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A review by sasha_in_a_box
Once Upon a Time: New Fairy Tales by Paula Guran
4.0
I love fairy tales, and I like clever retellings. Most of these fit into the two categories.
Coin of Heart's Desire: a very cool Korean fairy tale about sacrifice and responsibility. I really liked the atmosphere and the beautiful writing. Definitely checking out the author's other books.
The Lenten Rose: Snow Queen is one of my super favorite fairy tales, and this one was done really well. Some extra character development was nice, and the theme of poison was pretty cool throughout.
The Spinning Wheel's Tale: Too obvious and boring. Maybe should've changed the title instead of spoiling the whole thing, not that the revelation would have been any more interesting. Glad this one was short.
Below the Sun Beneath: Definitely a favorite. It had the perfect fairy tale atmosphere without getting too preachy. I love the extra descriptive stories, so this one was right up my alley.
Warrior Dreams: Broke my heart. This story incorporated a real issue into (urban) fantasy without being painfully obvious or awkward. Pretty sweet references to the more obscure French fairy tales!
Born and Bread: No freaking idea where the author got the "original" twisted-ass Sivka-Burka story. I grew up with these stories and just to double-check, I read the original in Russian. NOPE, the father does not come out of the grave every night to eat bread. The sons are just supposed to guard the field, trying to catch whoever is eating all the grain. It turns out to be a horse, which MAKES SO MUCH MORE SENSE. /end rand. Other than that gross bastard of an original version, I quite liked the story. The character of Doe was very unique and likable, and she carried the whole story. Good job.
Sleeping Beauty of Elista: Meh. I see what she did there, but it was too serious of an issue to stick into the fairy tale format. It's thought-provoking, but it had no place in this collection.
The road of needles: I don't read high sci-fi, so that could be the reason why I didn't get this story at all. All the high tech words were so foreign to me that I couldn't get into it. Absolutely not for me. If you want to read a sci-fi retelling of Little Red Riding Hood, read [b:Scarlet|13206760|Scarlet (Lunar Chronicles, #2)|Marissa Meyer|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1342485529s/13206760.jpg|18390691]
Lupine: Very pretty straight-forward fairy tale. Solid 3 stars.
Flight: Cool combination of two stories (White Bride, Black Bride; The Raven). A longer fairy tale with a strong female character and a twist ending (not my favorite ending, but not bad overall)
Egg: Eeeeewww. But I still liked the modern setting and the hearbreak that comes with having a child who not what you wished for. A good one.
Castle of Masks: This one made me giggle. A cross-dressing take on Beauty and the Beast.
The Giant in Repose: A Scandinavian myth retold. It's about your destiny and stuff. I'm weird and I didn't like it that much. All the elements were there. The characters, the origin, the heroic middle and genre-defying ending. But the author needs to become a stronger story teller.
The Hush of Feathers, The Clamor of Wings: The familiar story of the sister who is forced into silence until she makes nettle shirts for her 7 brothers turned swans (pigeons in this case). This one's also set in the modern world, but it didn't make as much sense in this case. The choice seemed to be deliberate, but unnecessary in the end. The twist in this one is that it's told from the point of view of the brother who did not want to be turned back into a human, costing the freedom of his sister. It's about selfishness and sacrificed at the cost of another. Quite a doozy, and I liked it.
Eat Me, Drink Me, Love Me: A retelling of the Goblin Market. I've already read two of those, and I have to say that this one was the most messed up one. Not a fan, unfortunately. For a better one, read [b:Lips Touch: Three Times|7638021|Lips Touch Three Times|Laini Taylor|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1348745780s/7638021.jpg|6556598]
The Mirror Tells All: Meeeeh. A modern day, creepy Snow White story. Not executed well, too confusing. I'm all for unresolved endings, but you need to give us a bone here.
Blanchefleur: The longest tale, and one of my favorites. I loved the hero's journey feel to it. And the sassy kitty. Mreow.
Great collection!
-I got a free ARC in exchange for an honest review-
Coin of Heart's Desire: a very cool Korean fairy tale about sacrifice and responsibility. I really liked the atmosphere and the beautiful writing. Definitely checking out the author's other books.
The Lenten Rose: Snow Queen is one of my super favorite fairy tales, and this one was done really well. Some extra character development was nice, and the theme of poison was pretty cool throughout.
The Spinning Wheel's Tale: Too obvious and boring. Maybe should've changed the title instead of spoiling the whole thing, not that the revelation would have been any more interesting. Glad this one was short.
Below the Sun Beneath: Definitely a favorite. It had the perfect fairy tale atmosphere without getting too preachy. I love the extra descriptive stories, so this one was right up my alley.
Warrior Dreams: Broke my heart. This story incorporated a real issue into (urban) fantasy without being painfully obvious or awkward. Pretty sweet references to the more obscure French fairy tales!
Born and Bread: No freaking idea where the author got the "original" twisted-ass Sivka-Burka story. I grew up with these stories and just to double-check, I read the original in Russian. NOPE, the father does not come out of the grave every night to eat bread. The sons are just supposed to guard the field, trying to catch whoever is eating all the grain. It turns out to be a horse, which MAKES SO MUCH MORE SENSE. /end rand. Other than that gross bastard of an original version, I quite liked the story. The character of Doe was very unique and likable, and she carried the whole story. Good job.
Sleeping Beauty of Elista: Meh. I see what she did there, but it was too serious of an issue to stick into the fairy tale format. It's thought-provoking, but it had no place in this collection.
The road of needles: I don't read high sci-fi, so that could be the reason why I didn't get this story at all. All the high tech words were so foreign to me that I couldn't get into it. Absolutely not for me. If you want to read a sci-fi retelling of Little Red Riding Hood, read [b:Scarlet|13206760|Scarlet (Lunar Chronicles, #2)|Marissa Meyer|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1342485529s/13206760.jpg|18390691]
Lupine: Very pretty straight-forward fairy tale. Solid 3 stars.
Flight: Cool combination of two stories (White Bride, Black Bride; The Raven). A longer fairy tale with a strong female character and a twist ending (not my favorite ending, but not bad overall)
Egg: Eeeeewww. But I still liked the modern setting and the hearbreak that comes with having a child who not what you wished for. A good one.
Castle of Masks: This one made me giggle. A cross-dressing take on Beauty and the Beast.
The Giant in Repose: A Scandinavian myth retold. It's about your destiny and stuff. I'm weird and I didn't like it that much. All the elements were there. The characters, the origin, the heroic middle and genre-defying ending. But the author needs to become a stronger story teller.
The Hush of Feathers, The Clamor of Wings: The familiar story of the sister who is forced into silence until she makes nettle shirts for her 7 brothers turned swans (pigeons in this case). This one's also set in the modern world, but it didn't make as much sense in this case. The choice seemed to be deliberate, but unnecessary in the end. The twist in this one is that it's told from the point of view of the brother who did not want to be turned back into a human, costing the freedom of his sister. It's about selfishness and sacrificed at the cost of another. Quite a doozy, and I liked it.
Eat Me, Drink Me, Love Me: A retelling of the Goblin Market. I've already read two of those, and I have to say that this one was the most messed up one. Not a fan, unfortunately. For a better one, read [b:Lips Touch: Three Times|7638021|Lips Touch Three Times|Laini Taylor|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1348745780s/7638021.jpg|6556598]
The Mirror Tells All: Meeeeh. A modern day, creepy Snow White story. Not executed well, too confusing. I'm all for unresolved endings, but you need to give us a bone here.
Blanchefleur: The longest tale, and one of my favorites. I loved the hero's journey feel to it. And the sassy kitty. Mreow.
Great collection!
-I got a free ARC in exchange for an honest review-