Emily Deady

I had no idea how much I would love Princess Meena until I read this book. She is such a cool character! She is so honest and trusting and loyal and adventurous and so many wonderful things all poured into a single character. And as with all of Emily's books, the story was perfect for her. She was so often overlooked and her brilliant mind was taken for granted because people thought she was nothing more than a silly princess. I was less familiar with the fairy tale this book retold, but it had its own twist and fit in perfectly within the tapestry Emily has been weaving for us. I eagerly anticipate the conclusion of the saga.

I received a free ARC from the author and have reviewed it willingly.… (más)

Emily is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors of fairy tale retellings. Her latest book is no exception. In this twist on the Little Mermaid, Aizel has her voice silenced and is tasked with killing a prince. If she fails, not only will she not get her voice back, but her sister will be killed. The twist is that she doesn't want to kill the prince. Instead, she hopes she can convince him to work with her to save her sister. Actually, there are quite a few twists pertaining to past and future characters. I love this series so much!

Each book in this series shows the hero standing up to the villain, but even more importantly, dealing with their internal struggles. Erich, who has always been confident in his own abilities, faces several new challenges, most importantly, judging people on their character and actions rather than rumors and stereotypes. Aizel is a Majis, but she is nothing like the tales Erich has grown up hearing. Since she can't speak, he has to decide for himself whether to trust what he has heard about her or what he sees.

I've loved the character development throughout this series, as well as how real-life magic is found in the midst of the fairy tales. Also, this book started to really develop the political drama between the kingdoms in an unexpected way. I look forward to seeing how it unfolds in the next books.

I received a free ARC from the author and have reviewed it willingly.… (más)

Emily is magical. When I first began reading this story, I was rather annoyed with Isa (Beauty). She had a chip on her shoulder which she took out on pretty much everyone. Understandable, since her intelligence was as great as her beauty, but it also meant the love story made so much more sense than any version of this story I've read before. While Disney has Beauty and the Beast falling in love over a song, there were a lot more misunderstandings as well as a struggle to learn to trust each other in this version. Also, despite a few angry moments, Aden (the Beast) truly is a sweetheart.

But seriously, making Gaston a scholar who values Beauty for her physical appearance as well as for her father's library and connections is genius! Making Beauty a feminist who is disgruntled with the world in which only male scholars get to sit for exams, so much better than someone who only daydreams about books (although that wasn't lost in the story either). The characters were fantastic and strangely believable (for a fairy tale). In fact, Emily writes the perfect balance of fairy tale and modernity which makes the magic surprisingly even more magical.

I received a free ARC from the author and have reviewed it willingly.… (más)

Shard of Glass was a beautiful new take on a very familiar story. Ashlin and her prince didn't meet at the dance. Instead, they meet when Prince Onric and his brother are caught in the storm and need to spend the night in her barn. Hiding his identity, Ashlin feels comfortable talking with him, but forgets to ask his name and doesn't expect to see him again. When she takes a job as a palace servant, she is embarrassed to find out who he is and also to constantly see him everywhere. Could it be that he is as drawn to her as she is to him?

Ashlin is not a typical Cinderella in the way she loves her step-mother and step-sister and truly believes they care for her as well. She also feels partly responsible for the death of her father and the suffering his death has caused her family, so she feels no resentment toward either of her remaining family members. However, that makes the domestic abuse worse. And several people, including Onric, call it out. Over the course of the story, Ashlin learns what is and what is not her responsibility and begins to stand up for herself. Several people in the story offer her a way out at various points, but it is up to her to choose to take it.

Onric is a darling of a prince, not perfect, but not snotty either. He likes Ashlin and even though he thinks she is just a servant, he doesn't treat her differently in any way. He even asks his mother for the ball to include commoners because he wants Ashlin to attend (and the queen agrees, knowing that's why he wants her to)! Onric also chooses to trust Ashlin when people lie about her, which is unlike royalty in many fairy tales.

Ashlin's step-mother and step-sister were weak villains, powerless apart from the power Ashlin gave them. So when she decided she was done, so were they. The true villains of the story have yet to make an appearance. They are the Majis, magic users who once wreaked havoc on the land and are returning. For the majority of the story, we hear only rumors of their abilities. But magic is seen as evil and anyone researching it will be severely punished. Of course, that also makes it fun the few times we see magic at work. And yes, there is still a fairy godmother of sorts.

Shard of Glass was beautiful story with fabulous characters. The end clearly pointed to the next fairy tale retelling which I hope Emily will be writing very, very soon.

I received an ARC from the author and have reviewed it because I stayed up all night reading it and wanted to share how amazing it was.… (más)