As the Sun Sets

Twisted Tales #3

by Suzanna Fowers

Will it be happily ever after or the end?

No one bothered to tell Daphne Starr that faerytales are real and now she's stuck in a beanstalk with a beast and a pricked finger. Daphne’s sister and stepsister are in big BIG trouble!
1. It’s the third and final day
2. Rumpelstiltskin plans to suck their powers dry
3. The queen wants them dead
4. The wolves switched sides
5. The world is about to end
6. And did they seriously expect to keep this all from Daphne?
Oh yeah, A LOT of trouble! Halley and Bridgette had better get her out of this—especially since she only has until the battery runs out of her cell phone before she loses her heart . . . to a beast.

"As the Sun Sets" is the third book in the Twisted Tales Series.

Genres: Fantasy, Romance, Fairy Tales, Fiction, Young Adult, Contemporary, Retellings

334 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 15, 2013

About the author

At the tender age of seven, Suzanna's picture book called, "Candy Land" began her career of writing fantasy. She read stories aloud to her classmates about the donut people who solved crimes and Henry the VIII's wives breaking free to explore the red spot on Jupiter. Her imagination hasn't stopped since. She credits her older brother for her love of fantasy and remembers tugging out his dragon fantasy books from a room he'd painted in dragons, Garfield, and Nerds. Her love for romance comes from the box of historical regency romances tucked under her mother's bed. Of course, reading her family's books on the sly had unintended consequences. Her brother had to wipe away her tears and explain cliffhangers and that her favorite character did NOT actually die at the end of a book, and… maybe she should start with book one, instead of book five? And as for the snitched romances? Unfortunately, Suzanna's mother has spent YEARS trying to comfort her overly-hopeful daughter over her romantic ideals.

Nevertheless, Suzanna has a WILD blend of literary tastes. She is thrilled to invite you on her fantasy-writing journey. She has all sorts of ideas in the works with dystopian, plus some Regency romance fantasy with Greek gods, steampunk crime mysteries (because why settle on one genre?), and yes, more and more fairy tale retellings.

Suzanna also writes under the name, Stephanie Fowers. So, if you're into romantic suspense, romantic comedy, inspirational romance, check out those books too!

Happy reading and imagining!

Reviews

[Megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this series, although to be honest I can't say exactly why- apart from I did like the story. I was confused about what was going on a lot and often didn't care either way about the characters, but by the end something completely changed my mind. I was pretty emotionally involved with the family during the epilogue and was quite surprised by that! I think a big part of it was the last book made more sense- either because I finally had enough background or it was written more clearly. Not sure but it made it so much better.

I'm still of the opinion there was too much going on. Based on what I can remember we saw:

Cinderella
Red riding hood
Beauty and the Beast
Tristan and Iseult
Snow White
Goldilocks and the 3 Bears
Rapunzel
Rumpelstiltskin
The three pigs
The frog Prince
Sleeping Beauty
Jack and the Beanstalk
The Little Mermaid
The 12 dancing Princesses

It's no wonder I was confused sometimes. So much to keep track of.

But apart from that, I'm really glad I read this series. I'll check out some of Stephanie Fower's other retellings. She has clever ideas!

[Karla · Rating 3 out of 5]

Daphne was much more annoying in the beginning of the story compared to her sisters in the first 2 books. I guess it was because she didn't know anything and then bam she was thrown into another world.

There was so much going on this story that I didn't know what was going on half the time. I was just glad when everyone got reunited and that they all got their happy endings.

[Lori Palle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh, many, many sad faces that this is the end of the Twisted Tales Trilogy!

The tone and atmosphere of this book felt so different from the first two; and yet, just like the previous two books, this tale was fantastic! In this book, a bubbly, sixteen year-old cheerleader with love to spare is the narrator. Even though the book has dark themes, reading through her eyes made it so much more enjoyable with her adorable humor compared to if she was a more serious narrator.

Unlike the other books, we start off knowing right away who Daphne's love interest is and that Hobs is quite possible the unluckiest faery ever. Additionally, said love interest is a tortured and brooding villain who has given up on happiness, which is so perfect for our high-spirited and loving Daphne. This reminds me of the some of my favorite paranormal romances where the hero is a super tough, super built bad boy but is oh so super sweet to his heroine. Sigh… of all the three heroes in the series, I love this guy the most--which is hard since I love Hobs and his crazy hijinks!

As for heroines, Daphne is by far my favorite! She's so adorable that it's hard not to laugh at some of her thoughts and actions. Off to battle? Let's make a fashion statement with a new battle outfit! Trapped in a prison and getting attacked by ghosts? Gasp, my nails! She reminds me of Giselle in Enchanted--she's such an optimistic and innocent person that you can't help but love her. While previous novels were more about the heroines finding their inner strength over the course of the novels, I felt like Daphne already had that strength and it was more about having others trust her and see beyond her loving nature to her strength sustained by the incredible faith in herself and others. She was more for figuring out puzzles to move on and defeat a problem rather than second guessing herself.
Of course, we have favorite characters returning and familiar characters getting more fleshed out. Ms. Fowers is so talented when it comes to creating characters--even magical *vines* have a personality that humanize them! We've got three books worth of character development so its great learning more about the history of some of the characters we haven't gotten to learn yet. Like the previous two books, you're not really sure who is good and who is bad until the end (and boy were there some doozies!).

Reading this book out of order is doable since there's enough backstory, but it would be a shame to do so (definitely pick up the first two!). I love the ending, and there's an epilogue that is too awesome for words if you found yourself loving the characters (I certainly did!). Ms. Fowers opens up the possibility for sequels, although there is enough closure to successfully end the trilogy.

As with the previous two books, I'm definitely recommending this book if you like fantasy with mystical creatures, humor, character development, and action (fantastic fight scenes). This is a 5 out of 5 for me with no arguments.

(Originally posted on my blog; I was given a review copy in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.)

[Korbie Harrison · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book (so much so that I stayed up WAAY too late when I was supposed to work the next day. . .haha). I felt like the pacing worked well, and I liked how minor characters from previous books became major characters for this book. Fowers did an impressive job of linking myth, history, and the contemporary world together as well, in a manner that felt seamless and not forced (***Spoiler alert: The way the character of The Otherworldly was written didn't feel forced; I'm still impressed she incorporated such random things as a diet of solely milk and the whole last breath thing in with a real scientist. I did google Thomas Edison after to see if everything matched, and, I found stuff corresponding to all the traits mentioned***). Everything blended together really plausibly, considering all the mixing taking place. As a lover of fairy tales and faery lore, I loved how both were used in the same series. Overall, I loved the book, and am quite glad I bought it! :)

[Shannon Cooley · Rating 5 out of 5]

A satisfying conclusion to this set, with an opening for another book or few later on (which is good, because I had been picking up on clues for 3 books, and if they'd been ignored at the end, I would have been frustrated).

One thing I liked about this book is how the narrator was obviously a little younger than the previous two, and a totally different person, without being annoying. Sometimes teenage narrators annoy me because they're too flippant or too sarcastic/snotty, but I actually liked Daphne.

And, of course, the fairy tale blending was excellent, as in the previous books. I finished satisfied, but more than willing to jump back into this world again if the opportunity presents itself.

[Kerri · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think this book was my favorite of the trilogy, and I loved the creative usage and intertwining of the fairy tale characters. I loved the fact that the epilogue actually tells you what happens to the characters, rather than leaving you with a vague outline. A little work still needed on descriptions and exposition, but otherwise, a very fun read. I'll be passing these along to my daughters.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had a harder time with this book, the story got bogged down sometimes with so many details. Keeping track of all the faery terms was challenging but it also made the story unique and interesting. I did like the way the story ended and I thought it was a great way to wrap up the trilogy so I still give it 5 stars!

[Jillian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a fun series! I loved it! Got a little confusing at times but I got it in the end. In the epilogue - is there a hint of more twisted Fairy Tales?? I would love that. :)

[Sami · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hobs was a fun character to enjoy through all the books

[Angie · Rating 3 out of 5]

So I liked it, but it was still a bit confusing. I don't know the original fairy tales well enough to understand it all. I guess they are all twisted.

[Coy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed it.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars