I really loved Rumpelstiltskin himself, but Gemma got on my nerves. There was a lot going on with the political situation in this story, which sounds boring but actually added a lot more depth.ģ.5/5. I loved their relationship and everything else that was going on. I absolutely loved Cinderella and also loved the Colonel. Possibly my favorite out of the whole series.

Not a bad story, but a VERY bad love triangle that just got progressively worse before ending with a “pick your own” conclusion?! This story had a lot going for it, but the love triangle aggravated me so much that I could barely give it 3*.Ĥ/5. Still, I loved the relationship between Ellie and Severin, and the overall introduction into this world.ģ/5. There were also rather muddled motivations concerning why anyone would particularly want to kill the beast. The lack of backstory for Ellie made it difficult to get to know her or to understand her attitude. An enjoyable retelling with likable main characters. This added another level to the interest of what was going on.īelow, some brief thoughts on each book –ģ.5/5. One thing that I really loved about the series as a whole is that Shea has created an entire continent of countries where all of these stories are taking place, and most of them happen in a country that is somewhat similar to the country where the fairy tale originated. At their worst, they’re unnecessarily complicated with characters who act unnaturally to forward the story. At their best, the books are funny with engaging characters and interesting interpretations of classic fairy tales. The series had a lot of ups and downs, but on the whole were basically 3-4* reads. But Shea is still an active author, so there’s a good chance that another book is in the works. I’m hoping that we get at least one more – while these books do read individually for the most part, there are definitely threads that weave through them all, and we didn’t quite get the conclusion to that big story that I was hoping for. This series of fairy tale retellings currently includes ten different titles. (Edit: Apparently, I forgot to review one of the book when I initially posted this! Whoops!) The Aroma of Books //Rants//Raves//Reviews//

Pargeter, Edith (also writing as Ellis Peters).

Mertz, Barbara (also writing as Elizabeth Peters and Barbara Michaels).

Christie, Agatha (also writing as Mary Westmacott).

Children’s History: Landmark, Signature Biographies, and We Were There.#BookSpin & #BookSpinBingo (Litsy Challenge).

Cinderella and the Colonel by K.M. Shea