Once Upon a Twist on an Old Fairy Tale

     When I finished Melanie Cellier's Four Kingdoms series, I knew I had to read its follow up set a few years later. Truth be told I had originally considered reading the Beyond the Four Kingdoms series first since the books appealed to me more. However, I am glad that I started from the beginning since the books are more enjoyable when read in order. That said every book can be read individually and it's really up to you how you want to go about it.  Beyond the Four Kingdoms is the follow up series to The Four Kingdoms by author Melanie Cellier and is an improvement from its predecessor. The books are set on a new continent previously unknown and unreachable with all its kingdoms threatened by dark forces. However, with the arrival of three foreign princesses (who all made previous appearances in other books) hope may not be lost after all for the people of who once turned their backs on the High King and the Godmothers.         ...

Valia Lind is a new author I recently discovered whose Beauty and the Beast book instantly caught my attention. Upon reading the title and learning it was based off Russian fairy tales I knew the name sounded very familiar to a picture book I own called The Scarlet Flower by Sergei Aksakov and guessed that it must have been the inspiration for it. I also went through my fairy tale collections and found three collections of Russian fairy tales. One of the collections had been a gift from my late grandparents and I remember reading the book with great enjoyment as a kid. One recurring character I that was featured in serval tales was the infamous witch Baba Yaga who either played the role of villainess or reluctant helper depending on the story. So, it goes without saying that it was a nice surprise to see her playing the role of the enchantress who cursed the prince in The Scarlet Rose. The book opens with Gavriil a prince of the land Skazka being cursed by the witch Baba Yaga to slowly...