Mini Reviews: The Second Novella Edition

Bad Yeti

by Carrie Harris

Kate Grable series

 

Jonah Grable hasn’t minded living in the shadow of his older, zombie fighting sister Kate, but this weekend he’s definitely raising his profile. A weekend of epic epicness—waving swords and flirting with girls in elf ears at his LARP club event—is totally up Jonah’s alley. But when his alter ego, Sir Talatien Maguirier, Nightdark Clanlord, comes face to face with a real, live Yeti, Jonah—or, rather, Tal—has to take matters into his own hands. So he sets off with gamer goddess Lady Amethyst, brown-eyed Europa, and Calamity, a braid-wearing barbarian in fur into the great unknown on a search for yeti-related awesomeness. . . . (description from Amazon.com)

 

SUPER FUN. I love this series hardcore and to have this little glimpse into that world from Jonah's perspective? So much awesomesauce.  I love the geekiness and the bravery and the general paranormalness of this series.

 

 

The Grimm Diaries Prequels Volumes 1 - 6

by Cameron Jace

 

The Grimm Diaries are pages written in a Book of Sand, where each fairy tale character confessed the true stories once altered by the Brothers Grimm two centuries ago. To keep the truth about fairy tales hidden, the Brothers Grimm buried the characters in their dreams to never wake up again. But the curse is broken now, and the characters are allowed to wake up every one hundred years. They intend to tell the truth about really happened, and about an untold cosmic conflict between fairy tale characters. (description from Amazon.com)

 

While the premise for this series is very intriguing and each short story had a compelling set of characters and circumstnaces, I was SO distracted by the poor writing technique in these stories that it was all I could do to finish them.

 

Tortured

by Caragh O'Brien

Birthmarked series

 

"But what about Leon?" Now, in this new story that bridges the gap between Birthmarked and Prized, Caragh M. O'Brien answers her readers' most common question with a tale of suffering and determination from Leon's perspective. (description from Amazon.com)

 

I really wish I had read this one before I read Prized, but you don't have to... it was so good to delve back into Gaia's world.  It was very interesting to see things from Leon's more privledged perspective, too. I can't wait to read Promised and find out how their story finally ends.

 

The Witch of Duva

by Leigh Bardugo

The Grisha Trilogy

 

There was a time when the woods near Duva ate girls…or so the story goes. But it’s just possible that the danger may be a little bit closer to home. This story is a companion folk tale to Leigh Bardugo’s debut novel, Shadow and Bone. (description from Amazon.com)

 

I loved this the same way I loved Sarah Maas' novellas. While they do not actually progress the story already written in the first book in each series, they are wonderful for fleshing out the fantasy world that each is set in.  Here, this is a folk tale, similar to Hansel and Gretel, that exists within Alina's world.  It really helped to flesh out the darkly Eastern European feel of the world she lives in. 





 

Full disclosure: All enovellas purchased for either my Nook or my Kindle App

Sweetly - Blog Tour

Sweetly
by Jackson Pearce
companion book to Sisters Red

Publication date: Aug. 23, 2011

As a child, Gretchen's twin sister was taken by a witch in the woods. Ever since, Gretchen and her brother, Ansel, have felt the long branches of the witch's forest threatening to make them disappear, too.

Years later, when their stepmother casts Gretchen and Ansel out, they find themselves in sleepy Live Oak, South Carolina. They're invited to stay with Sophia Kelly, a beautiful candy maker who molds sugary magic: coveted treats that create confidence, bravery, and passion.

Life seems idyllic and Gretchen and Ansel gradually forget their haunted past-- until Gretchen meets handsome local outcast Samuel. He tells her the witch isn't gone-- it's lurking in the forest, preying on girls every year after Live Oak's infamous chocolate festival, and looking to make Gretchen it's next victim. Gretchen is determined to stop running and start fighting back. Yet the further she investigates the mystery of what the witch is and how it chooses its victims, the more she wonders who the real monster is.

Gretchen is certain of only one thing: a monster is coming, and it will never go away hungry.
(description taken from Amazon.com)

I really enjoyed this companion to Sisters Red. Jackson Pearce has a great way of retelling fairy tales in the original vein that they were meant to be utilized, as cautionary, slightly gruesome tales. They are eerily reminiscent of the original Grimm's Fairy Tales, and I love them!

Pearce did a great job taking the original Hansel and Gretel (here Ansel and Gretchen) tale and merging it with a world where werewolves, or Fenris, as they are called in both books, hunt young girls for prey. The way that she incorporated the witch and her gingerbread house was pure genius! ...and I was starving for a piece of chocolate through most of this chocolatier centered story...

The relationship that Ansel and Gretchen has is deep and layered. Their lives are so wholly wrapped around one another that it took being kicked out of their own home and having to venture for a new one in order for the two to be able to begin to heal and become their own individual personas. The introduction of a love interest for each was really well done. The fact that Ansel's girlfriend and Gretchen's boyfriend each have their own deep secrets and gray shades of morality adds tension and depth to their relationships and their becoming a larger family.

What I loved most about this story, similar to what I loved most in Sisters Red, was the fact that the main character, Gretchen, absolutely refused to play the victim. She fights to the end, trying to save not only herself, but also her brother, her love, her friends, and those who don't know that there are things that should scare them in the night.

Another gritty, fierce, and wonderful "fairy tale" from Jackson Pearce!

Full disclosure: ARC received from Little, Brown for review, ARC received from Book It Forward Blog Tours

In My Mailbox - February 6, 2011

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme, hosted by Kristi at the Story Siren, inspired by Alea of Pop Culture Junkie. Every week bloggers can share what they received in the mail or at the bookstore or at the library. The goal is that everyone can be exposed to more books this way!

From the Library:

Foiled by Jane Yolen

A Tale Dark and Grimm by Adam Gidwitz

Oh No She Didn't by Clinton Kelly

Wildwing by Emily Whitman

Self-Editing for Fiction Writers by Renni Browne and Dave King

On My Nook:

Dreaming Anastasia by Joy Preble

Borrowed:

*Squee!! Special thanks to Jen from Yabooknerd for lending this hot ARC to me! Can't wait to read it!!*

The Liar Society by Lisa and Laura Roecker