Welcome to Litsy!

Stunning cover!

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Finally finished this one. It is actually a good beach or travel read because it contains 17 short stories which are (sometimes loosely) based on well-known fairy tales. Most of them have been very entertaining, a few have been simply weird.

Back in Egypt again, even though we still teach online, I think I made the best out of it. 🤗🤗🤗
Now I finish workdays with a nice beach read. 🥰
#beachread

In one of the short stories a sylph was mentioned. Funny the German translation didn‘t help me at all, in German it is a Sylphe. So, I had to look it up and found out it is a spirit of the air. One of the most known ones is Ariel in Shakespeare‘s The Tempest. Which brought me to ...

Travelling by train again - time for some short stories. 🤗🤗🤗

There was a brilliant variety of stories in this collection - some better than others, but that was to be expected. I liked how some spun well known (and some lesser known) tales into something new, and how some took familiar fairytale elements and create something new and interesting.

I look forward to reading the other collections in the series.

#TBRChallenge #TBRCleanup #ShortStories

The Final Straw - I was excited to see a retelling of the Rumpelstiltskin, because it doesn't seem to be very popular. It kept a lot of the traditional elements, but made the heroine less pathetic. Really loved this one.

The Unicorn Hunter - I'm not crying, you're crying! A Snow White retelling with demons and unicorns and a happy/sad ending. If that's not enough, then nothing is 😅

#TBRChallenge #TBRCleanup #ShortStories

Still Red - this one gets a post of its own... not because it's good, but because I'm not sure a story has ever confused me so much before in my life.

Supposedly a retelling of Little Rsed Riding Hood, I can say I recognised any of the original story except a couple of names (maybe?). It was more if a delusional fever dream, and I've read it a couple of times now and if anything that made it worse.

2 more to go! 😊

#TBRChallenge #TBRCleanup

The Morrigan - more of a novella than a short story, but with good characters, a few twists and turns to keep it interesting, and consistency! Really enjoyed this and could easily see it becoming a series (or a longer book at least) 💚
Alice - Thought I was reading a short story and it turns out its an into to a book. That annoys me. I'm supposed to be reading short stories, not book teasers. Not bad, but frustratingly unfinished 😑
#TBRChallenge

Drawn to the Brink - I think this was a short story for a longer series, because it presumed a lot of knowledge that I simply didn't have. Had the potential to be really good, though.
The Variance Court - it skipped around a little be much for me, and the main character was quite underdeveloped even for a short story. It felt haphazardly drawn together at the end. Still enjoyable, but could've been much better.
#TBRChallenge #TBRCleanup #24in48

Beauty Inside Beast - to say it's one of the longer tales in the collection it felt unfinished. The backstory/flashbacks were too vague, it made a big deal out a series of murders at the beginning then seemed to forget about them... too many unanswered questions 😕
Faescorned - masterfully made a decisively evil character sympathetic. Tragedy abounds, good doesn't defeat evil (not quite anyway) and even though the transition between present ⬇️

No Gift of Words was an adorable tale of discovering what really matter. It did leave me with a few questions, but nothing major and probably just me beinga pain. I also loved that it wasn't just another white Princess meets white Prince and lives happily ever after. It was refreshing ❤
The Grim Brother was the creepiest story so far. This one truly was a dark fairy tale! Short but perfect, it really was creepy 🖤
#TBRChallenge #Fairytale #Creepy

Magic After Midnight was a quirky retake on Cinderella - or rather the stepmother. A blend of fairy tale and the supernatural, it was a well written story. It was a cute story, and the teen angst made me laugh. ❤🧡💛
Dance with the Devil was a sweet little story in the end. I can't say I liked Ana's methods but I can't question her results. And Lucifer wasn't so bad 😉
#TBRChallenge #Fairytale #CatchingUp

Not sure what this means yet, but just had a quick look ahead and it looks like the next 2 stories (at least) are much longer than the first five. I'm pretty excited to get a start on these tomorrow 😊
I'm hoping as well to get an update on my #print books posted because so far I've only mentioned my #ebook and my #Audiobook... oops 😅
I'll get my notes ready ❤🧡💛
#TBRChallenge #Fairytale #CatchingUp

The fifth story... I can't say I liked it. It redeemed itself in the last line, but up until then it was a bit of a cringe-fest 😕
It's a story of obsession with overtones of 'be careful what you wish for'
Teal started (and ended) as a strong willed and brave princess, but in the middle she seemed to go through a bit of a pathetic phase - but she was 17 so she could be forgiven. All in all it was a bit meh 😐 #TBRChallenge #Fairytale

Story 3 - The Queen Of Frost and Darkness - is probably the most like a traditional fairy tale, but like the stories before it in this collection it was the girl saving the guy.
I liked the happy ending, but I was a bit confused about the Evil Princess who seemed to vanish with no explanation making the rescue a little lacklustre and the 'thief girl' who was maybe a touch too convenient 🤔 It was a nice story though 😊
#Fairytale #TBRChallenge

Just finished the 2nd story 🖤
Where the first one had a happy ending, this one... not so much! Again it was the girl saving the guy, but this one was darker than the first. This one drew a lot of Celtic folklore which is something I love and know well, so it definitely got some brownie points from me 😅
Overall, this book is looking like it's gonna be a winner 🖤💙💜
#TBRChallenge #Fairytales #Folklore

Just finished the first of the 17 short stories in this book - Yarrow, Sturdy and Bright by Devon Monk - and I enjoyed it 😊
I liked the traditional fairy tale style of writing and some of the traditional elements that she used, but I also loved the fact that the 'Princess' saved the 'Prince' 💙
This story was really short compared to others in the collection so I'm looking forward to seeing what else it has to offer 😊
#TBRChallenge