Author: Sarah Pinborough
Publisher: Titan Books
Year: 2013
Genre: Fairytale Retelling
Adult: Adult 18+
Page Count: 202/208/224
Rating:
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It has taken me 2 months to read all of these books despite how small they are! I first saw Charm on the shelf at my library when I was picking things up one night. I picked it up & started reading...I was hooked! I then discovered that it was #2 in a series. I requested that our library get the other two books in the series but that hasn't happened yet. So instead of waiting I read that one first then reqested the other 2 books on ILL. Of course it would be my luck to get them #3 first & then #1 last! So here I am two months later finally getting to the review. I will admit that having read them all now I would recommend reading them in order because the story will make more sense that way. All of these stories are retellings of classic fairytales, Snow White, Cinderella, & Sleeping Beauty. Even though the basic story of each remains there is also other fairytales woven into them such as Rumpelstiltskin, Aladdin, Little Red Riding Hood, & Beauty & the Beast. I'll give a little synopsis of each one then I'll talk about what I think of each story a little more in depth because these are some pretty twisted fairytales. There will be spoilers so be warned!
Once Upon a Time in a Kindgom Far Far Away...
Poison: A Wicked Snow White Tale
Our story begins with a young woman who has married an old fat king through an obvious arranged marriage. Her great grandmother is the woman in the forest with the house made of candy from the classic story Hansel & Gretel. The king's daughter is the beautiful & lovely Snow White. The king goes off to war & that's when Snow White's evil stepmother, whose name is Lilith, starts plotting her end. The quenn posses magic including the talkig mirror & Aladdin who is stuck in the lamp to help her aquire magical objects. With the help of the handsome huntsman who Lilith turns into a mouse with her magic, & her evil great grandmother Snow White meets her fate of being in an enchanted sleep, only to awaken by true loves kiss. Then one day a charming prince (who we later find out is traveling with the huntsman from another fairytale land) comes along & falls in love with Snow White & her beauty beneath her glass coffin in the forest at the home of the dwarves. In order to save Snow White from the evil Lilith the dwarves tell the prince to take her with him back to his kingdom to be his bride. On the way the carriage falls over & Snow White awakens. It turns out that the apple given to her by the evil crone in the woods was just stuck in her throat & she is alive once more. Yay!!!! Now her & the prince can be married. On their wedding night he unfortunately finds out that she is not a virgin (courtesy of the huntsman since he did save her life). In the morning the prince poisons Snow White with the apple that they kept for some reason, because he is mad the dwarves gave him "tainted goods"!!!??? She falls back into a magical sleep & they return home to live happily ever after???
Ok WHAT!!!! I read this book last even though it's the first one & I'm over here just like OMG after I've read it. Our lovely Snow White ends up in the 2nd book as well. You'll be really surprised by that ending too. I think it's interesting that we don't find out about the huntsman & the prince until book #3 actually. So I knew what was up with them a little bit already since I read that one before this one. That's why I would recommend reading the books in order, even though they kinda get mixed up in eachother anyway. So here are some of the things that I just can't get over in this story. Ok first off the queen & Snow White are only like 2 or 3 years apart from eachother...in all the other stories they are uaually still pretty different in age but the queen stays "young(ish) & beautiful" through magic. Next both the queen & Snow White sleep with the huntsman in the course of the same day....WHY! Then the prince is mad she's not a virgin & he poisons her!!! There is many things wrong with this story but that is why they are called wicked retellings & why they are so juicy you just have to read them.
Charm: A Wicked Cinderella Tale
This story starts off very typical. Cinderella lives in a shack of a house with her father, stepmother, & 2 stepsisters. They don't get along & everyone treats Cinderella like crap & her father is oblivious. But Cinderella has a witch that is her fairy godmother & she gives her beautiful shoes & the fancy dress to make the prince love her. The only catch though is through their bargain each night after Cinderella has married the prince she must search the castle & report what she has found back to the fairy godmother. Cinderella goes to the ball, loses her shoe, & the search begins to find the girl that it belongs to. Throughout this story there is a tiny mouse that is always around during the day, he becomes an important part of the plot. Eventually the prince finds Cinderella but not before one of her step sisters cuts off her toe to try & make the shoe fit her. They are married & live sort of happily ever after. Cinderella discoveres that the prince only really likes her when she is wearing the shoes because they are enchanted. Through her nightly adventures Cinderella discovers that the mouse is actually the huntsman & she reports her info to him & he takes it back to the fairy godmother. One night Cinderella finds the prince in a forbidden part of the castle with Snow White. Cinderella & the huntsman have fallen in love & they leave the caslte & take Snow White with them, leaving the prince behind. Cinderella & the huntsmans go off into the forest to live happily ever after. Meanwhile Snow White is kissed by the fairy godmother & she is awoken by true loves kiss.
I had a huge appiffany while writing this just now & I FREAKED OUT!!! So let me break it down & you can decide for yourself if I am right. Lilith is Snow White's stepmother. She takes the magic shoes from the huntsmans & turns him into a mouse. Then she gives the shoes to Cinderella & she knows somwthing is going on with the prince in the castle. The huntsman is obviously her henchman because if she gets what she wants he can be free & won't be cursed to live half his life as a mouse anymore. The prince doesn't love Cinderella because he is in love with Snow White. The shoes only make him lust for her. So the two stories are diectly connected. Now in the third book we find out how the huntsman & the prince got the shoes. I'm guessing they take them from the witch's house & that must be Lilith. The only thing about this story that confuses me is why is Lilith Snow White's true love???
Beauty: A Wicked Sleeping Beauty Tale
There once was a young & foolish prince who lived his life drinking & partying. His parents, the king & queen, want him to grow up.So they send him to a far away kingdom with a huntsman to help protect him. Along the way they meet a girl named Petra. She has a bright red hood & a grandmother with a wolf problem.They help the pair & Petra decides to come along with them on their adventure. There is a huge bramble wall at the edge of the forest where they live & when Petra goes there she can hear a wolf howling on the other side, she wants to know what is over there. The huntsman, the prince, & Petra get to the other side of the wall to discover a sleepig kingdom that has been enchanted. While looking around the huntsman goes into a cottage & steals a pair of sparkling diamond shoes. The house belongs to a witch that helped curse the kingdom. High in the tower of the castle there is a sleeping princess with a prick on her finger from a spinning wheel, a slow drip from the prick has caused a pool of blood to form around her (ewww). The prince sees the beautiful sleeping princess in the tower & kisses her to wake her up. They soon discover that was not the best choice. Apparently a man named Rumpelstiltskin bought the spindle that would "kill" the evil princess by trading his daughter who is Rapunzel. But the witch tricked him because the princess will eventually die but only one drop of blood at a time while the rest of the kingdom sleeps. The prince soon finds out that the beautiful princess has a secret. She is both a beauty & a beast. They must work with Rumpelstiltskin once more to save themselves & the rest of the kingdom before it's too late. A young & handsome werewolf is also in their company, that is who was howling from the other side of the fence. Petra & him fall in love, they will stay behind & rekill/sleep the princess to let the others get away. The prince promises his first born child to Rumpelstiltskin in exchange for their encounter.
In this final story we find out how the huntsman gets the shoes & why the prince & him are wondering the forest when they come across Snow White's kingdom. We also find out that Rapunzel is Petra's great great grandmother. I think some how some of these women might be interconnected. I also think that the witch in all of these stories is Lilith but I'm still confised as to how she is Snow White's true love??? This story in particular was interesting because of the princess having a split personality. Her mother was a water witch & some of her magic carried over to the little princess but not in a good way. When the princess is in her other personality she has crazy orgies in a dark ballroom at the palace. Never a dull momentin fairytale land!
Overall these were good books. Like I said at the beginning I do wish that I had read them in order & maybe I will reread them at some point if our library gets them & I can better understand the timeline. Be warned that there is sex & lauguage throughout the stories, I think that's another reason they are called wicked. But I'm happy I got to read them & I would recommend them if you are looking for a short, different fairytale retelling.
