E. D. Walker (1)

An imaginative retelling of a favorite fairy tale, "The Beauty's Beast" is both compelling and entertaining. Author E.D. Walker tells her take on the tale in a descriptive manner, yet somehow leads the reader to also ponder what she is not saying, thus adding to the intrigue of the story line. Lady Kathryn de Remere's neglectful father sends her to the king's court to find a suitably plump-in-purse husband. Seeking to ease his gambling-induced financial burdens, her father cares little for the happiness of his own daughter. A fateful encounter with a strange wolf will change Kathryn's life forever. Spared during a hunt by the good king, the wolf with the soulful eyes and knowing, human expressions has deep, unexpected ties to the royal lineage. Is there enough of the nobleman left in the noble beast to save his very humanity? Will Kathryn's friendship and tender attentions keep the man from losing himself to the darker side of his nature? Can happiness be found where hope was almost lost? I look forward to reading more works from the talented E.D. Walker, who also writes as Beth Matthews.

Book Copy Gratis Author… (más)

A strange book - I was expecting a bit more of a kids' book, because I was confusing E.D. Walker with E.D. Baker. This one...is most definitely not, though mature YA might enjoy it a lot. There's quite a lot of somewhat explicit gore, and quite a lot of very restrained mutual attraction. There's no more than a kiss on the hand (several times) until late in the book, but it's a major undercurrent to events. The story has multiple roots, which also struck me as strange - I recognized Eleanor, Philip, and Henry early on, though this story veered from the historical one quickly and thoroughly (thank goodness, years of politics and legalities would make for a rather uninteresting story). Then Snow White setting up Sleeping Beauty. And a zombie mob at the end...it was a strange mix, but it worked. Alinor was hard to like - I kept expecting her to burst out in some direction or another, and then she'd be herded (by herself, more often than not) back into line. Thomas was similarly annoying, and Llewellyn kept changing his mind...sheesh. The blood witch was the only one who never changed; I couldn't figure out if she really thought her plan would work, or she was just enjoying exerting power too much to think about the matter. Nasty. Poor Godric, I suppose it was for the best in the end - what she said about Thomas probably applied all too well to Godric. I thought she'd gotten her claws into Alinor's cousin, but apparently not, he was just that - blind, or desperate, or something. And then happy ever after, sort of - at least, this problem is definitively dealt with, they do burst the bonds and take their chances...and now they get to deal with the consequences of that. Some of which are probably described in the first-written book in the series, which is set second...and which I now want to read. Not at all what I expected, but definitely worth reading.… (más)

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
First disappointment: only 3 short stories in this collection. I would have preferred a larger selection, especially to see how else the author would engage with this theme, but oh well!

Overall, I found this collection just okay. I didn’t enjoy the first story at all. It just felt too stilted, like the language was very formal so there wasn’t a nice flow in reading it. The second was probably my favourite as it was a clever re-imagining of the Scrooge tale, focusing on the horror of coming face-to-face with an angry ghost rather than the feel-good mood of the holidays.

Still, the author is very creative with her telling of the stories and each is “unsettling” in its own right. I really would’ve liked to see how else she could spin this “unsettling” theme but with only three stories it didn’t feel that it led anywhere. Hopefully there will be a volume 2!… (más)