawed as any person. They complain, they whine. But if you look through their words you can see more shaping up. If stories that turn your favorite princess into less that some self-sacrificing damsel upsets you, turn away from this book. This was one of the more fun retellings I’ve read, but this absolutely won’t be for everyone. I’d rate this between 3 and 3.5 stars, but I am feeling generous because I liked some of the themes. With that being said, I’ll leave you with this quote from Snow White:
“We’re all at risk of becoming imprisoned within our own mirrors. By our expectations of ourselves. We are vain or unkempt, bitches or sycophants, mothers or monsters, queens or servants.”
LOVED this book and couldn't put it down!
What a novel way of presenting the fairytale princesses, and this one read like a salacious soap opera with highs and higher highs and even lower lows, if that makes sense. Absolutely marvelous!
What a novel way of presenting the fairytale princesses, and this one read like a salacious soap opera with highs and higher highs and even lower lows, if that makes sense. Absolutely marvelous!
This was a lot of fun to read. The premise was great to begin with and I love a good book of letters but I think this book surprised me a bit too. I think a lot about what happened after the "happy ever after" (it's a hobby) and this is one of the more compelling and interesting takes on it. It's a bit of Shrek meets chick lit in many ways which works better than you'd think.
Check out the full review on Bookaholics Not-So-Anonymous.
Note: This ARC was provided by 47North in exchange for an honest review.
Letters to Zell by Camille Gripe is an interesting re-interpretation of sorts of select fairy tales, with a special focus on four of the more popular ones: Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, and Rapunzel. The four princess are best friends but when Zell migrates to another Realm with her family, leaving only a note for the other three, a correspondence among the four begins, one that has them sharing their deepest thoughts and feelings. More often than not, writing provides an avenue for us to say things that we aren't able to say face-to-face or verbally; at least that's been my personal experience. Within the letters exchanged, you can tell that these four princesses may be best friends but not everything is shared among the four, with some secrets being kept from one or being exclusively kept between two out of the four.
Fairy tales give children (and maybe a number of adults as well) something to dream about, believing that we all get our happily-ever-afters. The thing is, haven't you ever wondered what happens to the princesses and princes or other lead characters in those stories after the book has ended? Because the fact is there is life beyond "happily ever after" and it isn't always as perfect as you were made to believe. Fairy tales tend to be overly idealistic and quite fantastical, and real life, well, isn't like that. Given a choice, would you want to have predetermined story knowing what your "ending" will be, like those we find in fairy tale books, or would you want to experience what real life has to offer instead, not knowing what will come next? The four princesses in this book were clearly not prepared for life after their happily-ever-afters.
Telling the story through letters was a nice touch, though my one gripe concerning that is the fact that the letters didn't actually feel like letters because of all the conversations included in them. I mean, I write letters regularly (yes, I'm old-fashioned that way) and while I do have a direct quote or two from time to time, directly quoting conversations I have with people and jotting it all down on paper or typing it all up in an email just seems unrealistic. I did, however, like that one of the Realms was the Outside, i.e. the real world beyond the fairy tales. Letters to Zell shows us that we always have a choice--to either blindly follow the script handed to us or to write our own stories and live life according to our needs and wants--and that dreams remain unattainable only until we wake up and do something about them. This gets 4.5 stars, rounded off to five stars. ♥
Note: This ARC was provided by 47North in exchange for an honest review.
Letters to Zell by Camille Gripe is an interesting re-interpretation of sorts of select fairy tales, with a special focus on four of the more popular ones: Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, and Rapunzel. The four princess are best friends but when Zell migrates to another Realm with her family, leaving only a note for the other three, a correspondence among the four begins, one that has them sharing their deepest thoughts and feelings. More often than not, writing provides an avenue for us to say things that we aren't able to say face-to-face or verbally; at least that's been my personal experience. Within the letters exchanged, you can tell that these four princesses may be best friends but not everything is shared among the four, with some secrets being kept from one or being exclusively kept between two out of the four.
Fairy tales give children (and maybe a number of adults as well) something to dream about, believing that we all get our happily-ever-afters. The thing is, haven't you ever wondered what happens to the princesses and princes or other lead characters in those stories after the book has ended? Because the fact is there is life beyond "happily ever after" and it isn't always as perfect as you were made to believe. Fairy tales tend to be overly idealistic and quite fantastical, and real life, well, isn't like that. Given a choice, would you want to have predetermined story knowing what your "ending" will be, like those we find in fairy tale books, or would you want to experience what real life has to offer instead, not knowing what will come next? The four princesses in this book were clearly not prepared for life after their happily-ever-afters.
Telling the story through letters was a nice touch, though my one gripe concerning that is the fact that the letters didn't actually feel like letters because of all the conversations included in them. I mean, I write letters regularly (yes, I'm old-fashioned that way) and while I do have a direct quote or two from time to time, directly quoting conversations I have with people and jotting it all down on paper or typing it all up in an email just seems unrealistic. I did, however, like that one of the Realms was the Outside, i.e. the real world beyond the fairy tales. Letters to Zell shows us that we always have a choice--to either blindly follow the script handed to us or to write our own stories and live life according to our needs and wants--and that dreams remain unattainable only until we wake up and do something about them. This gets 4.5 stars, rounded off to five stars. ♥