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Feb 14, 2012

Keely rated it:

Not as awful as the first two volumes, but still not very good. Not very good at all. It all comes down to the the unpracticed awkwardness of the writing. The characters spend most of their time explaining the plot, and the rest spouting movie cliches.

They don't have much personality because all we know about them is what we're told in the wordy exposition of other characters. If you want a character to be clever, have him do clever things, don't just have other characters tell us ho More...

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Apr 02, 2009

Morning rated it:

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Feb 17, 2012

Jami rated it:

Summary: Briar Rose has a problem, every time her finger is pricked she falls asleep and so does everyone else in the area. She can only be awaken with True Love’s kiss. Bigby Wolf has a problem, a Mundy has discovered the Fabletown community and threatens to expose them. While the Mundy thinks they are vampires, Bigby knows he needs to get rid of the problem so he enlists the help of Briar Rose. Meanwhile, Goldilocks who was one of the ring leaders in the revolution against Snow White and Fable More...

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Jan 15, 2012

Jelinas rated it:

I really enjoyed Storybook Love; I did. But, as ridiculous as this sounds, I did think that you had to... ahem... suspend your disbelief a little more with this one than you did in the first two volumes of this series.

The volume starts off pretty fun, with a glimpse into Jack Horner's adventures during the Civil War. It's funny and pretty charming; he cheats both the Devil and Death in this segment (nudity warning here. Jack be a player). It's just an aside, so it doesn't have much b More...

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Nov 06, 2011

Tanabrus rated it:

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Sep 28, 2011

Jess rated it:

Three volumes in, I'm beginning to feel like Fables is a fun series of escapist fiction, but doesn't seem to offer much more than that. In Volume Three: Storybook Love, we are given a couple of single issue stories that show us a bit more of the history behind certain characters, Jack's schemes during the American Civil War, and the legends that are told among the fables themselves. Which is good at establishing some background, but it's not yet clear to me that there is any sort of narrative ar More...

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Jul 07, 2011

Drew Patrick rated it:

Review from the PFS Book Club...

What I Liked: This is my favorite Fables so far - each trade just keeps getting better. Snow and Bigby together in the wilderness - and the consequences of what happens there - is great storytelling and painfully true to life. They might have love, but it's ruined when their actual lives intervene to screw things up.

This is also the first collection where Willingham introduces the stand alone issues to present some of the Fables' past. We s More...

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May 29, 2011

ηicolε rated it:

Despite this being the third in the Fables series, it was the first volume I could get my hands on. As soon as I finished it, I put the first two on hold at the library.

Fables, written by Bill Willingham (and illustrated by an insane amount of people), is a really gripping read that ties in several fairytale characters such as Snow White, Prince Charming, Jack (and the beanstalk), Goldilocks, the Frog Prince, and the wolf (from the Three Little Pigs). Sounds quite innocent, but to b More...

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Mar 07, 2011

Tyler rated it:

Three volumes in, and I'm still waiting to fall in love with this series. I feel like pretty much everyone else loves it, so I'm not sure why its not really resonating for me. At this point, there just seems to be something a little too... I don't know... obvious about it. The idea of classic fable characters living in modern day New York has merit, but I just don't feel like the execution really delivers. I keep waiting for that extra layer of depth, but more often than not, something about the More...

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Mar 05, 2011

Douglas rated it:

I don't feel the comic is as bad as some make it out to be, but, heck, it ain't as phenomenal as it has been made out to be, either.

The first story was sophomoric and lurid, reducing a fine, dying noblewoman to the ubiquitous, sexually repressed, strumpet stereotype. The idea of death being put on hold while Death was stuck in Jack's bag was novel, but honestly, the sex was puerile and meaningless filler, stiffly drawn and awkwardly scripted. The middle story was the best part of the More...

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Oct 31, 2010

Artemisa rated it:

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Aug 15, 2009

Jonathan rated it:

Book 3 returns to Fabletown some time after the events of the last one. The first couple issues find Bigby dealing with a mundane journalist who threatens to expose Fablestown's secret (he thinks they're vampires). The main point of this short arc is to deepen the hostility between Bluebeard and Bigby; the latter earning the deadly ire of the former for humiliating him during their caper. Both of them know the inevitable outcome of any physical confrontation, so Bluebeard turns to underhand More...

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Apr 09, 2009

Icats rated it:

To recap for those not familiar with the Fables series, fairytale characters such as Snow White, Prince Charming, Briar Rose, Big Bad Wolf, The Three Little Pigs, Jack Horner, Goldilocks, and the like, are driven from their magical worlds and kingdoms by the Adversary. Those immortal fables that can pass as humans live in a secret community in New York City and those fables that cannot are forced to live on a large secluded farm in upstate NY to keep them hidden from the mundane (humans).

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Aug 16, 2011

Karissa rated it:

This is the third book in the Fables series. Unlike the first two books this one is comprised of four separate tales. This installment does an excellent job of filling in some background while still moving the main story along.

The first installment tells about Jack the Giant killer and his love of a cursed southern belle. The second talks about Bigby Wolf dealing with a reporter who thinks he's discovered the secret of Fabletown. The third is the longest and progresses the story th More...

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May 07, 2011

Hotavio rated it:

I found myself enjoying this Fables book more than the first ones. This is mostly because the stories are interesting. Willingham introduces a host of new characters; some familiar, others not, while killing off others. The characters which carried over from the earlier graphic novels maintain the personalities and roles previously assigned to them. This allows for Willingham to reinforce the scruples he assigned to them. While the centerpiece of Storybook Love is the sparks of romance be More...

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Aug 27, 2011

Jesi rated it:

I've been staring at my courser blink for the last few minutes, trying to think of *something* to say about this one. About all my brain is coming up with is "meh?" I really don't get the hype these GNs generated. The first story in this novel was fun, although (as the author said) a retelling. As I was already familiar with the basic story, I wasn't too impressed with the writing, although the illustration wasn't bad. The second story arc was original, well written (with one exception More...

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Aug 12, 2011

Ian rated it:

The series keeps improving, further justifying its existence. This volume is actually a collection of several loosely-connected storylines, the centerpiece of which is the four-part "Storybook Love." It picks up from where the "Animal Farm" storyline left off and explores the relationship between Snow White & Bigby, Goldilocks' and Bluebeard's motivations, the political machinations of the Fabletown community, the post-exile/pre-Fabletown history of several characters, and th More...

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Aug 05, 2011

Jeff rated it:

This trip into the realm of Fables was not quite as enjoyable for me as the first two. I'll start with the good. The story arc involving Snow White and Bigby Wolf was very enjoyable and seemed to fit in with the flavor of the previous volumes. The stand alone story of Jack during the Civil War was also fun and proof that Jack does deserve his Jack of Fables title. What I did not enjoy as much was the soty where Bigby and company try to silence a nosy reporter who has stumbled onto the Fables More...

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Apr 24, 2009

Purplycookie rated it:

This volume collects Issues #11-18, including the 4-part "Storybook Love." Also included are the 2-part "A Sharp Operator" and the single-issue tales "Bag o' Bones" and "Barleycorn Brides." Unlike in the first two volumes of Fables, there is no single story arc in this one. Instead we get four tales of different lengths that help flesh out the characters for us.

"Bag o' Bones" is a set of stories adapted and taken from the Mountain Jac More...

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Apr 25, 2011

Elijah rated it:

A definite uptic in quality with this volume, less time spent making specific points or setting up a world means more time luxuriating in that world as characters come and go and interact, and still, thankfully, without too many "good guys" and "bad guys." Goldilocks is still kind of ridiculous, but she's barely there -- I do hope we get to see more of the Mouse Police, though. They are great. The stories in this volume feel a lot more organic, less divided into perfect arcs More...

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Feb 20, 2012

syrin rated it:

Who doesn't love a good old-fashioned love tale? Not me, certainly. But it has to be a very special love story - off with those soapy good-for-nothing love tales, if you want to impress me, you have to bring something more to the table. And "Fables" does it, yet again. My love for Snow White and Bigby knew no bounds from the get go, and the two of them together are a match made in heaven. (Or hell, whichever you prefer). Throw in evil Goldilocks, and "Storybook Love" was defi More...

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Aug 07, 2010

Sofia rated it:

Posted on my book blog.

Background: I'm starting to really like this series (it's come a long way from the first issue). I'm buying the issues in order when I can find them.

Review: In this issue, there are a couple of stories unrelated to the general storyline: one follows Jack of the Tales (still of a pretty vacuous mind), and the other gives a little cultural background for the Liliputians. Both are very funny and provide great context for the story. I heard Jack of the More...

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Feb 21, 2012

Merin rated it:

Three volumes in, and I'm still not in love. However, there were plenty of things this time around that I did like, so that made this volume slightly better in my opinion than the first two. I loved the look at Briar Rose and the fact that her fairy blessings have translated over into their exile. I was struck at how pretty she was drawn; I think she is the prettiest female character thus far. I also enjoyed the look at her curse, and how it's still having an effect on her life. <spoiler>I More...

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Nov 30, 2011

Lauren rated it:

To me, this was the weakest of the series so far - the central storylines were fairly dull, the writing was uninspired (the characters spend soo much time explaining what's going on), and even some of the artwork (particularly Bigby and Snow in the second half of the book) seemed subpar. I did enjoy some of the spinoff/historical stories, but even they mostly made me want to read the original tales, instead of those distilled by the author. I'd like to see more narrative tension and more creat More...

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Sep 13, 2010

Trisha rated it:

Storybook Love, book 3, houses four separate stories that each add to the overall world; however, it is the third story that continues the main plot line told in the first two installments. In this section of Storybook Love, Bigby and Snow are ....

You know what? Summarizing the stories within this volume would be difficult. Willingham's Fables series defies simple paraphrase because he has created a complex world. Each story, text and images, reveals more about the characters and the More...

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Apr 18, 2010

Jake rated it:

Three compilations in, I continue to enjoy this ongoing series about iconic fable characters trying to navigate the present day. They live, love, and betray each other in the process. As with the first volume, Fables Legends in Exile, I felt this volume had a lot of humor to offer alongside the frequent action and conspiracy sequences. The relationship between Snow White and Bigby (Big Bad Wolf) deepens, but also sometimes appears as a comedy of errors. I found it very entertaining while also be More...

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Jun 09, 2009

Katrina rated it:

OK. I'm done with this series. The original idea was intriguing but the characters are losing their thrill. This book, unlike the first two, is a gathering of about four different stories which makes for an incredibly scattered collection. Where the first two books followed the plot of a one or two main characters, Storybook Love covers some characters’ backgrounds (Jack in the Civil War), stories about stories (how the women came to the Lilliput males), and a random murder attempt on Bigsb More...

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Feb 21, 2012

kat rated it:

There's something about Bigby that I was initially really drawn to, but I think as the series has gone on it's sort of magnified out of control to the point where it's kind of off-putting. His speech patterns are just so... abrupt and awkward and overly gruff I guess? I don't know, it's hard to explain, but that whole conversation in the woods while he and Snow <spoiler>are running away from Goldilocks</spoiler> had exactly the opposite effect on me than it seemed to on her. I mea More...

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Sep 03, 2009

Eliza rated it:

Yes, it does make me sing the song from The Princess Bride.

Jack’s story at the beginning was interesting, but his awful accent was driving me crazy. I’m glad that it was addressed as fake because even reading it (rather than actually hearing it with my ears) was irritating. I don’t think I like Jack.

Once again I liked seeing Snow and Bigby thrown together, but I’m ready to hear about some other people, too. The story of the Barleycorn Brides was a nice note to end on. T More...

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Sep 10, 2010

Bernadette rated it:

The volumes of Fables have been getting progressively thicker so in this volume we get a story of Jack (of beanstalk fame) taking place during the civil war, a two-parter giving us a good introduction to Briar Rose (aka Sleeping Beauty), a continuation on the political upheaval of the last volume, developing a romance along with it, and a short story on Lilliputians.

I continue to love this story, the development of the characters and introductions of new ones. The world of the Fabl More...

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