Untold Tales: Books 4-6: A Fantasy Fairy Tale Boxed Set

-Tainted Ashes: 5 Stars This was a fantastic rework of Cinderella. Gone is the helpless, naive daydreamer and in her place is a bold, smart, strong young woman named Tanwyn, she’s a brilliant female lead character. Tanwyns surrounding characters are just as wonderful and whimsical, especially Dart her adorable and sometimes mischievous dragon. One thing I wish there had been a little bit of expansion on was her powers, it seemed to be an oddity throughout the book and there wasn’t any explanation to it, it was just sort of excepted. I don’t know that it took much away from the story it was just more of a question I had leftover at the end, still loved the whole book though. The mix of a little mystery, great characters and of course the romance made this an exciting reworking of the classic Cinderella. -Braided Silver: 4 Stars These just keep getting better and better with each book. This is a low-conflict retelling of Rapunzel and it’s done in a terrific way. My favorite thing with these stories is they have hints of other fairytales to them, this one has bits of the Prince and the Pauper and it melds together so well. Something that a lot of non-contemporary books seem to always stick with is the sense of “propriety” of course due to the time period and while there is parts of that here, I really enjoyed the freedom that is felt between Cosette and Archie when they are alone. Great book. -Fractured Core: 5 Stars When I started reading this story it was an unexpected surprise as it is the other side of the coin to Poisoned Fate. In Poisoned Fate we see somewhat of the same fairytale but from Katya’s, the Evil Queen, side of things while we only really hear about what’s happening with Lucia. In this retelling of Snow White, we are seeing first hand Lucia’s point of view, revolving around her strength and growth and what she needs to do in order to become the rightful Queen. I thought this was such a different way of doing this fairytale and love that Lucia was created to become a strong character not meek like the original Snow White. I also really loved that we got both perspectives in this series as while I read the first book I did wish we could have some insight into how Lucia felt about everything, seems as though Laura Greenwood thought the same and decided to give us just that. A brilliant way to end this series. I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

More Twists on Childhood Stories I so enjoy this author's speculative fiction books and particularly her twists on the standard fairy tales we all grew up with. The three stories in this book give Snow White, Cinderella, and Rapunzel's stories a freshening up. I had read two of them when the original books came out, but I somehow missed one book. That's why I love collections like these, which allow you to not only catch books you might have missed but also have them all together in one convenient book so you can binge-read without a stop between tales. I highly recommended this entire series, including the collection available for books 1-3 of this series. Here are my reviews of two of the books included in this collection. Review of Tainted Ashes: Fun Story with a Strong Heroine I am a sucker for re-imaginings of fairy tales, and I usually like this author's work. I loved this retelling of Cinderella. As I read the first scene, I thought, “Why haven't I seen other new twists on Cinderella give her fire magic?” It makes total sense, even if it isn't strong in her at the beginning. I absolutely loved her little dragon friend, Dart. The heroine is strong… no damsel in distress in need of rescue, despite her unpleasant circumstances with the demanding duchess. She is quite capable of coming up with plans on her own. In fact, she wants very much to rescue the prince from a plot she has uncovered. Parts of the story felt a little rushed, and I thought there was a plot hole here and there, but other than these factors, I found this to be a fun, delightful read. Review of Braided Silver: Great New Spin on Rapunzel I absolutely adore retellings of classic fairy tales, and I usually enjoy books by this author. So, when I saw this book on one of my favorite book review sites, I knew I had to snap it up. I am so glad that I did. This is such a great little story. This particular tale is a spin on Rapunzel, called Cosette in this one. I thought her character was well-drawn, and the author created sympathy for her on several levels—because of her treatment by her mother, her treatment because of her silver blood, and her feelings for her young man and what it would take to get him! Even though a competition between women is at the core of this, the author showed the women's relationships in a variety of ways that aren't typically seen in competition stories, including real and true friendship. Very cool. The kitsune familiar was a great character, too. The silver blood was an interesting twist instead of focusing on Rapunzel's hair (which she had cut short recently to just below her knees), though I wish that more was explained about this special blood. I wish the mom had received a comeuppance. All in all, I found this to be a delightful retelling of Rapunzel. I received a free copy of this collection, but that did not affect my review.

In this collection of three fairy tale retellings, you will take a new look at CINDERELLA, RAPUNZEL, and SNOW WHITE, each with a low heat romantic m/f sub-plot, plenty of magic, leading ladies who can save themselves, and familiars who help them. Below is a review of one of the stories to give you an idea of what’s inside. The UNTOLD TALES Books 4-6 Collection includes: ** TAINTED ASHES: Encounter dragons, magic, and fire as Tanwyn uncovers a plot to kill the Prince. Can she stop it before midnight? ** BRAIDED SILVER: Escape the tower with Cosette as she joins a competition to win the hand of a Prince, and gains a kitsune familiar in the process. ** FRACTURED CORE: Lead the rebellion along with Lucia and her trusty pet hawk as she tries to put a stop to her sister-in-law's reign. *** Reviewing “TAINTED ASHES (#4)” *** “Tainted Ashes” is an inspired reimagining of the Cinderella story we all know and love. But this one goes deeper, and the dragon is an awesome addition! Tanwyn is a strong young woman and a likable character. As always, the author does an amazing job with these reimagining tales that bring up our memories of the stories we grew up on but with a twist that makes all new favorites! You don’t want to miss this action-packed tale that will hold your rapt attention to the very end!