Twisted Grimms: Fairy Tales Retold

2 reviews for Twisted Grimms: Fairy Tales Retold

1. 

   Rated 4 out of 5

   Shelved Thoughts – November 15, 2023

   Reader’s Notes:

   – this is a collection of stories

   – the rating given to the collection is based off the rounded average of each story’s rating together

   – the tales each story is based off on is not mentioned in the book (I put my best guess on the ones that aren’t mentioned in the summary) – I wish that there was a list of the tales so we could better find the originals of the stories we don’t already know

   Reviews:

   The Ones With Fear Enough by Mariella Taylor

   ⭐️⭐️⭐️ (3.5 stars)

   (The Youth Who Went Forth to Learn What Fear Was retelling)

   Notes: this story contained characters who were cannibals (we hear about what they did), there is many instances of violence & mentions of blood, there are spirits, there are about 3 not nice words

   Honestly, my biggest issues with this story are all the notes. I don’t particularly enjoy these kinds of stories & it made me uncomfortable. However, the author’s writing was quite good as it did hold my attention and make me wonder what exactly the main character was doing in order to achieve his goal.

   Reconstructed by Katie Hanna

   ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (4.5 stars)

   (Rapunzel retelling; science fiction, outer space)

   Notes: it is mentioned that a group used nerve gas on children (discovered a recording of the event), this is told in dual point of view

   This is almost 5 stars for me as it was written well, you can tell that this is a Rapunzel retelling, but it also leaves you with questions. It’s not 100% a complete story as we don’t discover our Rapunzel’s true origins, just that the main characters intend to figure it out. But it was a really good start & an interesting way to mix the tale with science fiction!

   By the Pricking of My Teeth by Hannah Carter

   ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (4.5 stars)

   (Sleeping Beauty retelling; vampires)

   Notes: blood oaths, fantasy violence & death

   The blood oaths parts of this story wasn’t my favorite. Overall the story was interesting though. I liked how the two things were mixed together to complement each other.

   The Silver Moon by Allie Sarah

   ⭐️⭐️⭐️ (3 stars)

   (Red Riding Hood retelling?; wolf shifters + super magic users)

   Notes: mentions the group participates in human sacrifices & drinking blood (during the event the story revolves around – we don’t see either), suggestive comments/innuendo

   This seemed more like it should be an adult story with the different comments & innuendos thrown between the main character & her ‘enemy’. I also wasn’t a fan of hearing what the main character’s group does to people at this event that they clearly get excited for each time it comes up. So though the concept was interesting, this story just really wasn’t for me.

   The Raven on the Mountain by C. C. Urie

   ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (4.5 stars)

   (The Glass Hill/The Princess on the Glass Hill retelling?)

   Notes: some fantasy violence

   I enjoyed this story! It read like a children’s story with an adventure, magical objects, & a character saving the one they love that’s trapped. Though I was a little confused by the villain’s motives/decisions & why they trapped their captive to begin with.

   Chef’s Kiss by Beka Gremikova

   ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (5 stars)

   (I’m not sure what tale this is, maybe a gender flipped Cinderella?; historical fiction?)

   Notes: dual point of view, one not nice word

   I enjoyed this sweet romance! It was fun to see the story unfold from both of the characters’ positions and to see the lessons characters learned in the story. I also enjoyed a few of the side characters’ interactions and what they were going through during the events.

   Red of Roses and Blood by Eva Grace

   ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (5 stars)

   (Snow White retelling; vampires)

   Notes: some fantasy violence/mentions of death/blood, this is told from a few different points of view, (temporary) death of a child

   Though this only retells the tale up to Snow White being found with the dwarves by the huntsman, I really enjoyed it! It felt like an origin story with Snow White being the rising hero. If there were to be more written I’d probably want to read the whole story!

   Hijack by Ben Hanna

   ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (4.5 stars)

   (I’m not sure what tale this is;science fiction)

   Notes: a character visits the seedy underworld in search of something & considers giving their small child to a life of crime

   I was hoping for a happy ending but it ended up being tragic. I also wish we knew if the child turned man knew his godfather & what he thought of him. We don’t get much info on the godfather or why he offered himself to be the boy’s godfather.

   The Ties We Weave and Bind by Abigail McKenna

   ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (4 stars)

   (Rumpelstiltskin retelling)

   Notes: some fantasy violence & a death/blood

   My major issue with this story is that for some reason anything that should have been capitalized was not (first letters of names, I, first letters of sentences). I would have liked to see more of Conrad’s attempts to fix things before finding out what exactly was happening. But overall, this was an interesting take on the Rumpelstiltskin tale and I enjoyed getting to see how this author made it their own.

2. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   B – November 17, 2023

   Boar
   (That means good)