Once Upon a Twist on an Old Fairy Tale

Have you ever wanted to read a fantasy book with a plot similar to the Bachelor? I know I have. For fans of fairy tales and The Selection series you'll enjoy the novella The Lily Gate by Hanna Sandvig. Based off the Frog Prince this novelette is certain to delight readers. While the two previous books have female leads who discovered the land of Faerie while being chased down by evil wolves the protagonist of the Lily Gate has lived there most of her life. In fact, as she is the half Fae princess of The Lily Court and will one day rule over it. When she was born her fairy godmother promised her parents that she would find true love if they held a bridal contest. During that time, she would test each of the competing princes to see how good of a co-ruler and marriage partner they could be. On the first day of the contest, she accidentally falls into a fountain and meets a talking frog who offers to spy on the princes for her. Wanting the extra help, she agrees, and the contest begin...

With the upcoming release of author Hanna Sandvig's Cinderella book The Glass Gate I decided to reread her other books in the series before it came out. After enjoying her Beauty and the Beast retelling The Rose Gate, I decided to reread its prequel book The Wolf Gate a retelling of Little Red Riding Hood. When I first read this book in 2021, I was reluctant to read anything having to do with the story of Little Red Riding Hood. It's a creepy story where the little girl in the red cape is eaten by the big bad wolf in the end. Even other versions like The Grimm Brothers tale where she is saved were still quite disturbing to me. So, it goes without saying that for some years I avoided reading any books based off the creepy fairy tale. However, I decided to give The Wolf Gate a chance since I had enjoyed reading its predecessor so much. I wanted to learn more about the land of Faerie (the books setting) as well as the men who were turned into wolves by the Unseelie Queen the main ...

Back in the year 2020 I bought a bunch of paperback Beauty and the Beast books to read over the summer. One of those books was The Rose Gate by a new author Hanna Sandvig. Right from the start the book caught my attention. The idea of a modern-day girl traveling into a fantasy world through a portal reminded me of the magic wardrobe in the Chronicles of Narnia. The fact that it was a based off my favorite fairy tale was just the icing on the cake. This book did not disappoint. It balanced the right amount of seriousness, humor, and romance and is definitely worth reading. The Rose Gate introduces us to Isobel a modern-day girl living with a broken family. After her father's company declare bankruptcy, he moved her and her two sisters Lily and Amber from the city to their summer cottage home in a remote town in Canada. While Isobel mostly enjoys her new life working with preschoolers at a library with the head librarian Ms. Chloe, she can't escape her dad and Amber constant quar...

Sylvia Mercedes is an author I discovered somewhat recently and who has quickly become one of my favorites. So it seemed only natural that I should pick up her beauty and the beast inspired trilogy The Scarred Mage of Roseward trilogy since its based off my favorite fairy tale. Upon reading it I must say that it is a very loose retelling. I don't know if its two sequels will change that but so far the trilogy seems to be more its own story instead of following the regular formula.  The book introduces its reader to Nelle a thief who is trying to protect her father from a gang she's entangled with. Her father is in debt to the gangs leader Cloven who forced Nelle to return to her thieving ways which she had hoped to stop. After successfully completing her latest theft Nelle is captured and forced to go on a dangerous mission. She must go to the formidable Roseward Isle and steal a certain spell book from the islands only inhabitant Mage Soran Silveri. If she fails her fathers li...