​Title: Twice Upon A Time: Sleeping Beauty, The One Who Took the Really Long Nap
Author: Wendy Mass
Genre: Middle Grade, Fantasy
Length: 172 pages
 
 
Summary 
 
This is a fairy tale retelling based on Sleeping Beauty. In this story, the main plot of the original fairy tale holds true: Princess Rose is still cursed to fall into a one hundred year sleep when she pricks her finger on a spindle. However, this retelling follows Princess Rose and the Prince as they grow up.
 
Princess Rose faces the challenge of being perfect in so many ways, thanks to the gifts of the fairies. Additionally, she must live with overly protective parents who hope Rose can avoid the fairy’s curse by hovering over her and not allowing her to participate in any activities where she might hurt herself.
 
Meanwhile, we get to know the Prince as he grows up one hundred years later. He lives with his own challenge: a mother who has some ogre blood which causes her to feed, sometimes on humans, two times a month. He discovers a castle, eerily similar to his own, deep in the woods covered by briars and is drawn to enter it. Like Princess Rose, the Prince also has very little independence making it difficult to investigate the hidden castle.
 
My Review
This is was a fun book to read. The story was told in first person, alternating chapters between Princess Rose’s and the Prince’s point of views. I really enjoyed how the author developed these two characters so we got to know their personalities much better than in the original fairy tale. I especially enjoyed seeing how Princess Rose’s gifts of beauty, cleverness, grace, and perfection at singing, dancing and music could be its own curse by not allowing her to fail causing her to seek out activities where she might fail. Both main characters were very likable as well as each of their best friends.
 
This book is classified as Middle Grade and is therefore intended for ages eight to twelve, but I believe anyone interested in fairy tales would love to read this twist. Additionally Wendy Mass has written a few other fairy tale retellings that would likely be of interest to people who enjoy this story.
 
I am a member of two book clubs, and we read a variety of genres. Plus, as a Young Adult author, I read a lot YA and MG books to improve my writing. And as a mother, I am always on the lookout for books for my children to read.
 
If you would like to read more of my reviews, check out my ratings at Christine at Goodreads. If you like them, please send me a friend request.     
 
Thank you for reading this post.  

​Title: The Magicians
Author: Lev Grossman
Genre: New Adult, Fantasy
Length: 432 pages
 
 
Summary 
 
Quentin is a seventeen-year old prodigy who enjoys performing magic tricks. On the surface, he seems to have everything and anticipates being accepted into a prestigious college soon. However, he feels there is more to life and can’t enjoy what he has. He dreams of living in a place called Fillory, the fantasy world in his favorite children’s books.
 
One day Quentin is whisked through a secret portal to Brakebills where he is immediately tested and accepted. It is a school for magic located in upstate New York but is protected from discovery by magical spells that keep the school hidden.
 
At Brakebills, Quentin discovers magic is real. Over his four years at Brakebills he is immersed in a new world of friendship and magical spells. But once the novelty of magic wears off, Quentin is still unhappy and continues to search for something more.
 
 
My Review
This is an intriguing book and reminded me of Harry Potter crossed with The Chronicles of Narnia, but for a college-aged person. The first four-fifths of the novel read as light-fantasy. But the last fifth, when they crossed into Fillory, read as high fantasy.
 
I loved Quentin’s time at Brakebills and going through the magic curriculum with him. I felt Quentin’s excitement as he discovered magic was real. Personally, I would have liked the book to end during this time as I prefer happy endings.
 
However, that is not real life and the author did a great job of keeping Quentin true to his own depressive, precocious personality. I experienced Quentin’s disappointment when he realized magic did not make him happy. I felt his depression upon graduation when he was thrust back into the real world into a life of one non-stop drunken state. And then, when he got what he always dreamed of — a chance to go to Fillory, I felt his fear at discovering his ideal Fillory wasn’t what he imagined. Instead, it was quite dangerous and the humans did not always emerge victorious.  
 
I would like to read the next two books in the series to see where they take Quentin and learn if he can ever find true happiness.
 
I am a member of two book clubs, and we read a variety of genres. Plus, as a Young Adult author, I read a lot YA and MG books to improve my writing. And as a mother, I am always on the lookout for good books for my children.
 
If you would like to read more of my reviews, check out my ratings at Christine at Goodreads. If you like them, please send me a friend request.    
 
Thank you for reading this post.