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The Grimm Diaries Prequels #1-6
Grimm Diaries Prequels
What if all you knew about fairy tales was wrong?
Warning: these Grimm Prequels are like snap shots of a magical land you're about to visit soon. I like to think of them as poisoned apples. Once you taste them, you will never see fairy tales in the same light again.
The Grimm Diaries Prequels are short books in the form of epistolary diary entries. They are teasers for The Grimm Diaries. The 6 diaries are told by The Evil Queen, Peter Pan, Little Red Riding Hood, the Devil, Prince Charming, and Alice Grimm.
Grimm Diaries Prequels:
1 Snow White Blood Red (narrated by The Snow White Queen)
2 Ashes to Ashes and Cinder to Cinder (narrated by Alice Grimm)
3 Beauty Never Dies (narrated by Peter Pan)
4 Ladle Rotten Rat Hut (narrated by Little Red Riding Hood)
5 Mary Mary Quite Contrary
6 Blood Apples (narrated by Prince Charming)
7 Jawigi (narrated by sandman Grimm)
Warning: these Grimm Prequels are like snap shots of a magical land you're about to visit soon. I like to think of them as poisoned apples. Once you taste them, you will never see fairy tales in the same light again.
The Grimm Diaries Prequels are short books in the form of epistolary diary entries. They are teasers for The Grimm Diaries. The 6 diaries are told by The Evil Queen, Peter Pan, Little Red Riding Hood, the Devil, Prince Charming, and Alice Grimm.
Grimm Diaries Prequels:
1 Snow White Blood Red (narrated by The Snow White Queen)
2 Ashes to Ashes and Cinder to Cinder (narrated by Alice Grimm)
3 Beauty Never Dies (narrated by Peter Pan)
4 Ladle Rotten Rat Hut (narrated by Little Red Riding Hood)
5 Mary Mary Quite Contrary
6 Blood Apples (narrated by Prince Charming)
7 Jawigi (narrated by sandman Grimm)
274 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 19, 2012
641 people are currently reading
4452 people want to read
About the author
Cameron Jace
93 books2,046 followersBestselling author of the Grimm Diaries and Insanity series. A traveller and collector of out-of-print books from all over the world, obsessed with the origins of folk tales and the mysterious storytellers who spread them. Many of his books made Amazon's Top 100 Customer Favorites in Kindle 2015 & Amazon's Top 100 kindle list. Cameron lives in Yerba Buena San Francisco California. When he isn't writing or collecting books, he is playing music or enjoys the silence.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 334 reviews
November 6, 2015
4 stars overall... it started out a bit rough but got better as the stories went along :) The connections and twists he created worked surprisingly well.
All these twisted things in the Grimm world, love it hehe... the "truth" about these people is alot of fun.
In its own odd way, it seems very 'plausible'/possible, if that makes sense.
My favorite was the 3rd one and the last out of these, would have loved for these one to even longer. The minds of these narrators were appealing (and what does that say about me? ).
The writing is a bit rough in places but overall very enjoyable. There are things hinted at here that tease you into wanting to read the others installments to get the full picture. Surprisingly addicting, my kind of fairy-tale retellings... gimme the dark and twisted ;-)
Will read the next installments and may even give the first full book another chance, we shall see.
Happy reading!
All these twisted things in the Grimm world, love it hehe... the "truth" about these people is alot of fun.
In its own odd way, it seems very 'plausible'/possible, if that makes sense.
My favorite was the 3rd one and the last out of these, would have loved for these one to even longer. The minds of these narrators were appealing (and what does that say about me? ).
The writing is a bit rough in places but overall very enjoyable. There are things hinted at here that tease you into wanting to read the others installments to get the full picture. Surprisingly addicting, my kind of fairy-tale retellings... gimme the dark and twisted ;-)
Will read the next installments and may even give the first full book another chance, we shall see.
Happy reading!
December 4, 2013
There's nothing worse than seeing a book you REALLY want to read then reading countless reviews telling of how badly written it is. I almost lost hope for the Grimm Diaries when I saw these reviews, but when I saw the author's note that he had since had the stories professionally edited, I breathed a sigh of relief.
Too soon.
The idea behind the Grimm Diaries is brilliant. That there are different sides to fairy tales than those we know from the Grimm Brothers is a good idea and the ideas Jace has had for certain characters are brilliantly original. If you're a fan of the TV series "Once Upon A Time" or Disney films, you'll love this concept as much as I do. I also like the idea of the prequels; it wets your appetite and makes you anxious for the books themselves! At least I WOULD be... if the prequels weren't so badly written.
The first of the prequels, Snow White Blood Red was brilliant. It's exactly what I hoped for: it reads like a classic re-telling of a classic. The Queen's tales of woe concerning Snow White were fascinating and written beautifully. The author has a real gift for metaphors and similes because there are plenty of them and they generally work well. Yes there are still grammatical errors, mostly full stops and commas in the wrong places, but not enough to bother me too much.
But perhaps the author got tired of editing after Snow White Blood Red because from then on the writing does down hill. The tone is considerably lowered and no longer sounds like a fairy tale but a teenager's diary (complete with the compulsory Twilight reference and a sudden obsession with sex). It commits the sins of constant dialogue, words and actions frequently repeated and the story takes a long time to get going, all of which slows the story down. The grammar also seems to get worse, or perhaps I was just so bored I noticed it more.
And then there's the references to popular culture - video games, actors, popular modern books... I want to read a fairy tale but somehow when Peter Pan wakes up Dracula and takes him back to his castle, I don't want to read that he sat him in front of a zombie-killing video game. Nor do I expect Dracula to be called "Draco" (a blatant nod to Harry Potter) or the Hunchback of Notre Dame "Hunchy". It ruins the effect of the fairytale somehow.
But possibly the worst thing for me was the way it destroyed characters we all know and love (or hate!). For instance, Peter Pan is something of a nymphomaniac, even trying to seduce the Evil Queen. The Evil Queen, on the other hand, uses slang you would never hear in a Disney film - can you see the Evil Queen calling someone a douchebag? It's one thing to put a different spin on these characters - the idea of Snow White being a vampire works quite well, for instance - but Jace goes so far beyond this, changing their personalities entirely until they're no longer recognisable.
I don't understand how the author has had so many people beta read it (I saw him advertising for a beta reader on Facebook even... Never a good sign!) and still got it so wrong. I don't know if he just can't be bothered with the hassle of editing it tirelessly as most writers do, or if he genuinely can't see how wrong he got it. I admit that I'm picky but I just can't get lost in a book if I'm constantly making corrections and re-writing it in my head. He clearly knows that his writing has issues too. On more than one occasion, the first person narrative would include a metaphor that was followed by something along the lines of "Okay so I suck at metaphors, so sue me I'm not a poet!" And that's not even mentioning the author's note between the second and third novellas that rambles for a long time about why he wrote what he did...
If I had to sum up these prequels, novellas with amazing potential, in one word, it would be this: Unprofessional. That seems to be Jace's approach to the writing and to everything surrounding it. This is why I generally stay away from self-published authors. I hope that he somehow manages to turn it around but I couldn't get further than the first three novellas without needing to satisfy my burning desire to make major & necessary edits.
So my only advice to you if you want to buy this series is this: Don't bother. Wait until the author has sorted it out. And I hope he does, because I'm desperate to read it, but if a writer can't be bothered to edit his writing properly until it's a polished manuscript, I can't be bothered to read it.
There's a reason why it'll only cost you 77p on Amazon for six novellas. Enough said.
Too soon.
The idea behind the Grimm Diaries is brilliant. That there are different sides to fairy tales than those we know from the Grimm Brothers is a good idea and the ideas Jace has had for certain characters are brilliantly original. If you're a fan of the TV series "Once Upon A Time" or Disney films, you'll love this concept as much as I do. I also like the idea of the prequels; it wets your appetite and makes you anxious for the books themselves! At least I WOULD be... if the prequels weren't so badly written.
The first of the prequels, Snow White Blood Red was brilliant. It's exactly what I hoped for: it reads like a classic re-telling of a classic. The Queen's tales of woe concerning Snow White were fascinating and written beautifully. The author has a real gift for metaphors and similes because there are plenty of them and they generally work well. Yes there are still grammatical errors, mostly full stops and commas in the wrong places, but not enough to bother me too much.
But perhaps the author got tired of editing after Snow White Blood Red because from then on the writing does down hill. The tone is considerably lowered and no longer sounds like a fairy tale but a teenager's diary (complete with the compulsory Twilight reference and a sudden obsession with sex). It commits the sins of constant dialogue, words and actions frequently repeated and the story takes a long time to get going, all of which slows the story down. The grammar also seems to get worse, or perhaps I was just so bored I noticed it more.
And then there's the references to popular culture - video games, actors, popular modern books... I want to read a fairy tale but somehow when Peter Pan wakes up Dracula and takes him back to his castle, I don't want to read that he sat him in front of a zombie-killing video game. Nor do I expect Dracula to be called "Draco" (a blatant nod to Harry Potter) or the Hunchback of Notre Dame "Hunchy". It ruins the effect of the fairytale somehow.
But possibly the worst thing for me was the way it destroyed characters we all know and love (or hate!). For instance, Peter Pan is something of a nymphomaniac, even trying to seduce the Evil Queen. The Evil Queen, on the other hand, uses slang you would never hear in a Disney film - can you see the Evil Queen calling someone a douchebag? It's one thing to put a different spin on these characters - the idea of Snow White being a vampire works quite well, for instance - but Jace goes so far beyond this, changing their personalities entirely until they're no longer recognisable.
I don't understand how the author has had so many people beta read it (I saw him advertising for a beta reader on Facebook even... Never a good sign!) and still got it so wrong. I don't know if he just can't be bothered with the hassle of editing it tirelessly as most writers do, or if he genuinely can't see how wrong he got it. I admit that I'm picky but I just can't get lost in a book if I'm constantly making corrections and re-writing it in my head. He clearly knows that his writing has issues too. On more than one occasion, the first person narrative would include a metaphor that was followed by something along the lines of "Okay so I suck at metaphors, so sue me I'm not a poet!" And that's not even mentioning the author's note between the second and third novellas that rambles for a long time about why he wrote what he did...
If I had to sum up these prequels, novellas with amazing potential, in one word, it would be this: Unprofessional. That seems to be Jace's approach to the writing and to everything surrounding it. This is why I generally stay away from self-published authors. I hope that he somehow manages to turn it around but I couldn't get further than the first three novellas without needing to satisfy my burning desire to make major & necessary edits.
So my only advice to you if you want to buy this series is this: Don't bother. Wait until the author has sorted it out. And I hope he does, because I'm desperate to read it, but if a writer can't be bothered to edit his writing properly until it's a polished manuscript, I can't be bothered to read it.
There's a reason why it'll only cost you 77p on Amazon for six novellas. Enough said.
March 1, 2015
Tri slová (lebo tri je šťastné a rozprávkové číslo):
1. Geniálne
Budete si možno aj hlavu o stenu búchať. A nechápať, že ste si nikdy nepripustili niečo také až doteraz. Pretože
vzťahy sú prekvapivé.
Dopad na históriu ľudstva je nepopierateľný /ak by ste sa v záchvate šialeného opojenia tými príbehmi rozhodli brať ich aj vážne, t.j. ako fakty, ktorým odteraz veríte, tak ako veríte, že morské panny existujú pretože väčšina oceánov a morí nie je úplne prebádaná, v tomto momentne máte moju plnú podporu...aj mne z toho občas šibe/
2. Šokujúce
Fakt 90% z čítania tých pamlskou som mala skôr pocit, že sa moje srdce zastavuje, a že v mozgu sa mi odohráva šialená oslava Nového roku a vstupu do ďalšie milénia.
Prakticky ja, keď som čítala (princ je, povedzme zobrazenie tej situácie, keď som prirodzene skĺzla do náručia ďalšieho príbehu, uvedomujúc si, že už nie je cesty späť)
Áno, áno! Ohňostroje v mozgu a následná nekontrolovateľná radosť z toho, čo to zase napísal.
Cameron Jace zbúral moje videnie sveta.
Naveky.
Nadobro.
Nezmeniteľne.
Pokým neschytám amnéziu.
3. Návykové
Fakt mali by dávať trocha upozornení od ministerstva zdravotníctva inak môžu rovno otvoriť nové liečebné centrá pre tých, ktorí nevedia čítať iné než re-tellingy, a potom sú smutní lebo im babka zakázala sťahovať zvyšné diely.
Smutný = v tomto prípade stav kedy si chcete z hrude vytrhnúť vlastné srdce a hodiť ho k nohám najbližšieho človeka ochotného zohnať vám zvyšné diely A najlepšie rovno všetky knihy (momentálne teraz) od pána autora menom Cameron Jace.
1. Geniálne
Budete si možno aj hlavu o stenu búchať. A nechápať, že ste si nikdy nepripustili niečo také až doteraz. Pretože
vzťahy sú prekvapivé.
Dopad na históriu ľudstva je nepopierateľný /ak by ste sa v záchvate šialeného opojenia tými príbehmi rozhodli brať ich aj vážne, t.j. ako fakty, ktorým odteraz veríte, tak ako veríte, že morské panny existujú pretože väčšina oceánov a morí nie je úplne prebádaná, v tomto momentne máte moju plnú podporu...aj mne z toho občas šibe/
2. Šokujúce
Fakt 90% z čítania tých pamlskou som mala skôr pocit, že sa moje srdce zastavuje, a že v mozgu sa mi odohráva šialená oslava Nového roku a vstupu do ďalšie milénia.
Prakticky ja, keď som čítala (princ je, povedzme zobrazenie tej situácie, keď som prirodzene skĺzla do náručia ďalšieho príbehu, uvedomujúc si, že už nie je cesty späť)
Áno, áno! Ohňostroje v mozgu a následná nekontrolovateľná radosť z toho, čo to zase napísal.
Cameron Jace zbúral moje videnie sveta.
Naveky.
Nadobro.
Nezmeniteľne.
Pokým neschytám amnéziu.
3. Návykové
Fakt mali by dávať trocha upozornení od ministerstva zdravotníctva inak môžu rovno otvoriť nové liečebné centrá pre tých, ktorí nevedia čítať iné než re-tellingy, a potom sú smutní lebo im babka zakázala sťahovať zvyšné diely.
Smutný = v tomto prípade stav kedy si chcete z hrude vytrhnúť vlastné srdce a hodiť ho k nohám najbližšieho človeka ochotného zohnať vám zvyšné diely A najlepšie rovno všetky knihy (momentálne teraz) od pána autora menom Cameron Jace.
April 28, 2015
These instalments of the Grimm Diaries follows six separate fairy tale characters. The idea behind these stories is that the Grim brother's tales have been written incorrectly and have also been distorted over the years so that the usual heroine is evil in some way.
I found most of the stories extremely hard to follow. Ladle Rat Rotten Hunt is probably my favourite just because it wasn't as confusing but I did find this story a little predictable which is annoying! Little Red Riding Hood was surprisingly a likable character and it was interesting how the author twisted her story.
Mary Mary Quite Contrary was a good story, it is told in the devils point of view and is very graphic. Elizabeth a girl who gets evil mirror in her eye tortures young women because of her evil nature. I just thought this one was quite creative and there was twists that I didn't see coming.
Some of the language used in each of the stories was way before it's time. For example, in Prince charming's diary entry he used phrases like 'never mind' which didn't really add to the authenticity of the story.
It annoyed me a little that some characters weren't even mentioned in the Grim brother tales (Dracula, Peter Pan etc.)because these entries were meant to be loosely based on those. I think that is why at times I got confused. I felt that these characters were thrown in because the author wasn't sure how to link the stories together.
I don't think I'll be reading anything else from this author. I was either bored or confused while reading this unfortunately.
I found most of the stories extremely hard to follow. Ladle Rat Rotten Hunt is probably my favourite just because it wasn't as confusing but I did find this story a little predictable which is annoying! Little Red Riding Hood was surprisingly a likable character and it was interesting how the author twisted her story.
Mary Mary Quite Contrary was a good story, it is told in the devils point of view and is very graphic. Elizabeth a girl who gets evil mirror in her eye tortures young women because of her evil nature. I just thought this one was quite creative and there was twists that I didn't see coming.
Some of the language used in each of the stories was way before it's time. For example, in Prince charming's diary entry he used phrases like 'never mind' which didn't really add to the authenticity of the story.
It annoyed me a little that some characters weren't even mentioned in the Grim brother tales (Dracula, Peter Pan etc.)because these entries were meant to be loosely based on those. I think that is why at times I got confused. I felt that these characters were thrown in because the author wasn't sure how to link the stories together.
I don't think I'll be reading anything else from this author. I was either bored or confused while reading this unfortunately.
February 16, 2013
Hmmm... Well, I have very mixed emotions about these prequels. I love dark fairy tales, and was very excited to read these when I stumbled upon them- all 6 at 0.99 cents no less!
Cameron Jace seems excited and passionate about his writing, and this shines through his work. The premise of the series is fantastic- all the things you never knew you didn't know about your favorite fairy tales. All with an underlying darkness that speaks to reality instead of the mostly unattainable "happily ever after". However, the writing and grammatical errors in several of the stories almost had me putting the books down (or turning them off, on my ipad, as the case may be). There were misspellings, dropped words, phrases that didn't make sense, and some questionable sentence structuring; at times the dialogue seemed forced or shallow; and several of the characters just didn't seem to "fit in" to me. However, the stories were intriguing enough to keep me reading.
My favorite of the lot was Ladle Rat Rotten Hut. It was clever, engaging, unique, and fun- and there were almost no errors that caught my eye. It had a great twist that ended dark and a little creepy. I also really liked the Mary Mary Quite Contrary story- also dark.
I'm going to continue on and read the next set of prequels, and hope that Mr. Jace has found an editor he loves. If not, I'll power through just to keep up with his imaginative stories.
Cameron Jace seems excited and passionate about his writing, and this shines through his work. The premise of the series is fantastic- all the things you never knew you didn't know about your favorite fairy tales. All with an underlying darkness that speaks to reality instead of the mostly unattainable "happily ever after". However, the writing and grammatical errors in several of the stories almost had me putting the books down (or turning them off, on my ipad, as the case may be). There were misspellings, dropped words, phrases that didn't make sense, and some questionable sentence structuring; at times the dialogue seemed forced or shallow; and several of the characters just didn't seem to "fit in" to me. However, the stories were intriguing enough to keep me reading.
My favorite of the lot was Ladle Rat Rotten Hut. It was clever, engaging, unique, and fun- and there were almost no errors that caught my eye. It had a great twist that ended dark and a little creepy. I also really liked the Mary Mary Quite Contrary story- also dark.
I'm going to continue on and read the next set of prequels, and hope that Mr. Jace has found an editor he loves. If not, I'll power through just to keep up with his imaginative stories.
January 10, 2013
I want to thank the author, Cameron Jace, for the opportunity to read and review this prequel series. I approached him on his blog saying I would love to read his books, and he provided both series to me the next day. He seems really nice, so be sure to follow him on Facebook.
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I quite enjoyed these prequels. Snow White and The Queen of Sorrow both quickly became favorites of mine, and I look forward to reading more about both characters. Sadly, I know only one will ultimately reign supreme in the end, though.
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I reviewed each prequel separately as I read them, and you can read my reviews below.....
1. http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
2. http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
3. http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
4. http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
5. http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
6. http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
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I quite enjoyed these prequels. Snow White and The Queen of Sorrow both quickly became favorites of mine, and I look forward to reading more about both characters. Sadly, I know only one will ultimately reign supreme in the end, though.
----------------------
I reviewed each prequel separately as I read them, and you can read my reviews below.....
1. http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
2. http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
3. http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
4. http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
5. http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
6. http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
November 25, 2013
I have to say that I loved reading these prequels...and I am now going to begin reading the first of the Grimm Diaries!!! Some people have talked about them not being that good...but I disagree!!! I found them light and very funny!!! I have loved the fairy tales...and to think of them this way...made me laugh...to even think of Snow White being a vampire...is hilarious!!!...and hilarious in a good way!!! I love to think of the fairy tale characters as being evil...and naughty...ooooh yeah!!!
January 29, 2021
#18 of 2021
1. Snow White Blood Red ⭐⭐⭐
2. Ashes to Ashes and Cinder to Cinder ⭐⭐⭐
3. Beauty Never Dies ⭐⭐⭐⭐
4. Ladle Rat Rotten Hut ⭐⭐⭐⭐
5. Mary Mary Quite Contrary ⭐⭐
6. Blood Apples ⭐⭐⭐
1. Snow White Blood Red ⭐⭐⭐
2. Ashes to Ashes and Cinder to Cinder ⭐⭐⭐
3. Beauty Never Dies ⭐⭐⭐⭐
4. Ladle Rat Rotten Hut ⭐⭐⭐⭐
5. Mary Mary Quite Contrary ⭐⭐
6. Blood Apples ⭐⭐⭐
October 8, 2015
What if all you knew about fairy tales was wrong?
Warning: these Grimm Prequels are like snap shots of a magical land you're about to visit soon. I like to think of them as poisoned apples. Once you taste them, you will never see fairy tales in the same light again.
The Grimm Diaries Prequels are short books in the form of epistolary diary entries. They are teasers for The Grimm Diaries. The 6 diaries are told by The Evil Queen, Peter Pan, Little Red Riding Hood, the Devil, Prince Charming, and Alice Grimm.
Grimm Diaries Prequels:
1. Snow White Blood Red (narrated by The Snow White Queen)
2. Ashes to Ashes and Cinder to Cinder (narrated by Alice Grimm)
3. Beauty Never Dies (narrated by Peter Pan)
4. Ladle Rotten Rat Hut (narrated by Little Red Riding Hood)
5. Mary Mary Quite Contrary
6. Blood Apples (narrated by Prince Charming)
7 . Jawigi (narrated by sandman Grimm)
- - - - -
Rating: 2.25/5 Stars
Quick Reasons: LOVE the creative, unique spins on the old, well-known tales; love the “twisted” end reveals; not so in love with the choppy world-building, awkward dialoge, and often confusing plots; disappointed overall with writing quality
I was worried, going in to this read, that I might not be as blown away with it as I was expecting. The blurb sounds AMAZING, the idea of these retellings being told from the POV of rather unexpected characters was exciting... I deliberated for several days before deciding to at the very least give this first collection of “prequels” a shot before choosing to either continue with the stories or put them aside.
After reading this... I'm leaning, sadly, toward putting them aside.
So, I was SUPER impressed with the “prologue” and the first prequel story. They seemed well-put-together, the prose was poetic and lyrical... I LOVED the Queen of Sorrow's story, the ideas thrown around about Snow White and her true nature. It was all so beautifully crafted, I was enthralled—and while I knew the writing was a BIT shoddy around the edges, I ignored it for the captivating words being woven around me. The first two sections? Really worked for me. I was really excited about continuing on... until I started the second prequel.
Because somewhere between the end of book one and the beginning of book two, something shifted in Cameron Jace's writing style. Dialogue was awkward and realistic at times: the characters repeated the same things over and over, or spoke in ways I couldn't understand. I get they're fairy tale characters, but...they should be able to hold a conversation like normal people? So why don't they? The plots became wildly “spontaneous”--and by this, I mean they were all over the place. There was often little explanation and answers weren't easily grasped by readers. The writing became rushed, instead of prolific and poetic. It began to fall flat.
I enjoyed the creativity Cameron Jace showed here. There were many times I found myself going... “Huh. Why hadn't I thought of that?!” Which, if we're being honest, is ALWAYS a good thing in a piece of writing. I had fun reading the many different alterations and experiments Cameron Jace used throughout the stories—there were a lot of “secrets” waiting to be uncovered or stumbled upon.
I feel, though, these prequels MIGHT have too many characters to focus on. There are so many different voices, so many different individual stories being woven here—I feel like Cameron Jace's attention was unfairly and unequally divided. It's easy to tell at times which characters/stories were more invested in, and which got the short end of the stick in the end. This made reading these first six prequels difficult and frustrating for me. I just wish, I guess, that there were less characters and more STORY, if that makes sense? Of course, they're teasers, I get that...but that doesn't mean the quality has to fall short.
So... I enjoyed these for their creativity and unique ideas, but I was frustrated with them at the same time. I don't think I'm going to be continuing on with this series—at least not at this time in my life. Maybe in the future I'll give them a second shot, but for now, it's time to move along to something else. I'd still recommend to lovers of fairy tale retellings, unique and inventive “twists,” and dark/edgy story telling. Just because thiswasn't for me, doesn't mean it's not for you!
Warning: these Grimm Prequels are like snap shots of a magical land you're about to visit soon. I like to think of them as poisoned apples. Once you taste them, you will never see fairy tales in the same light again.
The Grimm Diaries Prequels are short books in the form of epistolary diary entries. They are teasers for The Grimm Diaries. The 6 diaries are told by The Evil Queen, Peter Pan, Little Red Riding Hood, the Devil, Prince Charming, and Alice Grimm.
Grimm Diaries Prequels:
1. Snow White Blood Red (narrated by The Snow White Queen)
2. Ashes to Ashes and Cinder to Cinder (narrated by Alice Grimm)
3. Beauty Never Dies (narrated by Peter Pan)
4. Ladle Rotten Rat Hut (narrated by Little Red Riding Hood)
5. Mary Mary Quite Contrary
6. Blood Apples (narrated by Prince Charming)
7 . Jawigi (narrated by sandman Grimm)
- - - - -
Rating: 2.25/5 Stars
Quick Reasons: LOVE the creative, unique spins on the old, well-known tales; love the “twisted” end reveals; not so in love with the choppy world-building, awkward dialoge, and often confusing plots; disappointed overall with writing quality
I was worried, going in to this read, that I might not be as blown away with it as I was expecting. The blurb sounds AMAZING, the idea of these retellings being told from the POV of rather unexpected characters was exciting... I deliberated for several days before deciding to at the very least give this first collection of “prequels” a shot before choosing to either continue with the stories or put them aside.
After reading this... I'm leaning, sadly, toward putting them aside.
I wondered why you didn't burn the original scripts, instead of rewriting them. You must have figured out that sooner or later, someone would dig up the truth and expose you. Altering the stories was the smarter solution. You let children believe that vampire bites were resurrecting kisses, and that glass coffins were made for sleeping beauties, waiting for a prince to come and kiss them awake.
So, I was SUPER impressed with the “prologue” and the first prequel story. They seemed well-put-together, the prose was poetic and lyrical... I LOVED the Queen of Sorrow's story, the ideas thrown around about Snow White and her true nature. It was all so beautifully crafted, I was enthralled—and while I knew the writing was a BIT shoddy around the edges, I ignored it for the captivating words being woven around me. The first two sections? Really worked for me. I was really excited about continuing on... until I started the second prequel.
Because somewhere between the end of book one and the beginning of book two, something shifted in Cameron Jace's writing style. Dialogue was awkward and realistic at times: the characters repeated the same things over and over, or spoke in ways I couldn't understand. I get they're fairy tale characters, but...they should be able to hold a conversation like normal people? So why don't they? The plots became wildly “spontaneous”--and by this, I mean they were all over the place. There was often little explanation and answers weren't easily grasped by readers. The writing became rushed, instead of prolific and poetic. It began to fall flat.
“I thought so,” I said under my breath as I walked out. “Every child's dream is to push a button and kill imaginary friends.”
I enjoyed the creativity Cameron Jace showed here. There were many times I found myself going... “Huh. Why hadn't I thought of that?!” Which, if we're being honest, is ALWAYS a good thing in a piece of writing. I had fun reading the many different alterations and experiments Cameron Jace used throughout the stories—there were a lot of “secrets” waiting to be uncovered or stumbled upon.
I feel, though, these prequels MIGHT have too many characters to focus on. There are so many different voices, so many different individual stories being woven here—I feel like Cameron Jace's attention was unfairly and unequally divided. It's easy to tell at times which characters/stories were more invested in, and which got the short end of the stick in the end. This made reading these first six prequels difficult and frustrating for me. I just wish, I guess, that there were less characters and more STORY, if that makes sense? Of course, they're teasers, I get that...but that doesn't mean the quality has to fall short.
A while later, we held hands. I liked it, still gripping my scythe in the other hand. Like the wolf boy said, maybe that was how relationships worked. A girl had to have her scythe behind her back, and a boy had his moments of uncontrollable hunger.
So... I enjoyed these for their creativity and unique ideas, but I was frustrated with them at the same time. I don't think I'm going to be continuing on with this series—at least not at this time in my life. Maybe in the future I'll give them a second shot, but for now, it's time to move along to something else. I'd still recommend to lovers of fairy tale retellings, unique and inventive “twists,” and dark/edgy story telling. Just because thiswasn't for me, doesn't mean it's not for you!
October 9, 2014
This review was first posted on Northern Plunder: part one and part two, if you want to see more reviews please click here.
Snow White Blood Red
The Amazon Kindle Lending Library is possibly one of the greatest things invented, though I'm still getting used to finding my way around it but The Grimm Diaries Prequels showed up on my recommended list and after reading the synopsis on Goodreads I decided to give them a go and I'm glad I did. Snow White Blood Red is from the point of view of Snow White's Mother, most commonly known as The Evil Queen - you know the lady with the poisonous apples and she tells us the story of Snow White growing up and how it came to be that she is wanted dead. I adored how the author spun this tale because Snow White isn't the Princess we're used too, no this one likes to bite cute boys and has a rather evil streak because she's a vampire and well as you know vampires are something I adore and whilst you might think this is odd it fits in really well and it's clearly well thought out.
Ashes to Ashes and Cinder to Cinder
This short story has a slightly different feel too it as its from the view of a Dreamhunter, her job is to enter the dreams of the fairy tale characters to help guide them on the right track, this particular one is Cinderella's mother and Alice helps guide her to safety after a fire breaks out in Venice. Its cleverly thought of and theres a lot of facts and historical events in this one to illustrate exactly why Cinderella is called that and how she came to be. I think what I enjoyed most about this one is how we're made aware of a lot of important facts about her Mother and her magic but we're not actually introduced to Cinderella herself so it'll be interesting to either run into her in later prequels or the main book. I wonder if she's a witch and whether she's as dark as Snow White?
Beauty Never Dies
I think this is possibly my favourite of the lot as we get to see a different side to Peter Pan, this story follows him on his quest to help the one he loves - Sleeping Beauty - awaken again. This story is probably also the funniest of the lot as we get to meet Dracula too who isn't exactly the fearing Vampire we all know and love. We also meet The Evil Queen yet again and she helps to bring another mystery to the table - who are the chosen seven and what does she need them for and what could they mean for the future of their world - as she tries to get help from Peter about who they could be.
Ladle Rat Rotten Hut
Meep, I adored this book so much. It definitely felt like one of the longer ones but it portrays Little Red Riding Hood as Death! Well, its actually her Mum to start with but once she reaches a certain age, Little Red takes over and this story follows her as she learns about what her Mum has been doing each night whilst she's been scared of Wolves and it also gets tied into Hansel and Gretal too. Ah I loved it, the development and interwining of each of the fairty tales is fun.
Mary Mary Quite Contrary
This shorty story if from the point of view of the Devil's who is very bored with hell and ends up getting his hands on a mirror that can bring out the evil in people, so of course he starts to have some fun with it by pointing it up to Heaven which cause its to break into a million shards as it falls to Earth and enters the hearts and eyes of many, turning them evil. For the majority of this story we follow Elizabeth who has a shard in her eye, over time she becomes more evil and bloodthirsty until she is engulfed in this madness and only finds happiness in killing beautiful young maidens! Pretty disturbing huh? Well it gets worse, she ends up killing one who is her own blood, Mary. Mary is immortal and returns raining hell on not only her Mother but many people and uses mirrors to travel around inflicting pain and sorrow. Obviously the Devil enjoys this but as she gets very unruling and uncontrollable he stops her by trapping her in a mirror - the mirror. So do you see how it all ties up - Mary Mary Quite Contraty nursery rhyme > Bloody Mary ghost story > Mirror Mirror on the wall. I loved it! So cleverly done.
Blood Apples
Blood Apples is from Prince Charming's point of view and with the help of Jack and his mermaid girlfriend Marmalade they rescue Snow White from a tower (Rapunzel's tower that is), unfortunately things go a miss and the groups get split up. The girls one way and the boys another and when Prince Charming finally meet sup with his Snow White, she is already dead from poison, he kisses her and poisons himself. You see where I'm going with this? Its pretty much Romeo & Juliette only this Juliette (Snow White) is immortal and Romeo ends up alive too. Its a pretty good story but not one of my favourites, as you can probably tell. There are some nice quotes above love though, and the meaning of adage.
Snow White Blood Red
The Amazon Kindle Lending Library is possibly one of the greatest things invented, though I'm still getting used to finding my way around it but The Grimm Diaries Prequels showed up on my recommended list and after reading the synopsis on Goodreads I decided to give them a go and I'm glad I did. Snow White Blood Red is from the point of view of Snow White's Mother, most commonly known as The Evil Queen - you know the lady with the poisonous apples and she tells us the story of Snow White growing up and how it came to be that she is wanted dead. I adored how the author spun this tale because Snow White isn't the Princess we're used too, no this one likes to bite cute boys and has a rather evil streak because she's a vampire and well as you know vampires are something I adore and whilst you might think this is odd it fits in really well and it's clearly well thought out.
Ashes to Ashes and Cinder to Cinder
This short story has a slightly different feel too it as its from the view of a Dreamhunter, her job is to enter the dreams of the fairy tale characters to help guide them on the right track, this particular one is Cinderella's mother and Alice helps guide her to safety after a fire breaks out in Venice. Its cleverly thought of and theres a lot of facts and historical events in this one to illustrate exactly why Cinderella is called that and how she came to be. I think what I enjoyed most about this one is how we're made aware of a lot of important facts about her Mother and her magic but we're not actually introduced to Cinderella herself so it'll be interesting to either run into her in later prequels or the main book. I wonder if she's a witch and whether she's as dark as Snow White?
Beauty Never Dies
I think this is possibly my favourite of the lot as we get to see a different side to Peter Pan, this story follows him on his quest to help the one he loves - Sleeping Beauty - awaken again. This story is probably also the funniest of the lot as we get to meet Dracula too who isn't exactly the fearing Vampire we all know and love. We also meet The Evil Queen yet again and she helps to bring another mystery to the table - who are the chosen seven and what does she need them for and what could they mean for the future of their world - as she tries to get help from Peter about who they could be.
Ladle Rat Rotten Hut
Meep, I adored this book so much. It definitely felt like one of the longer ones but it portrays Little Red Riding Hood as Death! Well, its actually her Mum to start with but once she reaches a certain age, Little Red takes over and this story follows her as she learns about what her Mum has been doing each night whilst she's been scared of Wolves and it also gets tied into Hansel and Gretal too. Ah I loved it, the development and interwining of each of the fairty tales is fun.
Mary Mary Quite Contrary
This shorty story if from the point of view of the Devil's who is very bored with hell and ends up getting his hands on a mirror that can bring out the evil in people, so of course he starts to have some fun with it by pointing it up to Heaven which cause its to break into a million shards as it falls to Earth and enters the hearts and eyes of many, turning them evil. For the majority of this story we follow Elizabeth who has a shard in her eye, over time she becomes more evil and bloodthirsty until she is engulfed in this madness and only finds happiness in killing beautiful young maidens! Pretty disturbing huh? Well it gets worse, she ends up killing one who is her own blood, Mary. Mary is immortal and returns raining hell on not only her Mother but many people and uses mirrors to travel around inflicting pain and sorrow. Obviously the Devil enjoys this but as she gets very unruling and uncontrollable he stops her by trapping her in a mirror - the mirror. So do you see how it all ties up - Mary Mary Quite Contraty nursery rhyme > Bloody Mary ghost story > Mirror Mirror on the wall. I loved it! So cleverly done.
Blood Apples
Blood Apples is from Prince Charming's point of view and with the help of Jack and his mermaid girlfriend Marmalade they rescue Snow White from a tower (Rapunzel's tower that is), unfortunately things go a miss and the groups get split up. The girls one way and the boys another and when Prince Charming finally meet sup with his Snow White, she is already dead from poison, he kisses her and poisons himself. You see where I'm going with this? Its pretty much Romeo & Juliette only this Juliette (Snow White) is immortal and Romeo ends up alive too. Its a pretty good story but not one of my favourites, as you can probably tell. There are some nice quotes above love though, and the meaning of adage.
April 25, 2015
Grimm Diaries Prequels was a twisted retelling of a collection of fairy tales we know and love. These retellings were creative and unusual. The author Cameron Jace kept the essence of the original stories whilst introducing new ideas that mess with your head.
First off the Prologue was confusing but it made me want to read on to find out more. If read in order, the Prequels will allow you to see the bigger picture. I still can't really get my head around the idea of Immortals and Dreamhunters. The stories appear to be standalone but they're actually tied back to the Queen of Sorrow aka Snow White's mother. All the character's lives are intertwined with one another, which makes it difficult to follow.
A couple of the stories referenced many popular works of fiction, TV shows, and history that it was trying to achieve too much in 30-odd pages. I thought it was a little unnecessary and the main plot itself was puzzling enough. As a whole this collection was alright.
Snow White Blood Red 4/5
Ashes to Ashes and Cinder to Cinder 3/5
Beauty Never Dies 2.5/5
Ladle Rotten Rat Hut 4/5
Mary Mary Quite Contrary 4/5
Blood Apples 2.5/5
First off the Prologue was confusing but it made me want to read on to find out more. If read in order, the Prequels will allow you to see the bigger picture. I still can't really get my head around the idea of Immortals and Dreamhunters. The stories appear to be standalone but they're actually tied back to the Queen of Sorrow aka Snow White's mother. All the character's lives are intertwined with one another, which makes it difficult to follow.
A couple of the stories referenced many popular works of fiction, TV shows, and history that it was trying to achieve too much in 30-odd pages. I thought it was a little unnecessary and the main plot itself was puzzling enough. As a whole this collection was alright.
Snow White Blood Red 4/5
Ashes to Ashes and Cinder to Cinder 3/5
Beauty Never Dies 2.5/5
Ladle Rotten Rat Hut 4/5
Mary Mary Quite Contrary 4/5
Blood Apples 2.5/5
March 8, 2015
Rozprávky sú príbehy, pri ktorých začal svoj život s knihami každý knihomoľ. Nečudo, že nás stále láka sa k nim vracať, a keďže vekom sa v nás prebúdza realistickejšia a občas aj morbídnejšia dušička, nevadia nám ani v trochu pozmenenom znení v štýle "možno nežili šťastne až kým nepomreli".
Jace nie je síce prvý, kto prišiel s podobným nápadom prepísať známe príbehy, tentoraz sa mu podarilo zas prejsť ešte o krôčik ďalej a pridať niečo, čo tu predtým nebolo. Tentoraz čerpá nielen z rozprávok, ale aj príbehov z iných kníh, mýtov a histórie. Miestami bol na mňa síce tento mix dosť divoko poskladaný, ale celkovo sa mi to páčilo a som zvedavá, kam tým mieri a čo má nachystané ďalej.
Jace nie je síce prvý, kto prišiel s podobným nápadom prepísať známe príbehy, tentoraz sa mu podarilo zas prejsť ešte o krôčik ďalej a pridať niečo, čo tu predtým nebolo. Tentoraz čerpá nielen z rozprávok, ale aj príbehov z iných kníh, mýtov a histórie. Miestami bol na mňa síce tento mix dosť divoko poskladaný, ale celkovo sa mi to páčilo a som zvedavá, kam tým mieri a čo má nachystané ďalej.
December 30, 2013
Prologue: The prologue to this anthology sets up how the author redefines fairytales and introduces readers to this world as a whole. While I usually like a lot of info dump, exposition, and backstory this prologue, however, gives a rather confusing explanation of how this world works. There needed to be either a bit more explanation or maybe making it clearer because while I understood the gist of what was going on the complicated specifics were a bit hard to fully grasp. As for the things I could understand, how the author twist and molds fairytales into history was something I greatly admired, I'm a huge fan of weaving stories into history making the fantastic seem nearly possible.
Rating:
4 stars
While I enjoyed the new spin on classic fairy tales, it was a bit confusing when it came to the more specific details. If this prologue was just a bit clearer in what it was trying to explain it would have been a lot stronger.
Snow White Blood Red: As the title suggests, this prequel is all about everyone's favorite fairytale, Snow White. Okay, so I know it's not really everyone's favorite, not even mine (which is Beauty and the Beast by the way), but it seems like that's a what many fairytale retellings seem to immediately go, much like the Persephone myth is for Greek Mythology retellings. Told from the perspective of The Evil Queen, also known as the Snow White Queen, this prequel puts a rather bloody spin on the fairytale. While I can't go into specifics in an effort to avoid spoilers, I can say that I was really surprised by the author's twist on this tale, it's something I've never really seen before and while he is retelling a classic tale his original spin on it while a bit shaky definitely caught me off guard and was something I liked a lot and makes me interested in seeing what's to come in both this prequels series as well as the main Grimm Diaries series.
Rating:
4 stars
Like I said above, the twist on the Snow White tale is a bit shaky and while I think it's a really good twist and something I don't think anyone would guess going in, there's just some quality to it that makes it a bit unbelievable, maybe it just deviates from the tale so much or it's the Evil Queen's bias, but it just falls a bit flat.
Ashes to Ashes and Cinder to Cinder: Told from the perspective of Alice Grimm one of the descendants of the famous Brothers Grimm, this story had a bit more normalcy to it. What I mean by that it it shows the modern day world, and how it interacts with the world that these fairytale characters live in, instead of being rooted purely into the fairytale world. This novella focuses a bit on the origins of Cindrella, once again the story goes someplace unexpected, however not in the same way as the previous prequel. It's twist is a bit more historic and it really added a good depth to the fairytale side of things. There was also a good chunk of romance in this one too, and while the romance may have been better had the story progressed farther that the small amount of pages it did, because of the short size the romance was fairly casual and the male side of the romance was a bit too cocky for such a short story. There was also the mention of how Alice was so drawn to Loki, which made me feel uneasy, while I'm all for that when the story could actually go somewhere with it due to the events of this book and the length of it the romance seems wasted and much more like pandering than storytelling, I could be wrong and in future installments to either this series or the main one there could be a deeper more meaningful romance between these two, but if this was just a one shot romance it should have just been changed to a friendship or maybe a flirty Loki and an "I'm not having any of it" Alice which would have added some more comedy to the novella.
Rating:
4 stars
This was a tough one to rate, on one hand I loved it, it was a great origin story for Cinderella, on the other however, the oversaturated romance that seems to go no where for now detracted from the story, if however this romance will progress in future installments, I could maybe forgive the unnecessary romance but I really feel like a good slow burn or minor romantic elements would have helped this prequel.
Beauty Never Dies: Told from the perspective of Peter Pan, this story is the first time we really see the fairytales interacting with each other. While I thought the story was fairly good, I was turned off by a few things. First off the constant references to pop culture were so overused that they lost their sense of realness and seemed more like a gimmick. How Peter Pan is drawn to the Evil Queen is so weird to me, it nearly creepy if there was a somewhat sturdy explanation. With this being more or less a continuation from the first novella, and taking place after the second, I loved seeing these prequels really begin to tie together well, though I do have to say that while I like a certain show that pushes the boundaries of fairytales to extreme limits there's something about it happening in this series that just doesn't work, I wish I had a better idea about what it was that turned me off to these fractures fairytales, but at this moment I can't. Also the inclusion of a couple of characters from novels that I wouldn't consider in the "fairytale genre," like how Peter Pan and Alice in Wonderland are considered "fairytales" even though they are novels, I felt came in too soon in this series and would have really needed to introduced later on when there's a good platform of the story for them to stand on.
Rating:
3 stars
While there was a lot that I found unlikable about this prequel, they were rather small things, but the story really needed a good amount of substance to overcome it's faults and so even the things that would have only set the story back one star at the most really effected how I rated this installment.
Ladle Rat Rotten Hut: Told from the point of view of Little Red Riding Hood, this story is by far the best, at least out of the first four it is. While the twist on Red's story is a bit shaky, like Snow's is, as the story progresses it gets a bit better, and becomes more and more stable. There was a small bit of romance in this story and it was done to perfection, it didn't go either too fast or too slow and it felt right, while it wasn't quite realistic, the circumstances surrounding it helped it work well with the story. While this story isn't tied too closely with the story arc that these prequels seem to be telling it does have a slight connection to the arc, much like Ashes to Ashes and Cinder to Cinder did. The blending of fairytale characters seemed more organic and made more sense feeling much more like that television show I alluded to earlier.
Rating:
5 stars
I was really surprised with how much I enjoyed this story, it's a definite improvement over the previous tales and has me a bit more excited and hopeful to see where these characters may go.
Mary Mary Quite Contrary: Told from the Devil's point of view this tale is more history than fairytale. While I'm not opposed to the Devil as a narrator, or even the Devil as a character in these stories (which I got over after reading the Author's notes), I was put off by how much this Devil felt like a mischievous boy more than an evil and sinister Prince of Darkness, and with his weird and confusing knowledge of the future which seems fairly inconsistent throughout the story, his narration was less than desirable. The story itself however was really cool, it just shows how the author weaves these fairytales through known history. With the inclusion of folk tales such as Bloody Mary, the nursery rhyme "Mary Mary Quite Contrary" hence the title, and the somewhat debated history of Elizabeth Bathory, who is apparently the most prolific female serial killer in history. The one thing that was missing was that other than a passing mention or two of Peter Pan there wasn't really any connection to the larger story, that is until the end of the book when it comes abundantly clear where this fits into the overall story.
Rating:
4 stars
Much like the Little Red Riding Hood story this one was very well crafted, however unlike that story I never got the feeling that this Devil narrator fit with the story very well. It was disappointing as I was looking for a really nice and malevolent Devil, but instead got someone who's voices was eerily similar to that of Peter Pan, which may have been on purpose, but I expected more out of the Devil.
Blood Apples: The last story in this anthology of prequels is told by Prince Charming. While Charming isn't totally clueless, he's not the brightest crayon in the box, but really what more would you expect from someone enthralled by a monstrous beauty. This story details the origin of why apples are red, which seemed a bit weird to explore, but it made for a good story, so I'm not upset by it. We also get to see Rapunzel, and learn about Jack and the Beanstalk and there's a mention on Pan and his own monstrous Beauty. What I didn't enjoy however was there wasn't too much connection to the overall arc, or really any continuation of it, making this the third novella in a row that omits the storyline that was progressing with the first three novellas. While there is of course connection with the other stories themselves, I really wanted a bit more knowledge of where this story is heading. Also, while I said I'm fairly comfortable with the Devil being portrayed in these stories, I am fairly hesitant when the author brought in the mention of Adam and Eve, while I'm not opposed to Biblical reinterpretations, I am a bit hesitant when they are mixed with classics and fairytales.
Rating:
4 stars
I was a bit torn on how I was going to rate this, on one hand it's a great tale, on the other it's been so long since there was any real progression in the present day plot that my enjoyment of the backstory and connections has dwindled a bit.
Rating:
4 stars
While I enjoyed the new spin on classic fairy tales, it was a bit confusing when it came to the more specific details. If this prologue was just a bit clearer in what it was trying to explain it would have been a lot stronger.
Snow White Blood Red: As the title suggests, this prequel is all about everyone's favorite fairytale, Snow White. Okay, so I know it's not really everyone's favorite, not even mine (which is Beauty and the Beast by the way), but it seems like that's a what many fairytale retellings seem to immediately go, much like the Persephone myth is for Greek Mythology retellings. Told from the perspective of The Evil Queen, also known as the Snow White Queen, this prequel puts a rather bloody spin on the fairytale. While I can't go into specifics in an effort to avoid spoilers, I can say that I was really surprised by the author's twist on this tale, it's something I've never really seen before and while he is retelling a classic tale his original spin on it while a bit shaky definitely caught me off guard and was something I liked a lot and makes me interested in seeing what's to come in both this prequels series as well as the main Grimm Diaries series.
Rating:
4 stars
Like I said above, the twist on the Snow White tale is a bit shaky and while I think it's a really good twist and something I don't think anyone would guess going in, there's just some quality to it that makes it a bit unbelievable, maybe it just deviates from the tale so much or it's the Evil Queen's bias, but it just falls a bit flat.
Ashes to Ashes and Cinder to Cinder: Told from the perspective of Alice Grimm one of the descendants of the famous Brothers Grimm, this story had a bit more normalcy to it. What I mean by that it it shows the modern day world, and how it interacts with the world that these fairytale characters live in, instead of being rooted purely into the fairytale world. This novella focuses a bit on the origins of Cindrella, once again the story goes someplace unexpected, however not in the same way as the previous prequel. It's twist is a bit more historic and it really added a good depth to the fairytale side of things. There was also a good chunk of romance in this one too, and while the romance may have been better had the story progressed farther that the small amount of pages it did, because of the short size the romance was fairly casual and the male side of the romance was a bit too cocky for such a short story. There was also the mention of how Alice was so drawn to Loki, which made me feel uneasy, while I'm all for that when the story could actually go somewhere with it due to the events of this book and the length of it the romance seems wasted and much more like pandering than storytelling, I could be wrong and in future installments to either this series or the main one there could be a deeper more meaningful romance between these two, but if this was just a one shot romance it should have just been changed to a friendship or maybe a flirty Loki and an "I'm not having any of it" Alice which would have added some more comedy to the novella.
Rating:
4 stars
This was a tough one to rate, on one hand I loved it, it was a great origin story for Cinderella, on the other however, the oversaturated romance that seems to go no where for now detracted from the story, if however this romance will progress in future installments, I could maybe forgive the unnecessary romance but I really feel like a good slow burn or minor romantic elements would have helped this prequel.
Beauty Never Dies: Told from the perspective of Peter Pan, this story is the first time we really see the fairytales interacting with each other. While I thought the story was fairly good, I was turned off by a few things. First off the constant references to pop culture were so overused that they lost their sense of realness and seemed more like a gimmick. How Peter Pan is drawn to the Evil Queen is so weird to me, it nearly creepy if there was a somewhat sturdy explanation. With this being more or less a continuation from the first novella, and taking place after the second, I loved seeing these prequels really begin to tie together well, though I do have to say that while I like a certain show that pushes the boundaries of fairytales to extreme limits there's something about it happening in this series that just doesn't work, I wish I had a better idea about what it was that turned me off to these fractures fairytales, but at this moment I can't. Also the inclusion of a couple of characters from novels that I wouldn't consider in the "fairytale genre," like how Peter Pan and Alice in Wonderland are considered "fairytales" even though they are novels, I felt came in too soon in this series and would have really needed to introduced later on when there's a good platform of the story for them to stand on.
Rating:
3 stars
While there was a lot that I found unlikable about this prequel, they were rather small things, but the story really needed a good amount of substance to overcome it's faults and so even the things that would have only set the story back one star at the most really effected how I rated this installment.
Ladle Rat Rotten Hut: Told from the point of view of Little Red Riding Hood, this story is by far the best, at least out of the first four it is. While the twist on Red's story is a bit shaky, like Snow's is, as the story progresses it gets a bit better, and becomes more and more stable. There was a small bit of romance in this story and it was done to perfection, it didn't go either too fast or too slow and it felt right, while it wasn't quite realistic, the circumstances surrounding it helped it work well with the story. While this story isn't tied too closely with the story arc that these prequels seem to be telling it does have a slight connection to the arc, much like Ashes to Ashes and Cinder to Cinder did. The blending of fairytale characters seemed more organic and made more sense feeling much more like that television show I alluded to earlier.
Rating:
5 stars
I was really surprised with how much I enjoyed this story, it's a definite improvement over the previous tales and has me a bit more excited and hopeful to see where these characters may go.
Mary Mary Quite Contrary: Told from the Devil's point of view this tale is more history than fairytale. While I'm not opposed to the Devil as a narrator, or even the Devil as a character in these stories (which I got over after reading the Author's notes), I was put off by how much this Devil felt like a mischievous boy more than an evil and sinister Prince of Darkness, and with his weird and confusing knowledge of the future which seems fairly inconsistent throughout the story, his narration was less than desirable. The story itself however was really cool, it just shows how the author weaves these fairytales through known history. With the inclusion of folk tales such as Bloody Mary, the nursery rhyme "Mary Mary Quite Contrary" hence the title, and the somewhat debated history of Elizabeth Bathory, who is apparently the most prolific female serial killer in history. The one thing that was missing was that other than a passing mention or two of Peter Pan there wasn't really any connection to the larger story, that is until the end of the book when it comes abundantly clear where this fits into the overall story.
Rating:
4 stars
Much like the Little Red Riding Hood story this one was very well crafted, however unlike that story I never got the feeling that this Devil narrator fit with the story very well. It was disappointing as I was looking for a really nice and malevolent Devil, but instead got someone who's voices was eerily similar to that of Peter Pan, which may have been on purpose, but I expected more out of the Devil.
Blood Apples: The last story in this anthology of prequels is told by Prince Charming. While Charming isn't totally clueless, he's not the brightest crayon in the box, but really what more would you expect from someone enthralled by a monstrous beauty. This story details the origin of why apples are red, which seemed a bit weird to explore, but it made for a good story, so I'm not upset by it. We also get to see Rapunzel, and learn about Jack and the Beanstalk and there's a mention on Pan and his own monstrous Beauty. What I didn't enjoy however was there wasn't too much connection to the overall arc, or really any continuation of it, making this the third novella in a row that omits the storyline that was progressing with the first three novellas. While there is of course connection with the other stories themselves, I really wanted a bit more knowledge of where this story is heading. Also, while I said I'm fairly comfortable with the Devil being portrayed in these stories, I am fairly hesitant when the author brought in the mention of Adam and Eve, while I'm not opposed to Biblical reinterpretations, I am a bit hesitant when they are mixed with classics and fairytales.
Rating:
4 stars
I was a bit torn on how I was going to rate this, on one hand it's a great tale, on the other it's been so long since there was any real progression in the present day plot that my enjoyment of the backstory and connections has dwindled a bit.
March 20, 2018
Usually i love fairy tale retelling, this was just weird..... And all over the place, the conversation and actions between the characters came across as extremely juvenile.
Some of it was clever, how The evil queens mirror came to be, how Wendy and sleeping beauty are actually the same person and lots lots more, its just the characters internal monologue and conversations were awful. It ruined it for me.
Each story was short and quick so you got a glimpse then moved on to the next, some stories loosely interconnect with the authors imagination but some stories were just pointless (Cinderella)...
Wont be reading on
Some of it was clever, how The evil queens mirror came to be, how Wendy and sleeping beauty are actually the same person and lots lots more, its just the characters internal monologue and conversations were awful. It ruined it for me.
Each story was short and quick so you got a glimpse then moved on to the next, some stories loosely interconnect with the authors imagination but some stories were just pointless (Cinderella)...
Wont be reading on
April 10, 2017
This was an interesting series of prequels to a series of books by the same author. The prequels are the basis for a retelling of all the classic fairy tales which builds upon the Snow White and the characters in that book.
The main characters in each of the prequels is a fairy tale character, in the first it's the evil queen from snow white, the second it's Alice Grimm, Peter Pan, Little Red Riding Hood, Mary Mary Quite Contrary, Prince Charming and Sandman Grimm. And each of the main characters tell their own story and how it is effected or linked with Snow White building up towards a war.
The secondary characters are specific to their own stories and were only introduced briefly so will be more prominent in the stories themselves.
The storylines are an interesting take of traditional fairy tales, with their own twists and new plot points. The pacing is good with each little story coming to it's own conclusion and building to the actual series.
3 stars an OK read, I will continue with the prequels until I finish them.
The main characters in each of the prequels is a fairy tale character, in the first it's the evil queen from snow white, the second it's Alice Grimm, Peter Pan, Little Red Riding Hood, Mary Mary Quite Contrary, Prince Charming and Sandman Grimm. And each of the main characters tell their own story and how it is effected or linked with Snow White building up towards a war.
The secondary characters are specific to their own stories and were only introduced briefly so will be more prominent in the stories themselves.
The storylines are an interesting take of traditional fairy tales, with their own twists and new plot points. The pacing is good with each little story coming to it's own conclusion and building to the actual series.
3 stars an OK read, I will continue with the prequels until I finish them.
September 21, 2013
The Grimm Diaries Prequels volume 1- 6: Snow White Blood Red, Ashes to Ashes & Cinder to Cinder, Beauty Never Dies, Ladle Rat Rotten Hut, Mary Mary Quite Contrary, Blood Apples I actually don't know what kind of rating I must give to this 'book'. I really enjoyed the stories, but they are in need of extra care. I'm not sure how I feel about them right now. also on http://thedailyprophecy.blogspot.com
This is such a hard ‘book’ to review, I’m still not sure about the rating. I really liked the twist to the stories from the Brothers Grimm. According to this book, the Brothers Grimm altered the true fairytales. The immortal characters from those tales lived among us until there was a cursed placed upon them. They were buried in their own dreams; the Dreamworld. Some of the Immortals broke the curse and they could wake up once every hundred years. The good ones want to tell the truth about their fairytales, the bad ones want to bring wrath on our world. Everything is documented in a Book of Sand, also called the Grimm Diaries. You are now reading part of those diaries.A lot of character are mentioned in this book and I liked how the puzzle pieces fell together. You can see that the author did his research and his world-building is good.
Let me walk you through the diaries:
Snow White Blood Red (The Grimm Diaries Prequels, #1)This is the story of the Queen of Sorrow, also known as the Evil Queen from Snow White. In this diary we get to know the real truth behind her and her daughter (yes, not her stepdaughter) The Evil Queen is actually trying to protect the Kingdom of Sorrow, instead of hunting the girl down for her beauty. She banished Snow to the Dreamworld, so she can find the Lost Seven to kill the immortal Snow White. She must find out who these Lost Seven are by identifying their objects.This was a nice story. It was fun to see the first lies from the Brothers Grimm and I almost felt sympathy for the Evil Queen.
Ashes to Ashes and Cinder to Cinder (The Grimm Diaries Prequels, #2)This is the story of Alice Grimm. She is a descendant from the Brothers Grimm and she is able to locate the fairytale characters. It’s her job to remind them in the Dreamworld who they are. When she flies to Venice to an 800 hundred year old witch’s skeleton, Alice knows this is her chance to find one of them. Together with Dreamhunter Loki, she dives into Dreamworld.While I liked the idea of Grimm’s descendant, I had some trouble with Alice and Loki. Their dialogues were a bit uninteresting. I wanted to see more of the story instead.
Beauty Never Dies (The Grimm Diaries Prequels, #3) Peter Pan is in love with one of the immortal monsters and to wake her up, he wakes Dracula. He is also important to the Evil Queen, because he can help her with the lost Seven.While I liked the idea of Peter and his love for one of the characters, I didn’t like the language in this story. Peter is trying to show off his good body to the Queen by walking around half naked. She is brushing him off by using worlds I found every un-Evil Queen-like (and yes, that is a word from now on, haha.) Not that it matters, but this is my favorite cover from the prequels. Very pretty.
Ladle Rat Rotten Hut (The Grimm Diaries Prequels, #4) Little Red Riding Hood isn’t just some girl. She is given an important role in life and when she reaches the age of sixteen, she will find out. One of her first tasks is going into the woods to bring a basket of food to her grandmother.I don’t want to give away too much of the story, because the author manages to surprise me. I liked the dark undertone in this story and it was fun to see what the title means. This was one of the better prequels.
Mary Mary Quite Contrary (The Grimm Diaries Prequels, #5) Death is watching one particular girl when an enchanted mirror cracks. Some of the splinters ends up in her heart and it makes her a great evil. But one day, her dark practices unleashes an even bigger treat into the world. Death must do something and he locks the evil spirit away in a mirror. The same mirror that talks to the Evil Queen.The background to the mirror: awesome. I liked that a lot. But this story was actually.. horrible. This is an example of: in need of editing. When Death is talking with words like “duh, told ya and WTF” I’m gone..
Blood Apples (The Grimm Diaries Prequels, #6) Prince Charming is working together with Jack the Beanstalk to save his love Snow White from the tower from Rapunzel.This was okay. I liked the fact that we finally know why the apples are red instead of their original golden color. The appearance of Jack was fun and I liked how their is a real fairytale undertone in this story: you will do everything for the one you love. You can even look beyond the fact that they are a monster.
Conclusion:
These prequels promised me a lot for the upcoming books. I’ll definitely give them a try, because I can see how much fun Cameron had while writing these books. I appreciate the twists on the stories, the way he used a lot of characters and how he built these two worlds. These stories read incredibly fast and they are worth a shot, but you can see that he needs an editor. The reason why I decided to stick with 2.5 flowers is the fact that some of the sentences and words don’t fit into the story. The ideas are better than the execution.
This is such a hard ‘book’ to review, I’m still not sure about the rating. I really liked the twist to the stories from the Brothers Grimm. According to this book, the Brothers Grimm altered the true fairytales. The immortal characters from those tales lived among us until there was a cursed placed upon them. They were buried in their own dreams; the Dreamworld. Some of the Immortals broke the curse and they could wake up once every hundred years. The good ones want to tell the truth about their fairytales, the bad ones want to bring wrath on our world. Everything is documented in a Book of Sand, also called the Grimm Diaries. You are now reading part of those diaries.A lot of character are mentioned in this book and I liked how the puzzle pieces fell together. You can see that the author did his research and his world-building is good.
Let me walk you through the diaries:
Snow White Blood Red (The Grimm Diaries Prequels, #1)This is the story of the Queen of Sorrow, also known as the Evil Queen from Snow White. In this diary we get to know the real truth behind her and her daughter (yes, not her stepdaughter) The Evil Queen is actually trying to protect the Kingdom of Sorrow, instead of hunting the girl down for her beauty. She banished Snow to the Dreamworld, so she can find the Lost Seven to kill the immortal Snow White. She must find out who these Lost Seven are by identifying their objects.This was a nice story. It was fun to see the first lies from the Brothers Grimm and I almost felt sympathy for the Evil Queen.
Ashes to Ashes and Cinder to Cinder (The Grimm Diaries Prequels, #2)This is the story of Alice Grimm. She is a descendant from the Brothers Grimm and she is able to locate the fairytale characters. It’s her job to remind them in the Dreamworld who they are. When she flies to Venice to an 800 hundred year old witch’s skeleton, Alice knows this is her chance to find one of them. Together with Dreamhunter Loki, she dives into Dreamworld.While I liked the idea of Grimm’s descendant, I had some trouble with Alice and Loki. Their dialogues were a bit uninteresting. I wanted to see more of the story instead.
Beauty Never Dies (The Grimm Diaries Prequels, #3) Peter Pan is in love with one of the immortal monsters and to wake her up, he wakes Dracula. He is also important to the Evil Queen, because he can help her with the lost Seven.While I liked the idea of Peter and his love for one of the characters, I didn’t like the language in this story. Peter is trying to show off his good body to the Queen by walking around half naked. She is brushing him off by using worlds I found every un-Evil Queen-like (and yes, that is a word from now on, haha.) Not that it matters, but this is my favorite cover from the prequels. Very pretty.
Ladle Rat Rotten Hut (The Grimm Diaries Prequels, #4) Little Red Riding Hood isn’t just some girl. She is given an important role in life and when she reaches the age of sixteen, she will find out. One of her first tasks is going into the woods to bring a basket of food to her grandmother.I don’t want to give away too much of the story, because the author manages to surprise me. I liked the dark undertone in this story and it was fun to see what the title means. This was one of the better prequels.
Mary Mary Quite Contrary (The Grimm Diaries Prequels, #5) Death is watching one particular girl when an enchanted mirror cracks. Some of the splinters ends up in her heart and it makes her a great evil. But one day, her dark practices unleashes an even bigger treat into the world. Death must do something and he locks the evil spirit away in a mirror. The same mirror that talks to the Evil Queen.The background to the mirror: awesome. I liked that a lot. But this story was actually.. horrible. This is an example of: in need of editing. When Death is talking with words like “duh, told ya and WTF” I’m gone..
Blood Apples (The Grimm Diaries Prequels, #6) Prince Charming is working together with Jack the Beanstalk to save his love Snow White from the tower from Rapunzel.This was okay. I liked the fact that we finally know why the apples are red instead of their original golden color. The appearance of Jack was fun and I liked how their is a real fairytale undertone in this story: you will do everything for the one you love. You can even look beyond the fact that they are a monster.
Conclusion:
These prequels promised me a lot for the upcoming books. I’ll definitely give them a try, because I can see how much fun Cameron had while writing these books. I appreciate the twists on the stories, the way he used a lot of characters and how he built these two worlds. These stories read incredibly fast and they are worth a shot, but you can see that he needs an editor. The reason why I decided to stick with 2.5 flowers is the fact that some of the sentences and words don’t fit into the story. The ideas are better than the execution.
January 9, 2013
I am a huge fairy tale fan. And not the polite bedtime story versions; I love hearing the gory back story behind all of these commonly held, beloved fairy tales. So when something like this comes along, I jump at the chance to read it -- just to see, 1) how close they come to revealing the original stories, and 2) what new take they may have on it. As I'm challenging myself to read a certain number of books every year and novellas/prequels/etc hardly count as a complete novel, I chose to read volumes 1-6 as an entire book as to not skew my book challenge. I read these prequels as a warm up for possibly purchasing the rest of the series. I'm glad I did, because I've since decided not to continue in the series. (Sorry!) That being said; onto the review.
First things first; I appreciated Mr. Jace's enthusiasm for his subject. I could tell he was very into it and enjoyed his ideas, and I loved the direction his enthusiasm and dark mind took them. I genuinely liked some of the twists he gave each tale. Others.. not so much.
The dialogue was rambling in some areas and short in others. It was written as 'diary entries' but read more like a real-time story: the diary bit didn't translate well, so starting each prequel with Dear Diary was fairly pointless, in my opinion. It was a stretch to see the connection in some stories; others I GOT. Like Cinderella's story. Brilliant, and I loved it. Little Red Riding Hood - fantastic. Snow White's... ehm, okay. Mary Mary, Quite Contrary & Elizabeth Bathory I had to fight to get through.. which was disappointing. Anyone who knows me, knows how much I completely adore Countess Ezerbet's stories -- the woman is definitely my favorite villain in all of true crime history.
The author lost me completely on volume 6; Prince Charming's "diary entry" about meeting Jack (Jack & the Beanstalk, Jack), and Rapunzel, and more of the Snow White drama.. and I'll summarize why. Basically, I can tell that Mr. Jace has put a ton of time into his research of fairy tales and how to incorporate them into written history (Justus von, for instance). But obviously he didn't read up on religion before completely ganking Wicca.
"What's inside the apple is the main points of a five star symbol that belongs to the rather dark arts. No one knows about it yet. It's called Wicca."
Ugh. Really? I myself identify as Pagan (as does my entire female line), so perhaps I'm more educated than your average joe on Wicca, Paganism, etc -- but if you put so much effort into learning the back stories of popular fairy tales, do a quick google search on Wicca before you lump it with Dark Arts. It's like identifying Christians as a Dark Art based solely on the Crusades -- simply not so. Wicca wasn't even a known WORD until the 1950s, although the practice was begun prior to that, not by much. It is a branch off from the original Old World religion (Paganism). Yes, Paganism was dark. Gory. Sacrificial rituals were completely common place, and we had/have many big-bad-spooky Gods and Goddesses. I probably wouldn't have been so exasperated over that sentence if the author had used Paganism in place of Wicca, because the history to support the gore is there and it isn't such a stretch. Most modern Pagans don't participate in the dark stuff anymore, but I admit, it's a huge part of our history.
Wicca was founded as a kinder, more gentle, peaceful, non-violent religion altogether. Furthermore, while many practitioners of Old Paganism, Neo-Paganism, Wicca, etc. actively identify as witches and practice the art of witchcraft, like any art, it can be both good or bad (again: there are Good and Bad folk in every religion). And, say it with me: Not all Wiccans are Witches. Not all Witches are Wiccan. Yes, Wicca is based strongly on Paganism, comparing Wiccans and Old Pagans is like comparing Mormons and Scientologists. I'm sorry, it just doesn't work, and it makes you look ignorant and incredibly offensive. When you want to refer to something as Dark Arts, why not just call people "Practitioners of The Dark Arts"? Why slap it on a known religion?
And that's why my original star rating dropped to 2 - one star for content research, one star for actual story telling: you lost me with the rest of it.
First things first; I appreciated Mr. Jace's enthusiasm for his subject. I could tell he was very into it and enjoyed his ideas, and I loved the direction his enthusiasm and dark mind took them. I genuinely liked some of the twists he gave each tale. Others.. not so much.
The dialogue was rambling in some areas and short in others. It was written as 'diary entries' but read more like a real-time story: the diary bit didn't translate well, so starting each prequel with Dear Diary was fairly pointless, in my opinion. It was a stretch to see the connection in some stories; others I GOT. Like Cinderella's story. Brilliant, and I loved it. Little Red Riding Hood - fantastic. Snow White's... ehm, okay. Mary Mary, Quite Contrary & Elizabeth Bathory I had to fight to get through.. which was disappointing. Anyone who knows me, knows how much I completely adore Countess Ezerbet's stories -- the woman is definitely my favorite villain in all of true crime history.
The author lost me completely on volume 6; Prince Charming's "diary entry" about meeting Jack (Jack & the Beanstalk, Jack), and Rapunzel, and more of the Snow White drama.. and I'll summarize why. Basically, I can tell that Mr. Jace has put a ton of time into his research of fairy tales and how to incorporate them into written history (Justus von, for instance). But obviously he didn't read up on religion before completely ganking Wicca.
"What's inside the apple is the main points of a five star symbol that belongs to the rather dark arts. No one knows about it yet. It's called Wicca."
Ugh. Really? I myself identify as Pagan (as does my entire female line), so perhaps I'm more educated than your average joe on Wicca, Paganism, etc -- but if you put so much effort into learning the back stories of popular fairy tales, do a quick google search on Wicca before you lump it with Dark Arts. It's like identifying Christians as a Dark Art based solely on the Crusades -- simply not so. Wicca wasn't even a known WORD until the 1950s, although the practice was begun prior to that, not by much. It is a branch off from the original Old World religion (Paganism). Yes, Paganism was dark. Gory. Sacrificial rituals were completely common place, and we had/have many big-bad-spooky Gods and Goddesses. I probably wouldn't have been so exasperated over that sentence if the author had used Paganism in place of Wicca, because the history to support the gore is there and it isn't such a stretch. Most modern Pagans don't participate in the dark stuff anymore, but I admit, it's a huge part of our history.
Wicca was founded as a kinder, more gentle, peaceful, non-violent religion altogether. Furthermore, while many practitioners of Old Paganism, Neo-Paganism, Wicca, etc. actively identify as witches and practice the art of witchcraft, like any art, it can be both good or bad (again: there are Good and Bad folk in every religion). And, say it with me: Not all Wiccans are Witches. Not all Witches are Wiccan. Yes, Wicca is based strongly on Paganism, comparing Wiccans and Old Pagans is like comparing Mormons and Scientologists. I'm sorry, it just doesn't work, and it makes you look ignorant and incredibly offensive. When you want to refer to something as Dark Arts, why not just call people "Practitioners of The Dark Arts"? Why slap it on a known religion?
And that's why my original star rating dropped to 2 - one star for content research, one star for actual story telling: you lost me with the rest of it.
February 27, 2024
Rated
5 Stars: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Kindle Unlimited Read
5 Stars: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Kindle Unlimited Read
February 6, 2013
I'd say three and a half, actually.
I really liked the idea. There have been many people that have tried a take on this, both in the East and the West and it's not always done successfully.
The author linked together fairy tales, nursery rhymes, urban legends, classic literatures, folklores, historical figures, other well-known characters of tales from other works... and the dots are linked together quite nicely.
I liked the dark tone as well, though in the notes the author has specified that the proper Grimm Diaries would not be so dark given their target readers are YA.
I never liked the idea that young adults had to read cheery, lighter stuff. They live in a world where darkness will eventually reach them. Every adult that grew up to be bullied knows that young adults (in other words, teenagers) are capable of just as much cruelty as the rest of us.
As long as we remind them that there's goodness and a bright side, a little dark stuff can't hurt them.
But I digress.
The reason the series isn't getting a even higher rating considering the praise I'm lavishing onto it, is simple: I'm holding some reservation for the style of delivery.
Whilst the concept itself is simply magnificent, and the plot and storyline seem to be utterly, utterly charming, the style of writing is somewhat... lacking, sometimes.
I know the author is trying to imitate youngsters when he wrote some of those diary entries, but somehow it weakens the structure of the whole series.
I think it's fine to write in first person in the role of the teenager and still don't compromise too much of the writer's own style. Some of the entries are frankly, irritating to read because the tone is not just young, it's bordering on childish.
However, the premises is great. I'll pick up the second set of prequels some time soon... just to see if I would change my mind about the delivery style.
I really liked the idea. There have been many people that have tried a take on this, both in the East and the West and it's not always done successfully.
The author linked together fairy tales, nursery rhymes, urban legends, classic literatures, folklores, historical figures, other well-known characters of tales from other works... and the dots are linked together quite nicely.
I liked the dark tone as well, though in the notes the author has specified that the proper Grimm Diaries would not be so dark given their target readers are YA.
I never liked the idea that young adults had to read cheery, lighter stuff. They live in a world where darkness will eventually reach them. Every adult that grew up to be bullied knows that young adults (in other words, teenagers) are capable of just as much cruelty as the rest of us.
As long as we remind them that there's goodness and a bright side, a little dark stuff can't hurt them.
But I digress.
The reason the series isn't getting a even higher rating considering the praise I'm lavishing onto it, is simple: I'm holding some reservation for the style of delivery.
Whilst the concept itself is simply magnificent, and the plot and storyline seem to be utterly, utterly charming, the style of writing is somewhat... lacking, sometimes.
I know the author is trying to imitate youngsters when he wrote some of those diary entries, but somehow it weakens the structure of the whole series.
I think it's fine to write in first person in the role of the teenager and still don't compromise too much of the writer's own style. Some of the entries are frankly, irritating to read because the tone is not just young, it's bordering on childish.
However, the premises is great. I'll pick up the second set of prequels some time soon... just to see if I would change my mind about the delivery style.
January 10, 2013
The Grimm Diaries Prequels explore the characters from the Brother Grimm fairy tales and other famous stories and myths the author has concocted horrifyingly mesmerizing stories. The prequels are diary entries made from the Snow White Queen, Alice Grimm,Peter Pan, Little Red Riding Hood, the Devil and Prince Charming however you will encounter many more familiar figures on this journey. The prequels have been released to give readers a taster and a better understanding of the soon to be released.
I absolutely loved the retelling of some of these classic tales, I loved the remodelling of the characters, shaping them with dark qualities. The imagination and creativeness that has nurtured in to this world is admirable and surely adored by readers and author alike.
No doubt I shall be reading the next prequels and purchasing the main series. I am eager to find out more of the authors interpretations of the tales as he matches and combines them with other myths in characters to father these unique novellas.
This is a very well suited Young Adult novel as the humorous voice will teenagers and young adults entertained however to improve from my perspective some voices of the characters don't match. For example the Snow White Queen will say such colloquial and present sayings that I find it a bit unbelievable as you would expect a regal tone from her. Nevertheless I still find the storytelling entertaining though leaves me to give a four star as I feel the diversity in voice would be needed to make these novellas a five star.
I absolutely loved the retelling of some of these classic tales, I loved the remodelling of the characters, shaping them with dark qualities. The imagination and creativeness that has nurtured in to this world is admirable and surely adored by readers and author alike.
No doubt I shall be reading the next prequels and purchasing the main series. I am eager to find out more of the authors interpretations of the tales as he matches and combines them with other myths in characters to father these unique novellas.
This is a very well suited Young Adult novel as the humorous voice will teenagers and young adults entertained however to improve from my perspective some voices of the characters don't match. For example the Snow White Queen will say such colloquial and present sayings that I find it a bit unbelievable as you would expect a regal tone from her. Nevertheless I still find the storytelling entertaining though leaves me to give a four star as I feel the diversity in voice would be needed to make these novellas a five star.
May 27, 2013
I very much enjoyed these stories. It was quite the twist on old fairy tales. Some of my favorites were Snow White Blood Red, Beauty Never Dies, and Blood Apples. There is definitely a creep factor to all of these though, especially Mary Mary Quite Contrary, but that contributes to the entertainment. There were parts of the stories that were confusing but the author warns of this in the prologue. There is no background information so there are some holes in the plot lines. These stories are prequels that are supposed to be teasers to entice you to read the actual novels, hence the missing background info. They certainly teased me. I will be reading the Grimm Diaries series in the future because I definitely want to understand the plot lines and see how they develop. Cameron Jace is a talented story teller. As with many kindle books, there are many editing mistakes. The mistakes within these stories were not as awful as those in other novels. Most of the mistakes were words missing letters or sentences missing a word. Fortunately, I could easily tell what was missing because the mistakes were as though Jace's typing couldn't keep up with his brain playing out the story, easily understandable. There was one story, Ashes to Ashes & Cinder to Cinder, that had chunks missing, and it wasn't background info. Despite these editing mistakes I look forward to reading the first Grimm Diary.
April 26, 2013
Updated review from computer/instead of Nexus...
Interesting fun/concept, not for serious reading (By serious, I mean a book to immerse yourself into). Basically a mock of fairy tales told in diaries entries, example you wouldn't see the devil using language like wtf. As i said not serious reading and modern language adds to that factor.
I liked the bloody Mary tale and how that was tied in.. This book wasn't what I was expecting, but then again I don't really know what I was expecting... It had a cool cover (I know... Don't judge a book by it cover, but we mostly do anyways) and it was a cheap price..
As mentioned above this book cheap from amazon and it's worth it for light non serious reading..
If you want a fantasy fairy book you probably best going with Lesley Livingston, Julie Kagawa or something..
If you want real fairy tale book then would be best going with hans christian or a more official grimm fairy tale book.
Another Alternative I enjoyed was 'The Last Wish' The Last Wish, which was a good book for some Darker Fairy Tales (written into a fantasy aspect)
Interesting fun/concept, not for serious reading (By serious, I mean a book to immerse yourself into). Basically a mock of fairy tales told in diaries entries, example you wouldn't see the devil using language like wtf. As i said not serious reading and modern language adds to that factor.
I liked the bloody Mary tale and how that was tied in.. This book wasn't what I was expecting, but then again I don't really know what I was expecting... It had a cool cover (I know... Don't judge a book by it cover, but we mostly do anyways) and it was a cheap price..
As mentioned above this book cheap from amazon and it's worth it for light non serious reading..
If you want a fantasy fairy book you probably best going with Lesley Livingston, Julie Kagawa or something..
If you want real fairy tale book then would be best going with hans christian or a more official grimm fairy tale book.
Another Alternative I enjoyed was 'The Last Wish' The Last Wish, which was a good book for some Darker Fairy Tales (written into a fantasy aspect)
April 24, 2013
i really loved the prequels. They are pretty much short stories made into diary entries. They tell the story of each character from their point of view.
I have always known that fairy tales did have a dark twisted origin but these prequels took the characters to a whole different level. I really enjoyed reading each one of them. I loved the appearance of most character my favorite one was red ridding hood. I did think it was a creative take on her. I really want to know what happens to cinderella and what is wrong with snow white in the end!!
I think the author did a good job at portraying dreamland as a twisted fairy tale land. The characters were fun to read about.
Dont go to these books expecting to find a lot of depth. They are what they are; just short stories. I cannot make up my mind about which character i liked or disliked the most. I don't feel like i got to know or understand the character fully but i hope this improves in the next few prequels.
I enjoyed the story telling and the take on fairy tales. I still dont know much about the character but that is what makes me want to read more and more prequels.
Also the more you read them the better and more understandable the stories get.
I have always known that fairy tales did have a dark twisted origin but these prequels took the characters to a whole different level. I really enjoyed reading each one of them. I loved the appearance of most character my favorite one was red ridding hood. I did think it was a creative take on her. I really want to know what happens to cinderella and what is wrong with snow white in the end!!
I think the author did a good job at portraying dreamland as a twisted fairy tale land. The characters were fun to read about.
Dont go to these books expecting to find a lot of depth. They are what they are; just short stories. I cannot make up my mind about which character i liked or disliked the most. I don't feel like i got to know or understand the character fully but i hope this improves in the next few prequels.
I enjoyed the story telling and the take on fairy tales. I still dont know much about the character but that is what makes me want to read more and more prequels.
Also the more you read them the better and more understandable the stories get.
May 27, 2014
*This Book Was Given To Me By The Author In Exchange For An Honest Review*
Sometimes when you offer reviews you get offered a title that you just can't refuse and this was one of those times.
I am not really sure how to start other than to say you get exactly what is described on the box. A series of prequels that are obviously leading you on to other stories but these really are short.
That being said I enjoyed them. As with all collections some spoke to me more than others (Snow White Blood Red being a particular favorite) and the writing obviously comes from a dark place which always appeals to me.
Overall I have to say this little collection is a nice thing to have in my library and it has definitely intrigued me to the extent I would read more and see if the author can keep up the intrigue when given a larger setting.
A solid 4 star read and a high recommend for people that like their fairy tales with a bit less HEA. Oh and right now it is FREE on Amazon! You can't ask for a better deal than that!
V""V
***Review has been done in conjunction with Nerd Girl Official.
For more information regarding our reviews please visit our Fansite: www.facebook.com/NerdGirl.ng ***
Sometimes when you offer reviews you get offered a title that you just can't refuse and this was one of those times.
I am not really sure how to start other than to say you get exactly what is described on the box. A series of prequels that are obviously leading you on to other stories but these really are short.
That being said I enjoyed them. As with all collections some spoke to me more than others (Snow White Blood Red being a particular favorite) and the writing obviously comes from a dark place which always appeals to me.
Overall I have to say this little collection is a nice thing to have in my library and it has definitely intrigued me to the extent I would read more and see if the author can keep up the intrigue when given a larger setting.
A solid 4 star read and a high recommend for people that like their fairy tales with a bit less HEA. Oh and right now it is FREE on Amazon! You can't ask for a better deal than that!
V""V
***Review has been done in conjunction with Nerd Girl Official.
For more information regarding our reviews please visit our Fansite: www.facebook.com/NerdGirl.ng ***
December 21, 2013
Cameron Jace’s The Grimm Diaries Prequels completely flips the common view of fairy tales. Jace explores not only bits of older tales and historical information but also weaves much of her imagination into these dark tales. The reader will never view Snow White, Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, the Evil Queen or even Jack in the Beanstalk the same way again.
Jace cleverly mixes history and modern day together as she takes us on a fantastical journey with some of the most famous fairy tale characters. We also encounter new and interesting characters along the way. Jace masterfully creates a credible world with believable characters.
I enjoyed the uniqueness of each story as Jace allowed each character to tell his or her story from their point of view, or even from another character’s point of view.
I highly recommend The Grimm Diaries Prequels. It was very riveting, and I could barely put it down. I can barely wait to read the continuation of the tales. The prequels are only an introduction to what is to come, and Jace has already given us an addicting flavor, as we wait for the full feast.
Jace cleverly mixes history and modern day together as she takes us on a fantastical journey with some of the most famous fairy tale characters. We also encounter new and interesting characters along the way. Jace masterfully creates a credible world with believable characters.
I enjoyed the uniqueness of each story as Jace allowed each character to tell his or her story from their point of view, or even from another character’s point of view.
I highly recommend The Grimm Diaries Prequels. It was very riveting, and I could barely put it down. I can barely wait to read the continuation of the tales. The prequels are only an introduction to what is to come, and Jace has already given us an addicting flavor, as we wait for the full feast.
December 29, 2016
Фантазията няма граници, вярно, но не е и безкрайна. Всяко новаторство е твърде често изравяне на нещо добре забравено старо и грижливо полагане върху посъживения труп на нечие въображение на един добър пласт почти клоунски грим, който префасонира спомена в абсурдизъм, който хем смущава, хем впечатлява, но най-вече – отваря всички отдавна зазидани гардероби със скелети и разпръсква костите на детството пред очите ни, за да ги накара да играят сложен кан-кан от заспали кошмари. Камерън Джейс е един от тези съживители, вивисектори на спомени, които посягат на всяка детска приказка или роман, написани някъде някога по света, и ги превръщат в объркващи възприятията истории, където боговете от всички религии на времето се препокриват в гротеска от неизказани лъжи и забранени връзки. И повярвайте ми, истината никога не е била толкова забавна.
В поредицата за загубените дневници от пясък (чийто пазител е не друг, а Сандмен, предполагаемо на Геймън) се срещаме с истинско предизвикателство относно генеалогията на приказните същества от сънищата на милиардите деца, дишали някога на тази земя. Основната прота/антигонистка е истинската кралица на тъгата, която някои наричат Злата кралица, други Старата вещица, а трети – просто Кармила. Снежанка е древен вампир, сестра ѝ, близначката, е Черния лебед, но е истинско предизвикателство да се разбере коя е добрата, а добра винаги има. Техните родители са Ангел – потомък на вампирите на тъгата, и Кармила – наследник на прочути бойци срещу свръхестествени същества, с образи така печално сиви, като следи от експлозия на цветове, мотивация и страхове, съвсем човешки, ако и никой да не е човек докрай.
Питър Пан е Тиквения свирач и изчадие от Ада; Уенди е Спящата красавица, между другото също вампир, и вероятно преродената принцеса Черен лебед; а самият Сатана е – внимание – Пинокио, докато Джепето е бащата в историята на Пепеляшка, чиято майка е подпалвачка от рода на Кери, а самото пепеливо момиче е Феникс и Малката кибритопродавачка в различни аватари, тъй както Лунното момиче е и внучката на Ариел и нейно превъплъщение, а Джак Бобеното стъбло е и Робин Худ, като още веднъж между другото Смъртта е малката Червена шапчица, дъщеря на голямата Жълта шапчица… Знам, знам, че се изгубихте, но повярвайте ми – всяка връзка е безумно логична, намекната някъде някога в оригиналния текст на стих или приказка за лека нощ, каквито сме слушали с часове в детските си дни, но чак сега ни се отварят очите за истината относно материята на легендите… и удоволствието от това да разбереш Вселената е повече от огромно.
Илюстрация към Камерън Джейс, думосъздателят (2)
Чудовищата са красавици, и твърде често обратното също е вярно; Марулка плете златни сънища на стана на Румпелщилтскин, който се превръща в чудовището на Франкенщайн, ако приемем, че същият е Якоб Ханс Грим. Да не ви казвам кой е Игор, не сте готови за това, а относно личността на Дракула завинаги ще замълча. Една далечна истина отваря вратите към света на сънищата, където нефилими ловят магическите кошмари и усмиряват злите вечни богове, маскирали се като герои на приказки. Черната смърт свири на флейтата от Хвалин, седемте изгубени подкрепят уж правилната страна в един вечен бой на негативни прото-герои, а колко феи на зъбките дебнат в мрака, заедно със Суини Тод и троловете от пазара на чудесата – едва ли ви се иска да преброите сами. Но в този пищен свят на чужди лица, навлекли одеяния непривични за характера им, всичко е възможно. И страшно. И ужасно. И ще поискате да сте там, завинаги, където времената са винаги интересни.
А Алиса, освен че пътува в чуждите блянове, за да коригира вторични и третични рождения на немрящите първични, си има и своя собствен кошмар, затворен в малък балон на ментална институция, управлявана от не-хора, избягали от страната на фантазиите и смазани под петите на реалността. Гъсеницата е британски Ханибал Лектър, кралицата майка е Червената владетелка на обезглавените карти, а Бялата е женската Папа, и джедай-мастър осмо ниво. Сред по-еднозначно възприеманите убийци се нареждат Чешърския котарак, Пиперената готвачка и Шапкаря, но и тяхната истина не е нашата и всичко си има своето тъжно обяснение, родило най-меланхоличните чудовища в историята на лошите сънища. Поредицата за Ненормалността е гениално разбиване на митовете на повече от едно поколение порастващи с несбъднати мечти и претворяване на остатъците в ърбън-приключение, изпълнено с напрежение и кървави сблъсъци между уж фантастичното и уж вероятното, омесващи се във вечна битка до последен дъх вяра.
Безумието на Алиса се мести безспир между варианта да съществува в оживяла приказка и това да крее в безсмислените тунели на собствената си смъртно ранена лудост. В единия тя е спасител на света, богиня в реинкарнация на доброто, помагаща на правилните хора за постигане на вселенски баланс. Във втория е самотна жертва на лошо решение, струвало живота на десетки хора, и остатъци от приятелства, загнили под колелата на един обърнат автобус, каран от опръскан с вътрешности гигантски заек. В коя от опциите ще повярвате не е решение на загадката – за Джейс едната истина не съществува, всичко е вярно – и заедно, и поотделно; и едновременно, и самостоятелно; и загубено, и искащо да не бъде намерено. Така че имайте вяра във всичко. Само така се живеят едновременно поне хиляда живота.
Мога да говоря с часове за наследника на семейните тленни останки на Луис Карол и Братя Грим, който връзва на нишки от копринена светлина марионетките на всички съновидения и доставя до вратата на подсъзнанието ви експресна доза от абсурдизъм, звучащ просто плашещо логично. Прегърнете невъзможното и възможното едновременно и ще откриете как виждате в повече от едно измерение на (не)реалността, просто забравяйки човешките ограничения на ума, подсвирквайки си вечната песен на усмивката на Чешир – Ние всички тук сме мъничко луди. Камерън Джейс е не просто нов уиърд автор, а нов мега инди уиърд думосъздател, за когото мога само да се надявам искрено, че някога ще научат повече хора. Защото сънищата в плът са ви гарантирано нужни, ако и да не предполагахте за нуждата си досега. Така се случва с хубавите изненади.
В поредицата за загубените дневници от пясък (чийто пазител е не друг, а Сандмен, предполагаемо на Геймън) се срещаме с истинско предизвикателство относно генеалогията на приказните същества от сънищата на милиардите деца, дишали някога на тази земя. Основната прота/антигонистка е истинската кралица на тъгата, която някои наричат Злата кралица, други Старата вещица, а трети – просто Кармила. Снежанка е древен вампир, сестра ѝ, близначката, е Черния лебед, но е истинско предизвикателство да се разбере коя е добрата, а добра винаги има. Техните родители са Ангел – потомък на вампирите на тъгата, и Кармила – наследник на прочути бойци срещу свръхестествени същества, с образи така печално сиви, като следи от експлозия на цветове, мотивация и страхове, съвсем човешки, ако и никой да не е човек докрай.
Питър Пан е Тиквения свирач и изчадие от Ада; Уенди е Спящата красавица, между другото също вампир, и вероятно преродената принцеса Черен лебед; а самият Сатана е – внимание – Пинокио, докато Джепето е бащата в историята на Пепеляшка, чиято майка е подпалвачка от рода на Кери, а самото пепеливо момиче е Феникс и Малката кибритопродавачка в различни аватари, тъй както Лунното момиче е и внучката на Ариел и нейно превъплъщение, а Джак Бобеното стъбло е и Робин Худ, като още веднъж между другото Смъртта е малката Червена шапчица, дъщеря на голямата Жълта шапчица… Знам, знам, че се изгубихте, но повярвайте ми – всяка връзка е безумно логична, намекната някъде някога в оригиналния текст на стих или приказка за лека нощ, каквито сме слушали с часове в детските си дни, но чак сега ни се отварят очите за истината относно материята на легендите… и удоволствието от това да разбереш Вселената е повече от огромно.
Илюстрация към Камерън Джейс, думосъздателят (2)
Чудовищата са красавици, и твърде често обратното също е вярно; Марулка плете златни сънища на стана на Румпелщилтскин, който се превръща в чудовището на Франкенщайн, ако приемем, че същият е Якоб Ханс Грим. Да не ви казвам кой е Игор, не сте готови за това, а относно личността на Дракула завинаги ще замълча. Една далечна истина отваря вратите към света на сънищата, където нефилими ловят магическите кошмари и усмиряват злите вечни богове, маскирали се като герои на приказки. Черната смърт свири на флейтата от Хвалин, седемте изгубени подкрепят уж правилната страна в един вечен бой на негативни прото-герои, а колко феи на зъбките дебнат в мрака, заедно със Суини Тод и троловете от пазара на чудесата – едва ли ви се иска да преброите сами. Но в този пищен свят на чужди лица, навлекли одеяния непривични за характера им, всичко е възможно. И страшно. И ужасно. И ще поискате да сте там, завинаги, където времената са винаги интересни.
А Алиса, освен че пътува в чуждите блянове, за да коригира вторични и третични рождения на немрящите първични, си има и своя собствен кошмар, затворен в малък балон на ментална институция, управлявана от не-хора, избягали от страната на фантазиите и смазани под петите на реалността. Гъсеницата е британски Ханибал Лектър, кралицата майка е Червената владетелка на обезглавените карти, а Бялата е женската Папа, и джедай-мастър осмо ниво. Сред по-еднозначно възприеманите убийци се нареждат Чешърския котарак, Пиперената готвачка и Шапкаря, но и тяхната истина не е нашата и всичко си има своето тъжно обяснение, родило най-меланхоличните чудовища в историята на лошите сънища. Поредицата за Ненормалността е гениално разбиване на митовете на повече от едно поколение порастващи с несбъднати мечти и претворяване на остатъците в ърбън-приключение, изпълнено с напрежение и кървави сблъсъци между уж фантастичното и уж вероятното, омесващи се във вечна битка до последен дъх вяра.
Безумието на Алиса се мести безспир между варианта да съществува в оживяла приказка и това да крее в безсмислените тунели на собствената си смъртно ранена лудост. В единия тя е спасител на света, богиня в реинкарнация на доброто, помагаща на правилните хора за постигане на вселенски баланс. Във втория е самотна жертва на лошо решение, струвало живота на десетки хора, и остатъци от приятелства, загнили под колелата на един обърнат автобус, каран от опръскан с вътрешности гигантски заек. В коя от опциите ще повярвате не е решение на загадката – за Джейс едната истина не съществува, всичко е вярно – и заедно, и поотделно; и едновременно, и самостоятелно; и загубено, и искащо да не бъде намерено. Така че имайте вяра във всичко. Само така се живеят едновременно поне хиляда живота.
Мога да говоря с часове за наследника на семейните тленни останки на Луис Карол и Братя Грим, който връзва на нишки от копринена светлина марионетките на всички съновидения и доставя до вратата на подсъзнанието ви експресна доза от абсурдизъм, звучащ просто плашещо логично. Прегърнете невъзможното и възможното едновременно и ще откриете как виждате в повече от едно измерение на (не)реалността, просто забравяйки човешките ограничения на ума, подсвирквайки си вечната песен на усмивката на Чешир – Ние всички тук сме мъничко луди. Камерън Джейс е не просто нов уиърд автор, а нов мега инди уиърд думосъздател, за когото мога само да се надявам искрено, че някога ще научат повече хора. Защото сънищата в плът са ви гарантирано нужни, ако и да не предполагахте за нуждата си досега. Така се случва с хубавите изненади.
January 31, 2013
The covers are enticing indeed so kudos to whomever did the cover art.
These prequels have some interesting depth into fairy tales, especially the lives of The Grimm Brothers. I always enjoyed the scary but imaginative stories, instead of the tame fairy tales that Disney grabbed and used to their advantage.
Mr. Jace takes his love of these original stories and puts his very own spin to it. There are twists all over the place that will definitely make a reader sit up and think, "Huh I never thought about it like that." I love a book that will do that for me.
I also very much enjoyed the fact that Mr. Jace was able to make everyone aware of everyone else; and he even brought in a few characters that were not Grimm ideas but still a fairy tale character nonetheless.
I see a lot of potential for these prequels and if he can clear up many of the mistakes he made as far as spelling and grammar goes, there is no telling how far these stories may go.
I also fell totally in love with Jack. Well and Ladle Rat too. She is definitely cool!
These prequels have some interesting depth into fairy tales, especially the lives of The Grimm Brothers. I always enjoyed the scary but imaginative stories, instead of the tame fairy tales that Disney grabbed and used to their advantage.
Mr. Jace takes his love of these original stories and puts his very own spin to it. There are twists all over the place that will definitely make a reader sit up and think, "Huh I never thought about it like that." I love a book that will do that for me.
I also very much enjoyed the fact that Mr. Jace was able to make everyone aware of everyone else; and he even brought in a few characters that were not Grimm ideas but still a fairy tale character nonetheless.
I see a lot of potential for these prequels and if he can clear up many of the mistakes he made as far as spelling and grammar goes, there is no telling how far these stories may go.
I also fell totally in love with Jack. Well and Ladle Rat too. She is definitely cool!
March 23, 2013
I'm 19, so probably a tad above the target audience, so younger (12-16) readers may feel differently. I'll start with the positives. I found the concept and ideas really interesting and well thought out and plot wise the author did not let you down. Being in the middle of reading the original Grimms fairy tales I found it an interesting spin on them, and loved the dark fantasy.
However, the writing at some points was so awful I did not want to continue. The tales which were written from the point of a 'modern' teenager (the Peter Pan one sticks out in particular) were so cringe worthy I did not want to continue reading. It felt like an older person was writing how they thought a teenager spoke, opposed to how they really spoke. The tales which were written from an adult or in the 19th century were much better and easier to read.
The books were only 77p on Amazon, and was worth the money, and some of the stories are well worth the read, in spite of the other ones which just want to make you skip over them.
However, the writing at some points was so awful I did not want to continue. The tales which were written from the point of a 'modern' teenager (the Peter Pan one sticks out in particular) were so cringe worthy I did not want to continue reading. It felt like an older person was writing how they thought a teenager spoke, opposed to how they really spoke. The tales which were written from an adult or in the 19th century were much better and easier to read.
The books were only 77p on Amazon, and was worth the money, and some of the stories are well worth the read, in spite of the other ones which just want to make you skip over them.
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January 8, 2014I like the concept of grim version of fairy tales. I'm a realist. You can't be happily ever after without any downs. When I received an email update from Cameron Jace saying that he's giving away the prequel 1-6, I got very excited just from looking at the titles. I was so excited that I bought the next prequel even before I started reading this freebie.
I want to like the book but at times it's hard to love. Some dialogs are awkward and some characters come across as being smart ass.
I did finish the first six volumes and I'm now reading the next volume that I just bought. What keeps me going is the interesting storyline. Cameron definitely shows another angle to the fairy tales we all know. I admit from time to time, I skim through the dialogs as I found it to be slow and painful to read but I'm still hanging on to it, hopeful that it'll get better. I'm yet to decide if I'm going to buy the Grimm Diary series.
I want to like the book but at times it's hard to love. Some dialogs are awkward and some characters come across as being smart ass.
I did finish the first six volumes and I'm now reading the next volume that I just bought. What keeps me going is the interesting storyline. Cameron definitely shows another angle to the fairy tales we all know. I admit from time to time, I skim through the dialogs as I found it to be slow and painful to read but I'm still hanging on to it, hopeful that it'll get better. I'm yet to decide if I'm going to buy the Grimm Diary series.
Read
June 6, 2015Pretty terrific!
I initially downloaded this book as a way to pass the time with a diverting, cheap read. I devoured it in just a couple of hours! it's well-written and fascinating. I really enjoyed the layering together different stories and characters into unique snapshot character backgrounds for "well-known" fairy tale stars. I was impressed by this collection, and will definitely be reading the rest of the prequels and the novels themselves! I'm so excited to have discovered this exciting author!
I initially downloaded this book as a way to pass the time with a diverting, cheap read. I devoured it in just a couple of hours! it's well-written and fascinating. I really enjoyed the layering together different stories and characters into unique snapshot character backgrounds for "well-known" fairy tale stars. I was impressed by this collection, and will definitely be reading the rest of the prequels and the novels themselves! I'm so excited to have discovered this exciting author!
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