I’m late. What else is new in life for me. This anthology went live on September 2nd, but I am just now getting to a point to review it. I’ve read the whole anthology and am just going to summarize each below. Overall this story was a 4 for me.
The Enchantress: This story was weird for me. It was really hard to get in to. There is no HEA in this one, so don’t go looking for it. It was very dark and had a unique twist on the relationships of Felicity, Anne, and Alistair. It is based on the fairy tale of the Enchantress that cursed the Beast, but WOW. Overall this was a 3 for me. There were some typos and it was confusing to follow the story and didn’t flow like I would have liked a story to flow.
The Curiosities of Sea Foam: I ended up skimming this whole story. It drug on for me and just didn’t hold my appeal. It does have a HEA ending but seemed more like a child’s tale to me than a romance. I felt like I was on a merry-go-round with it covering the same thing over and over about going to the surface. This too was a 3 for me and was based on the Little Mermaid. I just needed more for this story to be interesting. It was very predictable.
The Unremembered: This is based on the Swan Princess. First can I say I SCREAMED with delight over Prince Endymion’s name! Hello Sailor Moon fan here. Of course all I could think about was Endymion as prince of the Earth destined for Serenity while reading but I digress. This story was JAM packed with content. My hat is tipped to this author. She is a new author to me and she did a good job in this short story. It had an opening, conflict, resolution, and conclusion. This story was a 4.5 for me because some parts did drag for me but overall it was great.
Beauty Unmasked: Is based on Beauty and the Beast. This is a modern twist on this story. It was riveting and fantastically done. Viktor is the modern beast of a man who wants nothing more to be left alone in his hole of a house a shell of himself. He fights a battle that he realizes he will need his Belle to win. Isabel is feisty, strong, determined, and floored by her feelings for Viktor. This story was beautifully told. I cannot say enough about it. While I would love more it was perfect how all the characters from the fairy tale played in to the modern-day story. It’s a HEA that is perfect for this short novella. You didn’t feel like it was rushed. This story was a 5 for me. I want more!
Undaunted: I’m not sure what fairy tale this is from but it was very interesting. It covered twins and one of them promised to the Fae. This story has a little bit of everything for romance. There is some F/F action as the Fae seduce Sorcha to do play their games. I was intrigued by this story. It had a good flow and resolution. I liked how it was a HFN ending. This story was a 4 for me because it didn’t pull me to devour the tale. It was definitely interesting and overall enjoyable twist on a fairy tale.
Protecting Sophia: Is a modern-day tale of Snow White. It was overall a good story. It follows the tale of the huntsman and you can pretty much gather how it ends. It is a HEA ending that is expected. I did enjoy the modern-day version of this. It flowed well and had some good suspense with it. Sophia and William are moving against all odds to get their HEA. Overall a 4 for me on the scale of stories.
The Frog’s Prince: This was my other 5 star read from this anthology! I found it funny, intriguing, and captivating. If you can’t guess from the title, it’s a spin of the Frog Prince. It was a very unique modern-day spin that I thought was perfect. It really did keep me reading and turning the page. Watching Rana and Kaleb come to their HEA was enjoyable. I don’t want to spoil, but it was a great story to read and dive in to the world of the author’s mind as she tells this fairy tale.
Alice: The Queen of Hearts Strikes Back: I will be honest, I couldn’t get in to this one. It just moved all over the place for me. I found it hard to follow along with the story. There were so many sub-story lines and mini plots to follow. It was a non-traditional HEA in my opinion. I don’t want to spoil, but I felt like it was a forced love. Again, it just wasn’t my cup of tea and was a 3.5 for me overall.
Red: This is based on Little Red Riding Hood and overall I give this a 4. Honestly I wanted more of this. I feel that if there was time for this to be a full novel, it would have been a 5 for me. The way the author twisted this tale for me was great. I loved the shifter nature of it but wished for so much more in the detail aspect. Now I will say, the author did a great job with it being a short story and giving you so much information. Watching Red find her HEA in this shifter fairy tale was enjoyable to read.
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Check out what Astronima’s Review’s and Clutter had to say about the Fractured Fairytale Anthology!
I’m super excited about her thoughts on my story, Beauty Unmasked as well!
“Beauty Unmasked: Is based on Beauty and the Beast. This is a modern twist on this story. It was riveting and fantastically done. Viktor is the modern beast of a man who wants nothing more to be left alone in his hole of a house a shell of himself. He fights a battle that he realizes he will need his Belle to win. Isabel is feisty, strong, determined, and floored by her feelings for Viktor. This story was beautifully told. I cannot say enough about it. While I would love more it was perfect how all the characters from the fairy tale played in to the modern-day story. It’s a HEA that is perfect for this short novella. You didn’t feel like it was rushed. This story was a 5 for me. I want more!”