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Mar 05, 2011

Kermit's BFF rated it:

As a general rule of thumb, I don't like wizards and I dislike books that are simply a collection of short stories. I do love Patricia C. Wrede though and especially The Enchanted Forest Chronicles so when I found this book at our library, I couldn't resist.
And I'm glad I didn't!
Wrede is a delightful writer with funny characters and delightful plots you can't help liking. I was surprised by how much I enjoyed the collection of short stories and the variations I found in them.
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Aug 12, 2011

Shannon rated it:

Short fairy-tale type stories, some of which take place in the Enchanted Forest. In some ways, a meatier version of The Tales of Beedle the Bard. Very clever.
1. Rikiki and the Wizard: ****
A vain but lucky wizard tries to auction his daughter off for fame and fortune, but things don't go as planned. Fun and clever. My favorite story of the bunch.
2. The Princess, the Cat, and the Unicorn: ****
A middle child princess from an off-beat kingdom decides to take a journey accompa More...

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Dec 18, 2009

Purplycookie rated it:

This enjoyable fantasy collection is comprised of 10 stories that vary widely in tone and setting. Some are laced with humor, while others have melancholy overtones. The ten stories included are the following:

"Rikiki and the Wizard"
"The Princess, the Cat, and the Unicorn"
"Roses by Moonlight"
"The Sixty-Two Curses of Caliph Arenschadd"
"Earthwitch"
"The Sword-Seller"
"The Lorelei"
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1 comment like (1 person liked it)

Jan 30, 2012

Bookstorequeer rated it:

From the author of one of my favourite series (Cimorene is such a great princess) comes a short story collection that I didn't even know existed! I like her smart, at-times-funny style and this didn't disappoint. The inclusion of the two Enchanted Forest stories just rounded the whole thing out for me.

What surprised me was the dark edge that some of the stories took. It's been a long time since I read the Enchanted Forest Chronicles but I remember being quite young. Some of these sto More...

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Jan 02, 2011

Tammy rated it:

Rikki and the Wizard (4/5) - A greedy wizard calls Rikki, a blue chipmunk god who loves nuts, and adorableness ensues.

The Princess, the Cat, and the Unicorn (3/5) - A typical fairytale setting populated by characters with quirky, atypical personalities.

Roses by Midnight (3/5) - Adrian sees glimpses of her possible futures. I liked the ending.

The Sixty-two Curses of Caliph Arenschadd (3/5) - A wizard has a list of curses for those who offend him, but does not think More...

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Nov 19, 2008

Amber rated it:

The tag "Tales from the Enchanted Forest" got me to check this book out from the library for my nine year old, who loved the Enchanted Forest Chronicles. Big mistake. She is pretty sensitive, and these stories are much more suited to teen or adult readers. They were a little intense for her.

That said, I really liked them, or most of them. You just have to love any collection that has a story whose main weapon is "The Frying Pan of Doom". There is a Sleeping B More...

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Dec 20, 2010

Ami rated it:

I didn't like this one. It is a collection of short stories. Some were silly and fun and some were scary and haunting. I had a hard time turning off the light after some of them. Some of the stories were disturbing. I did like the Frying Pan of Doom. That was funny but "The Lorelei" and what would have happened if Sleeping Beauty had not been woken up by the prince stories are still bugging me and I try not to think about them too much especially at night when it is dark. It get More...

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Jun 29, 2009

Joy rated it:

This collection of short stories from Patricia C. Wrede is overall fascinating and readable. For those who adore the Enchanted Forest Chronicles, you will only find two tales that come from that familiar landscape; although some are written with the same light-hearted and matter-of-fact silliness that made the EFC so enjoyable, others are more serious stories (even a little violent or macabre) and two are "modern" day tales of magic. A good addition for the collector of fairy tales or More...

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Feb 02, 2009

Dawnetta rated it:

I was hoping this book was about tales from the Enchanted Forest from her Searching for Dragons books. It did have a couple of tales that were about the Enchanted Forest, but most of the tales in this book took on a much darker tone than the Enchanted Forest Chronicles. These tales were more like fantasy ghost tales, which is not what I was expecting. I like the light hearted tone of the Enchanted Forest much better.
Some of these stories really creeped my daughters out.

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Dec 15, 2008

Julie rated it:

I got this out of the library because Wrede's Enchanted Forest Chronicles are high on my list of all-time favorites. However, I don't even remember much about this one. It's short stories, but not one of those stories stuck with me enough to have a vague notion what it was about.

I DO, however, remember that there was a recipe at the end of the book for "Quick After-Battle Chocolate Cake," or some such, which I made... including a big sword drawn on it in frosting. :D

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Dec 17, 2009

Robin rated it:

I have to say, this is much better than The Enchanted Forest Chronicles! Partly I think because the stories are darker and probably meant for older readers. Here my favourite story is 'Stronger Than Time' - a retelling (or spin-off?) of the Sleeping Beauty tale. 'Cruel Sisters' and 'Roses by Moonlight' are two stories about relationship between sisters, and while both are really good, Cruel Sisters almost made me cry at the end..

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Aug 02, 2010

Heidi rated it:

I have enjoyed this author before and was not disappointed. Each chapter is a new story and each has a distinctly different feel from the last. I enjoyed most the off-beat humor of this author's other books and was happy to find that same humor in several of the stories (including the "after-battle cake" recipe at the end), but was surprized to also find several thought provoking stories as well.

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Feb 24, 2009

Rebekah rated it:

My absolute favorite story in this collection is Utensil Strength. the Frying Pan of Doom is a great idea and the story is hilarious to read outloud. I have not yet tried Quick After Battle Triple Chocolate Cake, but the recipe looks great. I probably have Gestational Diabetes (I go in for my 1 hour blood test this week, so we will see) so I can't try it until after the baby comes in August...

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Feb 17, 2011

Melissa rated it:

This book was pretty cool. It was written for a teen audience, so it was not hugely compelling, but was a fun and funny quick read. I was happy to see a slew of radical fantasy names to potentially suggest to any friends about to name their kid, such as: Auridan; Cyndal; Hervan; Daystar; and Cimorene. I would read another book by this author if I wanted some light, tongue-in-cheek fantasy.

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Dec 12, 2011

Katie rated it:

Book of Enchantments is a short story collection. Some are set in our world, others are set in unknown magical worlds, and others are set in the Enchanted Forest (the world of Wrede's previous books); all are magical.
I really enjoyed this book. I really enjoyed "Roses by Moonlight", "The Sword Seller", and "Utensile Strength". Overall, a great book full of wonderful short stories.

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Aug 01, 2009

Jeanna rated it:

A lot less lightheartedly silly than Wrede's other books, but still enjoyable. Some of the short stories are a little more serious, thoughtful, or disturbing.

However, Brice and I did make the Quick Triple Chocolate After-Battle Cake, and even though we added double the butter accidentally, it was quite good. Yum.

PGish (maybe a little more?)

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Feb 27, 2010

Stephanie rated it:

There are three or four really fabulous stories in this collection, and the rest are solidly entertaining. The only one that didn't really work for me was the final story, a spin-off from one of her series of novels which I hadn't read in about 20 years, so I felt I was missing some important back-story - but even that story had some really funny moments. A fun collection overall.

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Sep 25, 2011

Virginia rated it:

'Tis a fun read - A collection of short stories. I was reading a story a night before bed.
The recipe at the end of the book is quite literally icing on the cake. {wry grin/pun intended!}
I've always been fond of this author. I find her neatly clever with a good sense of humor.

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Dec 25, 2010

Eric rated it:

Absolutely wonderful stories. But the best was the author's explanation about where the ideas came from and the unexpected addition requested by the editor.
If you like the Dragon and her Princess series this is a must read even though most of the stories are not set in that world.

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Apr 15, 2011

♥Xeni♥ rated it:

(I could have sworn I had a review for this book up already... huh...)

Anyway, I do believe that this was the first of Wrede's books that I read. I borrowed it from my sister, and then totally got immersed as story after story unfolded in front of my eyes.

I am still haunted by the Lorlei, the rose garden and the harp made of the drowned princesses' bones. And still laugh in my head whenever I think of the Frying Pan of Doom! (What is a poached egg anyway?)

If my sis More...

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Jan 06, 2010

K. rated it:

So disappointed. The first and last story were great. The middles ones not so much so. Way too much darkness. Some of them had good messages, but this surely isn't for children.

Only the last story deals with the "Enchanted Forest" of the Enchanted Forest Chronicles--just FYI.

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Dec 22, 2008

Lauren rated it:

The book contains a selection of short stories that I particularly enjoyed. While it was light reading, the stories nevertheless drew you in quickly and I finished the entire book within a matter of hours, wanting to see what other tales Ms. Wrede wove.

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Jan 08, 2010

Alina rated it:

A collection of mostly light hearted stories with touches of magic thrown in. There was a lot of variety between story subjects which kept my interest. I think I liked the stories at the end more than the ones at the beginning so don't stop reading!

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Feb 02, 2009

Meghan rated it:

One of my very favorite books of short stories. I especially love the story based on the old ballad "Two Sisters" and the story based on the legend of the Lorelei. Not to mention a new EFC story featuring the one, the only Frying Pan of Doom!

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Jun 24, 2010

Elissa rated it:

Nice collection of easy-to-read short stories. While I felt that some of them would have made fantastic full-length novels, and some of them I just really wanted to go on for another 5 pages, they were quite good by themselves. I especially enjoyed the references to the other books she's written, but not at all necessary to enjoy the stories.

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Feb 07, 2012

Rachel rated it:

I like Wrede's books in general, so it was no surprise that I had fun reading this short story collection. Like most of her writing, the stories tended towards humorous fantasy, with intelligent notions lurking quietly behind the jokes.

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Jun 23, 2008

Liz rated it:

This was enjoyable. If I was just going to rate the last story then I'd give this 5 stars. It had about 10 short stories taking place in different cultures and times--including today's time. There was only one about the original "Enchanted Forest Chronicles" characters, and it was GREAT! It was a very humorous story. When Wrede submitted the story she was expecting her editor to say something was wrong with the story, but instead the editor wanted a copy of a fictitious cake in the s More...

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Oct 31, 2009

Shandra rated it:

It is an interesting collection of short stories, some in ancient world, some modern. Some of the stories I really enjoyed and wanted them to continue. Some were long enough. It was easy to pick up and read one story and then get back to work/kids/whatever.

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Jul 22, 2009

Elizabeth S rated it:

Oh, all these stories were WONDERFUL. There's an Enchanted Forest story that takes place after "Talking to Dragons." There are happy endings, silly endings, sad endings, bittersweet endings, and the recipe for "Quick After-Battle Triple Chocolate Cake." What more could you ask for? Especially fun is that, at the end of the book, Wrede describes where she got the idea for each one of her stories.

NOTE: As another reviewer mentioned, some young fans of The Encha More...

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Sep 21, 2011

Laura rated it:

Delightful short story collection. The inclusion of Wrede's Enchanted Forest Chronicles characters made this book an especially delightful read for me.

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