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Interesting takes on favorite classics.

This is the 7th anthology in the FairyTale Slashed anthology series and is the least favorite of the set. This volume contains 8 stories; many great and a few which weren’t my kind of reading and one so far from what I have come to expect from this anthology that I honestly don’t get and just cannot relate!

Story 1: After Ever After – Nicole Fields
Absolutely not my cup of tea. This novella rates as seriously Weak Sauce and serious disservice to what I expect from a fairytale slashed novella. Cinderella Lotte was not likable in this novella. Her principles, how she suddenly just fell in love with her maid because they shared similar background and oh is her confidante, how she suddenly fell out of love with the prince because he’s not around because he’s with his father the King running the country and oh how having a mother in law that didn’t immediately fawn over her was enough to end her happily ever after. How can you say now someone who quit being in love with one person to quickly fall in love with the first/next person to eye them with some attraction and provide some emotional support – with NO trials – be trusted when they claim that yep, yep, this time it’s true love. All I can say is I am completely sickened by CinderLotte’s superficiality and this entire story line usage of the Cinderella plot. It’s gone off the deep end of no honor, no goodness, Grimm end of fairytales with this twist on Cinderella.
She chose the prince, and decided that true love isn’t true love and hey someone else is here physically with me so I’ll fall in love with them since hey they were looking at me with passion so let’s commit adultery and while we’re at it, run away to be together. But let me throw this at the end of the story to redeem her, I’ll introduce you to my friend, but HEY, we never annulled or divorced! Can the Prince even re-marry in this case and if so, this historic twisted country’s law should be aforementioned somewhere in the novella.

Story 2: Bearskin – Andrea Speed
Great story by a great writer. Generosity of soul, honor, and all that wonderful stuff you expect when reading from a fairytale [slashed]. How love isn’t just with the eyes or with being in each other handsome presence day in and day out, but feelings and perseverance and in this case, the test of time and uncertainty of the name and face of your beloved – just time spent talking and actions.

Story 3: No Witch’s Brew – Helena Maeve
Great detective story and until the very end I wasn’t able to figure out what fairytale this novella was based off of. The story reunion between the detective and his former lover was well developed and captivating. The mystery of the white phosphorus apples and now seven dead maidens were a great twist on Snow White. Most fairytale slashed stories twist the plot so the main characters are still in line, but this one twisted the Snow White storyline as a mystery around our two main characters – kudos!

Story 4 – Lovers at the Lake – Asta Idonea
I loved this story and how well written it was! It was a nice twist on the Little Mermaid on the lake. Dusan and Vladimir were your honorable handsome princely characters and the “evil” witch was magical and magic is in the hands of the user – neither good nor evil. A wonderful plot, twist, and near save for a very happy ever after for our prices.

Story 5 – The Mercenary’s Wedding – Keelan Ellis
Can’t quite tell what fairytale this was a twist off of, but it was interesting as it was a gender bender / gender identity novella. The queen wanted a daughter and on her 7th pregnancy she realized she was expecting a boy and was determined that this 7th one must be a girl and so had it changed to a girl… Princess Adeline grew up wanting to be a tomboy and be like her brothers and father in all ways despite her mother constantly trying to force her to act the female. This princess was magically afflicted in that every time she cut her hair, it grew back the very next day. On the day she turned thirteen, and every year thereafter, her elder brothers one by one fell ill – mentally or physically. The queen finally learned the only want to turn the situation around is for someone to be her daughter’s true love. And the plotline develops interestingly into Adeline magically reverted to the form of a beautiful young man and eventually all 5 afflicted brothers being healed on her 18th birthday which was also her wedding day. Very Happily Ever After Thank You Very Much.

Story 6 – The Thief’s Daughter – Tess Amram
To recap, I am not a fan of f/f stories; however, I did read this and felt this would have been a better choice for an opening story if an f/f had to be the 1st story like it was in a previous FairyTale Slashed volume. I thought this was a nice twist on Beauty and the Beast. The way the author started with the village vilification of B draws the reader in the story in a “what the heck, how dare they!” and then the author’s characters’ bold dialogue draws you into the rest of the story and keeps the reader captive in the story – even when it’s not the reader’s subgenre of choice. Fantastic!!

Story 7 – Dance Away – KM Penemue
These f/f stories are not my cup of tea; but I did read this and found it somewhat tedious and felt it was drawn out. This is essentially a play on the dancing slipper/dancing princesses’ fairytale. The evil magician is stronger than the heroine, Saffron and is fixated on obtaining the throne through Saffron’s love interest Princess Aderes. Ultimately Saffron was able to think of a way with her rhyming magic and resourcefulness to save Princess Aderes, Aderes’ sleep-spelled sister Kimberline and win the King’s approval of her and Aderes’ engagement. Phew finally….

Story 8 – In the Land of the Damned – Camillia Quinn
This has to be one of the best fairytale slashed novellas I have never had the pleasure of reading. Aldo’s journey to Hell to prove his worth to win the hand of the king’s daughter as was prophesized upon his birth shows life isn’t predestined but destiny is a matter of one’s life choices. Aldo fulfills the prophecy foretold for those of his birthing circumstances; however, he has never been able to get the Devil out of his head after his journey to Hell and wonders about prophecies and how they influence actual people. The King didn’t believe him and left to journey to Hell himself only to have been missing the past 5 years. Aldo, never having really wanted the life he found himself in after passively fulfilling the foretold prophecy, decides to take action for himself. He journeys back to Hell, had his fortunes told – which are different from the prophecy already fulfilled from his birth – meets the King, meets the Devil again, and leaves to become the ferryman over the River of the Dead. The Devil finds him and grim happily ever after for the Devil and his ferryman.

A free copy was provided to me through Reading Alley in exchange for an honest review.