The Worlds of Ashley Stangl

So....a month ago, I reviewed the other two books of this series, and indicated that this review was coming soon. Unfortunately, a complication known as Real Life interfered with my plans, and took away my blogging time. Today, I've decided to ignore Real Life long enough to get this review written. It'll be short and sweet, just like this book. Goldheart is a retelling of "Rumpelstiltskin" starring Elaine, an off-screen character mentioned in Traitor's Masque. Elaine is a quiet, timid girl who would like to ignore the rest of the world and paint in solitude. Unfortunately, her father's death leaves her in financial difficulties and forces her to work as a portrait painter. A wealthy, demanding businessman commissions Elaine to paint a portrait of his wife, and locks her in his mansion until she creates the perfect masterpiece. Soon, Will, a friend of the businessman's son, learns about Elaine's plight, and helps her to overcome the difficulties of...

After finishing Pirouette , the third book in Kenley Davidson's Andari Chronicles series, I immediately rushed to pick up the first book, Traitor's Masque . This is a retelling of "Cinderella" set in the kingdom of Andar, and since magic isn't introduced to the series until Book 3, this story has atmosphere more similar to a gentle historical romance than to a fantasy novel. But there's still a hefty dose of political intrigue to ensure us that it's set in the same world and to keep it from being a run-of-the-mill "Cinderella" retelling. Our main character is Trystan, the spoiled daughter of a deceased lord, who escapes from her stepfamily by going out on horseback rides. One day, she starts a friendship with a kind young man, but they both keep their personal lives secret, and doubt that the relationship can lead to any romantic hopes. Then the crown prince, Ramsey, announces that he's holding a masquerade ball that will help him to ...

 To the lover of fairy tale retellings, Amazon is both a gold mine and a minefield. Self-publishing has made hundreds of new novels about the classic stories available, and nearly every major Western fairy tale has several novels available. Sadly, many of them offer little more than a half-hearted expansion of the fairy tale. I've learned to hope for little more than a generic, vaguely pleasant reading experience.  The Andari Chronicles by Kenley Davidson might be self-published fairy tale retellings, but they're  far from generic. Indeed, these books aren't only rich and immersive fairy tale retellings, they're some of the best books I've read this year, and I inhaled the series in less than a week.  To keep this from turning into a monster post, I'm going to post about each book in the series individually, in the order that I experienced them. Though it's the third in the series, I started with Pirouette , which is a version of "The Twelve...

Now that July is behind us, I thought I'd do a bit of a wrap-up of the media I've consumed this month. There's something about July that makes fiction especially enjoyable for me. A book or show that would be enjoyable at any other time of year becomes an obsession if I discover it in July. There's just something about this time of year that makes me more likely to delve deeply into fictional worlds and characters, and I have a few new obsessions to share. White Collar   This USA show has been on my radar for a long time. I figured I would like it, because I love stories about art thieves.  But when I watched the pilot on Netflix, it was more than just enjoyable. It was EVERYTHING I LOVE and it SPOKE TO MY SOUL. Neil is a delight--the charming, clever and snappily-dressed criminal who breezes through life on one scheme after another. His dynamic with Peter, the cop who worked for years to catch him and now has to solve mysteries with him, is fantastic. Plus, the...

I love when books cater specifically to my tastes.  Lately, I've been wishing for more mysteries set in fantasy worlds.  Then, suddenly, I see this beautiful cover on Amazon, and find Masque by W.R. Gingell , an ebook (currently free) that's a fantasy, a murder mystery, and a fairy tale retelling .  Specifically, "Beauty and the Beast".  Watching Beauty and her Beast solve a mystery together?  I could not buy this book fast enough. Even so, I kept my expectations tempered.  Fairy tale retellings, though they're one of my favorite genres, are often not great literature.  Independently published fairy tale retellings are often especially amateurish, with thinly drawn settings and characters, as though simply throwing in the right symbols and plot points should be enough to satisfy the reader.  I expected, at best, for Masque to be a faintly drawn fantasy, with vaguely pleasant characters and just enough plot to keep me motivated to reach the la...