 |
| Check out the blog tour for reviews, interviews, and more fun features! |
O P E N I N G H O O K:
As the carriage hobbled across the long bridge leading to the monstrosity--seriously, who rode in carriages anymore?--I felt anything but joy. Terror. Worry. Loathing. Trepidation. Those were viable emotions. Admiration? Not one bit.
(Page 6, US e-ARC edition)
“I had no story, no pre-determined fate. I was a hybrid, the author of my life.”
~Norah, THE FORGOTTEN FAIRYTALES
In today's practicality, what would you do if you found out that the boarding school you'd been shipped off to--your mother's alma mater--was a training ground for fairy tale characters? Norah Hart doesn't believe a word she's told at her new school. Everyone is a storybook character? And they think that she--the least princess-like gal around--is on the princess track? YEAH RIGHT. Norah thinks everyone is drinking the crazy water. The entire student body has been brainwashed. They all seriously believe this hogwash. But what if they're speaking the truth? What if Norah herself is from a fairy tale, an unknown, hidden story with the power to change everything?
As I first began reading THE FORGOTTEN FAIRYTALES, everything felt very reliant on Disney, down to the colors that the "Ariel" and "Belle" characters dressed in. Very Once Upon a Time, if you will. But as we got into the lore of the "forgotten" tales, the story opened up and became more original and less Disney-fied. I liked the new path the story took and found Norah's tale to be intriguing. Plus, I love how her story seemed to start on a Little Mermaid note--except there was already a mermaid character, so you knew it couldn't be. Especially if they were going off the Disney version and not the original tale. All the tales start bleeding together and warping as Norah uncovers the truth. Nothing is what we thought it was, not even the tale of Cinderella.
Going back to the Once Upon a Time track, there is an awesome love interest named Wolf, and he's very reminiscent of Hook from OUAT. He's the Big Bad Wolf and very much a bad guy--but falling in love may change him into something so much more! He and Norah have great chemistry, even if Norah is mixed up on what--and who--she has feelings for.
There are also some great messages in the book. Norah is quick to befriend the resident "nerdy" girl, even though everyone--especially her ringleader roommate--make fun of her. She worries constantly about her younger half-sister who was also sent to the school, even though April is jealous and wants to pretend they aren't sisters. Norah even wants to shake up the school's hierarchy and make it so that princesses and heroes and fairies and sidekicks and villains can all be friends if they so wish. They shouldn't have to sit in their respective class groups at lunch, etc. It helps, of course, that Norah herself befriends outside her group--not to mention that her stepsister is a sidekick and her flirting partner is a villain!
If you like fairy tale stories mixed up and retold in a new venue, check out THE FORGOTTEN FAIRYTALES today. It's technically a stand-alone and can be purchased digitally for $1.99. There is a sequel novel that just came out, FORGET ME NOT, but it continues Norah's adventures in the aftermath of THE FORGOTTEN FAIRYTALES. You can read the first book on its own with no cliffhanger! I didn't even know there was a sequel until I started poking around on Goodreads! And at $2.99, it's also a steal of a deal!
~*~
C O N T E N T R A T I N G S
Content Ratings: highlight between ( ) for details
Romance: PG 15 ( Kissing, topless making out, sexual interaction )
Language: PG 13 ( Various curse words, especially calling the princessy girls "bitches," and some f-bombs; some sexual innuendo/jokes)
Violence: PG13 ( Some battle/dangerous scenes, but nothing graphic ; a semi-graphic attempted suicide scene)
Violence: PG13 ( Some battle/dangerous scenes, but nothing graphic ; a semi-graphic attempted suicide scene)
Other: PG13 ( Underage drinking; recovering from attempted suicide )
~*~
C O V E R D E S I G N:
I like the fairy tale elements twisted into the cover. The couple is kissing through a mirror. There's an image of Cinderella's carriage making its way across the path. There is a castle in the distance (The school, I'm sure, but it also looks like Rapunzel's hair is billowing out a window...)
~*~
O F F I C I A L I N F O:
Title: THE FORGOTTEN FAIRYTALES
Author: Angela Parkhurst
Release Date: Feb. 10, 2014
SUMMARY:
Once upon a time, seventeen-year-old Norah Hart believed in the lure of fairytales and happily ever afters. That was before she was forced to live in a fairy tale nightmare.
A psychotic, couture-clad, shoe obsessed Princess. A not-so-charming, alcoholic Prince. A hot Big Bad Wolf that she absolutely cannot fall for—no matter how well he kisses.
If Norah had known she’d be attending a boarding school for the nut job reincarnations of fairy tale characters, she would have insisted on going to Moscow with her father. But getting out isn’t as easy as she thought. Especially once Norah realizes she, too, is a storybook character. An Unknown. The first one in over one hundred years. Soon Norah learns she has the ability to rewrite the stories, putting everyone’s Happily Ever After in jeopardy.
Some princesses will do whatever it takes to protect their endings. Even if it means betraying the one closest to you.
~*~
About the Author
I am the author of the Forgotten Fairytales series. I love reading YA and NA books. I have 2 toddler boys, 2 mini doxins & I'm married to my high school sweetheart. I have an obsession with books, Disney, and am fueled by a wicked coffee addiction.
In addition to YA fantasy, I write contemporary young adult and new adult novels.
~*~
****Giveaway*****
You could win e-book copies of THE FORGOTTEN FAIRYTALES and FORGET ME NOT!
Enter now!
Enter now!
(INT)
You must be at least 13 years old to enter or have a parent's permission!
Enter now!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Comments
Post a Comment
Thanks for taking the time to stop and comment! I appreciate it more than I can say. I try to respond to each one!