40th out of 71 books
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117 voters
Utterly Charming (Fates #1)
In the tradition of New York Times bestselling author Susan Anderson, comes a fresh and funny story of eternal love that already has the romance world buzzing.In this thoroughly unique and irresistible romantic romp from a talented new author, a struggling Seattle lawyer, desperate to keep her fledging law firm from going under, takes a case involving a strange but incredi...more
Paperback, 319 pages
Published
February 1st 2000
by Zebra
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Utterly Charming is the story of Sleeping Beauty. One thousand years ago Ealhswith. the evil stepmother (err mentor) has placed a curse on Emma Blackstone tries to rescue Emma and kisses her to prevent her from dying but the kiss has an unexpected consequence and places her in a coma for one thousand years. Nine hundred and ninety years later Blackstone is in Portland OR and he is fighting with Ealhswith over who will have possession of Emma. Blackstone formulates a plan where neither one will h...more
Synopsis - At the beginning of the book, Nora Barr is 25, fresh out of law school, and dangerously close to shutting down her private practice. She meets two men who claim to be mages and ask her to store a VW microbus for 10 years. Magic was a point of contention between her practical mother and magician (not mage) father, but the events of that day were enough to suspend her disbelief.
After the allotted 10 years, nightmares about waking up in a glass coffin compel Nora to open up the microbus,...more
After the allotted 10 years, nightmares about waking up in a glass coffin compel Nora to open up the microbus,...more
Originally posted on Feminist Romantic Book Reviews: http://feministromantic.blogspot.com/...
4.5 out of 5
Wait, is this supposed to be book 1 in the Fates series? Then I must be missing something, because I read Wickedly Charming first and was waiting for this book to come out. Well, I do not claim to know how the book world works, and for all I know, this could be a re-release.
I actually did not pick this book right away, even if I absolutely loved Wickedly Charming. The reason? The blurb didn'...more
4.5 out of 5
Wait, is this supposed to be book 1 in the Fates series? Then I must be missing something, because I read Wickedly Charming first and was waiting for this book to come out. Well, I do not claim to know how the book world works, and for all I know, this could be a re-release.
I actually did not pick this book right away, even if I absolutely loved Wickedly Charming. The reason? The blurb didn'...more
Original 3.5 JEWEL review can be read at One Book Shy of a Full Shelf
Kristine Grayson has obviously been having fun taking beloved fairytales and legends and giving them settings in the present. She has done it again by providing the age-old tale of Sleeping Beauty and her Prince Charming several fun twists and new possibilities.
Earlier this year I read Wickedly Charming and fell in love with Ms. Grayson's storytelling. I liked her explanation that there are several Prince Charmings! They are a...more
Kristine Grayson has obviously been having fun taking beloved fairytales and legends and giving them settings in the present. She has done it again by providing the age-old tale of Sleeping Beauty and her Prince Charming several fun twists and new possibilities.
Earlier this year I read Wickedly Charming and fell in love with Ms. Grayson's storytelling. I liked her explanation that there are several Prince Charmings! They are a...more
Utterly Charming by Kristine Grayson
Contemporary Romance -Oct. 1st, 2011
4 stars
Nora Barr was determined to save her law practice from bankruptcy, but that doesn’t mean she’ll take the case of Aethelstan Blackstone! Let alone help him hide a suspicious VW van. Even when Aethelstan claims that he’s really a mage who needs to hide his true love, Emma the Sleeping Beauty from the evil witch, can Nora really trusts him?
Ten years later, when Emma finally awakens from her long sleep and is furious at A...more
Contemporary Romance -Oct. 1st, 2011
4 stars
Nora Barr was determined to save her law practice from bankruptcy, but that doesn’t mean she’ll take the case of Aethelstan Blackstone! Let alone help him hide a suspicious VW van. Even when Aethelstan claims that he’s really a mage who needs to hide his true love, Emma the Sleeping Beauty from the evil witch, can Nora really trusts him?
Ten years later, when Emma finally awakens from her long sleep and is furious at A...more
Nora Barr is a young attorney who decided to open her own practice instead of joining a big law firm out of law school. Money's running short because she doesn't have a lot of clients, so when Aethelstan (Alex) Blackstone shows up in her building looking for an attorney, she agrees to talk to him. It turns out he's trying to contact a dear friend in a coma, but the friend's guardian won't let him near her. He is not related to this friend, nor does he have any sort of custody, so Nora tells him...more
Nora Barr manages her own law firm. Only business is really slow. So slow in fact that if Nora does not get some clients soon than she will be forced to go out of business and work for another law firm. This is Nora’s lucky or maybe unlucky day.
Aethelstan Blackstone is a mage or a wizard. He and his associate Sancho Panza ( I know but this is really his name) are in need of an attorney. Blackstone and Sleeping Beatuy aka Emma (hey, this is not your classic fairy tale) are suppose to be together...more
Aethelstan Blackstone is a mage or a wizard. He and his associate Sancho Panza ( I know but this is really his name) are in need of an attorney. Blackstone and Sleeping Beatuy aka Emma (hey, this is not your classic fairy tale) are suppose to be together...more
Originally posted at: http://longandshortreviews.blogspot.c...
If Mr. Disney and director Ron Howard could team up to update and tweak a live action story of Sleeping Beauty with more twists than a Twizzler, they’d probably choose to base it on Utterly Charming.
Nora is the skeptic who has a dash of the magical believer in her courtesy of her father. It’s that balance of independent woman with a white knight tendency and a strong moral and ethical back bone, and the little girl dreaming of prince...more
If Mr. Disney and director Ron Howard could team up to update and tweak a live action story of Sleeping Beauty with more twists than a Twizzler, they’d probably choose to base it on Utterly Charming.
Nora is the skeptic who has a dash of the magical believer in her courtesy of her father. It’s that balance of independent woman with a white knight tendency and a strong moral and ethical back bone, and the little girl dreaming of prince...more
Utterly Charming is similar to the Fractured Fairy Tales (of Rocky and Bullwinkle fame) by taking a classic story that you thought you knew, and turning it upside down into a fun, thrilling, modern adventure. Nora is just out of law school and is trying to get her struggling practice off the ground. One day she is visited by a very handsome man named Aethelstan Blackstone and his sidekick, Sancho Panza. Nora has always believed a bit in magic, but even she is overwhelmed by the events that take...more
I enjoyed this book probably more than it really deserved. It's an urban fantasy version of sleeping beauty, though with liberal twists on the plot (like that the kiss is what got her into the situation, rather than what gets her out). Oh, and Emma, the sleeping beauty, has been out for 1,000 years.
The fun parts of this were that the actual central character was Nora Barr, a Portland attorney hired to watch after Emma and help her once she wakes. Nora was a fantastic heroine. She stands up again...more
The fun parts of this were that the actual central character was Nora Barr, a Portland attorney hired to watch after Emma and help her once she wakes. Nora was a fantastic heroine. She stands up again...more
I did have a few problems with the book, but overall it was a decent read (maybe actually 2.7 stars). I thought the characters were interesting even though the main ones were relegated to the background often. Emma surprised me by how strong she was. The love story between Blackstone and Nora was overpowered both by other characters and, actually, by a lack of one. (view spoiler) The structure of the book was different than I e...more
After reading Wickedly Charming & loving it, I couldn't wait to read Utterly Charming. This book was a re-release & so it was written before Wickedly Charming. That fact makes me feel better about not liking this book as much as the other. The first three chapters were hard to get through. After that things picked up enough to keep me interested, but the characters were not as likeable. I felt like I never really got to know Blackstone outside of his need to protect Emma. One warning, th...more
Nora is a struggling lawyer, trying to keep her firm afloat. Problem is, she looks like a teenage cheerleader and is just out of law school, so no one wants to trust her.
Enter Prince Charming. He needs her to store a Volkswagon microbus that may or may not contain a glass coffin holding Snow White for ten years. He also may or may not have just had a fireball-throwing contest with the evil step-mother in the middle of the Portland suburbs. What's a girl to do?
A mildly entertaining read that wa...more
Enter Prince Charming. He needs her to store a Volkswagon microbus that may or may not contain a glass coffin holding Snow White for ten years. He also may or may not have just had a fireball-throwing contest with the evil step-mother in the middle of the Portland suburbs. What's a girl to do?
A mildly entertaining read that wa...more
I was excited to get into this new genre of books, from the synopsis it sounded very interesting. I was excited when I finally got my hands on it, but I have to say I was disappointed. Nora was very annoying to me her attitude sucked and I really don't see where Blackstone got the romantic feelings for her they just popped out of nowhere. I did enjoy the characters Panzo and Ealhswith though. Blackstone also made me laugh a few times, but I don't know how I feel about trying any of her other nov...more
Oct 20, 2011
Staci
rated it
2 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommended to Staci by:
Sourcebooks
Shelves:
2011-reads
First thoughts when I finished: "Not what I was hoping for."
I read Wickedly Charming earlier this year and loved it, so when Sourcebooks was offering another Grayson book I just had to read it. What I've gathered since finishing the book is that she wrote Utterly Charming way back in 2000. Why is this relevant? Because she wrote Wickedly Charming eleven years later and boy has her writing skills improved. I'm very glad that I read her later work first because if I had started with Utterly Charmi...more
I read Wickedly Charming earlier this year and loved it, so when Sourcebooks was offering another Grayson book I just had to read it. What I've gathered since finishing the book is that she wrote Utterly Charming way back in 2000. Why is this relevant? Because she wrote Wickedly Charming eleven years later and boy has her writing skills improved. I'm very glad that I read her later work first because if I had started with Utterly Charmi...more
Sep 29, 2011
Blodeuedd Finland
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
magical-contemporary-romance
What can I say, the title does say it all. This was such a charming book. Nora, our heroine meets Alex Blackstone who is so hot, and she can't stop thinking of him. Too bad he is in love with a woman who he claims to be in a magical coma, but she soon realizes magic is real and fairy tales too.
I liked Nora, even if she was a bit to of a lawyer sometimes. She did not let down her guard, but then who would when meeting a 1000 year old mage, a wicked witch, and a woman in a glass coffin. And I had...more
I liked Nora, even if she was a bit to of a lawyer sometimes. She did not let down her guard, but then who would when meeting a 1000 year old mage, a wicked witch, and a woman in a glass coffin. And I had...more
I'm still not sure how I feel about this book even though I finished it a day ago. I was really excited about it at first, the concept of the book was so cute to me and I love Fairy Tales. But then as I started reading I wasn't able to really submerge myself into the story like I usually am. I found myself thinking that Nora and Max talked to much and had to force myself not to skip stuff because it could have been important. I also felt that Max even though he was mentioned before he came into...more
Nov 27, 2012
My Book Addiction and More MBA
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
fantasy,
contemporary-romance
I chose to read UTTERLY CHARMING because I needed an escape. I needed a break from reality and I wasn't disappointed. From start to finish the story intrigued me and I kept turning the pages. It was a great spin off from some old fairy tales with great characters and some well liked secondaries. It was one of those books that made me smile and forget about the real world. I am looking forward to reading more from the CHARMING series.
Rating: 4.5
Reviewed by: KellyR,My Book Addiction Reviews
Rating: 4.5
Reviewed by: KellyR,My Book Addiction Reviews
I know her as Kristine Katherine Rusch, from her science fiction writing, so I was pleased to get her romances from Better World Books. They're coming back into print and as ebooks soon. The series is a "paranormal" romance, sans vampires. It was a quick read, with a good sense of humor, a practical spunky heroine and good secondary characters. Enough that I look forward to the others in the series, which is terrific, because life is too short to read bad books!
Shockingly, it's a contemporary romance that doesn't make me cringe/feel guilty for reading.
I love the reworking of a fairy tale in a modern setting.
I also like that the main character is a strong woman with a backbone, ethics who doesn't fall all over herself or compromise her principles for a man.
So bravo for writing a romance novel that doesn't make one feel like you're betraying your feminist principles in reading.
I love the reworking of a fairy tale in a modern setting.
I also like that the main character is a strong woman with a backbone, ethics who doesn't fall all over herself or compromise her principles for a man.
So bravo for writing a romance novel that doesn't make one feel like you're betraying your feminist principles in reading.
Cute fairy tale romance that just wasn't as good as the 1st in the series. Maybe bc there was little romance. I had a hard time getting into the first part of the book, but it turned around for me once 10 years went by and Nora got her feminist on. But then it wilted under the no-romance story. I guess I just didn't believe. Sigh, since I really liked the idea of this series.
3.5 stars
This was pretty cute! It blended fairy tales and the repercussions of bringing them into the modern well pretty well, and the array of fairy tales/myths was great. If you're looking for a fun fairy tale book, I think this one is definitely worth checking out.
This was pretty cute! It blended fairy tales and the repercussions of bringing them into the modern well pretty well, and the array of fairy tales/myths was great. If you're looking for a fun fairy tale book, I think this one is definitely worth checking out.
Mar 20, 2012
Cori
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
fairytale-romance,
romance
I judged this book by the cover. I love the cover. I envisioned a Prince Charming and a maiden in need of a passionate lover. However, this book was more about the re-telling of Sleping Beauty than a romance between the main characters.
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| What's The Name o...: Fantasy Romance: circa 2001-2004 [s] | 7 | 27 | May 08, 2013 05:17pm |
A pseudonym for Kristine Kathryn Rusch, other pseudonyms include:
Kris Nelscott
Kristine Dexter
Kris DeLake
Sandy Schofield
Kris Rusch
Kathryn Wesley
More about Kristine Grayson...
Kris Nelscott
Kristine Dexter
Kris DeLake
Sandy Schofield
Kris Rusch
Kathryn Wesley
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