Title: Fairy Tale Reform School: Flunked
Author: Jen Calonita
Genre: MG Fantasy, Fairy Tales
Format: Hardcover, 256 pages
Release Date: March 3rd 2015
Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Source: eARC received from publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review

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Would you send a villain to do a hero's job? An exciting new twisted fairy tale series from award-winning author Jen Calonita.

Full of regret, Cinderella's wicked stepmother, Flora, has founded the Fairy Tale Reform School with the mission of turning the wicked and criminally mischievous into upstanding members of Enchantasia.

Impish, sassy 12-year-old Gilly has a history of petty theft and she's not too sorry about it. When she lifts a hair clip, she gets tossed in reform school-for at least three months. But when she meets fellow students Jax and Kayla, she learns there's more to this school than its sweet mission. There's a battle brewing and she starts to wonder: can a villian really change?  


As I have said MANY times over the years, I am sucker for Farit Tales and so this was a book that was not really a retelling but more of a alternate universe type of book. In Fairy Tale Reform School: Flunked we follow Gilly who is the daughter of the showmaker. But ever since Cinderella's glass slippers got popular and her Fairy Godmother dicided to make them with the flick of her wand, they have been broke. So Gilly took matters into her own hands and started to steal things for money, they way they can eat. But in this new Fairy Tale world when you get caught doing something illegal you go to the Fairy Tale Reform School. A place run by reformed evil witches that we all know and love.

What I think I liked the most about this book was its immagination. The idea behind this book is brilliant. I loved that the author took characters we know and turned them on their heads, and made them into something both different but yet still familair. Gilly was a great main character, she was funny, sarcastic and little deceiving. She was nosey and wanted to know everyones business but in the end that went to her advantage.

This book was extremely fun to read and a fast read as well. I believe I read it over a weekend. I really loved the characters, they were all so well done and memorable. I do think this book should be part of a series because it feels like Gilly and her friends at the Reform School could get inot trouble at every turn so it would be really fun to read. This book is Middle Grade so it reads younger and there is no romance, which was a nice change for me. I think if you are looking for great world building, immaginative stpry telling and great characters this book is for you!

Title: A Wicked Thing
Author: Rhiannon Thomas
Series: A Wicked Thing #1
Genre: YA Fairy Tales, Fantasy
Format: Hardcover, 352 pages
Release Date: February 24th 2015
Publisher: HarperTeen
Source: eARC received from publisher via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review

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Rhiannon Thomas's dazzling debut novel is a spellbinding reimagining of Sleeping Beauty and what happens after happily ever after.

One hundred years after falling asleep, Princess Aurora wakes up to the kiss of a handsome prince and a broken kingdom that has been dreaming of her return. All the books say that she should be living happily ever after. But as Aurora understands all too well, the truth is nothing like the fairy tale.

Her family is long dead. Her "true love" is a kind stranger. And her whole life has been planned out by political foes while she slept.

As Aurora struggles to make sense of her new world, she begins to fear that the curse has left its mark on her, a fiery and dangerous thing that might be as wicked as the witch who once ensnared her. With her wedding day drawing near, Aurora must make the ultimate decision on how to save her kingdom: marry the prince or run.

Rhiannon Thomas weaves together vivid scenes of action, romance, and gorgeous gowns to reveal a richly imagined world … and Sleeping Beauty as she’s never been seen before.



I am a sucker for anything to do with Fairy Tales so when i heard that A Wicked Thing was based on Sleep Beauty I knew I had to read it. For one that cover is one pf my favs ever! because serioulsy it just looks amazing, and It fit the story so well. I went into this book expecting something completely different than what I got, in a good way.

What I didn't expect was a main character who was both quiet and incredibley fierce at the same time. I also did ot expect this story to become something so much more than the original fairy tale. Rhiannon Thomas took a character was incredibly old fashioned and turned her into something spectaculart. Aurora, in this book, is woken up 100 years after she fell sleep, and therefore everything she knew is gone, including her family. Alone and betrothed to a man she just met she must find a way to blend into a society she doesnt recognize. I thought Auro's relationship with the Prince is a boring one. I will admit I wasn't fond of his character because he seemed like a such a pussy. His Mother and Father controlled every aspect of his life and he saw what they were doing to her and yet he just sat back and thought it was okay. Not okay in my books.

I loved the magic twist that was inserted at certain points throughout the book. it gives way for more in coming books and I am really looking forward to that. Oveall this book was a great retalling and really spun this book into something amazing. I never thought what would happen after she woke up, and now I do, and it is not pretty. I kept feeling so bad for her in this book because she was always following what everyone thought she should be, and I remember while I was reading, I kept yelling at her (in my head) to do something about it! Change her own fate, and I was happy to see that by the ed of the book she had found herself a little bit and at least started to figure out what she wanted in her life.

I will totally be reading teh next book in this series because I really want to know what happened to Aurora and the kingdom she has been thrust into. This book is for anyone who loves retellings and fairy tales. But I wll warn that it takes a bit to get into, so be patient because the end of this book is worth it.

Title: The Stepsister's Tale
Author: Tracy Barrett
Series: Standalone
Genre: YA Fairy Tale Retelling
Format: Hardcover, 272 pages
Release Date: June 24th 2014
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Source: ARC received from publisher in exchange for an honest review

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What really happened after the clock struck midnight?

Jane Montjoy is tired of being a lady. She's tired of pretending to live up to the standards of her mother's noble family-especially now that the family's wealth is gone and their stately mansion has fallen to ruin. It's hard enough that she must tend to the animals and find a way to feed her mother and her little sister each day. Jane's burden only gets worse after her mother returns from a trip to town with a new stepfather and stepsister in tow. Despite the family's struggle to prepare for the long winter ahead, Jane's stepfather remains determined to give his beautiful but spoiled child her every desire.

When her stepfather suddenly dies, leaving nothing but debts and a bereaved daughter behind, it seems to Jane that her family is destined for eternal unhappiness. But a mysterious boy from the woods and an invitation to a royal ball are certain to change her fate...

From the handsome prince to the evil stepsister, nothing is quite as it seems in Tracy Barrett's stunning retelling of the classic Cinderella tale.



Fairytale retellings are some of my favorites in any category of book, including YA. But for me there can be very good re-imaginings and very bad ones as well. I find that the best one keep the concept from the original but either changes the characters or changes the setting. One of my favorite retellings of all time is The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer because she keeps the overall story the same but she changed the setting completely. So when I read the synopsis for The Stepsister's Tale I knew I wanted to read it because seeing a story I know so well from another perspective was something I loved to read.

What I think I liked the most about this book was it connection with the original story. Not the Disney version but the Grimm Fairy Tale version, with the gruesome aspects and all. I liked the little nuggets you saw throughout the book that referenced the original and I loved reading that. I thought it was a great way to get a person who loves fairy tales interested in the book and its characters. I will also say that the author did a great job getting me invested early into the characters, and making me dislike "Cinderella" originally. That was a feat and honestly I did not expect to feel that way going in.

Unfortunately that is where my likes stop. Overall I thought that the story was slow in the beginning and I found that not much happens until the very end of the book. I found myself skimming the descriptions and going straight for the dialogue because honestly that is always my favorite part of a book. I felt that too much time past in this book, I think the books deals with years of these girls lives and I just thought it was too much for me to grasp and become invested long term when I really didn't get a chance to know any of the characters. I know I was supposed to dislike Cinderella, which I did and that was fine, but as for the stepsisters, I honest felt nothing for them. I did not get a chance to get to know them as people, they were always in direct contrast to Cinderella and I really didn't like that.

In the synopsis I was told there would be a love story that was untold in the original story, and I will admit that I was quite excited to read it because I do love a good love story. But sadly I hated this one because it felt forced from the beginning. Will was just OK, he did not illicit any emotions from me whatsoever and I could have cared less what happened to him and hos family. I think I felt like the story happened too quickly and if more happened within the book, and less attention was placed in Cinderella and how she differed from her stepsisters, then I might have cared more. I went into this book wanting a different perspective on a beloved story, but what I got was the story of two girls in the shadow of their stepsister and trying so hard to get away from that.

Ultimately this book was not for me. Although I liked the idea behind the story, the execution was not there to invest my interest enough to enjoy the book. I wanted a new and fresh story but what I got was a sad story of two girls that wished they could have it all, and sadly that wasn't enough for me.