Adventures in Crafting with Words

A Bear's Bride is Book Three in the Entwined Tales series features Sophie.  Any readers of the previous two books can deduce that she's a handful. We start off with her sneaking off to visit her friend, Peter.  The very friend she's been forbidden from seeing.  Peter then proposes and they make plans to run away together. Until her father interrupts and informs Sophie he's accepted somebody else's offer for her hand.  Naturally, spirited Sophie runs off to Peter only to be reminded that her friend is a ladies man.  It's obvious that she didn't really want to marry Peter when she nicely ends their "engagement" and runs off alone. Hours later she finally calls the Fairy Godfather Mortimer for help.  In asking for a knight's assistance, Sophie gives him an idea.  Within moments they are countries away and in front of the palace of the cursed prince. By day Henri is cursed to be a bear.  By night he is a human. Impulsively they marry.

Sometimes, just sometimes, I stumble on a book that catches my attention from an author I've never heard of before. All I did was click on Kindle Unlimited in the Kindle Book Store and then checked out the recommended for you section. After scrolling and scrolling and scrolling through the romances and retold fairy tales my results started getting interesting. I don't know if it was the title or cover that drew me into clicking on Challenge Accepted to learn more about the book.  But I clicked.  I read the description.  I clicked the Kindle Unlimited check out option. Then I read three chapters before curiosity got the better of me and I clicked to the end. Yes, dear readers, I cheat.  I'll read the endings. I do this for two reasons: 1. (Not applicable here) I'm bored and I want to make certain it'll get better.  If an unexpected ending happens I'll want to know why. 2.  Because I like the book and I don't want a disappointing ending.  (

Okay, Brittany Fichter has been in my to-read-eventually list for ages.  What a better time to be introduce to her writing than with this Entwined Fairy Tales series? An Unnatural Beanstalk is the second tale in the series and is based off of Jack and the Beanstalk.  Obviously. While one of the lesser known tales, Jack and the Beanstalk has one major plot line despite the many variations.  Jack has to go sell the family cow and is offered Magic Beans.  Jack, probably thinking more about what can be done with the beans, accepts the trade.  His mother, angered, flings the beans out the window.  Overnight the beans grow and grow and grow up into the clouds.  Up to a kingdom of giants. Here is where the tales I've read vary.  Jack defeats the giants.  He also rescues a princess or a golden goose. Fichter's version adds a welcome twist to this original story. Eva - younger sister to Rynn from The Goose Girl (Book One) was granted a magical gift from their Fairy GodF

The funny thing about reading something from somebody you sorta-kinda know (I went to high school with Megan O'Russell's husband, but I have not met this fearless author, yet.) is that there are tiny moments in books where you catch reality sneaking into fiction. And it is amazing!  Like Chapters 11 through   where I can see details and dialogue inspired by real life adventures (and possibly conversations/thoughts). And yes, authors will pull inspiration from their lives from little or major conversations.  In this case, inspiration from her travels. The Girl Without Magic  (The Chronicles of Maggie Trent - Book One) released at the perfect moment.  So many books that I've put my hands on (or downloaded) lately have had fairy tale orgins.  Obvious fairy tale origins. I am so sick of obvious fairy tales reimaginings, and sadly they seem popular lately and most likely won't be leaving my TBR pile any time soon.  This piece of young adult paranormal fantasy is

Recently I discovered that a few of my favorite fairy tale retalers have joined together for an intertwined fairy tale journey. The Entwined Fairy Tales series featuring six books begins with KM Shea's The Goose Girl. This tale follows the eldest girl of a former woodcutter's family, Corynn also known as Rynn.  Rynn has taken a temporary assignment of escorting Princess Davina to her intended Prince in a different country. This is where things differ from the original tale.  Rynn does not like the princess, certainly.  She finds Princess Davina spoiled and silly.  Princess Davina is the one with the plan.  She doesn't want to marry the assumed hunchbacked Prince.  With a little help from her guards and a fairy gift, the Princess forces Rynn into pretending to be the princess. Rynn, filled with duty and doing what is right, is frustrated.  Threatened by the guards, constantly dropping hints at the Prince and his cousin Conrad, and trying to convince Davina -

Another Sariah Wilson?  Yes!   I can't help it that one of my new favs released a new book a few weeks after my last post about one of her books.  Her stories haven't let me down yet, so if you haven't picked up her Young Adult or clean New Adult books then you need to add some to your to-read pile.   They are all on Kindle Unlimited so you can try out a new author without shelling out $2.99 or $3.99. Now... about #Starstruck... When Zoe replies to a tweet from her teenage celebrity crush (she's in her twenties now) she's expecting only one thing - getting negative feedback from Chase Covington's followers - aka Chasers. She never expects him to respond! Chase finds himself intrigued by her response to his tweet (and the lack of emojis) and engages her in public and private conversation. The better they get to know each other the more they both have to gain, and lose. Like Zoe's best friend - a fellow Chaser - since they were tweens.