Tag Archives: fairytale

Review: The Song of the Swan by Karah Sutton

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Song of the Swan Karah Sutton

The Song of the Swan
Karah Sutton
Knopf Books for Young Readers
Published October 24, 2023

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About The Song of the Swan

A magical retelling of Swan Lake, featuring a clever orphan, a castle filled with enchanted swans, and a quest to unearth the secrets of the past.

Olga is an orphan and a thief, relying on trickery and sleight of hand to make her way in the world. But it’s magic, not thievery, that could get her into trouble.

When Olga and her partner-in-crime Pavel learn of a valuable jewel kept in a secluded castle, Olga sees an opportunity to change their lives: a prize so big, they’d never have to steal again. But the castle is not as it seems, ruled by an enchanter who hosts grand balls every night, only for the guests to disappear each morning, replaced by swans. Guided by cryptic clues from the palace spiders, Olga soon realizes she’s in over her head—torn between a bargain with the enchanter, loyalty to Pavel, and determination to understand how the enchanted swans are linked to her own fate.

One thing is certain: there is dark magic behind the castle’s mysteries, and Olga will stop at nothing to unmask it.

My Review

The cover copy lists this book as a retelling of SWAN LAKE, and I definitely see some of the elements from the ballet in the story, but I’m not sure it would really be classified as a straight-up retelling. It had some elements, but other elements are absent or very changed.

The biggest change is probably that there’s no prince in this story, and it doesn’t center around a romance. There’s a minor romance plot, and the main character does impersonate the love interest at one point to trick the boy into thinking she doesn’t love him, but it happens really quickly and is a minor point in the story, rather than the big, critical moment that it is in the ballet.

The other big difference is the addition of the spiders and the heartstring magic. I really liked those parts. I felt like it added a whole new layer to the story. The story is also broken into parts. Each part begins with a short tale told by a spider that reveals some important parts of the history of the story world. I really liked the way that structure set the pace of the story. It felt like a really quick read because there were only a few chapters per part.

I also liked Olga, the main character, a lot. She’s flawed and scrappy. But she learns and grows so much. I guessed some of the relationship connections between characters before they were revealed, and I thought they were cleverly done.

All in all, I had a great time reading this book. I loved the fairytale feel of the narrative and Olga’s emotional journey. I think readers who enjoy fairytales will love this one.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 8 to 12.

Representation
Major characters are white. Some characters are spiders. Readers with a strong aversion to spiders might struggle with some scenes that describe the way spiders move and in which spiders sometimes climb on other characters.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
A boy and girl are in love.

Spiritual Content
Long ago, a spider gifted a piece of silk to a person, and it became their heartstring, a magical string that a person can pull magic from. Some characters have the ability to perform magic which can be used for good or evil.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. In one scene, a soldier shoots a swan with an arrow. In another, a soldier shoots a person with an arrow.

Drug Content
Brief mentions of party attendees drinking alcoholic drinks.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use but which help support this blog. I received a free copy of THE SONG OF THE SWAN in exchange for my honest review.

Review: Beauty Reborn by Elizabeth Lowham

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Beauty Reborn
Elizabeth Lowham
Shadow Mountain Publishing
Published May 2, 2023

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Beauty Reborn

“Suspense-building flashbacks. Soul-searching, cautionary realism. Beauty herself is an intriguing, well-crafted original.” —Kirkus

Fantasy and reality collide in this retelling of “Beauty and the Beast” about a young woman’s heroic quest to save herself.

Beauty’s life is the stuff of fairy tales. The youngest in her family, Beauty isn’t trying to catch Stephan’s eye. He is the lord baron’s heir, well above her family’s modest station, but when he kisses her hand at a party, Beauty is swept away by his charm, his wit, and his passionate declarations of love.

Hearts can be untamable creatures, especially when touched by the fires of first love, and Beauty doesn’t see the truth of Stephan’s intentions until it is too late. Until he stops asking for Beauty’s love—and simply takes it from her one night despite her refusal.

Beauty locks away the secret of what happened to her, and when her father emerges from the enchanted forest with a stolen rose in his hand and the tale of a vicious beast on his breath, Beauty seizes the chance to run as far from Stephan as possible.

She has some experience with beasts, after all. Certainly the one in the forest couldn’t be any worse than the one she’s already encountered.

Breaking the Beast’s curse might be the key to discovering her own path to healing—and finding the courage to allow herself to feel reborn.

My Review

I’m always interested to see how people reimagine fairytales, so this retelling of Beauty and the Beast caught my eye as I was browsing on NetGalley.

I like the juxtaposition of the handsome man who is a monster on the inside versus the man who is outwardly a beast, but inwardly gentle and self-contained. It’s a more extreme version of that idea than I’ve seen done in other stories, and it also allows the story to focus on what it is like as a sexual assault survivor to face a new opportunity for relationship.

I liked the pacing of the story, too. The relationship between Beauty and the Beast gently builds, showing the progression of the friendship and deepening affection between them. I also really liked the way the story shows Beauty processing what happened to her and her journey of healing.

BEAUTY REBORN is a shorter book at under 200 pages, so it was a really quick read. Parts of it reminded me of Robin KcKinley’s BEAUTY, but new elements and twists kept the story fresh and me engaged. All in all, I think this is one fans of the original fairytale do not want to miss.

Content Notes for Beauty Reborn

Recommended for Ages 12 up.

Representation
Major characters appear to be white.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl. References to sexual assault. Beauty reacts traumatically to events which remind her of the man who assaulted her.

Spiritual Content
Though Beauty herself does not believe in God, her father is a person of faith. They read the Bible together one evening. When Beauty feels ashamed and low, he reminds her of the verse that says God creates beauty from ash. Beauty finds comfort in this idea. She discusses philosophy and faith with the Beast as well.

Violent Content
Beauty journeys to the Beast’s castle hoping he will end her life (by eating her). In a series of flashbacks, we learn about Beauty’s courtship with Stephan, whose behavior escalates to violence toward her. There’s no graphic description of his assault, only that it happened and when and how Beauty felt afterward.

Drug Content
None.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support this blog. I received a free copy of BEAUTY REBORN in exchange for my honest review.

Review: Sea Witch by Sarah Henning

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Sea Witch
Sarah Henning
Katherine Tegen Books
Published on July 31, 2018

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

About Sea Witch
Everyone knows what happens in the end. A mermaid, a prince, a true love’s kiss. But before that young siren’s tale, there were three friends. One feared, one royal, and one already dead.

Ever since her best friend, Anna, drowned, Evie has been an outcast in her small fishing town. A freak. A curse. A witch.

A girl with an uncanny resemblance to Anna appears offshore and, though the girl denies it, Evie is convinced that her best friend actually survived. That her own magic wasn’t so powerless after all. And, as the two girls catch the eyes—and hearts—of two charming princes, Evie believes that she might finally have a chance at her own happily ever after.

But her new friend has secrets of her own. She can’t stay in Havnestad, or on two legs, unless Evie finds a way to help her. Now Evie will do anything to save her friend’s humanity, along with her prince’s heart—harnessing the power of her magic, her ocean, and her love until she discovers, too late, the truth of her bargain.

My Review
Even though the description kind of tells where this story is headed, I felt like so many things about it took me completely by surprise. I liked the fact that it was set in Denmark and really felt anchored in the setting, from the village’s dependence on fishing to the climate to some of the cultural elements. I thought the way beliefs about the goddess of the sea were woven into the story was great, too.

At first I wasn’t sure if the characters would really draw me in. Something about Evie didn’t immediately hook me. I think I felt like she was well-intentioned but a little bit oblivious to the feelings of the people around her. She really grew on me, though, the more I read. I loved that her good intentions ended up being a huge driving force in the story, but not always for good. I don’t know if that makes sense. Sometimes she did things meaning to help but they backfired. Every time that happened, I felt myself only get more deeply invested in the story.

I think Sea Witch is perfect for fans of the movie Maleficent or really any fairytale origin story. I enjoyed it and found it to be a pretty quick read.

Recommended for Ages 12 up.

Cultural Elements
Major characters are white. The story takes place in Denmark.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl.

Spiritual Content
The town celebrates rituals honoring the goddess of the sea, Urdu. When someone dies, everyone considers it because Udru takes what she will. A king some years ago burned witches, and public feeling is very strongly against them, so Evie and her family keep their power secret. Evie uses her power to try to bring more fish to the fisherman so the people in her village don’t go hungry. Evie befriends a mermaid who has been transformed into a human girl.
Magic always demands a price, such as a life taken for one saved. This means when someone’s life is saved, someone must die instead. In one instance, the sacrifice is willing. In another, the life is unwillingly given.

Violent Content
A woman gives her life for a spell to save her child. A child drowns in the ocean while her friends try to rescue her. A man is speared through the chest. A boy and later a young woman are injured in the water. Violent storms threaten the lives of those at sea.

Drug Content
References to drinking alcohol at a festival.