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Faraway Collection #1-5
Faraway: Fairy Tales for the Here and Now
Audible Audio
First published December 15, 2020
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594 people want to read
About the author
Rainbow Rowell
138 books141k followersRainbow Rowell writes all kinds of stuff.
Sometimes she writes about adults (ATTACHMENTS, LANDLINE, SLOW DANCE).
Sometimes she writes about teenagers (ELEANOR & PARK, FANGIRL) .
Sometimes — actually, a lot of the time — she writes about lovesick vampires and guys with dragon wings. (THE SIMON SNOW TRILOGY).
Recently, she’s been writing comics, including her first graphic novel, PUMPKINHEADS, and the monthly SHE-HULK comic for Marvel.
She lives in Omaha, Nebraska.
More at rainbowrowell.com.
Sometimes she writes about adults (ATTACHMENTS, LANDLINE, SLOW DANCE).
Sometimes she writes about teenagers (ELEANOR & PARK, FANGIRL) .
Sometimes — actually, a lot of the time — she writes about lovesick vampires and guys with dragon wings. (THE SIMON SNOW TRILOGY).
Recently, she’s been writing comics, including her first graphic novel, PUMPKINHEADS, and the monthly SHE-HULK comic for Marvel.
She lives in Omaha, Nebraska.
More at rainbowrowell.com.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 93 reviews
March 2, 2021
Well, this was disappointingly uninspired, with the exception of Ken Liu's story, which was charming.
The Prince and the Troll by Rainbow Rowell: ⭐⭐
Hazel and Gray by Nic Stone: ⭐⭐
The Princess Game by Soman Chainani: ⭐ (has the honor of being the dumbest thing I've read in some time)
The Cleaners by Ken Liu: ⭐⭐⭐1/2
The Wickeds by Gayle Forman: ⭐⭐
The Prince and the Troll by Rainbow Rowell: ⭐⭐
Hazel and Gray by Nic Stone: ⭐⭐
The Princess Game by Soman Chainani: ⭐ (has the honor of being the dumbest thing I've read in some time)
The Cleaners by Ken Liu: ⭐⭐⭐1/2
The Wickeds by Gayle Forman: ⭐⭐
January 16, 2021
3.5 stars.
Modern and interesting spin on traditional fairy tales. Rating and very brief review of each as follow:
The Prince and The Troll: 3.5 stars
Sweet but sad
Hazel and Gray: 3 stars
Decent and quite dark
The Princess Game: 3 stars
Cool format, really disturbing story.
The Cleaners: 4 stars
Intriguing concept, impactful albeit too short.
The Wicked: 4 stars
Fascinating and refreshing, this is the closest to a retelling.
Modern and interesting spin on traditional fairy tales. Rating and very brief review of each as follow:
The Prince and The Troll: 3.5 stars
Sweet but sad
Hazel and Gray: 3 stars
Decent and quite dark
The Princess Game: 3 stars
Cool format, really disturbing story.
The Cleaners: 4 stars
Intriguing concept, impactful albeit too short.
The Wicked: 4 stars
Fascinating and refreshing, this is the closest to a retelling.
September 18, 2021
3.2/5
interesting ideas on a whole, but overall underwhelming.
interesting ideas on a whole, but overall underwhelming.
January 6, 2021
I thought these stories were pretty good - some better than others. Not really sure what the underlying message of Rainbow Rowell’s story was - is the road capitalism? And it’s causing climate change? And the troll is someone who lives off grid? Or a mermaid? And eventually climate change will destroy capitalism? Wasn’t really sure. The best story was Hazel and Gray - super creepy in how utterly real it was.
January 1, 2021
#1 The Prince and The Troll - 1 Star
#2 Hazel and Gray - 3 Stars
#3 The Princess Game - 5 Stars
#4 The Cleaners - 2 Stars
#5 The Wickeds - 4 Stars
#2 Hazel and Gray - 3 Stars
#3 The Princess Game - 5 Stars
#4 The Cleaners - 2 Stars
#5 The Wickeds - 4 Stars
February 16, 2023
Overall rating- 3/5 stars
The Faraway collection is a collection of short stories inspired by classic fairy tales, available on Amazon. Overall, it was...okay. Maybe a bit underwhelming. None of the stories blew me away, but I didn't dislike them either...ultimately, it's worth it to check them out, but don't expect to come away from them feeling inspired, just mildly entertained.
Individual impressions:
The Prince and the Troll by Rainbow Rowell- 3/5 stars
Not much to say about this one. In The Prince and the Troll, modern life meets fantasy in a story about a guy and his blossoming connection with a troll-ish creature that lives under a bridge along his commute. If you like wacky, this one is wacky! Even trolls gotta get their Starbz, I guess.
I think this story is trying to make a point about climate change and environmentalism, though it sort of gets lost somewhere, I think. Nothing exceptional, but it is a cute read! I enjoyed it.
Hazel and Gray by Nic Stone- 2/5 stars
Hazel and Gray was the first story I read from the Faraway collection. It was also the blandest. I can appreciate what Stone was going for, which is a modern spin on Hansel and Gretel that involves sex trafficking. Thematically, that makes a lot of sense when you consider the content of the original tale. I'd have liked some more content related to that theme of the story- I feel like it's a topic that needs more elaboration than this story gave it.
The inclusion of a certain scene by the river felt so weird and unrelated to the rest of the story- which, in such a brief story as this, ideally shouldn't include any unnecessary details. Also, the chemistry between Hazel and Gray didn't feel very tangible to me, and I just couldn't connect with them as protagonists. There was a twist near the end that was somewhat redeeming, though. So...it was okay, and ultimately worth the read, but my least favorite story in the collection.
The Princess Game by Soman Chainani- 3/5 stars
I am very torn about how to rate The Princess Game.
On the one hand...for me, this was an exciting read! The story follows with the investigation of a series of serial murders at a high school, with each murder themed in the style of a traditional fairy tale. It's formatted as the transcript of a series of police interviews with students at the high school, who all have the names of Disney princes- Kristoff, Naveen, etc. I honestly got really into it. The way Chainani wove fairy tale inspiration into the story was creative and I feel like he crafted a good mystery. I was especially fascinated by the development of Peterson's character and the relationship he developed with the other characters- it was really well done. Honestly, I was so engrossed in this story and its format that I probably could've read a full novel.
But on the other hand... oooooof, this story was absolutely dripping in rape culture and toxic masculinity. And that is the point, but if the story is trying to condemn it, it didn't do that as well as it could've (and should've). It felt like a bit of an injustice to the girls in the story, which were used as nothing but plot devices. So I have to ask, rhetorically...do we really need more stories about women being murdered for not pleasing men?
At some point, I may check out the audiobook, which according to other reviewers, is really well-done. I'd say it's definitely worth it to take a chance on this story, but be warned that you may have issues with the way it handles its female characters.
The Cleaners by Ken Liu- 4/5 stars
"To allow others the space for secrets was the greatest gesture of love she knew how to give, but did they understand that?"
Wow, I really enjoyed The Cleaners. This short story is (very loosely) inspired by Hans Christian Andersen's The Princess and the Pea and takes place in a version of our world wherein our emotions and memories are imprinted onto the items we interact with in everyday life. For many people, a simple touch brings a surge of emotion from previous holders of the item- sometimes good, but other times very bad. What would your life be like if you were overly-sensitive to the residual memories others leave behind? What if you were one of the few people who couldn't feel them at all? This story speculates on these questions in a thought-provoking way that I quite liked, and I recommend giving it a read.
The Wickeds by Gayle Forman- 3.5/5 stars
The Wickeds is a part of the Faraway Collection on Amazon Prime reading. It's a quirky new take on the stories of Cinderella, Snow White, and Rapunzel that tells their stepmothers' sides of the story- which frames them in a new light and rewrites the stories as we know them. It's a lighthearted, fun read and I enjoyed it! I would have liked for the story to have more length, as it would've been a more intriguing story had the plot and characters been developed a bit more. The ending felt somewhat abrupt, but it didn't detract from the story too much.
The Faraway collection is a collection of short stories inspired by classic fairy tales, available on Amazon. Overall, it was...okay. Maybe a bit underwhelming. None of the stories blew me away, but I didn't dislike them either...ultimately, it's worth it to check them out, but don't expect to come away from them feeling inspired, just mildly entertained.
Individual impressions:
The Prince and the Troll by Rainbow Rowell- 3/5 stars
Not much to say about this one. In The Prince and the Troll, modern life meets fantasy in a story about a guy and his blossoming connection with a troll-ish creature that lives under a bridge along his commute. If you like wacky, this one is wacky! Even trolls gotta get their Starbz, I guess.
I think this story is trying to make a point about climate change and environmentalism, though it sort of gets lost somewhere, I think. Nothing exceptional, but it is a cute read! I enjoyed it.
Hazel and Gray by Nic Stone- 2/5 stars
Hazel and Gray was the first story I read from the Faraway collection. It was also the blandest. I can appreciate what Stone was going for, which is a modern spin on Hansel and Gretel that involves sex trafficking. Thematically, that makes a lot of sense when you consider the content of the original tale. I'd have liked some more content related to that theme of the story- I feel like it's a topic that needs more elaboration than this story gave it.
The inclusion of a certain scene by the river felt so weird and unrelated to the rest of the story- which, in such a brief story as this, ideally shouldn't include any unnecessary details. Also, the chemistry between Hazel and Gray didn't feel very tangible to me, and I just couldn't connect with them as protagonists. There was a twist near the end that was somewhat redeeming, though. So...it was okay, and ultimately worth the read, but my least favorite story in the collection.
The Princess Game by Soman Chainani- 3/5 stars
I am very torn about how to rate The Princess Game.
On the one hand...for me, this was an exciting read! The story follows with the investigation of a series of serial murders at a high school, with each murder themed in the style of a traditional fairy tale. It's formatted as the transcript of a series of police interviews with students at the high school, who all have the names of Disney princes- Kristoff, Naveen, etc. I honestly got really into it. The way Chainani wove fairy tale inspiration into the story was creative and I feel like he crafted a good mystery. I was especially fascinated by the development of Peterson's character and the relationship he developed with the other characters- it was really well done. Honestly, I was so engrossed in this story and its format that I probably could've read a full novel.
But on the other hand... oooooof, this story was absolutely dripping in rape culture and toxic masculinity. And that is the point, but if the story is trying to condemn it, it didn't do that as well as it could've (and should've). It felt like a bit of an injustice to the girls in the story, which were used as nothing but plot devices. So I have to ask, rhetorically...do we really need more stories about women being murdered for not pleasing men?
At some point, I may check out the audiobook, which according to other reviewers, is really well-done. I'd say it's definitely worth it to take a chance on this story, but be warned that you may have issues with the way it handles its female characters.
The Cleaners by Ken Liu- 4/5 stars
"To allow others the space for secrets was the greatest gesture of love she knew how to give, but did they understand that?"
Wow, I really enjoyed The Cleaners. This short story is (very loosely) inspired by Hans Christian Andersen's The Princess and the Pea and takes place in a version of our world wherein our emotions and memories are imprinted onto the items we interact with in everyday life. For many people, a simple touch brings a surge of emotion from previous holders of the item- sometimes good, but other times very bad. What would your life be like if you were overly-sensitive to the residual memories others leave behind? What if you were one of the few people who couldn't feel them at all? This story speculates on these questions in a thought-provoking way that I quite liked, and I recommend giving it a read.
The Wickeds by Gayle Forman- 3.5/5 stars
The Wickeds is a part of the Faraway Collection on Amazon Prime reading. It's a quirky new take on the stories of Cinderella, Snow White, and Rapunzel that tells their stepmothers' sides of the story- which frames them in a new light and rewrites the stories as we know them. It's a lighthearted, fun read and I enjoyed it! I would have liked for the story to have more length, as it would've been a more intriguing story had the plot and characters been developed a bit more. The ending felt somewhat abrupt, but it didn't detract from the story too much.
March 17, 2021
This is part of the Amazon Faraway Series, fairy tales retold with twists! I really enjoyed most of these and loved hearing stories told in a complete different way from the originals.
The Prince and the Troll - 5 Stars - Very topical for our modern times
Hazel and Gray - 4 Stars - A modern day Hansel and Gretel
The Princess Game - 5 Stars - So clever, even in the way the characters were named! Dark and not a typical fairytale at all but instead flips the narrative to show you a whole different kind of Disney Princes.
The Cleaners - 3 Stars - Probably the one I enjoyed the least.
The Wickeds - 5 Stars - My favorite of the bunch!! Story about the evil stepmothers made infamous by Disney told from their point of view. In the end, truly a story about mothers and daughters.
The Prince and the Troll - 5 Stars - Very topical for our modern times
Hazel and Gray - 4 Stars - A modern day Hansel and Gretel
The Princess Game - 5 Stars - So clever, even in the way the characters were named! Dark and not a typical fairytale at all but instead flips the narrative to show you a whole different kind of Disney Princes.
The Cleaners - 3 Stars - Probably the one I enjoyed the least.
The Wickeds - 5 Stars - My favorite of the bunch!! Story about the evil stepmothers made infamous by Disney told from their point of view. In the end, truly a story about mothers and daughters.
March 27, 2021
i really appreciated all of these short stories.
May 25, 2021
3.5/5 A mixed bag of short stories- overall cute, but definitely not the authors' best works.
September 5, 2022
I only read Rainbow Rowell's story. It was fab
September 25, 2023
4.5 audiobook
February 5, 2024
2 of them I don't understand.
2 of them I wanted to be longer.
1 of them left me going huh, diabolical!
2 of them I wanted to be longer.
1 of them left me going huh, diabolical!
May 21, 2023
I usually love retellings, but this collection fell flat for me. Wouldn’t recommend any of them.😭
April 9, 2021
I will start off by saying I didn’t expect them to be short stories. I’ve seen them advertised all over Amazon things. But I feel like I’m cheating if I count a short story towards my reading goal, hence why I’m doing this as one entry and counted the collected series as one toward the goal.
* The Prince and the Troll by Rainbow Rowell - Beautifully done. I really like that the sentences were short and moved fast, felt like a classic fairy tale where the sentences are easy for the children to read. Honestly would read it to a child, minus the one f-bomb. I felt like there was so much more to the story that I didn’t catch, such as missed metaphors. But even with missing some understanding, it still was beautiful.
* Hazel and Gray by Nic Stone - When I first started reading this story, I wasn’t a fan of the amount of sex. There was only one f-bomb, just like in the previous story, but a fair amount of sex and drugs and rock-and-roll. I put the story down about halfway to sleep, and when I woke up to finish the story, I was no longer in the mindset of a fairy tale, but I saw this essentially as an episode of Criminal Minds - which is a show I absolutely LOVE. The hints here and there connecting the story back to Hansel and Gretel was like sprinkles on top of the creepy gruesomeness. Once I had the adjusted mindset, I really enjoyed the writing. Ok there was one thing I didn’t love and that was the bro language Gray used when talking to Hazel. He seems like a sweet guy, but I can’t imagine him calling his girlfriend “Bruh” or “Dawg”. Also with the racial identification. I feel like you can identify someone’s race once in a short story and that’s all you need, maybe like 3 times in a full novel so people don’t forget, but I felt like they had to reaffirm that Hazel and Gray were black like once every other page and it was like, “ok. We get it. They’re black. Thank you.”
* The Princess Game by Somen Chainani - DUUUUUDE!!! Yes this was fantastic. It wasn’t necessarily based on on a fairy tale, but had the fairy tale princes attend high school together. If I say what the plot was based on, then it’ll be a massive spoiler for anyone interested in reading this.
* I loved the writing style. Everything was a transcript of voice recordings, so written like a radio drama where you just know the sounds that are happening. Very unique.
* The Cleaners by Ken Liu - Holy Moly. This one was so good. So beautiful. So powerful. I honestly didn’t see a correlation to a known fairy tale, even with the quote of Princess and the Pea at the beginning. Ken Liu made his own new fairy tale. I’m at a lack of words really for my emotions. There was a unique magic system in the AU, one that everyone has except a few - whereas usually magic is for the few. To be able to touch an object and read the memories of the object and every person who touched it. It sounds cool at first but I imagine it does get overwhelming and people learn to wear gloves constantly to not leave a trace of themselves. Professional cleaners are there to remove the memories. Which memories do we hold on to and which do we throw away?
* The Wickeds by Gayle Forman - This story was probably my least favorite in the whole set, but I still enjoyed it. In the same way that I have a soft spot for fairy tale retellings, I also have a soft spot for villain stories. But of all the villain retellings, this one by far had the biggest twist in the end.
* The Prince and the Troll by Rainbow Rowell - Beautifully done. I really like that the sentences were short and moved fast, felt like a classic fairy tale where the sentences are easy for the children to read. Honestly would read it to a child, minus the one f-bomb. I felt like there was so much more to the story that I didn’t catch, such as missed metaphors. But even with missing some understanding, it still was beautiful.
* Hazel and Gray by Nic Stone - When I first started reading this story, I wasn’t a fan of the amount of sex. There was only one f-bomb, just like in the previous story, but a fair amount of sex and drugs and rock-and-roll. I put the story down about halfway to sleep, and when I woke up to finish the story, I was no longer in the mindset of a fairy tale, but I saw this essentially as an episode of Criminal Minds - which is a show I absolutely LOVE. The hints here and there connecting the story back to Hansel and Gretel was like sprinkles on top of the creepy gruesomeness. Once I had the adjusted mindset, I really enjoyed the writing. Ok there was one thing I didn’t love and that was the bro language Gray used when talking to Hazel. He seems like a sweet guy, but I can’t imagine him calling his girlfriend “Bruh” or “Dawg”. Also with the racial identification. I feel like you can identify someone’s race once in a short story and that’s all you need, maybe like 3 times in a full novel so people don’t forget, but I felt like they had to reaffirm that Hazel and Gray were black like once every other page and it was like, “ok. We get it. They’re black. Thank you.”
* The Princess Game by Somen Chainani - DUUUUUDE!!! Yes this was fantastic. It wasn’t necessarily based on on a fairy tale, but had the fairy tale princes attend high school together. If I say what the plot was based on, then it’ll be a massive spoiler for anyone interested in reading this.
* I loved the writing style. Everything was a transcript of voice recordings, so written like a radio drama where you just know the sounds that are happening. Very unique.
* The Cleaners by Ken Liu - Holy Moly. This one was so good. So beautiful. So powerful. I honestly didn’t see a correlation to a known fairy tale, even with the quote of Princess and the Pea at the beginning. Ken Liu made his own new fairy tale. I’m at a lack of words really for my emotions. There was a unique magic system in the AU, one that everyone has except a few - whereas usually magic is for the few. To be able to touch an object and read the memories of the object and every person who touched it. It sounds cool at first but I imagine it does get overwhelming and people learn to wear gloves constantly to not leave a trace of themselves. Professional cleaners are there to remove the memories. Which memories do we hold on to and which do we throw away?
* The Wickeds by Gayle Forman - This story was probably my least favorite in the whole set, but I still enjoyed it. In the same way that I have a soft spot for fairy tale retellings, I also have a soft spot for villain stories. But of all the villain retellings, this one by far had the biggest twist in the end.
Read
December 8, 2023A collection of short stories that are either based on fairy tales (like specific ones) or based on fairy tale elements and tropes. So this makes this collection a two-fer in terms of possible issues. The first i s that modern day retellings of fairy tales are very hit or miss. Sometimes they're great ala Angela Carter and a few others, and sometimes they're very weak. And the same thing happens in this collection. And of course in any kind of solicited short story collection you always have a range of how serious the writer took the solicitation and what to do when a not great writer is cast alongside an incredibly strong writer.
In this collection, I found the standouts to be the Rainbow Rowell story first and foremost. For me, this was the best story in the collection. More of a fable than a fairy tale, we meet a young prince who lives along the road, walking along the road, when he drops his cellphone into the much below a bridge, which happens to span a dried up riverbed. Looking for his phone he meets a mysterious resident who lives under the bridge, a creature whose features are hidden beneath layers and layers of mud. The story develops as he begins to bring the creature coffee each day. This story is strong throughout for its subtlety but especially for its incredibly engaging tone and narration. It's really hard to capture just how charming, but also cryptic the narration in this story is. Think back to the subtle ways in which Eleanor and Park slowly discover little things about each other while barely communicating for a partial understanding about it.
Another story that I really enjoyed was the story by Soman Chianani. It's kind of a 21 Jump Street that plays into private school/public school cultural myths. The story is not exactly a fairy tale, but at the school we're seeing, popular girls are being murdered in ways that recall famous fairy tale princesses. The narration is done though taped interviews with witnesses and suspects.
The rest of the stories range in quality, but they didn't stand out to me particularly.
In this collection, I found the standouts to be the Rainbow Rowell story first and foremost. For me, this was the best story in the collection. More of a fable than a fairy tale, we meet a young prince who lives along the road, walking along the road, when he drops his cellphone into the much below a bridge, which happens to span a dried up riverbed. Looking for his phone he meets a mysterious resident who lives under the bridge, a creature whose features are hidden beneath layers and layers of mud. The story develops as he begins to bring the creature coffee each day. This story is strong throughout for its subtlety but especially for its incredibly engaging tone and narration. It's really hard to capture just how charming, but also cryptic the narration in this story is. Think back to the subtle ways in which Eleanor and Park slowly discover little things about each other while barely communicating for a partial understanding about it.
Another story that I really enjoyed was the story by Soman Chianani. It's kind of a 21 Jump Street that plays into private school/public school cultural myths. The story is not exactly a fairy tale, but at the school we're seeing, popular girls are being murdered in ways that recall famous fairy tale princesses. The narration is done though taped interviews with witnesses and suspects.
The rest of the stories range in quality, but they didn't stand out to me particularly.
January 9, 2021
I love re-imagined fairy tales, so when this series of short stories popped up on my Goodreads/Kindle Unlimited feed, I couldn't resist.
Overall rating: 4 stars
I'll start with my Favorite Top 2:
#1 - Book 4 - The Cleaners , Ken Liu
5 stars
My first read in the Faraway Collection.
In Hans Christian Anderson's fairy tale about The Princess and the Pea, a young woman's royal identity is determined by her sensitivity. " The Cleaners" takes a different approach to this age-old tale by addressing the importance of remaining sensitive to our memories and the memories of others, even the most painful ones.
This story, which seems to either takes place in a not-to-distant future or in an alternate reality, is based on a cool concept - cleaners who don't grow clean clothes , but instead scrub them ( and other objects) free of memories . We are introduced to three different characters, one who is ultra-sensitive to everything she touches, one who will only clean fir tge rich and famous and one who has a "condition" wherby he is immune to the emotions of memories. Great tale and like most fairy tales, left me pondering the morale of the story!
#2 - Book 5 - The Wickeds
5 stars
"The answer that came to her was a surprise. She was neither beautiful nor ugly. Neither loving nor vicious. Neither wicked nor good. She was all of those things. We all are."
Loved this story from the perspective of the supposedly "evil" stepmothers of Rapunzel, Cinderella and Snow White. The fairy tales of our childhood so often feature characters who are only good or only evil - there are no shades of gray - when, in reality, to be human, in most cases, is to possess a combination of such qualities. We even get to see how the dwarves REALLY felt about Snow White, who tgat Fairy Godmother really was and what happened to Jack, after falling down and breaking his crown, as Jill came tumbling after. ;)
Love the empowering & touching conclusion!
**************
Book 2 - Hazel and Gray, Nic Stone
4 stars
I've seen this referred to as a dark retelling of a classic fairy tell. Yes, it's definitely dark, but so is the original story of Hansel and Gretel.
So yes, this was dark and creepy but also a creative and engrossing, more modern retelling of Hans Christian Anderson's tale. Neat twist at the end .
Book 3 - The Princess Game, Soman Chainani
3 stars
Liked the format - a legal procedural with interviews between suspects and the young women who were executed "fairy tale princess style." These were "princesses " who certainly paid tge price for wanting to be treated with respect by their male classmates!
Book 1 - The Prince and the Troll, Rainbow Rowell
I admit it, the ending left me confused and asking " wait...what?" . That's why I'm not giving it a star rating...because I'm still pondering what it all means.
However, this was still a sweet story about love without boundaries... and about how trolls that live under bridges can be kind, loving and ...Starbucks drinkers. ;)
Overall rating: 4 stars
I'll start with my Favorite Top 2:
#1 - Book 4 - The Cleaners , Ken Liu
5 stars
My first read in the Faraway Collection.
In Hans Christian Anderson's fairy tale about The Princess and the Pea, a young woman's royal identity is determined by her sensitivity. " The Cleaners" takes a different approach to this age-old tale by addressing the importance of remaining sensitive to our memories and the memories of others, even the most painful ones.
This story, which seems to either takes place in a not-to-distant future or in an alternate reality, is based on a cool concept - cleaners who don't grow clean clothes , but instead scrub them ( and other objects) free of memories . We are introduced to three different characters, one who is ultra-sensitive to everything she touches, one who will only clean fir tge rich and famous and one who has a "condition" wherby he is immune to the emotions of memories. Great tale and like most fairy tales, left me pondering the morale of the story!
#2 - Book 5 - The Wickeds
5 stars
"The answer that came to her was a surprise. She was neither beautiful nor ugly. Neither loving nor vicious. Neither wicked nor good. She was all of those things. We all are."
Loved this story from the perspective of the supposedly "evil" stepmothers of Rapunzel, Cinderella and Snow White. The fairy tales of our childhood so often feature characters who are only good or only evil - there are no shades of gray - when, in reality, to be human, in most cases, is to possess a combination of such qualities. We even get to see how the dwarves REALLY felt about Snow White, who tgat Fairy Godmother really was and what happened to Jack, after falling down and breaking his crown, as Jill came tumbling after. ;)
Love the empowering & touching conclusion!
**************
Book 2 - Hazel and Gray, Nic Stone
4 stars
I've seen this referred to as a dark retelling of a classic fairy tell. Yes, it's definitely dark, but so is the original story of Hansel and Gretel.
So yes, this was dark and creepy but also a creative and engrossing, more modern retelling of Hans Christian Anderson's tale. Neat twist at the end .
Book 3 - The Princess Game, Soman Chainani
3 stars
Liked the format - a legal procedural with interviews between suspects and the young women who were executed "fairy tale princess style." These were "princesses " who certainly paid tge price for wanting to be treated with respect by their male classmates!
Book 1 - The Prince and the Troll, Rainbow Rowell
I admit it, the ending left me confused and asking " wait...what?" . That's why I'm not giving it a star rating...because I'm still pondering what it all means.
However, this was still a sweet story about love without boundaries... and about how trolls that live under bridges can be kind, loving and ...Starbucks drinkers. ;)
February 6, 2021
Puntuación en general: 3.5 ⭐
Pero como son varias historias cortas dentro de un mismo libro daré una pequeña opinión de cada una:
1. "The Prince and the Troll" de Rainbow Rowell: 2/5 ⭐
Me pareció una historia interesante, pero con poco sentido. Siempre he sido fan de Rainbow, pero en esta historia me costó un poco comprender por completo el significado y la lección que nos quería mostrar. Entendí lo del calentamiento global, pero no del todo la relación entre los protagonistas. Me duele darle tan pocas estrellas, pero comparadola con los otros, es más que suficiente.
2. "Hazel & Gray" de Nic Stone: 5/5 ⭐
Definitivamente mi favorita de todas las historias. La trama te atrapa desde el inicio y da giros que son esperados, pero a la vez inesperados. Con un final que le hace justicia a todo, lo leí en minutos. Sumamente recomendado.
3. "The Princess Game" de Soman Chainani: 3/5 ⭐
Admito que durante la mayor parte de la lectura estuve tentada a darle menos estrellas, no me gustaba mucho la manera en la que estaba redactado y como iba ocurriendo, pero el final compenso todo. Estuvo muy bien pensado y detallado, dejándote con ganas de más y con una sensación de shock placentera.
4. "The Cleaners" de Ken Liu: 4/5 ⭐
La base de la historia me llamo mucho la atención, el mundo en el que se desarrolla es interesante y algo que en un futuro me gustaría que la autora revisitará. El contraste entre los tres narradores muestra todos los puntos que puede tomar la trama y me agradó muchísimo. Súper interesante.
5. "The Wickeds" de Gayle Forman: 4/5 ⭐
Me gusto que tomara varios cuentos conocidos y les diera una pequeña vuelta dónde explora más las situaciones y libera parte de la carga que ponen sobre las mujeres como villanos en ellos. El final fue catártico, inesperado y adorable.
Pero como son varias historias cortas dentro de un mismo libro daré una pequeña opinión de cada una:
1. "The Prince and the Troll" de Rainbow Rowell: 2/5 ⭐
Me pareció una historia interesante, pero con poco sentido. Siempre he sido fan de Rainbow, pero en esta historia me costó un poco comprender por completo el significado y la lección que nos quería mostrar. Entendí lo del calentamiento global, pero no del todo la relación entre los protagonistas. Me duele darle tan pocas estrellas, pero comparadola con los otros, es más que suficiente.
2. "Hazel & Gray" de Nic Stone: 5/5 ⭐
Definitivamente mi favorita de todas las historias. La trama te atrapa desde el inicio y da giros que son esperados, pero a la vez inesperados. Con un final que le hace justicia a todo, lo leí en minutos. Sumamente recomendado.
3. "The Princess Game" de Soman Chainani: 3/5 ⭐
Admito que durante la mayor parte de la lectura estuve tentada a darle menos estrellas, no me gustaba mucho la manera en la que estaba redactado y como iba ocurriendo, pero el final compenso todo. Estuvo muy bien pensado y detallado, dejándote con ganas de más y con una sensación de shock placentera.
4. "The Cleaners" de Ken Liu: 4/5 ⭐
La base de la historia me llamo mucho la atención, el mundo en el que se desarrolla es interesante y algo que en un futuro me gustaría que la autora revisitará. El contraste entre los tres narradores muestra todos los puntos que puede tomar la trama y me agradó muchísimo. Súper interesante.
5. "The Wickeds" de Gayle Forman: 4/5 ⭐
Me gusto que tomara varios cuentos conocidos y les diera una pequeña vuelta dónde explora más las situaciones y libera parte de la carga que ponen sobre las mujeres como villanos en ellos. El final fue catártico, inesperado y adorable.
February 6, 2021
A collection of five short stories that are twisted retellings of certain fairy tales by modern YA authors. I'm not a huge fan of short stories so I couldn't have expected to absolutely love these. All of them dealt with important modern issues, some better than others. Not going to go into all of them in depth, but I think my fav two were:
Wickeds: loved the fairy tale tone of this, as well as the way it handled oppressive beauty and societal standards for women, and the way women's problems have a habit of continuing through generations. Gayle Forman is truly a fav for me.
The Princes Game: I agree with other reviewers that the attempt at addressing rape culture in this story could have been better handled. Unfortunately it came too close to turning into the very self-congratulatory guy-fest it was trying to expose. The question of the girls as victims was basically buried under the male postulating. The only strong female character was punished for speaking out. Despite this, I couldn't help enjoying the structure of this. I felt it was nicely written and well-paced.
Otherwise:
The Cleaners: Didn't quite get which fairy tale this was based on? Interesting idea but led to what sounded like an uncomfortable existence and not developed enough to lead anywhere for me.
The Prince and the Troll: An ok read. Bit repetitive. Message was a little too vague for me.
Hazel & Gray: Dark and disturbing. I found it a little disorienting how the perspective/framing of events changed with each scene. The plot was a little predictable and had some holes. A certain scene reminded me of Eyes Wide Shut which was cool.
Wickeds: loved the fairy tale tone of this, as well as the way it handled oppressive beauty and societal standards for women, and the way women's problems have a habit of continuing through generations. Gayle Forman is truly a fav for me.
The Princes Game: I agree with other reviewers that the attempt at addressing rape culture in this story could have been better handled. Unfortunately it came too close to turning into the very self-congratulatory guy-fest it was trying to expose. The question of the girls as victims was basically buried under the male postulating. The only strong female character was punished for speaking out. Despite this, I couldn't help enjoying the structure of this. I felt it was nicely written and well-paced.
Otherwise:
The Cleaners: Didn't quite get which fairy tale this was based on? Interesting idea but led to what sounded like an uncomfortable existence and not developed enough to lead anywhere for me.
The Prince and the Troll: An ok read. Bit repetitive. Message was a little too vague for me.
Hazel & Gray: Dark and disturbing. I found it a little disorienting how the perspective/framing of events changed with each scene. The plot was a little predictable and had some holes. A certain scene reminded me of Eyes Wide Shut which was cool.
January 14, 2021
This was a collection of fairy tale retellings from Kindle Unlimited. Each story was fairly short (25-50 pages or so) but I did the audio version and I would say in all it was around 5 hours of listening time. Some stories were better than others.
The Prince and the Troll – 2 stars. I think I understand what she was trying to say with the story, but it was just weird. And I want Starbucks
Hazel and Gray – 4 stars. This was a shocker. Maybe because we think fairy tales are all princesses and happy endings. This was definitely not a child’s story. TW for child sex trafficking. Ya. The twist at the end was good.
The Princess Game – 4 stars. I love the play on “prince and princess” terms and names in this story. And the ending completely threw me for a loop. One of my faves.
The Cleaners – 2 stars. I guess I just didn’t get it. I don’t really see how this was a retelling of any fairy tale and I don’t think it fit into this series. The idea could be cool if it wasn’t a short story, but it just didn’t work for me.
The Wickeds – 5 stars. This was my fave out of all of them. It reminded me of an assignment my oldest daughter just had: write Santa a letter from the POV of a villain about why you don’t deserve coal (i.e. the real reasons behind your actions that aren’t evil and how they were misconstrued”. We get the real story behind three villains and a crazy twist at the end.
The narration was great in all of them and I heard some familiar narrators which was nice.
Faraway by various authors
Kindle (Kindle Unlimited)
Read 1/9/21-1/11/21
Collective: 3 stars
The Prince and the Troll – 2 stars. I think I understand what she was trying to say with the story, but it was just weird. And I want Starbucks
Hazel and Gray – 4 stars. This was a shocker. Maybe because we think fairy tales are all princesses and happy endings. This was definitely not a child’s story. TW for child sex trafficking. Ya. The twist at the end was good.
The Princess Game – 4 stars. I love the play on “prince and princess” terms and names in this story. And the ending completely threw me for a loop. One of my faves.
The Cleaners – 2 stars. I guess I just didn’t get it. I don’t really see how this was a retelling of any fairy tale and I don’t think it fit into this series. The idea could be cool if it wasn’t a short story, but it just didn’t work for me.
The Wickeds – 5 stars. This was my fave out of all of them. It reminded me of an assignment my oldest daughter just had: write Santa a letter from the POV of a villain about why you don’t deserve coal (i.e. the real reasons behind your actions that aren’t evil and how they were misconstrued”. We get the real story behind three villains and a crazy twist at the end.
The narration was great in all of them and I heard some familiar narrators which was nice.
Faraway by various authors
Kindle (Kindle Unlimited)
Read 1/9/21-1/11/21
Collective: 3 stars
May 18, 2023
A weird collection of retellings. I really only liked the first story ("The Prince and the Troll" by Rainbow Rowell). The strange growing friendship of the two main characters was fun to watch, until it wasn't fun anymore at the end.
"Hazel and Grey" was upsetting and oddly passive, like here we are now, and here's what Grey did previously to set us up for this position that we're in. Like, why not show us what Grey is doing, and give us the sense of danger and peril.
"The Princess Game" also had an ick factor, but was easy to solve.
"The Cleaners" had an interesting premise -- when humans touch things, they leave a residue that carries their emotions and mental state, which people who subsequently touch the things can feel -- so everyone starts wearing gloves when they can, and avoids too much touching (but apparently they don't stop buying random knick-knacks and what-nots to limit the things they leave residue on). I could not figure out which fairy tale this was retelling though.
I liked "The Wickeds" too, for being an interesting approach to the evil stepmother trope, and then the twist at the end ...
"Hazel and Grey" was upsetting and oddly passive, like here we are now, and here's what Grey did previously to set us up for this position that we're in. Like, why not show us what Grey is doing, and give us the sense of danger and peril.
"The Princess Game" also had an ick factor, but was easy to solve.
"The Cleaners" had an interesting premise -- when humans touch things, they leave a residue that carries their emotions and mental state, which people who subsequently touch the things can feel -- so everyone starts wearing gloves when they can, and avoids too much touching (but apparently they don't stop buying random knick-knacks and what-nots to limit the things they leave residue on). I could not figure out which fairy tale this was retelling though.
I liked "The Wickeds" too, for being an interesting approach to the evil stepmother trope, and then the twist at the end ...
January 3, 2021
I can't say I enjoyed this series very much. I've been reading fairy tale retellings quite a lot recently, so that could very well be one of the reasons, but this just didn't really do anything for me.
The stories themselves do have some interesting elements, but it felt like they were trying to get at some hidden agenda, which would have been fine if they were actually any good, but the stories were too short to really do much, especially make important points about equality, race, sex trafficking, etc.
The Princess Game was the best of the stories, though it was also horribly flawed. The Cleaners had an interesting concept that needed more development to actually take hold and make more sense.
The Wickeds had an interesting take on perspective in storytelling, but that was about it. The Prince and the Troll was cute, but too heavy of an allegory and far too short (I was most disappointed in this one because I absolutely love Rainbow Rowell). Hazel and Gray was fine, but ultimately not very interesting.
It pains me to say this because I love a good fairy tale retelling, but this collection was kind of garbage. I don't know that I'd even recommend checking out the better stories.
The stories themselves do have some interesting elements, but it felt like they were trying to get at some hidden agenda, which would have been fine if they were actually any good, but the stories were too short to really do much, especially make important points about equality, race, sex trafficking, etc.
The Princess Game was the best of the stories, though it was also horribly flawed. The Cleaners had an interesting concept that needed more development to actually take hold and make more sense.
The Wickeds had an interesting take on perspective in storytelling, but that was about it. The Prince and the Troll was cute, but too heavy of an allegory and far too short (I was most disappointed in this one because I absolutely love Rainbow Rowell). Hazel and Gray was fine, but ultimately not very interesting.
It pains me to say this because I love a good fairy tale retelling, but this collection was kind of garbage. I don't know that I'd even recommend checking out the better stories.
April 7, 2021
My updates about the book series include my feelings about most of the stories. I listened to "The Cleaners" by Ken Liu and "Hazel and Gray" by Nic Stone today.
"Hazel and Gray" was a neat story, but I'm not sure I loved it. Obviously a spin on Hansel and Gretel, there is a lot more mature-themed material with this story, in somewhat graphic sex scenes, plus bondage, sex slavery, and recreational (or manipulative) drug use. I suspected the twist at the end pretty early in the story, but just as it was revealed, the story ended, and I felt like things were just getting started. It felt like there was safety for the main characters with no justice, and that sucked.
"The Cleaners" is such a Ken Liu story, and I say that with great reverence. He regularly writes about what it means to be human, how important the past and memories are, what keeping the status quo looks like for different people. This story had very similar themes. I liked looking at the situation from three different perspectives, though, and I agreed with the resolution, although I still wish I'd known more about Beatrice (and maybe Lucas) before the story ended.
Overall, I'd give the series of all five stories a 4, with some stories being far more interesting and engaging than others.
"Hazel and Gray" was a neat story, but I'm not sure I loved it. Obviously a spin on Hansel and Gretel, there is a lot more mature-themed material with this story, in somewhat graphic sex scenes, plus bondage, sex slavery, and recreational (or manipulative) drug use. I suspected the twist at the end pretty early in the story, but just as it was revealed, the story ended, and I felt like things were just getting started. It felt like there was safety for the main characters with no justice, and that sucked.
"The Cleaners" is such a Ken Liu story, and I say that with great reverence. He regularly writes about what it means to be human, how important the past and memories are, what keeping the status quo looks like for different people. This story had very similar themes. I liked looking at the situation from three different perspectives, though, and I agreed with the resolution, although I still wish I'd known more about Beatrice (and maybe Lucas) before the story ended.
Overall, I'd give the series of all five stories a 4, with some stories being far more interesting and engaging than others.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 11, 2021
Summarizing all 5 short stories below, purely to jog my own memory someday. Spoilers!
Faraway Series
The Prince and the Troll - Rainbow Rowell (Adam falls in love with the bridge troll over daily Starbucks. The town floods at the end and I am pretty sure Adam dies. "This isn't easy. This is just another kind of hard. That's all that's left now, for any of us."
Hazel and Gray - Nic Stone (The cottage is a brothel full of kidnapped girls with gem names. The witch/the head of patronage is both Hazel and Gray's stepdad with different women. Hazel killed him and they escaped with everything from the safe.)
The Cleaners - Ken Liu (What's being cleaned: your memories. Memories are transferred through touching objects.)
The Wickeds - Gayle Forman (The Villianesses of Cinderella, Snow White, and Rapunzel team up to set the record straight. Great potential here but tackled WAY too many themes and storylines without developing anything. Really, it felt half-assed.)
The Princess Game - Soman Chainani (All of the "princes" at the high school take turns killing "princesses" for each other and then serving as each other's alibis to prove their loyalty.)
Faraway Series
The Prince and the Troll - Rainbow Rowell (Adam falls in love with the bridge troll over daily Starbucks. The town floods at the end and I am pretty sure Adam dies. "This isn't easy. This is just another kind of hard. That's all that's left now, for any of us."
Hazel and Gray - Nic Stone (The cottage is a brothel full of kidnapped girls with gem names. The witch/the head of patronage is both Hazel and Gray's stepdad with different women. Hazel killed him and they escaped with everything from the safe.)
The Cleaners - Ken Liu (What's being cleaned: your memories. Memories are transferred through touching objects.)
The Wickeds - Gayle Forman (The Villianesses of Cinderella, Snow White, and Rapunzel team up to set the record straight. Great potential here but tackled WAY too many themes and storylines without developing anything. Really, it felt half-assed.)
The Princess Game - Soman Chainani (All of the "princes" at the high school take turns killing "princesses" for each other and then serving as each other's alibis to prove their loyalty.)
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 24, 2023
I love fairy tales and I really enjoy fairy tale adaptations to an extent. I think they are best served as short stories.
Rating from favorite to least favorite:
"Hazel and Gray" by Nic Stone (a twist on Hansel and Gretel with a brothel element)
"The Wickeds" by Gayle Forman (evil stepmothers side of the story)
"The Prince and the Troll" by Rainbow Rowell (forbidden love story with Starbucks element)
"The Princess Game" by Soman Chainani (serial killer at a prep school kills off girls in princess ways)
"The Cleaners" by Ken Liu (memories are retained on objects)
The Liu story was the most unique but what fairy tale was it based on? I couldn't figure that out the entire time. I thought it was interesting but a bit too sci-fi for me. My husband has read a few Liu books and enjoyed them so I was interested in this one but it was just not clicking.
LOVED the Stone short story!! What a great twist. It was also the one that was the most complete - a few others kind of left you hanging. Forman's story was great too in that it was a major feminist tale where the silenced men get a story and it ain't good.
Love the concepts, excited to find more fairy tale twists.
Rating from favorite to least favorite:
"Hazel and Gray" by Nic Stone (a twist on Hansel and Gretel with a brothel element)
"The Wickeds" by Gayle Forman (evil stepmothers side of the story)
"The Prince and the Troll" by Rainbow Rowell (forbidden love story with Starbucks element)
"The Princess Game" by Soman Chainani (serial killer at a prep school kills off girls in princess ways)
"The Cleaners" by Ken Liu (memories are retained on objects)
The Liu story was the most unique but what fairy tale was it based on? I couldn't figure that out the entire time. I thought it was interesting but a bit too sci-fi for me. My husband has read a few Liu books and enjoyed them so I was interested in this one but it was just not clicking.
LOVED the Stone short story!! What a great twist. It was also the one that was the most complete - a few others kind of left you hanging. Forman's story was great too in that it was a major feminist tale where the silenced men get a story and it ain't good.
Love the concepts, excited to find more fairy tale twists.
May 30, 2024
old post reposted
A commentary on classism al a Fahrenheit 451, underground sex-trafficking, toxic masculinity themed serial killings, a strange connection between memory and magic, and the truth about exactly how "wicked" the wicked stepmothers really were.
A completely different twist on the classics that you never (ever) saw coming.
I mean I knew these were a modern retelling/adaptations of classic fairytales, but did I see this coming? Hell, no.
Did I love it anyway? Hell, yes.
So please, go read the Amazon Original Stories, The Faraway Fairytales (free to read/listen to if you have Amazon Prime): "The Prince and the Troll" by Rainbow Rowell,
"Hazel and Gray" by Nic Stone,
"The Princess Game" by Soman Chainani,
"The Cleaners" by Ken Liu,
and "The Wickeds" by Gayle Forman.
#ThePrinceandTheTroll #RainbowRowell #HazelandGray #NicStone #ThePrincessGame #SomanChainani #TheCleaners #KenLiu #TheWickeds #GayleForman #thefarawayfairytales #fairytales #AmazonOriginalStories #books #bookstagram #bookphotography #ilovebooks
A commentary on classism al a Fahrenheit 451, underground sex-trafficking, toxic masculinity themed serial killings, a strange connection between memory and magic, and the truth about exactly how "wicked" the wicked stepmothers really were.
A completely different twist on the classics that you never (ever) saw coming.
I mean I knew these were a modern retelling/adaptations of classic fairytales, but did I see this coming? Hell, no.
Did I love it anyway? Hell, yes.
So please, go read the Amazon Original Stories, The Faraway Fairytales (free to read/listen to if you have Amazon Prime): "The Prince and the Troll" by Rainbow Rowell,
"Hazel and Gray" by Nic Stone,
"The Princess Game" by Soman Chainani,
"The Cleaners" by Ken Liu,
and "The Wickeds" by Gayle Forman.
#ThePrinceandTheTroll #RainbowRowell #HazelandGray #NicStone #ThePrincessGame #SomanChainani #TheCleaners #KenLiu #TheWickeds #GayleForman #thefarawayfairytales #fairytales #AmazonOriginalStories #books #bookstagram #bookphotography #ilovebooks
January 18, 2024
Hazel and Gray - This was a really great, dark retelling of Hansel and Gretel. I'm really excited about this collection and all the retellings in it!
The Prince and the Troll - This one was on the weird side. I feel like the author has something really profound to say, but it was sort of lost on me because the ending was so very, "What did I just read??"
The Princess Games - This one was SO GOOD. If you read none of the rest, read this one. A murder mystery detective based retelling of all the classic princesses!
The Cleaners - This one was a very interesting concept. It definitely leaves you with something to think about in regards to memories and how we move around in our world.
The Wickeds - I LOVED this one too! From the perspective of all the evil mothers from our fairytales. Hearing these mothers imagining the princesses as ungrateful brats was so fun!
The Prince and the Troll - This one was on the weird side. I feel like the author has something really profound to say, but it was sort of lost on me because the ending was so very, "What did I just read??"
The Princess Games - This one was SO GOOD. If you read none of the rest, read this one. A murder mystery detective based retelling of all the classic princesses!
The Cleaners - This one was a very interesting concept. It definitely leaves you with something to think about in regards to memories and how we move around in our world.
The Wickeds - I LOVED this one too! From the perspective of all the evil mothers from our fairytales. Hearing these mothers imagining the princesses as ungrateful brats was so fun!
January 8, 2021
I admit I downloaded this collection because Rainbow Rowell was in it. I kiiiiinda wish that I had just downloaded her story and left it at that. Her story was clever, with her usual knack for engaging dialogue and narration and likable characters; its only weakness was that, for me, it landed in that space between direct allegory and nonspecific symbolism that can make something extra work to read without the rewarding ZING it reaches for. The rest of the stories were not *bad*, they just felt kind of... amateurish? phoned-in? like something that you would be TOTALLY AMAZED to read if it was written by a high-schooler, but less impressed when it comes from a bestselling writer.
September 17, 2021
I loved all these stories. I think maybe there was a moral in most or all of them. However, some might have been too subtle for me to grasp. That is kinda unfortunate because they are fairy tales and not fables. Fairy tales have happy endings- always- it's a rule. Even though these story endings are not the traditional "happily ever after," the characters learn and grow. So that's happy, right?
This book might be fun for a book club discussion group. Many of the stories examine serious subjects and some of the authors do it with humor.
::::::
(Note: One of the Wicked's husbands keeps talking about how hot his daughter is and how he'd be dating her if she weren't his daughter!)
This book might be fun for a book club discussion group. Many of the stories examine serious subjects and some of the authors do it with humor.
::::::
(Note: One of the Wicked's husbands keeps talking about how hot his daughter is and how he'd be dating her if she weren't his daughter!)
August 25, 2024
DNF at maybe 35% / 3rd Story from the series and didn't continue.
I mean I dont know where to start!
Like I feel bad wasting my audible credit on it and I didn't like it! "Sorry to say that" Like the synopsis of each story was interesting but then when u head to the first story and they keep n taking about Starbuck drink constantly I mean come on and give me a break! And then heading to the 2nd story it gave me the ick and how the step father was acting and her mom and with the cottage and finally with the 3rd story about murdered teenage girls I had to stop there cause I just got tired of the writing style of each story and the way it was narrated and it just bored me.
I mean I dont know where to start!
Like I feel bad wasting my audible credit on it and I didn't like it! "Sorry to say that" Like the synopsis of each story was interesting but then when u head to the first story and they keep n taking about Starbuck drink constantly I mean come on and give me a break! And then heading to the 2nd story it gave me the ick and how the step father was acting and her mom and with the cottage and finally with the 3rd story about murdered teenage girls I had to stop there cause I just got tired of the writing style of each story and the way it was narrated and it just bored me.
September 22, 2024
I’m so conflicted by this collection so I’m rating it individually and averaging it as a whole.
⭐️ The Prince and the Troll - I didn’t know the point of the story up to the very end. Very weird.
⭐️ Hazel and Gray - It was such an uncomfortable story to read. Not a fan of this type of triggering stories.
⭐️⭐️ The Princess Game - I bate this kind of stories too but I like the ending. A good plot twist.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ The Cleaners - I like the concept of this story. I can imagine it as a quality, full on novel.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ The Wickeds - I didn’t understand where the story was headed at the beginning but gosh, I love it! I’m happy to end this collection on a high!
⭐️ The Prince and the Troll - I didn’t know the point of the story up to the very end. Very weird.
⭐️ Hazel and Gray - It was such an uncomfortable story to read. Not a fan of this type of triggering stories.
⭐️⭐️ The Princess Game - I bate this kind of stories too but I like the ending. A good plot twist.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ The Cleaners - I like the concept of this story. I can imagine it as a quality, full on novel.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ The Wickeds - I didn’t understand where the story was headed at the beginning but gosh, I love it! I’m happy to end this collection on a high!
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