Once Upon a Retelling: No Place Like Here by Christina June

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Welcome to Once Upon a Retelling! I'm a huge fan of retellings, and I'm really interested in hearing about authors' own love of the original stories, and what inspired them to retell those stories. And so Once Upon a Retelling was born, a feature in which I interview authors about their versions of well-loved tales.

Today, I'm really excited to have Christina June stopping by the blog to discuss her Hansel & Gretel retelling, No Place Like Here.

Can you tell us a little about No Place Like Here? What kind of a retelling of Hansel & Gretel is it?

NO PLACE LIKE HERE is what I’d call a contemporary novel inspired by Hansel & Gretl. While it’s not a strict retelling, readers will be able to recognize many of the familiar elements of the story transformed in clever ways. My books are also companions, so while they can certainly be read as stand-alones, it’s also fun to read them all and see how favorites pop back up.

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Blog Tour Review: Kingsbane by Claire Legrand

Kingsbane by Claire Legrand

Published: 21st May 2019 | Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Claire Legrand's Website

In this sequel to the instant New York Times bestseller Furyborn, two queens, separated by a thousand years, connected by secrets and lies, must continue their fight amid deadly plots and unthinkable betrayals that will test their strength—and their hearts.

Rielle Dardenne has been anointed Sun Queen, but her trials are far from over. The Gate keeping the angels at bay is falling. To repair it, Rielle must collect the seven hidden castings of the saints. Meanwhile, to help her prince and love Audric protect Celdaria, Rielle must spy on the angel Corien—but his promises of freedom and power may prove too tempting to resist.

Centuries later, Eliana Ferracora grapples with her new reality: She is the Sun Queen, humanity's long-awaited savior. But fear of corruption—fear of becoming another Rielle—keeps Eliana's power dangerous and unpredictable. Hunted by all, racing against time to save her dying friend Navi, Eliana must decide how to wear a crown she never wanted—by embracing her mother's power, or rejecting it forever. From Goodreads.

Book Depository | Wordery | Goodreads

My other reviews of the Empirium Trilogy:
Furyborn

I was sent this proof for free by Midas PR on behalf of from Sourcebooks Fire for the purposes of providing an honest review.

WARNING! I cannot review this book without spoiling the others in the series. Read no further if you're planning on reading this series and don't want it spoilt for you.

Trigger/Content Warnings: This book features gory descriptions, a panic attack, someone being drugged against their will, kidnap, murder, some explicit sex, sexual assault, and abusive manipulation (possibly grooming).

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International YA Translated into English

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One of my reading goals this year is to read more novels from other countries translated into English. I have only know of a few, and have read even less; The Red Abbey Chronicles by Maria Turtschaninoff (translated from Swedish by Annie Prime), The Ruby Red Trilogy by Kerstin Gier (translated from German by Anthea Bell), The Prince of Mist by Carlos Carlos Ruiz Zafón (translated from Spanish by ‎Lucia Graves), and No Heroes by Anna Seidl (translated from German by Siobhán Parkinson), so it's something I want to do better with.

However, I didn't really know of many, so I reached out to the YA community for recommendations, and I was absolutely inundated! There were so many awesome sounding books recommended to me not to share with you all. So if you want to broaden your reading horizons and branch out into some YA in translations, 25 YA novels in translation to your TBR.

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Once Upon a Retelling: Beauty Sleep by Kathryn Evans

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Welcome to Once Upon a Retelling! I'm a huge fan of retellings, and I'm really interested in hearing about authors' own love of the original stories, and what inspired them to retell those stories. And so Once Upon a Retelling was born, a feature in which I interview authors about their versions of well-loved tales.

I'm really excited to have Kathryn Evans stopping by the blog today to discuss her YA retelling of Sleeping Beauty, Beauty Sleep, as part of her blog tour.

Can you tell us a little about Beauty Sleep? What kind of a retelling of Sleeping Beauty is it?

It’s ‘Inspired by’ I think. I was brought up on fairy tales and I think I just absorbed them. If you’re an author, the stories that are woven into your childhood all feed into the writer you become. I call it book soup.

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Review: Stepsister by Jennifer Donnelly

Stepsister by Jennifer Donnelly

Published: 14th May 2019 | Publisher: Hot Key Books | Source: Publisher
Jennifer Donnelly's Website

'In an ancient city by the sea, three sisters - a maiden, a mother, and a crone - are drawing maps by candlelight. Sombre, with piercing grey eyes, they are the three Fates, and every map is a human life . . .'

Stepsister takes up where Cinderella's tale ends. We meet Isabelle, the younger of Cinderella's two stepsisters. Ella is considered beautiful; stepsister Isabelle is not. Isabelle is fearless, brave, and strong-willed. She fences better than any boy, and takes her stallion over jumps that grown men fear to attempt. It doesn't matter, though; these qualities are not valued in a girl. Others have determined what is beautiful, and Isabelle does not fit their definition. Isabelle must face down the demons that drove her cruel treatment of Ella, challenge her own fate and maybe even redefine the very notion of beauty . . .

Cinderella is about a girl who was bullied; Stepsister is about the bully. We all root for the victims, we want to see them triumph. But what about the bullies? Is there hope for them? Can a mean girl change? Can she find her own happily ever after? From Goodreads.

Book Depository | Wordery | Goodreads

I received this eProof for free from Hot Key Books via NetGalley for the purposes of providing an honest review.

Trigger Warning: This book features discussion of considering suicide, threat of sexual assault, dead bodies, and war.

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Books I Want to Reread - Fantasy Edition

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Titles marked with an asterisk (*) were gifted to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Rereads. I absolutely love them. But being a book blogger, with an ever growing TBR, I don't reread as much as I would like. Most years, I manage to fit in a reread of one series, but I don't get to reread everything. Plus there's the guilt of not read the books I already have, and worrying about what to post on my blog, as most of the time, the books have already been reviewed.

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The 'I Should Have Read That Book' Tag

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Titles marked with an asterisk (*) were gifted to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Today, I'll be taking part in the 'I Should Have Read That Book' tag, which was created by Beth of Book Nest. I wasn't technically tagged for this, but Kate of Reading Through Infinity finished her tag saying she tags anyone who wants to take part, so here we are - thanks, Kate!

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