Let it go | Seven Waters and bullies.

Today I share two  little reviews for books I’ve read in the beginning of this year. The first book is part of a series from one of my favourite authors. It's a magical book filled with strong female characters and healthy relationships.  I also review an anthology that personally touched me.

Review 235. Anthology Grim.

Title: Grim.
Author: Anthology.
Pages: 480.
Expected publication: February 25th 2014 by Harlequin Teen
Sort: Anthology.
Source: Netgalley & Publisher.

Inspired by classic fairy tales, but with a dark and sinister twist, Grim contains short stories from some of the best voices in young adult literature today: Ellen Hopkins, Amanda Hocking, Julie Kagawa, Claudia Gray, Rachel Hawkins, Kimberly Derting, Myra McEntire, Malinda Lo, Sarah Rees-Brennan, Jackson Pearce, Christine Johnson, Jeri Smith Ready, Shaun David Hutchinson, Saundra Mitchell, Sonia Gensler, Tessa Gratton & Jon Skrovan.

Rating:

I have mixed feelings about this anthology. I’m not a huge fan of them, but I couldn’t pass this one when I saw it was inspired by classic fairy tales. The dark and sinister twist made it sound even better, but I was let down by many stories and by most of them I'm still looking for that promise. I found them boring and uninteresting instead of dark/twisted.

Review 208. Paula Guran – OUAT: New fairy tales.

Title: Once upon a time, new fairy tales.
Author: Paula Guran.
Pages: 384.
Published: October 2nd 2013 by Prime Books.
Sort: Anthology.
Source: Netgalley & Publisher.

Eighteen extraordinary authors devise all-new fairy tales: imaginative reinterpretations of the familiar, evocative new myths, speculations beyond the traditional realm of "once upon a time." Often dark, occasionally humorous, always enthralling, these stories find a certain Puss in a near-future New York, an empress bargaining with a dragon, a princess turned into a raven, a king's dancing daughters with powerful secrets, great heroism, terrible villainy, sparks of mischief, and a great deal more. Brilliant dreams and dazzling nightmares with meaning for today and tomorrow.

Rating:

I’m not a huge fan of anthologies, but this one features fairy tales and I thought: you can’t go wrong with that. Obviously, you can.. There were more stories I enjoyed than hated, but most of them were just enjoyable with the potential of being great. I’m going to point out the highlights and the ones I dislike, because reviewing them all would make this review too long.

Review 147. Melissa Marr – Faery Tales & Nightmares.

Title: Faery Tales & Nightmares.
Author: Melissa Marr.
Pages: 418.
Published: February 21st 2012  by HarperCollins.
Sort: Stand alone, anthology.

Dangerous promises and beguiling threats swirl together in a dozen stories of enchantments dark and light by New York Times bestselling author Melissa Marr. Uncanny and unexpected creatures appear from behind bushes, rise from beneath the seas, or manifest from seasonal storms to pursue the objects of their attention—with amorous or sinister intent—relentlessly. From the gentle tones of a storyteller’s cadences to the terror of a blood sacrifice, tales of favorite characters from Marr’s Wicked Lovely novels mix with accounts of new characters for readers to fall in love with...or to fear. Lush, seductive, and chilling, Melissa Marr’s stories revel in the unseen magic that infuses the world as we know it. Table of Contents: "Where Nightmares Walk" "Winter's Kiss" "Transition" "Love Struck" "Old Habits" "Stopping Time" "The Art of Waiting" "Flesh for Comfort" "The Sleeping Girl and the Summer King" "Cotton Candy Skies" "Unexpected Family" "Merely Mortal"

Rating: 

Like you might now, I’m not such a fan of anthologies. I prefer long stories where I can bond with characters, so this book surprised me! Marissa did a great job in spinning stories with a fairytale feeling.

Where nightmares walk was strange. It’s only 2 pages long and there is hardly anything to say about it. My expectations dropped down, but I’m happy to say that Winter’s kiss made me excited again. It’s a fairytale about a girl whose breathe freezes everything around her. She can’t find her place in this world, until she is visited by an ice bear. This meeting is about to change her life. This was one of my favorite stories. 

Transition is a vampire story and it was a bit strange. It gave me a “meh” feeling. Love struck was great on the other hand. It’s about a Selkie boy called Murrin who is trying to win the love of his true match Alana.

Old habits, Cotton Candy Skies, Stopping time and Unexpected family were hard to follow. These stories belong to the Wicked Lovely series and I couldn’t understand it. I will return to this anthology after reading the series. The art of waiting was interesting, you have to see it for yourself. Flesh for comfort was bizarre, in a good way! It gave me the creeps. The sleeping girl and the Summer king was my other favorite story. It’s about a girl who gets to choose; living forever with the Summer King or ruling the Winter. Fairytale feeling! Merely Mortal was sweet, about the love between the Winter queen and a fairy who became mortal after saving her life.

This book was definitely enjoyable and I think I’m going to take a look at her series. Her writing-style was pleasant enough.

Review 134. Kagawa, Aguirre & Duvall - ‘Til the world ends.

Title: ‘Til the world ends.
Authors: Julie Kagawa, Ann Aguirre & Karen Duvall.
Pages: 368.
Published: January 29th 2013 by Harlequin Luna.
Sort: Part 0.5 from ‘Blood of Eden.’
Review part 1: The immortal rules.
Source: Netgalley & The publisher.

Dawn of Eden by Julie Kagawa
Before The Immortal Rules, there was the Red Lung, a relentless virus determined to take out all in its path. For Kylie, the miracle of her survival is also her burden-as a doctor at one of the clinics for the infected, she is forced to witness endless suffering. What's worse, strange things are happening to the remains of the dead, and by the time she befriends Ben Archer, she's beginning to wonder if a global pandemic is the least of her problems....
Thistle & Thorne by Ann Aguirre
After a catastrophic spill turns the country into a vast chemical wasteland, those who could afford it retreated to fortresses, self-contained communities run by powerful corporations. But for Mari Thistle, life on the outside-in the Red Zone-is a constant struggle. To protect her family, Mari teams up with the mysterious Thorne Goodman. Together, they'll face an evil plot in both the underworld of the Red Zone and the society inside the fortresses that could destroy those on the outside...for good.
Sun Storm by Karen Duvall
Sarah Daggot has been chasing storms since she was a child. But after the biggest solar flares in history nearly destroy the planet, she becomes a Kinetic, endowed by her exposure to extreme radiation with the power to sense coming storms-in the cosmos and beyond. And she's not the only one. Sarah believes the Kinetics are destined to join forces and halt the final onslaught of the sun. She'll vow to keep trying to convince the one missing link in their chain of defense, the enigmatic Ian Matthews, up until the world ends.

Rating: Different rating for every story, but overall:

To be very honest, the reason why I wanted to read this book was because of Dawn of Eden. I can’t wait for The eternity cure after falling in love with The immortal rules. I loved this one. We get more information about the Red Lung virus. Kylie is trying to help her patients, but they are all slowly dying. When Ben arrives with his wounded friend, he is keeping a secret that will change their world very soon. It was a great way to understand the situation at the beginning of the outbreak. We even get a glimpse of a character in The immortal rules! This story get’s 4 out of 5 flowers.

The next novel wasn’t my cup of tea. Thistle & Thorne by Ann Aguirre was a very confusing story. The world-building wasn’t fantastic and I didn’t connect with Thorne or Mari. It started okay, but the middle part was boring and I skimmed the last part. That isn’t a good sign with such a short story. I rate this 1 out of 5 flowers, because it was close to a DNF.

Sun Storm by Karen Duvall started very interesting. The world is plagued by sun storm’s with lethal rain of radio-active sun sparks which changes your DNA. Only Kinetics can survive the touch of the sparks and they have a special gift. Sarah can predict the upcoming storms and Ian, new in town, can control the weather. They don’t know the important role they are going to play in the existence of the world. After this nice promise, the story goes downhill. There is some travel, there comes a bad guy, more travel and I skimmed through the end. I rate this 2 out of 5 flowers because of the original subject.

This is the problem I always have with anthologies. Some stories are really good, others suck. I’m not sure if I recommend this book and that is a shame, because Dawn of Eden is worth a read.

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Review 80. Anthology – Two and twenty dark tales.

Title:Two and twenty dark tales.
Author: Anthology.
Pages: 340.
Expected publication: October 16th 2012
Publisher: Month9Books
Sort: Stand alone.
Source: Netgalley & Publisher.

In this anthology, 20 authors explore the dark and hidden meanings behind some of the most beloved Mother Goose nursery rhymes through short story retellings. The dark twists on classic tales range from exploring whether Jack truly fell or if Jill pushed him instead to why Humpty Dumpty, fragile and alone, sat atop so high of a wall. The authors include Nina Berry, Sarwat Chadda, Leigh Fallon, Gretchen McNeil, and Suzanne Young.

Rating:

From the moment I saw this, I decided I had to read it. I’m not a fan of Anthologies, because I like to bond with my characters and that’s almost impossible here. This book didn’t blow me away. Three stories were left out of my eARC. I will make a list from the books I hated and loved;

I hated:
Nina Berry: As blue as the sky & just as old.
Annoying characters.

Sayantani Das Gupta: – Blue. 
I didn't get the story.

C. Lee McKenzie: – Sea of Dew.
I didn't like the end.

I loved:
Sarwat Chadda: Sing a song of six-pence.
It’s a sad story, but beautifully written.

Angie Frazier: – Boys & Girls come out to play.
Bronwyn’s sister Aelwyn has been chosen to play in the forest with the witches, but Bronwyn takes her place.

Lisa Mantchev: – Those who whisper.
The main character is such a kick ass girl. Sida is banished from her village after the death of her mother, but she manages to survive on her own.

Gretchen McNeil: – Tick Tock.
SCARY! Shannon babysits, but the new family isn’t what she expected..

Suzanne Young: – The wish.
Lovely, but sad story. The main character is a bit naive, but I felt sorry for her.

Michelle Zink: – A ribbon of blue.
Ruby is waiting for the carnival. She is suffering from CP, but someone promised her a long time ago that she would find a cure at the carnival.

Nancy Holder: –Part first: The lion & the unicorn.
I felt so sad when I discovered that Part two is only available in the published version. It was really good.

Opinion.
The other stories were just okay. There was nothing special about them. Well-written, but forgettable. I blame it on the fact that I couldn't connect with the characters, so perhaps it's just me :) The stories I loved managed to give me something extra. A original twist, a character that could surprise me or just a great way of playing with words.

I wished that the stories were scarier. There were two that frightened me, but that wasn't enough. Based on the title and the dark cover, I expected more nail biting scenes. Overall, a nice read, but I'm not going to buy a copy.