Fables Retold, Morgan Brice and Various Authors

I'm a sucker for a good fairy tale retelling, especially when there are a few twists or modernizations thrown in wisely. Four of the included stories really caught my interest and two were written by a couple of my must-read authors so I was pretty excited for this anthology.

Below are reviews for only four of the stories: The Cat Returns to Adderly, Sam Burns; The Seventh Ring of Bertram Bell, W.M. Fawkes; Gruff, Morgan Brice; and The Demon's in the Details, Meghan Maslow.

The Cat Returns to Adderly, Sam Burns
This was a really unique take on Puss in Boots, that the boots were the tool used to bring back the element of humanity in a supernaturally altered cat.  The romance itself took a back seat to Luke's making a home in the mansion of a missing witch while making sense of the life he's trying to gain.  In and amongst all the little discoveries there's something going on between him and the Alastair of his dreams, but none of that really comes together until the very end and by then we're supposed to believe there's a romantic connection, though it's a bit of curiosity, lust, and desperation all mixed up in a way that's okay for a start, but not a good way to end the story.  While the epilogue bit was cute and shows a far more settled couple, it doesn't really deepen the believability of the romance.  I wished there were more magic, more romance, and more of a build, but overall the unique take and interesting premise was passable.  3 stars.

Gruff, Morgan Brice
I love Fox Hollow!  Each story in this world fits the setting and adds interest to a town I wish I could visit in real life.  Adiel and Joe are new additions to the town and their meet-cute was a good intro to Adiel, getting to know Joe came a bit later.  My favorite bit was probably the first shift where they meet one another's goats...adorable!  Their hesitance was endearing until Adiel let his fear and insecurity get the better of him.

The romantic conflict was super predictable and the way they both flew off the handle and stomped off full of self-righteousness and hurt feelings was definitely not appreciated, but what made it excusable was that during their separation both truly reflected on their overreactions and made really astute observations that led to believable resolutions.

And the introduction of the Three Billy Goats Gruff aspect was far more dramatic than I expected, they were powerfully different, violent, and challenging.  Very little resembled the Norwegian fairy tale beyond the desire to consume the challenger and I liked the intent behind the changes.  They were a little repetitive, but still quite effective.  The whole experience helped Adiel to prove, not only to Joe, but to himself that he was stronger than he thought, that he was deserving of more than he's been given or had accepted up to now.  And the assists from Joe were just right; a partnership and a non-verbal show of just where his own heart and hopes lay.  Definitely unique and great addition to the Fox Hollow stories.  4 stars.

The Seventh Ring of Bertram Bell, W.M. Fawkes

Quite grim nearly from the start with a whole lot of loss and apprehension about huge life changes for everyone, Elio had a lot to come to terms with over the course of the story.  The creepy nature of Bertram, the house setup, the mystery...all of it was fitting to the original tale.  While I was glad things worked out as they did, I didn't connect with any of the characters much at all even though I really wanted to.  I was more interested in Grim, the random dog who was a mystery on their own and left unexplained to the very end.

There was a lot that was unresolved by the end, most the minutiae of consequences from the climax, and I would have really appreciated seeing some of the transition because Elio had two more huge changes coming at him; the hopeful expectation regarding those changes just wasn't enough to satisfy me.  Between the magic that I wanted more of and the friends-to-lovers setup with Dutch that I also didn't get enough of, the story was fine, I just didn't feel there was enough.  3 stars.

The Demon's in the Details, Meghan Maslow

By far the best book I have ever read from this author.  Poe and Tommy are fascinating and memorable on their own and together they are incendiary and fickle and salty and sweet too.  I enjoyed their roller coaster, though I wish it had been an alternating POV and not just Poe's.  From the very beginning I was intrigued and engaged and interested in the MC's and rooted for their HEA, which they most definitely got.

The plot was clear and focused, it progressed well without too many complications thrown in just to make things more interesting.  There was drama, of course, but it was resolved in a way that fit the characters and the family they surrounded themselves by.  There weren't any true surprises along the way, but neither was it exactly predictable; it was just right, in my opinion.  There was a strength in the subtleties, the bad guys were clear, and the good guys were a lot of fun while also being clever and deadly.

There was compassion, heart, passion, and family in all the right ways.  I really want more from this world.  If you sign up for the author's newsletter you could gain access to a short story from Tommy's POV from when he met Poe and while it was kinda nice, it was incredibly short and I thought it was underwhelming.  I'd recommend not reading it after the story, read it as part of the story where it belongs chronologically if you really want to read it, I just think it was unnecessary.  4.5 stars.

*$8.99 on Amazon

Tales as old as time…reimagined.

What if your favorite fairy tales…kicked some serious, urban fantasy ass?

Fueled by magic, steam, and scorching men, this MM romance anthology has just the thrill you’re looking for.

Stories included:

Blake & the Beast by Rhys Lawless (Beauty & the Beast)

The Cat Returns to Adderly by Sam Burns (Puss in Boots)

The Seventh Ring of Bertram Bell by W.M. Fawkes (Bluebeard)

Gruff by Morgan Brice (Three Billy Goats Gruff)

The Demon's in the Details by Meghan Maslow (Rumpelstiltskin)

Spirit of Snow by Richard Amos (Snow White)

Billy and the Beast: Ever After Book 3, Eli Easton

The only reason this isn't a full 5 stars is honestly because of the steam factor.  There was an incredible amount of sweetness, love, grumptastic caring, innocent joy, and the way they truly saw one another...all of that was fantastic and came together so beautifully that it needed Eli Easton's brand of sensual, soul-touching steam to balance it out and make it perfect.  Think Redemption of River and Mating of Michael level of awesome, but without a ton of sexy times.

Aaron was so incredibly gruff and yet so charming with his "I'll show you, show you how much I want you gone...by buying you expensive work shirts and bringing you meals and spending time with you.  *Hmph.  Let that be a lesson to you."  I loved him.  His vulnerability felt real too, not just because of the physical disfigurement, but the weight he was carrying regarding what he couldn't remember and the grief over the loss of his father.  His character was simple and yet still moving.

Finding his counterpart in the irrepressible Billy was sweet and fun because Billy couldn't find a way to stay mired in negativity despite his circumstances.  It wasn't until the villain stuck their nose into things that he found a pain and hurt he hadn't yet truly experienced.  Thankfully his indomitable will got the kick in the pants it needed by a little tea-and-chat session with their resident "witch".  His discoveries meant a whole lot of freedom and I enjoyed seeing that bit come together.

The villain was very predictable, both in who they were, their motivations, and their methods.  But even with all that predictability, it wasn't annoying.  It was slightly over dramatic, but it fit with the tradition of big, dramatic confrontations marked in all fairy tales.  Everything worked out, obviously, and the bad guy actually saw justice, amends were made, and Aaron finally found healing, confidence, and freedom.  Thanks to Billy's heart and spirit they were both able to get the exact "ending" they deserved.  I loved this story, it's my favorite of the series so far, and I can't wait to see what's next for this little town with its own brand of magic. 

*$3.99 on Amazon

One stolen rose leads Billy to the Beast of his dreams...

The rose is so perfectly pink and delightfully fragrant, so temptingly within reach through the bars of the locked gate. One snip later, and a masked man from Billy’s darkest fantasies grabs his arm.

Billy’s punishment for the theft? To toil in the estate’s horribly overgrown garden for the summer. Only this summer job comes with a mystery. Who is the sexy, scarred, irascible man who lives at Malfleur, and what dark secret from his past is he hiding?

The Beast believes he deserves his self-imposed exile for the crime he committed one awful, reckless night—a night he can’t even remember. He believes no one can love the ruin of a man that survived that cursed accident.

He didn’t count on Billy Martin.

Holding Hans: Ever After Book 2, Tara Lain

Right away my heart went out to Hans.  He's young, figuring things out for himself with the help of a cute new guy in town, and so very responsible before his time.  Dealing with a confused father, a massive debt, a twin who loves him but still manages to be a bit self-centered, and a passionate love of music and overwhelming talent but not being able to do anything great with it...there was just so much on his narrow shoulders that I couldn't not want more for him.

The plot twisting around a mysterious manor and some awkwardly shady dealings surrounding guests and lodgers was a much darker take on the story, but I actually felt it was incredibly modern in its subject matter.  It was handled delicately, which was appreciated, except it felt a little unfinished.  Rune's original job took over at one point and muddied the whole thing going on with Hans and it pulled too much attention away from what should have been the plot's focus.  There were threads left untied, justice unserved, and questions unanswered by the end that took some of the attention and joy from the happier ending we got in the epilogue.

And speaking of the epilogue, it was totally sweet and very fitting, but it was a bit abrupt because we didn't really get a whole lot of settling into the happy between Rune and Hans.  So while I liked Rune, there just wasn't a lot about him, not very much true telling of his own background to satisfy my hopes for him coming out from being undercover.  The intimacy between them was alright, though truncated due to Hans' innocence and Rune's job objectives, and was kind of dimmed under the weight of everything that was going on.  Because of that I didn't mind the fade-to-black bit near the end because without a lot of development between them with transparency a super steamy scene would have made me slightly uncomfortable to read.

A couple of other peeves of mine in the story were Greta and Red.  Greta's self-serving attitude put them all in danger, though without her the plot would have gotten nowhere, so I can't be too upset.  I just felt like their bond through the whole story was one-sided until the end where she only came to the rescue only because she overheard something that gave validity to all the warnings Hans had been trying to tell her about.

Red was supposedly Hans' best friend, but where was he?  Knowing about Hans' difficult life situation, even if only the basics, should have meant that he would be genuinely concerned enough about him to check in every now and again, to at least inquire if he could help, or even just be there for advice about Rune.  There were quite a few moments that I felt like there was so little support.  That could have been the point, but it didn't match the characters.  Even with the attitude of not airing dirty laundry for the town Hans didn't seem the type to have a best friend he virtually never spoke to until Red shows up in the epilogue to support Hans' public performance.

Despite a few frustrations, the story overall was incredibly updated and I truly enjoyed the reading.  My favorite side character was Corey Orey and I wish so much that he had gotten a bit more page time, that he and Hans had a little more opportunity to develop a friendship and some collaboration to nurture Hans' curiosity and passion for his music.  For now, I'm not ready to leave Ever After so I'm going to read Eli Easton's contribution with Billy & the Beast.

*$4.99 on Amazon

How much evil can you cook up in one small town?

When your father gets wonky, marries a weird woman, and runs off to Europe, leaving you and your twin holding the bag for the bills, what else can you do but –
Sleep a night in the forest,
Follow a trail of pebbles to a strange mansion,
And succumb to the attraction of cinnamon rolls, the world’s most beautiful piano, and Madame, the strange woman who gives you your dreams for next to nothing.
But fairy tales teach one lesson –
--when things are too good to be true – run!
Hans Meyer finds that out the hard way, when he wakes up tied to a bed in the dark. Even Rune, the cute guy who buys him root beer floats, isn’t who he seems.

Can piano power, twin power, and a healthy dose of love power overcome the darkness and finally make Hans happy in Ever After?