For Such a Time as This - Heather L. L. FitzGerald (Release Day Review!)

In For Such a Time as This, award-winning author Heather FitzGerald has created a hilariously offbeat retelling of Snow White by combining genres galore.  Seriously, all we need are some spaceships and then this story would have everything.

When the snowy-skinned Esther (yep, the biblical niece of Mordecai) is forced to register (which, in a dystopian future, involves being implanted with a GPS microchip and having digital records made of you), she is called up in Xerxes’ beauty draft.  His scheming sorceress-queen, Vashti, has finally gone too far and been removed from her position, and he’s in the market for a new queen—one who will respect him for the man he wants to be.  Afraid for her safety, Esther flees to the Hinterlands, where she encounters evil plants before taking refuge with seven dragons.  All she wants is to stay there peacefully until her uncle can join her.  She has no interest in becoming one of the king’s numerous concubines.

But Vashti can’t imagine that any woman would turn down the opportunity to use her beauty to gain power.  She won’t rest until every one of her rivals for the title of “fairest” is gone.

High Points

I’ve got to say it: Vashti is the best villain.  She’s such a schemer, and the ambitious Haman makes the perfect villainous counterpart.  They’re just so entertaining to read about.  I love it when they end up working at cross purposes.  If Haman hadn’t been indulging his grudge against Mordecai by pressuring him into registering Esther, Vashti’s evil plans would probably have succeeded!  As in the biblical book of Esther, the villains end up falling into a trap they dug themselves.  (Only this time instead of banquets and decrees we have dragons!)

Mordecai also made me smile.  With his commitment to living off the grid and growing his own food, he reminded me a lot of my own family.  I loved his confrontation with Xerxes after he snuck into the king’s palace.

Caveats

I love the diverse elements in this story, but I think they’re also its biggest weakness.  I had a hard time understanding the setting as a coherent whole.  If it’s basically our world after a disaster—which, from occasional historical or literary references, it seems to be—where did the dragons come from?  If it’s a world that has always had magic and dragons, would the technological elements really have developed the same way as they have in the real world?  Would you really put years of effort into inventing computers with artificial intelligence in order to watch people if you could just scry them?  I eventually decided that Time occurred in an alternate fantasy world with similar tech to our own, but it took me a long time to figure this out, since new elements kept appearing as the story went on.

Bottom Line

I had a lot of fun reading this story.  It’s creative and unexpected and never boring.  I’m really looking forward to reading Heather’s award-winning Tethered World trilogy!

Links

You can find For Such a Time as This here.  It’s ridiculously cheap.  Go forth and read!

Add it on Goodreads here.

Heather's bio

Award winning author Heather L.L. FitzGerald writes from her home in Texas while dreaming of being back in the Pacific Northwest, where she grew up. She is drawn to stories that become good friends--friends you want to revisit--the kind you wish to keep close. Those are the type of novels Heather aspires to write, ones worthy of delicious coffee and a lingering relationship.

The Tethered World was a finalist and The Flaming Sword a winner of  the OCW Cascade Award for Speculative Fiction. So far in 2018 The Genesis Tree has become a finalist for a Realm Award, a Selah Award, and an OCW Cascade Award. Heather is a member of ACFW, Manent Writers, and CAN.

Find her online at: Website || Facebook || Twitter || Newsletter || Instagram || Amazon

Magic Mirrors

Heather’s story is part of the Magic Mirrors co-release—a group of seven Snow White stories by six different authors, all becoming available the last week of October.  Watch this space for more Magic Mirrors reviews!  Or navigate to organizer Kendra's blog to join the Rafflecopter giveaway!

Other stops on Heather's blog tour today:

Knitted By God's Plan: 7 Reasons to Read

Light and Shadows: 5 Reasons to Read

Dreams and Dragons: Why We Need More Cross-Genre Fiction

Heather L.L. FitzGerald: Look! My Book is Out!

Sparks of Ember: Review
Inspiring Writes: Review

Keturah's Korner: Review

Jenelle Schmidt: Character Spotlight

Unicorn Quester: Character Spotlight

Blood in the Snow - Sarah Pennington (Release Day Review!)

“Though it is with great regret that I bid farewell to my stepdaughter—” the empress did not sound regretful— “her departure is undoubtedly the will of the Divine. So His prophecy commands: ‘As the river unites land and sea, so the fairest of all shall unite those that have been divided and make them one.’ The Dragonglass, which cannot lie, declares Princess Baili fairer than any in the land. Therefore, she shall wed Prince Liu Xiang of the Kingdom of Three Peaks and seal between our lands a bond ushering in a new era of peace and prosperity.”

When I first read the paragraph above, I knew that I was going to love Sarah’s story—and I did.  It has wonderful historical detail; a sweet, humble heroine; a satisfying romance; and high stakes, as the rulers of two great nations contend for the future of their lands.  Although it draws from the European fairy tales “Snow White” and “The Goose Girl,” it is set in a magical version of Asia, with the Mandarin, Japanese, and Mongolian peoples (as well as others I didn’t recognize) struggling for peace and prosperity.

Baili is the princess of Seven Rivers, heir of the royal Bloodgift which yields power over water and air.  As the fairest of them all—surpassing even her stepmother, Empress Yawen—she will be sent to marry the prince of Three Peaks in order to reconcile the two kingdoms.  But the marriage plans do not proceed smoothly.  As she journeys north, Baili is replaced by her maidservant, and barely escapes with her life.  Providentially, she finds refuge with a group of peasants and POWs who live near the Three Peaks capital.  But her maidservant has already claimed her place in the palace.  How can Baili prove her identity to Prince Xiang and his father?  With the true architect of her downfall still free to plot, will Baili survive to reclaim her place?

High Points

Honestly, this story is all high points.  Baili is such a sweet person.  I was really rooting for her throughout the story.  The “dwarves” are a lot of fun—especially Chouko, who challenges Baili in so many ways.  Prince Xiang, with his kindness and healing gift, was the perfect match for Baili.  I loved the historical and linguistic details, and the fact that Sarah was committed to showing the multi-ethnic society of ancient China.

Caveats

The only thing that bothered me was that the story wasn’t longer.  I think this storyline, these characters, and this world could easily have supported a story twice or three times this length (it’s only 62 pages long in my PDF version).  Sarah hints at many fascinating things in her Asia-esque world… I really wanted to see these fleshed out.  What is the Dragonglass exactly, and where did it come from?  What’s the deal with the Bloodgifts?

Bottom Line

I adored this story.  Even though I already have it as an electronic file, the paperback is going on my wish list!  If you’re a fan of Anne Elisabeth Stengl’s Golden Daughter, you’ll enjoy Blood in the Snow as well.

Sarah's Bio

Sarah Pennington has been writing stories since before she actually knew how to write, and she has no intention of stopping anytime soon. She is perpetually in the middle of writing at least one or two novels, most of which are in the fantasy and fairy tale retelling genres. Sarah's first published work, Blood in the Snow, received a perfect score and Special Unicorn status in Rooglewood Press's Five Poisoned Apples contest. When she isn't writing, she enjoys knitting, photography, and trying to conquer her massive to-be-read list. Find her online at: Website || Blog || Second Blog || Facebook

Links

Find Blood on Amazon here.

Add it on Goodreads here. 

The first chapter is available for FREE here!

Magic Mirrors

Sarah’s story is part of the Magic Mirrors co-release—a group of seven Snow White stories by six different authors, all becoming available the last week of October.  Watch this space for more Magic Mirrors reviews!  Navigate over to organizer Kendra's blog to join the Rafflecopter giveaway!

More stops on Sarah's blog tour today:

Knitted By God's Plan: 7 Reasons to Read

Light and Shadows: 5 Reasons to Read

Dreams and Dragons: Mega Spotlight

Heather L.L. FitzGerald: Guest Post - Snow White: A Story of Change

Ink Calamities: Review

Jenelle Schmidt: Review

Literature Approved: Review

The Labyrinth: Review

The Page Dreamer: Review

Sparks of Ember: Review

Unicorn Quester: Review

Selina J. Eckert: Interview

Reality Reflected: Interview

Dragonpen Press: Interview

The Princess and the Invisible Apple Tree - Meredith Leigh Burton (Release Day Review!)

“I didn’t mean to kill mother.  Truly I didn’t.”

The first line of Meredith’s story pulled me right in.  I read the novella in a day, enchanted by this tale built from the lesser-known elements of “Snow White,” as well as elements from fairy tales like “The Wild Swans” and “Rumplestiltskin.”

This is a story about two girls.  One, Snowdrop, was born a princess.  She is consumed with guilt after she kills her mother, giving her the poisoned tart that was meant for Snowdrop herself.  She tries to tell her father about the poisoner, but he doesn’t believe her, dismissing her words.

The other girl, Rachel, is an innkeeper’s daughter who struggles with feelings of inadequacy as well as an eating disorder.  After her mother marries the king (one of the less convincing bits of the story…) she meets Snowdrop.  Although they have much in common, they find themselves in conflict when Rachel won’t give up an important object—the magic mirror given to her by a mysterious peddler.  A peddler who sounds a lot like the one who gave Snowdrop the tart that killed her mother.

High Points

I was impressed by how Meredith addressed the difficult themes in this story while keeping a fantastic fairy tale quality.  She manages to bring the girls closer to one another and to God in a very convincing way.  She also constructs a complicated plot that includes a lot of moving back and forth through time as well as incidents that seem random but later prove to have been part of a larger logic.  Since I can’t do complex plots terribly well, I always admire the authors who can.

Caveats

While the dialogue is warm and convincing, the narration doesn’t always reflect the voices of the POV characters.  I also found the climax of the story to be a little confusing.  How exactly does the thing with the invisible tree work?  I realize that this is a fairy tale and fairy tales don’t usually explain how their magic works, but they get away with this by trading on well-known tropes and processes that the Grimm Brothers’ informants would have understood.  So I got a bit lost.  I felt that the character beats in the midst of the climax felt rushed (especially Snowdrop’s sudden affection for Rachel).

Bottom Line

I enjoyed this story.  While it’s short on dwarves and handsome princes, it has two wonderful heroines and an exciting plot with many twists and turns.  If you’re a fan of C. S. Lewis’ Till We Have Faces, I think you’ll enjoy Princess as well!

Links

Find Princess on Amazon here.

Add it on Goodreads here. 

Find Meredith’s fairy tale collection, Blind Beauty and Other Tales of Redemption, here.

Meredith's Bio

Meredith Leigh Burton is a voracious devourer of fairy tales. She is a motivational speaker, teacher and writer. She attended the Tennessee School for the Blind and Middle Tennessee State University, where she received a degree in English and theater. Meredith hopes to convey through her writing that people with differences can contribute much to the world. "Snow White" has always been her favorite fairy tale. Meredith has written another fairy tale based on "Snow White" entitled Hart Spring, which can be found in her anthology, Blind Beauty and Other Tales of Redemption. She resides in Lynchburg, Tennessee.

Magic Mirrors

Meredith’s story is part of the Magic Mirrors co-release—a group of seven Snow White stories by six different authors, all becoming available the last week of October.  Watch this space for more Magic Mirrors reviews!  Or navigate over to our organizer Kendra's blog to enter the Rafflecopter giveaway!

More stops on the Princess blog tour:

Knitted By God's Plan: 7 Reasons to Read

Light and Shadows: 5 Reasons to Read

Dreams and Dragons: Review

Ink Calamities: Review

Morgan Elizabeth Huneke: Spotlight - Rose

The Labyrinth: Guest Post - Why Magic Mirrors

Reality Reflected: - Guest Post - What is Snow White