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Modern Magic: A Quartet of Fractured Fairy Tales
What if Cinderella ditched the prince's ball and sent her fairy godmother to find love in her place?
Suppose a streetwise hero hired to steal an all-powerful Genie (stuck in a flash drive rather than a brass lamp) for a tech company ended up running for his life with the CEO's gorgeous, intelligent daughter?
Or what if the bed that a certain golden-tressed girl accidentally napped in belonged to the hot and famous middle brother of a notorious boy band?
Can you envision the sparks that might fly if a bitter and downright beastly wheelchair-bound woman propositioned a handsome bookseller to stay with her in exchange for her rare book collection?
This spellbinding anthology features modern and sexy spins on four classic fairy tales that will enchant you by Jennifer DeCuir, Stephanie Cage, Andrea R. Cooper, and Nancy C. Weeks.
Sensuality Sensual
Suppose a streetwise hero hired to steal an all-powerful Genie (stuck in a flash drive rather than a brass lamp) for a tech company ended up running for his life with the CEO's gorgeous, intelligent daughter?
Or what if the bed that a certain golden-tressed girl accidentally napped in belonged to the hot and famous middle brother of a notorious boy band?
Can you envision the sparks that might fly if a bitter and downright beastly wheelchair-bound woman propositioned a handsome bookseller to stay with her in exchange for her rare book collection?
This spellbinding anthology features modern and sexy spins on four classic fairy tales that will enchant you by Jennifer DeCuir, Stephanie Cage, Andrea R. Cooper, and Nancy C. Weeks.
Sensuality Sensual
344 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 9, 2015
2 people are currently reading
137 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
January 4, 2016
This anthology features four well-known fairy tales that have been up-dated for a modern audience. My first question when I started to read it was, 'will I be disappointed?' I'm afraid I'm one of those sad people who grew up with traditional fairy tales at bedtime and even though I think I'm all grown up now, I still keep reading them!
And the answer to my question was an unequivocal 'No.' Each story has pace, well-drawn characters and a very surprising take on each tale. At the heart of each story is a romance and the 'will-they?, won't-they?' seesaw of emotion takes you on a bit of a roller coaster ride throughout.
As for the 'wand-waving' magic of the title - well, that really only occurs in one of the stories and it is amusingly and refreshingly handled. The real-life magic is in the other three stories, manifesting itself as genuine human compassion, empathy and understanding. A very difficult to put down read!
In addition, the stories are structured into easily digestible chapters, making this an absolute must for the morning commute. Highly recommended.
And the answer to my question was an unequivocal 'No.' Each story has pace, well-drawn characters and a very surprising take on each tale. At the heart of each story is a romance and the 'will-they?, won't-they?' seesaw of emotion takes you on a bit of a roller coaster ride throughout.
As for the 'wand-waving' magic of the title - well, that really only occurs in one of the stories and it is amusingly and refreshingly handled. The real-life magic is in the other three stories, manifesting itself as genuine human compassion, empathy and understanding. A very difficult to put down read!
In addition, the stories are structured into easily digestible chapters, making this an absolute must for the morning commute. Highly recommended.
December 31, 2015
I’m a massive fan of classic fairy tale retellings, so Modern Magic was my kind of anthology. Four fantastic love stories that were impossible to put down, each story offering a delightful twist.
A Late-Blooming Rose by Jennifer DeCuir was adorable, and being based on Beauty and the Beast only made me love it even more. Perfect ending☺ Nancy C Week’s story, His One Wish, based on Aladdin came loaded with tension, but I wouldn’t expected anything less from suspense romance writer extraordinaire. Stephanie Cage’s modern spin on Sleeping Beauty had me turning those pages quickly, and her creative take on the tale left me smiling.
And while it’s really hard to pick a favorite, I couldn’t help but fall in love with Fairy Trouble by Andrea R. Cooper. Esmeralda, a fairy godmother in training, finds herself in quite the pickle when Cinderella refuses to attend the ball. So Esmeralda does what any fairy godmother would do… she attends the ball on Cindy’s behalf to impress her future prince, but falling for him was never her intention. Ryan runs a bakery with his brother, and their successful father had issued him with an ultimatum to attend an upcoming ball or lose his inheritance. But when Esmeralda and Ryan meet up near his bakery, sparks fly and everything seems to go hay way… in all the right ways of course. Fairy Trouble is a funny, romantic tale of two people trying to find their place in the world. I had a lot of fun with this tale.
Sure hope there’ll be a Modern Magic II. I’ll be all over it.
A Late-Blooming Rose by Jennifer DeCuir was adorable, and being based on Beauty and the Beast only made me love it even more. Perfect ending☺ Nancy C Week’s story, His One Wish, based on Aladdin came loaded with tension, but I wouldn’t expected anything less from suspense romance writer extraordinaire. Stephanie Cage’s modern spin on Sleeping Beauty had me turning those pages quickly, and her creative take on the tale left me smiling.
And while it’s really hard to pick a favorite, I couldn’t help but fall in love with Fairy Trouble by Andrea R. Cooper. Esmeralda, a fairy godmother in training, finds herself in quite the pickle when Cinderella refuses to attend the ball. So Esmeralda does what any fairy godmother would do… she attends the ball on Cindy’s behalf to impress her future prince, but falling for him was never her intention. Ryan runs a bakery with his brother, and their successful father had issued him with an ultimatum to attend an upcoming ball or lose his inheritance. But when Esmeralda and Ryan meet up near his bakery, sparks fly and everything seems to go hay way… in all the right ways of course. Fairy Trouble is a funny, romantic tale of two people trying to find their place in the world. I had a lot of fun with this tale.
Sure hope there’ll be a Modern Magic II. I’ll be all over it.
December 21, 2015
Absolutely creative! These stories are just too cute.
I’m very impressed on the way each of these stories turned out. As someone who grew up with the original stories, I was a little uneasy on how these would read. I didn’t want anything to ruin the way I saw the story as it already is, but these four stories were just freaking CUTE!
In the first story, my second favorite of the bunch, I especially enjoyed the little ways this author included pieces of the original story. The way she twisted them to put them in dialogue was brilliant. It was such a great start to this anthology!
The next two stories came and went and I enjoyed them. They too were creative and fun to read. They weren’t by any means a bad story, but the first one really set them up for tough follow.
The last story of the book was clever and I enjoyed it very very much. This one was my number one favorite of the bunch. The names, LOVE. It was the most adorable read. AMAZING ending to this group and I hope we get to see more of these type of books.
I didn’t mention which stories each one relates to because figuring it was part of the fun. That moment it clicks was my favorite part. Each time I found I figured it out, I smiled and thought “oh that’s good.”
I definitely recommend purchasing this anthology. Every story is an easy smooth read. They are fun, light, and an overall feel good read. The romance might not hit the right spot in each story but you won’t be disappointed. Who knows, maybe you’ll start referring to occurrences in everyday life to a fairy tale.
I’m very impressed on the way each of these stories turned out. As someone who grew up with the original stories, I was a little uneasy on how these would read. I didn’t want anything to ruin the way I saw the story as it already is, but these four stories were just freaking CUTE!
In the first story, my second favorite of the bunch, I especially enjoyed the little ways this author included pieces of the original story. The way she twisted them to put them in dialogue was brilliant. It was such a great start to this anthology!
The next two stories came and went and I enjoyed them. They too were creative and fun to read. They weren’t by any means a bad story, but the first one really set them up for tough follow.
The last story of the book was clever and I enjoyed it very very much. This one was my number one favorite of the bunch. The names, LOVE. It was the most adorable read. AMAZING ending to this group and I hope we get to see more of these type of books.
I didn’t mention which stories each one relates to because figuring it was part of the fun. That moment it clicks was my favorite part. Each time I found I figured it out, I smiled and thought “oh that’s good.”
I definitely recommend purchasing this anthology. Every story is an easy smooth read. They are fun, light, and an overall feel good read. The romance might not hit the right spot in each story but you won’t be disappointed. Who knows, maybe you’ll start referring to occurrences in everyday life to a fairy tale.
December 29, 2015
I’m a massive fan of classic fairy tale retellings, so Modern Magic was my kind of anthology. Four fantastic love stories that were impossible to put down, each story offering a delightful twist.
A Late-Blooming Rose by Jennifer DeCuir was adorable, and being based on Beauty and the Beast only made me love it even more. Perfect ending☺ Nancy C Week’s story, His One Wish, based on Aladdin came loaded with tension, but I wouldn’t expected anything less from suspense romance writer extraordinaire. Stephanie Cage’s modern spin on Sleeping Beauty had me turning those pages quickly, and her creative take on the tale left me smiling.
And while it’s really hard to pick a favorite, I couldn’t help but fall in love with Fairy Trouble by Andrea R. Cooper. Esmeralda, a fairy godmother in training, finds herself in quite the pickle when Cinderella refuses to attend the ball. So Esmeralda does what any fairy godmother would do… she attends the ball on Cindy’s behalf to impress her future prince, but falling for him was never her intention. Ryan runs a bakery with his brother, and their successful father had issued him with an ultimatum to attend an upcoming ball or lose his inheritance. But when Esmeralda and Ryan meet up near his bakery, sparks fly and everything seems to go hay way… in all the right ways of course. Fairy Trouble is a funny, romantic tale of two people trying to find their place in the world. I had a lot of fun with this tale.
Sure hope there’ll be a Modern Magic II. I’ll be all over it.
A Late-Blooming Rose by Jennifer DeCuir was adorable, and being based on Beauty and the Beast only made me love it even more. Perfect ending☺ Nancy C Week’s story, His One Wish, based on Aladdin came loaded with tension, but I wouldn’t expected anything less from suspense romance writer extraordinaire. Stephanie Cage’s modern spin on Sleeping Beauty had me turning those pages quickly, and her creative take on the tale left me smiling.
And while it’s really hard to pick a favorite, I couldn’t help but fall in love with Fairy Trouble by Andrea R. Cooper. Esmeralda, a fairy godmother in training, finds herself in quite the pickle when Cinderella refuses to attend the ball. So Esmeralda does what any fairy godmother would do… she attends the ball on Cindy’s behalf to impress her future prince, but falling for him was never her intention. Ryan runs a bakery with his brother, and their successful father had issued him with an ultimatum to attend an upcoming ball or lose his inheritance. But when Esmeralda and Ryan meet up near his bakery, sparks fly and everything seems to go hay way… in all the right ways of course. Fairy Trouble is a funny, romantic tale of two people trying to find their place in the world. I had a lot of fun with this tale.
Sure hope there’ll be a Modern Magic II. I’ll be all over it.
January 1, 2016
Modern Magic is a collection of four novellas that purport to be updates of classic fairy tales. Three of them do that with varying degrees of success. "A Late Blooming Rose" is a Beauty and the Beast tale in which the beast is a young woman confined to a wheelchair. "Music to Her Ears" takes on Goldilocks in a too-short story about a personal assistant hired to work for three musician brothers. "Fairy Trouble" is an interesting spin on Cinderella in which the fairy godmother is the one who goes to the ball. And I don't know what "His One Wish" was trying to be. Perhaps Aladdin since there was a computer program called Genie and a villain named Jin. But the last story didn't feel like a fairy tale at all - too many gun battles, too much blood and too much sex. Since I was in the mood for something a little more fantastical, "His One Wish" kind of spoiled the rest of the book for me and dragged down my overall rating.
February 10, 2017
Fractured fairytales have always been a weakness of mine. Who can resist having your favorite childhood story brought up to date and set in modern times? And adding a little sensual heat to the story? What could be better? This collection gave four talented writers the chance to look at the time-honored stories of Cinderella, Aladdin, Goldilocks and Beauty and the Beast with fresh eyes. And they did a great job of reworking the stories. I can't say I have a favorite--every one was the best when I read it!
November 15, 2015
Based on Fairy Tales from childhood, these 4 modern love stories are steamy and hot. By Jennifer DeCuir, Stephanie Cage, Andrea R. Cooper, Nancy C. Weeks, all authors I've never read. I like novella anthologies because they are easy to fit into a busy schedule, especially with the holidays approaching.
January 23, 2016
Retold fairy tales are numerous and this is an entertaining addition to the genre. Four tales in modern settings for Beauty and the Beast, Goldilocks, Cinderella and Aladdin, if I interpret the stories correctly. Hero tales are told, and some are women, a welcome viewpoint. Well done and recommended.
October 18, 2016
4.5/5.0
Digest one before going on to the next; missing out on these imaginative “fractured fairytales” would be a shame!
Read full review in the 2016 October issue of InD'tale Magazine.
Digest one before going on to the next; missing out on these imaginative “fractured fairytales” would be a shame!
Read full review in the 2016 October issue of InD'tale Magazine.
January 24, 2016
Really enjoyed A Late-Blooming Rose by Jennifer DeCuir, it was a unique take on Beauty and the Beast!
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews