Scary Book of Fairy Tales - Tim Rayborn, Neil Evans

 

 

This is an anthology of 50 fairy tales, but with the real not so pretty endings. I listened to the audiobook as a bedtime treat, and it took me awhile to get through. There are fairy tales from around the world, from the classics to the little known. Purportedly not for the faint of heart. 

I was sorely disappointed. I thought there would be something new... this was the standard unoriginal retelling of the dark endings heard before. It was painful to listen to and in honesty, the narrator, Dennis Kleinman, might've been a robot. There was little tone, little inflection of any emotion. I get more emotional inflection from Siri! I think the only reason I finished listening to it, is that it put me to sleep. 

I'm really sorry, but this would be rating a huge warning sign from me. Honestly, there's better books and audiobooks out there that collect these tales with the darker endings. Ones that make you look around to see if you are alone in the room, or not... 

Thanks NetGalley and HCCP & HCF Audio and Cider Mill Press. Sorry my honest review can't be more positive.

 

 

 

No Rest for the Wicked - Rachel Louis Adams

At first I was hesitant about reviewing this book. In some ways it radiated echoes of something already done, but there was just enough of a hook in the synopsis to arouse my interest. I do love Halloween, I do love mysteries, and I adore a good suspense novel. So I bit, and am I ever glad that I did! I was fully caught up in a net so skillfully woven tat it’s difficult to believe this is a debut novel.

No Rest for the Wicked is one of the strongest debut novels I have ever laid eyes upon. Do not be misled, though. It is far from being a cozy, comfy mystery novel it’s dark and twisted and quite satisfying. The protagonist, a forensic pathologist who goes by the name of Dolores Diaz, hasn’t been in her Halloween obsessed hometown of Little Horton in nearly two decades. Nor has she had any contact with her family. A call about her missing father brings her back, and his final words in a private message set her on a high speed path with so many twists and turns, you could almost get whiplash! “Trust no-one…”

Dolores teams up with the FBI to locate her missing Father, a retired senator and once Little Horton’s mayor. As the investigation delves deeper, both bodies and Dolores’ past begin to stack up. With Halloween coming up in short order, the mystery needs to be solved and her past must be dealt with.

I couldn’t stop listening, and actually was late for work so I could finish it. Yes, priorities… this was just TOO good. I didn’t want to wait a whole shift to hear the ending. I couldn’t. Be prepared to be engulfed in a world you can’t let go of.

The narrator, Jeremy Carlisle Parker, did a phenomenal job with the different voices and as usual, it was a high quality audio release. 

This debut has all the components necessary! Strong and sometimes very relatable characters, a well thought out and executed plot line, and tons of the unexpected! All I can say is that if Rachel Louise Adam’s stops this particular universe with just one tale, I will be driven insane! It’s the effect universe for a series, if she so wills it. I know the readers want at least a sequel!

Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan audio for the early audio copy of the novel in return for an honest review. This audiobook is 12hrs and 4mins in length.

#NetGalley

#Macmillan Audio

#Mystery/Thriller

Hemlock and Silver by T. Kingfisher

T. Kingfisher (aka Ursula Vernon) has hit a home run with this imaginative and dark-kissed retelling of the fairy tale Snow White. So much more imaginative and intriguing than most of the previous ones I have read. Thankfully, Hemlock and Silver, is a standalone book allowing readers (and listeners) to pick it up without having to previously read anything else. Although, you just might find yourself looking for more of Kingfisher’s works if you aren’t familiar with it. 

 

The tale focuses on Anja, a skilled poison expert with a secondary talent in healing. She’s far more interested in poisons and their antidotes, and not beyond drinking poisons to confirm her theories. She’s rather heavier and curvier than the usual protagonist, and her social skills leave a great deal of room for improvement. However, she is immediately likeable and her motivations are easily understood.

 

The King’s daughter, Snow, is ill and he is certain she is being poisoned by enemies of the crown. He arrives at Anja's workshop and fairly begs her to come and examine his daughter and hopefully heal her. Naturally, Anja feels rather duty bound to examine the girl and perhaps cure her, after being recommended by her father. She isn’t holding her breath, though.

 

She befriends her two guards – the king wants her kept safe – one of whom, Javier, catches both her eye and heart. She is soon caught up in the mystery surrounding the girl, and the guardsman follows along to do his job. Snow is ill, and Anja is fairly certain she is being poisoned, but there is just no obvious way it could be happening. 

 

There is something odd going on at the castle, something that involves the mirrors. Anja may have to change her stance on her beliefs in magic as the tale progresses, especially after discovering Grayling, the talking, narcissistic gray cat is discovered. Time is rapidly running out as Anja struggles to believe what is happening and cure the worsening Snow. Tension mounts, the mystery builds.

 

While it begins slowly as the world is built, the ground is laid and the characters introduced and brought to life, then this story simply flies along lickety-split towards its surprising ending. Kudos to Kingfisher for the mind-blowing imaginative use of magic and mirrors. I absolutely love idea of the ‘gelds’! They made so much sense and answered a question I’ve had for decades!  

 

Listening length was 11 hours and 50 minutes. The narration was done by Jennifer Pickens, who provided entertaining voices and just the right amount of necessary snark in her tone for both Anja and Grayling. 

My thanks to NetGalley, Tor and MacMillan Audio for the advance audio edition in exchange for an honest review.