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Wednesday, March 16, 2016

W.R. Gingell and Fairy Tale Reimaginings

Recently Intasar Khanani  recommended Masque by W.R. Gingell, and for .99, I decided to try it.  Ha!  I zipped through it top speed with a grin on my face.

Right now, I am in desperate need of fairy tales and magic.  The recent flooding that has left half our state underwater is a bit too much reality to face.  My usual therapy for difficult situations is to escape into books, and a little fantasy and magic--spiced by wit and humor--was exactly the right recipe.

Masque, besides the lovely cover, provided a delightful respite.  

A reimagining of the Beauty and the Beast tale, Masque has a remarkable freshness and a unique approach.  It is light and funny with charming characters -- in spite of the rather dreadful murders that occur.

Lady Isabella Farrah is the daughter of Civet's Ambassador to Glause and a very independent minded, happily unmarried spinster in her late twenties.  Attending the Annual Ambassadorial Ball, Isabella finds herself besieged by the much younger Lord Topher, who seems determined to fall in love with her.  Isabella has no intentions of letting his budding interest go further, but wants to let him down gently.

In the meantime, Lord Pecus does catch her interest.  Known as the Beast Lord, Lord Pecus is under a curse and always wears a masque.  Her friend Dylesia has done her best to dislodge the masque, quite unsuccessfully.  This piques Isabella's curiosity.

Then events at the ball go haywire when an old and trusted friend is murdered and suspected of espionage.  And away we go.

Isabella is a daunting investigator. Gathering allies who are dedicated and a little in awe of her, she proceeds at will to tackle the twists that occur.  Even when she ends up as a hostage, Isabella manages to untangle many of the threads to the mystery.

I loved the dialogue.  Isabella is never at a loss for just the right words for the occasion.  Gingell has created amusing, articulate characters who romp through the pages, enjoying themselves immensely.

A light, clever, and engaging fairy tale retelling that manages to be fresh and original.

I had 3 minor quibbles.  I won't mention them here, but don't think that they put me off the book.  It was great fun!

Kindle purchase.  :)  for .99 and well worth it!

Fairy Tale/Fantasy.  2015.  print version:  335 pages.
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When I finished, I decided to try something else by Gingell.  I decided on Wolfskin.

First, I need to mention that the Masque and Wolfskin are distinctly different in style.  Both are retellings of familiar tales, but the approach is  completely different.  Wolfskin has a more traditional feel to it, and yet it, too, veers drastically from the original tale of Red Riding Hood.  

Truthfully, Gingell's reimagining takes little more than the idea of a young girl and a dangerous wolf and develops an entirely new tale that draws on more than one fairy tale theme.

At seven, Rose decided she would be a bloodthirsty pirate with the name Cutlass Rose.  At fourteen, Rose is a feisty tomboy who, in spite of living in a loving family, has dreams of adventure.  She finds domestic duties cumbersome and boring and longs for daring exploits.  

When her mother finally agrees to apprentice her to the local forest witch Akiva, Rose is delighted, hoping for magic and excitement.  Initially, Rose is disappointed not to sense the magic she expected.  Discovering that hard work in the garden is one of her chores, she despairs of her dreams of adventure.

And then she meets the wolf in the forest and steps off the path....

I liked Wolfskin even better than Masque and plan to read much more of W.R. Gingell!

Kindle Unlimited.

Fairy Tale/Fantasy.  2015.  print version:  300 pages.

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I'm also excited about Intasar Khanani's sequel to Sunbolt.  I've pre-ordered Memories of Ash.  You can check her cover reveal and give-away here.

Oh, yes, I'm in a fairy tale mood right now!  :)

19 comments:

  1. I am really sorry for the flooding in LA. What is it about our areas and rain - we either don't get any or we get it all in a 3 or 4 day period. Sigh. No happy medium like there was when we lived in Oregon. People up there would talk about 'how much' rain they got in a day (like an inch) and we'd just laugh.

    Have you read Kate Morton's THE FORGOTTEN GARDEN? I'm listening to it right now and am just captivated. It is perfect for my Gothic challenge, but there are fairy tales, and caves by the sea and lost girls and hidden secrets. I'm coming up with reasons to listen more and absolutely stopping myself from turning to the e-book to go faster. I love the narrator, Caroline Lee.

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    1. I enjoyed Morton's The Forgotten Garden, but LOVED The Lake House! I still have difficulty listening to audio books--mostly I think because I've not had good luck with narrators. I'm glad Caroline Lee has done a good job with The Forgotten Garden!

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  2. Wolfskin does sound good. I think that's the one I want to read.

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    1. I truly enjoyed Wolfskin and hope you will, too!

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  3. I just went to get Masque and it was free. YAY! Awesome timing on that. :)

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    1. I hope you enjoy Masque, Kelly! Great timing, indeed!

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  4. I've never heard of Ms. Khanani, so thanks for showcasing a new author. I will check out if Masque is still free or .99 and pick it up. Also I'm interested in Khanani's books. I guess you've read some and enjoyed them? Thanks again. ;-)

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    1. Intasar Khanani writes wonderful fairy tales. I've reviewed Thorn and Sunbolt here and thoroughly enjoyed them!

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  5. I hit publish too soon. Meant to say I hope you and yours are safe and don't have damage, and I'll send good thoughts for those affected...

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    1. Our house is safe, but entire neighborhoods in the twin cities of Shreveport/Bossier are under water. More than 20 parishes have been declared disaster areas. And right now, raining again. Thanks for the good thoughts, Rita!

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  6. Aw yay! I love Khanani's work, and I loooove fairy tale retellings, so I'm glad you reviewed these and gave me the chance to check them out.

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    1. I've pre-ordered Khanani's sequel to Sunbolt. Both Khanani and Gingell have a way with fairy tales. :)

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  7. I love reading fantasy and fairy tales but usually when my mood calls for it. :-) I've no problem with mystery or thrillers, though. These two books sound like a good read. And I love the cover of Masque; it's so lovely!

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    1. I never find a problem reading mysteries or thrillers, either! If Khanani had not mentioned her enjoyment of Gingell's books, I wouldn't have even thought about fairy tales, but they were just what I needed. :)

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  8. I'm so out of it, I hadn't heard about the flooding. That's just awful. I can see why you would need distraction from it and local news about the damage being done. I'm thinking of all of you.

    Both of these sound like fun reads. I am with you--Masque has a great cover. I love the sound of it too. Definitely adding it to my wish list. No--I take that back. Taking advantage of it being free today! I really like the sound of Wolfskin too.

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    1. Thanks, Wendy! Our house is fine, but our family camp (my two brothers' families and my family share a camp in the country) is underwater. That is a lot better than losing our home as so many have.

      Hope you enjoy Gingell's books!

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  9. These look like fun, and I love the covers, especially the cover of Wolfskin.

    I am so sorry that you are coping with flooding in your area. That is horrific.

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    1. I'm happy to have discovered Gingell--thanks to Intasar Khanani!

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  10. I can't believe the flooding that's happened. Hope all is getting better by now!

    Great review on these and although I don't read a lot of fantasy these do sound like a lot of fun. I especially like the idea of Masque!

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