Scan barcode
candidcopywriter's reviews
33 reviews
Akata Witch by Nnedi Okorafor
adventurous
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
I loved this book! Starting from the fact that it has a black, female main character in Africa, and ending with the fact that the protagonist is albino and hence discriminated against even in her hometown, this book is the epitome of diverse representation.
That said, when I picked up this book, I hadn't read something I couldn't put down in a long long time. This book? It was over before I realised it! It's a spin on Nigerian folklore, which is fascinating. I also loved that it was light-hearted and fun, even though there were mentions of a serial killer and, of course, an evil villain.
It wasn't dark by any means, so I loved it.
That said, when I picked up this book, I hadn't read something I couldn't put down in a long long time. This book? It was over before I realised it! It's a spin on Nigerian folklore, which is fascinating. I also loved that it was light-hearted and fun, even though there were mentions of a serial killer and, of course, an evil villain.
It wasn't dark by any means, so I loved it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture and Death
The Princess Companion: A Retelling of The Princess and the Pea by Melanie Cellier
5.0
Fairy tale retellings are my new guilty pleasure, and Melanie Cellier is my current favourite author! I always really liked fairy tales, but now that I'm all grown up, I realise that they're quite ridiculous. The Princess Companion was the first retelling I read which showed me how a story like Princess and the Pea could be made into a great one!
Some parts of the story are still admittedly not that easy to believe, like how easily the prince warms up to our heroine. A single conversation turns around their entire relationship after weeks of glowering? Really? But I was still completely taken in by the plot.
I loved how the author interspersed the story with bits of Cinderella (after the "Happily Ever After"!) and how the pea is not the real reason for Alyssa and Max's love. I also love that there's no subterfuge on the part of Alyssa at any point. She's clear from the very beginning that she's a woodcutter's daughter, and the drama in the story comes from elsewhere.
I have no complaints about the character development in the book and the way the author has given importance to even the secondary characters in this book. This is one thing I look for most in any book, and The Princess Companion didn't disappoint.
Of course, the fact that I'm a sucker for happy endings had plenty of bearing on the extent of my love for this book. It was not the only factor, however, as the author managed to keep me hooked throughout the book.
I give the book 4.5 out of 5 stars , cutting the 0.5 only because I liked Melanie Cellier's other books better than this!
Some parts of the story are still admittedly not that easy to believe, like how easily the prince warms up to our heroine. A single conversation turns around their entire relationship after weeks of glowering? Really? But I was still completely taken in by the plot.
I loved how the author interspersed the story with bits of Cinderella (after the "Happily Ever After"!) and how the pea is not the real reason for Alyssa and Max's love. I also love that there's no subterfuge on the part of Alyssa at any point. She's clear from the very beginning that she's a woodcutter's daughter, and the drama in the story comes from elsewhere.
I have no complaints about the character development in the book and the way the author has given importance to even the secondary characters in this book. This is one thing I look for most in any book, and The Princess Companion didn't disappoint.
I give the book 4.5 out of 5 stars , cutting the 0.5 only because I liked Melanie Cellier's other books better than this!
The Princess Fugitive: A Reimagining of Little Red Riding Hood by Melanie Cellier
5.0
(SPOILER ALERT FOR BOOK 1) To be honest, I hated the evil Ava for her attempts to destroy Arcadia in The Princess Companion.[b:The Princess Companion|36562225|The Princess Companion (The Four Kingdoms, #1)|Melanie Cellier|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1510202918l/36562225._SY75_.jpg|48567822] I was even a bit unwilling to read a book in which she was the hero. Once I picked up the book, however, I didn't regret it for a second. Transformative stories are my absolute favourite. The way Melanie Cellier makes you dislike Ava in the beginning, and then slowly but surely turns this dislike, first into pity for her terrible childhood, and then into respect and love for having the courage to change is truly brilliant.
I had never really understood or liked The Little Red Riding Hood fairytale, but this was a brilliant retelling that makes me want to replace the original forever in my mind. The best part about the book, for me, was that the wolf is in Ava rather than an outside threat.
The villain in this book is both internal (Ava's internal demons) and external (her brother Konrad), and that's what endeared me most to the book.
I could go on and on, but I'd be revealing too much about the book :P. I give this book 5 out of 5 stars because it is the absolute best!
I had never really understood or liked The Little Red Riding Hood fairytale, but this was a brilliant retelling that makes me want to replace the original forever in my mind. The best part about the book, for me, was that
The villain in this book is both internal (Ava's internal demons) and external (her brother Konrad), and that's what endeared me most to the book.
I could go on and on, but I'd be revealing too much about the book :P. I give this book 5 out of 5 stars because it is the absolute best!
Happily Ever Afters: A Reimagining of Snow White and Rose Red by Melanie Cellier
4.0
I absolutely love Melanie Cellier and her stories. But sadly enough, this one didn't sit as well with me as the others because it was a bit rushed. I didn't really enjoy that two romances were crammed into a single short novella. Don't get me wrong; I loved the fact that Sarah and Evelyn found their matches, but I still didn't appreciate the amount of stuff in such a short book. Two romances as well as an adventure is too much for a story less than 100 pages long.
I still loved the story, and the book was enjoyable, as always. Also, I can't really fault Cellier for the plot, even though I've just spent the previous paragraph doing just that. After all, it was just a novella, about just a couple of side characters.
It is admirable how she comes up with stories to give importance and credibility to even the side characters, and that is why I'm giving this book 4 out of 5 stars, though it has its faults.
I still loved the story, and the book was enjoyable, as always. Also, I can't really fault Cellier for the plot, even though I've just spent the previous paragraph doing just that. After all, it was just a novella, about just a couple of side characters.
It is admirable how she comes up with stories to give importance and credibility to even the side characters, and that is why I'm giving this book 4 out of 5 stars, though it has its faults.
A Goose Girl by K.M. Shea
4.0
To be honest, I only read a summary of the original "Goose Girl" tale after I read this book, and it's amazing how the grotesque original story has been transformed into something humorous and fun to read. I loved the slow development of the bond between Falada and Rynn, and the small surprises the author throws in through the book about the airheaded princess' unexpected intelligence.
The romance between Conrad and Rynn could have been a bit more in focus than it was in the book, but under the circumstances (Rynn was, after all, supposedly betrothed to his cousin), Shea managed to squeeze in enough of it to avoid disappointment.
In a way, I loved that the story focused more on the girls (princess and maid-servant) and their friendship, and the blossoming friendship between Rynn and the irreverent fairy horse Falada. But I found the ending a bit rushed. I would have liked it much more if Conrad's proposal to Rynn towards the end of the story was shown as a six months later thing, with a few allusions to time spent together during the period. The rushed declaration of love seemed too much like love at first sight for me, and I always prefer to read blossoming romances.
Otherwise, the book was excellent, with a high dose of humour and just the right amount of thrill to keep me reading it.
P.S: I really love the idea of a series with each book written by a different author. It's so nice that they all banded together and gave us readers a taste of each of their styles! Before coming across this series, I only knew about Melanie Cellier[author Melanie Cellier|14830176] in the fairytale retellings genre, but now I'm familiar with the styles of five more wonderful authors. This series has given me a host of new books to read! That is, perhaps, what I liked best about the Entwined Tales series.
The romance between Conrad and Rynn could have been a bit more in focus than it was in the book, but under the circumstances (Rynn was, after all, supposedly betrothed to his cousin), Shea managed to squeeze in enough of it to avoid disappointment.
In a way, I loved that the story focused more on the girls (princess and maid-servant) and their friendship, and the blossoming friendship between Rynn and the irreverent fairy horse Falada. But I found the ending a bit rushed.
Otherwise, the book was excellent, with a high dose of humour and just the right amount of thrill to keep me reading it.
P.S: I really love the idea of a series with each book written by a different author. It's so nice that they all banded together and gave us readers a taste of each of their styles! Before coming across this series, I only knew about Melanie Cellier[author Melanie Cellier|14830176] in the fairytale retellings genre, but now I'm familiar with the styles of five more wonderful authors. This series has given me a host of new books to read! That is, perhaps, what I liked best about the Entwined Tales series.
A Bear's Bride by Shari L. Tapscott
4.0
I don't really know which fairytale this book is based on; I can only guess "Beauty and the Beast", but that doesn't seem accurate. But that doesn't really matter, because I think I fell in love with Shari L. Tapscott's style! The way she's written Sophie and Henri is just amazing!
The introduction of trolls and Elsland, in particular, was inspired. I loved Sophie's gift as well, which was otherwise useless but turned out to be of some use in the end. The story, in itself, was quite unconventional, which made me love it even more.
Rather than initial hatred-turned-love stories where Prince Charming usually has to make the first move, Sophie is the bold one in this relationship, although the pesky fairy godfather Mortimer is technically the one who made the first move.
Like most of the other novels in the Entwined Tales series, I found this, too, a bit rushed, but I guess that's because none of them is a novel, per se. They're all just novellas, and for a novella, this one was amazing.
The introduction of trolls and Elsland, in particular, was inspired. I loved Sophie's gift as well, which was otherwise useless but turned out to be of some use in the end. The story, in itself, was quite unconventional, which made me love it even more.
Rather than initial hatred-turned-love stories where Prince Charming usually has to make the first move, Sophie is the bold one in this relationship, although the pesky fairy godfather Mortimer is technically the one who made the first move.
Like most of the other novels in the Entwined Tales series, I found this, too, a bit rushed, but I guess that's because none of them is a novel, per se. They're all just novellas, and for a novella, this one was amazing.
An Unnatural Beanstalk by Brittany Fichter
3.0
Honestly, I had thought I would love all the books in this series. After reading A Goose Girl, I went immediately to this book, and somehow got bored in the first two chapters itself. I then read all the other books in this series, hoping that knowing the fate of all the other siblings would make me want to read this book. But no.
Sometimes, I don't have an explanation for why I don't like a book. I somehow just don't. But when I forced myself to go ahead with this book, I understood the reason. I didn't like Eva! She was portrayed in a very disappointing manner. At every point in the book, I would think to myself, "She could have done this bit differently!"
What makes or breaks a book for me, generally, is character development. The plot is, of course, important, and I can never read a dry book even if the characters are developed wonderfully. But if the plot is great, shallow characters just put me off. And that's how I would describe all the characters of this book. Shallow. Eva, the villainous Duke, and even Jack weren't given enough depth.
The ending was wonderful, and it redeemed the book in my eyes. That is the sole reason I'm giving it 3 out of 5 stars. I am, after all, a sucker for happy endings. But otherwise, the book just didn't cut it for me.
Sometimes, I don't have an explanation for why I don't like a book. I somehow just don't. But when I forced myself to go ahead with this book, I understood the reason. I didn't like Eva! She was portrayed in a very disappointing manner. At every point in the book, I would think to myself, "She could have done this bit differently!"
What makes or breaks a book for me, generally, is character development. The plot is, of course, important, and I can never read a dry book even if the characters are developed wonderfully. But if the plot is great, shallow characters just put me off. And that's how I would describe all the characters of this book. Shallow. Eva, the villainous Duke, and even Jack weren't given enough depth.
The ending was wonderful, and it redeemed the book in my eyes. That is the sole reason I'm giving it 3 out of 5 stars. I am, after all, a sucker for happy endings. But otherwise, the book just didn't cut it for me.
A Beautiful Curse by Kenley Davidson
5.0
This was my absolute favourite book of the series! I just can't stop gushing about it. The beautiful Elisette seems timid at the beginning of the book, but the unexpected spunk she shows as a frog is just a delight to read.
First off, I really liked the idea that the heroine's beauty is a curse for her rather than a blessing, and that "True love's kiss" isn't what makes her human again. (I'm not familiar with the traditional Frog Bride fairytale, though). I also love how Kenley Davidson manages to give depth to all three princes (Cambren, Eldrick and Dauntry) as well as Elisette, and even the king in the short novella. That is, perhaps, my favourite part.
I also love that Cambren doesn't know the gender of his new frog friend until she finally transforms back into Elisette and that their love blossoms over a period of six months plus the time Elisette was a frog.
Basically, I just love every part of the book, especially since I didn't think it was rushed at all. Despite its short length, this is the only book of the entire series that doesn't seem rushed. I can't wait to read Kenley Davidson's other books!
First off, I really liked the idea that the heroine's beauty is a curse for her rather than a blessing, and that "True love's kiss" isn't what makes her human again. (I'm not familiar with the traditional Frog Bride fairytale, though). I also love how Kenley Davidson manages to give depth to all three princes (Cambren, Eldrick and Dauntry) as well as Elisette, and even the king in the short novella. That is, perhaps, my favourite part.
I also love that Cambren doesn't know the gender of his new frog friend until she finally transforms back into Elisette and that their love blossoms over a period of six months plus the time Elisette was a frog.
Basically, I just love every part of the book, especially since I didn't think it was rushed at all. Despite its short length, this is the only book of the entire series that doesn't seem rushed. I can't wait to read Kenley Davidson's other books!
A Little Mermaid by Aya Ling
4.0
It was a nice, whimsical twist on The Little Mermaid, and I quite liked it. The human prince already knows Clio is a mermaid, which is a welcome change from all other Little Mermaid stories. It's sweet, funny, a bit romantic but also a bit rushed. There's very little talk of the change in Clio's feelings towards Lukas, and not much substance in Lukas himself. However, I found the book light-hearted and interesting, which made me keep reading it till the end.
But I'm a bit disappointed in this book, to be honest. After all, the books in this series are supposed to be about the siblings, aren't they? Not about anyone and everyone affected by Mortimer's bumbling ways. Martin, sadly, was relegated to "random secondary character" in the book. It would have been much more satisfying if either Clio had fallen for Martin instead, or if they had ended up bonding and becoming great friends, at least. Or maybe Martin could have been instrumental in bringing Lukas and Clio together, or in foiling the villain's plans.
We don't really learn anything about Martin in the book, or in any other book for that matter, and that disappointed me, especially since I got pretty attached to that entire family because of the first 4 books.
All in all, nice story but little connect to the series. It could have been better.
But I'm a bit disappointed in this book, to be honest. After all, the books in this series are supposed to be about the siblings, aren't they? Not about anyone and everyone affected by Mortimer's bumbling ways. Martin, sadly, was relegated to "random secondary character" in the book. It would have been much more satisfying if either Clio had fallen for Martin instead, or if they had ended up bonding and becoming great friends, at least. Or maybe Martin could have been instrumental in bringing Lukas and Clio together, or in foiling the villain's plans.
We don't really learn anything about Martin in the book, or in any other book for that matter, and that disappointed me, especially since I got pretty attached to that entire family because of the first 4 books.
All in all, nice story but little connect to the series. It could have been better.
An Inconvenient Princess by Melanie Cellier
5.0
Melanie Cellier is the only author out of the six whose other books I had read, so I started reading this book with some expectations in mind, unlike the others. And she didn't disappoint. Just like her fascinating retellings of various fairytales in her Four Kingdoms and Beyond the Four Kingdoms series, she managed to make the story of Rapunzel much more interesting than the original, or even the newer Disney version!
Rather than a focus on the Princess herself, the story was focused on her rescuer, Penny - the girl in not-so-shining-armour. I loved that the prince Arthur isn't really the one doing the rescuing and that he falls for Penny rather than Rapunzel! I also loved that while the book is about Penny, the presence of Annaliese, her twin, is strongly felt throughout the narrative.
We learn about Annaliese through Penny's narration, and Cellier somehow manages to give incredible depth to a character who wasn't even present for most of the book. I always loved Cellier's world-building and character development, and she didn't disappoint in this book. Rapunzel, Penny, Annaliese, Arthur and even the random Duke's daughter who hits on Arthur at some point have depth in this story.
All in all, I'd say it was a great conclusion to the Entwined Tales series, although I am still a bit disappointed that I didn't get to know Martin, the only brother, at all. This book is sort of bittersweet, because I'm really sad to see the siblings and their bumbling fairy godfather go.
After reading this book, I now can't decisively pick a favourite, so here's the ranking according to me:
1) (TIED) A Beautiful Curse and An Inconvenient Princess
2) A Bear's Bride
3) A Goose Girl
4) A Little Mermaid
5) An Unnatural Beanstalk
Rather than a focus on the Princess herself, the story was focused on her rescuer, Penny - the girl in not-so-shining-armour. I loved that the prince Arthur isn't really the one doing the rescuing
We learn about Annaliese through Penny's narration, and Cellier somehow manages to give incredible depth to a character who wasn't even present for most of the book. I always loved Cellier's world-building and character development, and she didn't disappoint in this book. Rapunzel, Penny, Annaliese, Arthur and even the random Duke's daughter who hits on Arthur at some point have depth in this story.
All in all, I'd say it was a great conclusion to the Entwined Tales series, although I am still a bit disappointed that I didn't get to know Martin, the only brother, at all. This book is sort of bittersweet, because I'm really sad to see the siblings and their bumbling fairy godfather go.
After reading this book, I now can't decisively pick a favourite, so here's the ranking according to me:
1) (TIED) A Beautiful Curse and An Inconvenient Princess
2) A Bear's Bride
3) A Goose Girl
4) A Little Mermaid
5) An Unnatural Beanstalk