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The Pathways Tree #1
The Fairy's Tale
Librarian's note: There is an Alternate Cover Edition for this edition of this book here.
Three guesses. Three wishes. Free choice?
A new fairy godmother has one week to create a happy ending. Failure will result in a lot worse than being put to sleep for a hundred years. Whoever said fairy tales were nice?
Bea is a cabbage fairy, because there are all kinds of fairies and some of them have to be cabbage fairies, but she dreams of being so much more. She wants to be a Fiction Management Executive (godmother class) but no one at the General Administration will take her seriously - until now.
When Bea is finally given a simple Happy Ever After story, she thinks all her dreams have come true. But there's something rotten behind the simplicity of the General Administration's plots. Now Bea knows the truth, she is faced with an impossible task. Can a lowly cabbage fairy stand up for what’s right by saving the girl from her own happy ending, all without invoking the anger of the General Administration and its monstrous, three-headed Beast?
After all, what kind of fairy godmother really cares about happy ever after?
“I never thought I would say this but thank you F. D. Lee for the lack of sleep!”
The Fairy's Tale is the first novel in The Pathways Tree series, the new fantasy series being compared to Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman. With surprising plot twists and compelling characters, The Fairy’s Tale is a whirlwind adventure into the sinister world behind classic folk tales and myths. If you love genuine characters and a story you can talk about after you finishing reading, then The Fairy’s Tale is for you!
The Fairy’s Tale was rated 'Outstanding' in the 24th Annual Writer's Digest Self-Published Book Awards (2016) for Plot and Story Appeal; Structure, Organization and Planning; Character Appeal and Development; Voice and Writing Style, and Spelling, Punctuation and Grammar.
Three guesses. Three wishes. Free choice?
A new fairy godmother has one week to create a happy ending. Failure will result in a lot worse than being put to sleep for a hundred years. Whoever said fairy tales were nice?
Bea is a cabbage fairy, because there are all kinds of fairies and some of them have to be cabbage fairies, but she dreams of being so much more. She wants to be a Fiction Management Executive (godmother class) but no one at the General Administration will take her seriously - until now.
When Bea is finally given a simple Happy Ever After story, she thinks all her dreams have come true. But there's something rotten behind the simplicity of the General Administration's plots. Now Bea knows the truth, she is faced with an impossible task. Can a lowly cabbage fairy stand up for what’s right by saving the girl from her own happy ending, all without invoking the anger of the General Administration and its monstrous, three-headed Beast?
After all, what kind of fairy godmother really cares about happy ever after?
“I never thought I would say this but thank you F. D. Lee for the lack of sleep!”
The Fairy's Tale is the first novel in The Pathways Tree series, the new fantasy series being compared to Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman. With surprising plot twists and compelling characters, The Fairy’s Tale is a whirlwind adventure into the sinister world behind classic folk tales and myths. If you love genuine characters and a story you can talk about after you finishing reading, then The Fairy’s Tale is for you!
The Fairy’s Tale was rated 'Outstanding' in the 24th Annual Writer's Digest Self-Published Book Awards (2016) for Plot and Story Appeal; Structure, Organization and Planning; Character Appeal and Development; Voice and Writing Style, and Spelling, Punctuation and Grammar.
336 pages, Paperback
First published February 21, 2015
442 people are currently reading
1629 people want to read
About the author
F.D. Lee
7 books93 followersF D. Lee is the author of the internationally bestselling fantasy series, The Pathways Tree, and the award-winning SF novel, In the Slip.
A lifelong fantasy and science fiction fan, Faith is an advocate of self- and indie-publishing and has a PhD in English Literature and Creative Writing. She has been featured in The Independent, appeared on Radio 4 to talk about her research into genre fiction, and has given a mini-TED talk on why stories matter.
Faith is online and always happy to chat! Facebook, Instagram, Threads: @fdleeauthor (Facebook is the best place to catch her!). Visit Faith's website (www.fdlee.co.uk) to read her work, including free short stories and sample chapters.
A lifelong fantasy and science fiction fan, Faith is an advocate of self- and indie-publishing and has a PhD in English Literature and Creative Writing. She has been featured in The Independent, appeared on Radio 4 to talk about her research into genre fiction, and has given a mini-TED talk on why stories matter.
Faith is online and always happy to chat! Facebook, Instagram, Threads: @fdleeauthor (Facebook is the best place to catch her!). Visit Faith's website (www.fdlee.co.uk) to read her work, including free short stories and sample chapters.
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January 10, 2016Well,I obviously loved this book because I wrote it :-)
July 2, 2020
Bea is a cabbage fairy and she wants to be a fairy Godmother. Unfortunately that is no easy task. How she gets about doing that is the entire story. The author had spun a beautiful yarn around the stories already known and thrown them in new light. The characters in their new avatar are beautiful and their relationship is almost adorable.
Enjoyed the retelling of stories.
Enjoyed the retelling of stories.
March 4, 2019
The Fairy's Tale, is written in third person and is easy to read. Although, there are a few spelling and grammar mistakes, it doesn't really detract from the story.
The story centres on Bea, a young cabbage fairy who has dreams of one day becoming a fairy good mother. In the meantime, she watches stories unfold and tweaks them a little. That is until she is finally given a proper assignment, that involves more than watching and a chance to finally become a fairy godmother!
I did like this story, I enjoyed the world building, you get a real sense of where Bea is and what she is doing. The idea of separate world's and that the belief of humans keeps the fae world alive was interesting. As was the idea of training up to be a fairy godmother. The author clearly has a wonderful imagination and this shows in the writing.
But all of that being said, I found this book quite difficult to get into and after 91 pages I've decided not to continue. The book didn't really grab my attention as much as I wanted it to. The writing style was also pretty odd, I have seen other reviewers compare this style to Pratchett's, so that is perhaps why I didn't get on with it. I didn't really like his style of writing either, although I understand I am in the minority I this.
But I do think this book and series (I think this is the first in a trilogy) has the potential to be great, so I would recommend it to others.
The story centres on Bea, a young cabbage fairy who has dreams of one day becoming a fairy good mother. In the meantime, she watches stories unfold and tweaks them a little. That is until she is finally given a proper assignment, that involves more than watching and a chance to finally become a fairy godmother!
I did like this story, I enjoyed the world building, you get a real sense of where Bea is and what she is doing. The idea of separate world's and that the belief of humans keeps the fae world alive was interesting. As was the idea of training up to be a fairy godmother. The author clearly has a wonderful imagination and this shows in the writing.
But all of that being said, I found this book quite difficult to get into and after 91 pages I've decided not to continue. The book didn't really grab my attention as much as I wanted it to. The writing style was also pretty odd, I have seen other reviewers compare this style to Pratchett's, so that is perhaps why I didn't get on with it. I didn't really like his style of writing either, although I understand I am in the minority I this.
But I do think this book and series (I think this is the first in a trilogy) has the potential to be great, so I would recommend it to others.
August 4, 2025
I was trying out this series for the first time, and it just became something to finish. Was too long, too many storylines, and confusion reigned around the fae world-building happening in this first book of The Pathways Tree series.
Must admit a fondness for the earnest Bea (a lowly Cabbage Fairy, who yearned to be a Fairy Godmother, or someone in control of the actual story), but even her character was listing to port somehow, and I couldn't decide if that off-ness was being left in play for a next book or ?. Like it wouldn't take much to turn her. But then this could be a me thing, I couldn't get my head around any of the bureaucratic authorities that held Bea down in this Fae World, and then check in from time to time to rescue her from redaction?
Now that WAS an interesting idea. Redaction. Speaks to the power of the hands that hold the flow of the written word. For me, though, that was the most interesting part of Bea's world.
Must admit a fondness for the earnest Bea (a lowly Cabbage Fairy, who yearned to be a Fairy Godmother, or someone in control of the actual story), but even her character was listing to port somehow, and I couldn't decide if that off-ness was being left in play for a next book or ?. Like it wouldn't take much to turn her. But then this could be a me thing, I couldn't get my head around any of the bureaucratic authorities that held Bea down in this Fae World, and then check in from time to time to rescue her from redaction?
Now that WAS an interesting idea. Redaction. Speaks to the power of the hands that hold the flow of the written word. For me, though, that was the most interesting part of Bea's world.
November 6, 2018
The story is interesting, i just couldn't get into it properly, because the jumping back and forth between characters was very abrupt. Took me forever to finish it.
February 16, 2019
I don’t think there is a person around today who wasn’t raised on fairy tales in one aspect or another in their childhood. No matter what our background, we were all exposed to these tales as children and as adults. And while the stories themselves might have different casts of characters and different settings, the end results were almost always the same with lessons learned and love found.
The Fairy’s Tale takes us behind the scenes of the stories; asking the question, what if the events in the fairy tales weren’t completely random like they seem? What if the events were carefully plotted out as part of some grander Plot? Who are the individuals doing the plotting? And lastly, what happens when the so-called “characters” don’t want to be part of the story?
Lee has penned a top notch fairy tale within a fairy tale with The Fairy’s Tale. (Try saying that 5 times fast!) Her characters are well thought out and well rounded and each adds their own little piece to the story as a whole. Many questions are posed and while some are answered, there are just as many that have an answer alluded to but are not answered out right either. This keeps the reader guessing and keeps them reading.
There are an additional two books to the series that will hopefully answer the questions left dangling and wrap up any loose threads.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading The Fairy’s Tale and am grateful for the opportunity given to me. I heartily recommend this tale to my readers and will be looking forward to more from the author!
April 3, 2017
Cinderella has never been so dark and devious. Garden Fairy Bea has ambitions to be a Fairy Godmother and help bring about happy endings. Unfortunately, in a world run by the Fantasy version of Big Brother, things soon begin to go horribly wrong. Can Bea craft a perfect conclusion to a story running rapidly out of control? There are traces of Orwell, while the Men in White Coats ready to "redact" anyone who steps out of line have echoes of One Flew Over The Cuckoos Nest. Well worth a look
January 24, 2020
Unfortunately I’m abandoning this book less than 10% in (which I don’t like to do but I just can’t with this)
The world that is created is difficult to understand, it was boring and failed to hook me in. Lots of grammar and spelling mistakes already. Don’t bother.
The world that is created is difficult to understand, it was boring and failed to hook me in. Lots of grammar and spelling mistakes already. Don’t bother.
January 20, 2025
Incredible originality and world building
The depth and scope of the universe building in this book is simply incredible. The work FD has put into setting up her storytelling sandpit is awe inspiring. I don’t want to go into the plot too much because I felt not really knowing where it was going was a big part of the fun. For me things really caught a light as the story begins to climax at a ball with the character development of Seven really holding capturing my attention. The subversion of fairy tale tropes and the slight Cabin In the Woods-esque behind the scenes job politics and faintly meta digs are extremely well thought out and applied. Well worth investigating.
The depth and scope of the universe building in this book is simply incredible. The work FD has put into setting up her storytelling sandpit is awe inspiring. I don’t want to go into the plot too much because I felt not really knowing where it was going was a big part of the fun. For me things really caught a light as the story begins to climax at a ball with the character development of Seven really holding capturing my attention. The subversion of fairy tale tropes and the slight Cabin In the Woods-esque behind the scenes job politics and faintly meta digs are extremely well thought out and applied. Well worth investigating.
August 20, 2020
I really enjoyed the plot of this book, and I didn't even mind the myriad of sub plots. And the world building and charters were also interesting. But like others have said the writing was a bit jarring and hard yo get through/understand the point of at times; nothing a good editor couldn't tighten.
All in all, shows promise and I would probably even pick up the sequel, if it was on a kindle deal, which isn't really saying much as I'm kind of addicted ebook bargains, but I digress. Enjoyable read, 3 stars.
All in all, shows promise and I would probably even pick up the sequel, if it was on a kindle deal, which isn't really saying much as I'm kind of addicted ebook bargains, but I digress. Enjoyable read, 3 stars.
January 30, 2025
More like a 3.5 or 3.75, but I'll bump it up rather than down. 🙂 I enjoyed it, but for a lot of tiny reasons it won't be my favorite. Despite that, I may continue the series. It was silly, it had heartfelt moments, it was completely unrelatable, and entertaining enough to hold my interest. I loved the premise of humans being "characters" in a plot, and I liked the perspective of how The Narrator employs fae to see the plots play out, but it also seemed rather bleak in a lot of ways. If I continue this series, it will be to see whether and how the fae world gets better.
January 29, 2019
Really good book. It took a while to get into it but worth reading and I will redo read the next one x
September 14, 2021
Like, I'm intrigued.
August 24, 2024
I loved this book and can not wait to read book 2 in the series.
June 3, 2020
The third star is for originality but I found this to be overlong, often skim reading page after page and still being able to follow the narrative. The essential idea is clever and it's a novel take on how fairy tales work but the book could have done with some prudent editing, as there is a lot of unnecessary exposition and too much repetition.
October 19, 2022
"The Fairy's Tale" has big ideas and big characters and lots of heart. I enjoyed the story of Bea, a struggling cabbage fairy who just wants to be in charge of the stories mythical creatures need to keep their own story (and their transport Mirrors) going -- she's imperfect, but someone you want to root for. There's a certain amount of silliness, which I absolutely appreciated. And enough loose ends by the conclusion that I'm eager to start book No. 2!
January 19, 2019
I surprised myself by enjoying large sections of this book, I have read a few of the subverted fairy tale genre books now and some work better than others. Fortunately this falls in to the latter category. Clearly a lot of though has gone in to world building and the reader does get a fleeting sense of Bea's world and the land where the fairies (as a general catch all term for all magical creatures as opposed to the fae) are working to create belief. That was one of the issues I had with the book, I never really got a full sense of either world so instead of imagining the action taking place in these settings I was very much reading it.
The set up for the story is a Snow White / Cinderella mash up, just as The Teller whocaresforus would have it - after all there is no room for anything away from the predetermined plot. Well, there shouldn't be but Bea can't help but try to make things better and the characters can't help but be off script. Bea should only be plot watching - as a lowly Garden Fairy she has no chance of becoming a Fairy Godmother but that doesn't stop her wanting - but she still manages to interfere. This leads to the mysterious Mistasinon, the Plotter, giving her a chance at her very own tale - it should be straightforward but this is Bea and she doesn't disappoint.
Away from the main plot the book has, in true fairytale tradition, an awful lot to say about personal morals and societal morals. Each land has it's own set of governances and challenges but it is in Bea's homeland that we really see state control and censure at it's worst - the Redactionists make The Child Catcher out of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang seem like a kind and gentle man. To be honest you could probably break the whole system of belief in the book down and write a very long thesis about it's symbolism. Not a bad thing as it does make you think.
The only other issue I had with the book was some of the linguistics. Some structures felt too convoluted to really grasp initially so there was a lot of reparsing sentences going on to bring concepts in to focus. I also found the naming conventions for the places to be very clunky on an English speaking tongue and every time I came across a place name I would jolt out of the story whilst my brain tried to figure out the best way to pronounce it.
I did come out of the book ready to continue in the world though and will, no doubt, purchase the further books in this series.
The set up for the story is a Snow White / Cinderella mash up, just as The Teller whocaresforus would have it - after all there is no room for anything away from the predetermined plot. Well, there shouldn't be but Bea can't help but try to make things better and the characters can't help but be off script. Bea should only be plot watching - as a lowly Garden Fairy she has no chance of becoming a Fairy Godmother but that doesn't stop her wanting - but she still manages to interfere. This leads to the mysterious Mistasinon, the Plotter, giving her a chance at her very own tale - it should be straightforward but this is Bea and she doesn't disappoint.
Away from the main plot the book has, in true fairytale tradition, an awful lot to say about personal morals and societal morals. Each land has it's own set of governances and challenges but it is in Bea's homeland that we really see state control and censure at it's worst - the Redactionists make The Child Catcher out of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang seem like a kind and gentle man. To be honest you could probably break the whole system of belief in the book down and write a very long thesis about it's symbolism. Not a bad thing as it does make you think.
The only other issue I had with the book was some of the linguistics. Some structures felt too convoluted to really grasp initially so there was a lot of reparsing sentences going on to bring concepts in to focus. I also found the naming conventions for the places to be very clunky on an English speaking tongue and every time I came across a place name I would jolt out of the story whilst my brain tried to figure out the best way to pronounce it.
I did come out of the book ready to continue in the world though and will, no doubt, purchase the further books in this series.
October 12, 2015
Generously proportioned Bridget Jonesish fairy Bea dreams of a promotion to Fiction-Management Executive while drinking wine with her singleton Fae mates in a fantasy city ruled by the Big Brother figure of the Teller. Meanwhile, the mirrors that enable transit between the fae world and that of ‘the Characters’ , who may very well be us, are breaking down. These failures result in a procedural clampdown and the release of the dreaded ‘Beast’.
Bea is actually a bit of an anti-heroine to start with and the reader’s sympathies for her are sometimes strained; her determination can come across as narrow-mindedness but that is possibly the point. Certainly her intrusion into the simple life of ‘Sindy’, who is meant to marry the King but really doesn’t want to, has more than one uncomfortable moment that has you rooting for her rather than the fairy godmother… To Bea’s credit she realises her error, ironically placing both her and Sindy in increasing peril.
This is a complex, often dark but still comedic world that really comes to life when we meet the ‘ugly sister’ Ana, who is actually quite sexy, and the mysterious blue-tinged Seven, advisor to blokey what-ho King John. John’s kingdom is under threat from a more powerful neighbouring Baron in much the same way as the Fae realm is under threat from the increasingly tyrannical machinations of the Teller.
The novel looks at issues of free will versus fate, represented both by the different worlds of the Fae and Characters and also the different social strata within each. It manages to avoid both post-modern tweeness and intellectual abstraction with its earthy characters and FD Lee’s humour. She is a funny writer with Ana and Seven getting the best lines. Less satisfying are the ‘subverted cliché’ gags like ‘it would be a sad state of affairs if the state couldn’t interfere with your affairs’; these and a slightly exposition-heavy opening sometimes slow a narrative that is otherwise gripping and visceral.
Bea is actually a bit of an anti-heroine to start with and the reader’s sympathies for her are sometimes strained; her determination can come across as narrow-mindedness but that is possibly the point. Certainly her intrusion into the simple life of ‘Sindy’, who is meant to marry the King but really doesn’t want to, has more than one uncomfortable moment that has you rooting for her rather than the fairy godmother… To Bea’s credit she realises her error, ironically placing both her and Sindy in increasing peril.
This is a complex, often dark but still comedic world that really comes to life when we meet the ‘ugly sister’ Ana, who is actually quite sexy, and the mysterious blue-tinged Seven, advisor to blokey what-ho King John. John’s kingdom is under threat from a more powerful neighbouring Baron in much the same way as the Fae realm is under threat from the increasingly tyrannical machinations of the Teller.
The novel looks at issues of free will versus fate, represented both by the different worlds of the Fae and Characters and also the different social strata within each. It manages to avoid both post-modern tweeness and intellectual abstraction with its earthy characters and FD Lee’s humour. She is a funny writer with Ana and Seven getting the best lines. Less satisfying are the ‘subverted cliché’ gags like ‘it would be a sad state of affairs if the state couldn’t interfere with your affairs’; these and a slightly exposition-heavy opening sometimes slow a narrative that is otherwise gripping and visceral.
August 25, 2023
What is a great story, but a boundary within which, one builds hope, faces trials and emerges out of fathoms of almost doom; Victorious.. looking forward to a new beginning!
'Happily ever After!' - How many times have we heard that and how many times have we wondered about how it comes to be. how conveniently things fall into place. Well F.D. Lee puts forth a version of 'behind the scenes' to the fairytale as we know it.
Starting with a glossary and an in-depth picture that's painted of the running and goings on of the GenAm, the story takes off a bit slow. We see our main protagonist, Bea (a garden fairy), a Fae who dreams of being a Godmother, a trainee FME, struggle through to be seen and heard. Managing to survive in a desolate part of town, she takes whatever story comes to her as a 'plot watcher', trying to make her name visible to those intent on not seeing past her 'tribe'.
Does she get her Chance? Does she leave her mark?
Will this book forever change the way we look at fairytales?
I'd recommend it. It's a totally different take on tales as we know it.
'Happily ever After!' - How many times have we heard that and how many times have we wondered about how it comes to be. how conveniently things fall into place. Well F.D. Lee puts forth a version of 'behind the scenes' to the fairytale as we know it.
Starting with a glossary and an in-depth picture that's painted of the running and goings on of the GenAm, the story takes off a bit slow. We see our main protagonist, Bea (a garden fairy), a Fae who dreams of being a Godmother, a trainee FME, struggle through to be seen and heard. Managing to survive in a desolate part of town, she takes whatever story comes to her as a 'plot watcher', trying to make her name visible to those intent on not seeing past her 'tribe'.
Does she get her Chance? Does she leave her mark?
Will this book forever change the way we look at fairytales?
I'd recommend it. It's a totally different take on tales as we know it.
July 26, 2015
The book held so much promise and yet was let down by a LOT of spelling and grammar errors. At first I skipped past them but by the end it was really grating on my nerves.
The story of Bea - the cabbage fairy, and the world of Plots and Godmothers was a great spin on the fairytales we're used to. It had an almost dystopian feel to it in the way the city and the way it's run is described. All Bea wants is to become a fairy godmother, but when the opportunity is thrust upon her, she realises it's not all it's cracked up to be. With plot twists going on in the fairytale she's managing as well as in her own life, it certainly made a fun, original read. However, it just didn't capture my heart like I hoped it would.
The story of Bea - the cabbage fairy, and the world of Plots and Godmothers was a great spin on the fairytales we're used to. It had an almost dystopian feel to it in the way the city and the way it's run is described. All Bea wants is to become a fairy godmother, but when the opportunity is thrust upon her, she realises it's not all it's cracked up to be. With plot twists going on in the fairytale she's managing as well as in her own life, it certainly made a fun, original read. However, it just didn't capture my heart like I hoped it would.
June 24, 2015
Funny, clever and exciting. This is the start of a brilliant series about a bewildered cabbage fairy in a steam punk universe. She's out of her depth and way beyond her skill set but she still wants to do the right thing, even if it's going to get her killed, or worse - redacted. Get out your story books and your editing quills and don't plan on getting any sleep any time soon. This one's a page turner!
March 15, 2016
l really got into this book and it's not my usual thing but I enjoyed this little romp and loved the references at the end. So now I know all about faires elves goblins etc
April 25, 2019
Lee's satire is flat and not funny.
Read instead:
Phantom Tollbooth
Bad Prince Charlie
Bring me the head of Prince Charming
Read instead:
Phantom Tollbooth
Bad Prince Charlie
Bring me the head of Prince Charming
February 17, 2021
What would happen if Terry Pratchett, Neil Gaiman, Emma Newman and K.E. Mills (in her Accidental Sorcerer mode) got together and had a fairy tale themed writathon? This, my friend, is probably what would happen. We have undertones of British topical humour combined with cosy characters and undertones of something just a little bit darker... But nothing too dark, nor laugh-out-loud hilarious. It's a fun adventure for anyone who has ever thought fairy tales and their infinite re-tellings are just a bit too convenient.
Our protagonist is Bea, a cabbage - sorry, garden - fairy who aspires to work her way up the ranks from mere Plot Watcher to being a true Fairy Godmother. But in her world, the fae world tucked away behind the one where all the stories happen, a fairy is the lowest of the low and society is ruled by the iron fist of the mysterious Teller. Y'see, the fae realm can only exist by taking resources from the human world, and the only way to the human world is via Mirrors. And what powers these Mirrors? Well, not magic - that's weak and silly and banned by the Teller for being so. No, they're powered by "belief". Human "characters" must believe in the tenets of True Love, Rags To Riches, and all those fairy tale tropes in order to power the fae existence, and so the fae aid humans by acting out specific Plots as sanctified by the Teller. Bea dreams of being given her own Plot to run, even if she's a little unorthodox when it comes to making tweaks here and there to get things to run more smoothly. But she should be careful what she wishes for, as when she is given a chance to try her hand at Godmothering, things don't seem to want to go as planned. And there's someone there who shouldn't be, someone with an agenda of their own who will make Bea question everything she thought she knew about Happily Ever Afters.
Basically, if you like the idea of a faintly jokey totalitarian bureaucracy based around the tricks and tropes of fairy tales, you will love this. It might not feel quite as polished as those obvious author influences, occasionally meandering or feeling a tiny bit obscure in the way it explained things (I had to re-read several important conversations to make sure I was getting the gist) but overall it's a wonderfully realised fantasy full of silliness, suspense and fun alongside the dangerous edge of the fantasy dictatorship and propaganda.
Bea's an underdog character you can totally root for. Surrounded by a strange cast each with their own hardships and secrets, it's hard not to be drawn into their world. I loved Melly the witch-slash-elf's attempts at being wicked (can't you just hear her smoker's drawl?) while keeping her air of mystery (check out her headgear!), the bizarre puppy-dog Mistasinion, even the electrifyingly dangerous Seven. They might not all have massive parts, but there are so many hooks that make you want to know more about them and where they came from. Human characters are great fun too, being plays on the fairy tale cliches as they work out what it is they want if not the standard HEA.
Anyone coming for a straight out retelling with romance and swooning will need to look elsewhere. There's plenty of character development and playing around with plots we all know and love, but feelings are gorgeously understated and left to insinuation for the most part.
At first I wondered just how invested I could be in a series when I felt the beginning didn't always explain things in the right order (for example, "The Beast" is mentioned, but no one says exactly what it is until chapters later - I had some kind of twisted Beauty & The Beast in my head rather than three-headed dog of doom!) and, like quite a few indie novels, I was picking up a few typos and missing words that a good proof read should have caught (admittedly, these could have been revised in later editions).
But in the end, I felt the writing really found it's feet and I fell in love with that blend of darkness and silliness that drew me to the book in the first place. I would certainly need (yup, not want, need) to find out more about Bea's tangle of Plots and intrigues in this messed up fairy tale world.
-I received a free copy of this e-book in a giveaway. This does not influence my review-
Our protagonist is Bea, a cabbage - sorry, garden - fairy who aspires to work her way up the ranks from mere Plot Watcher to being a true Fairy Godmother. But in her world, the fae world tucked away behind the one where all the stories happen, a fairy is the lowest of the low and society is ruled by the iron fist of the mysterious Teller. Y'see, the fae realm can only exist by taking resources from the human world, and the only way to the human world is via Mirrors. And what powers these Mirrors? Well, not magic - that's weak and silly and banned by the Teller for being so. No, they're powered by "belief". Human "characters" must believe in the tenets of True Love, Rags To Riches, and all those fairy tale tropes in order to power the fae existence, and so the fae aid humans by acting out specific Plots as sanctified by the Teller. Bea dreams of being given her own Plot to run, even if she's a little unorthodox when it comes to making tweaks here and there to get things to run more smoothly. But she should be careful what she wishes for, as when she is given a chance to try her hand at Godmothering, things don't seem to want to go as planned. And there's someone there who shouldn't be, someone with an agenda of their own who will make Bea question everything she thought she knew about Happily Ever Afters.
Basically, if you like the idea of a faintly jokey totalitarian bureaucracy based around the tricks and tropes of fairy tales, you will love this. It might not feel quite as polished as those obvious author influences, occasionally meandering or feeling a tiny bit obscure in the way it explained things (I had to re-read several important conversations to make sure I was getting the gist) but overall it's a wonderfully realised fantasy full of silliness, suspense and fun alongside the dangerous edge of the fantasy dictatorship and propaganda.
Bea's an underdog character you can totally root for. Surrounded by a strange cast each with their own hardships and secrets, it's hard not to be drawn into their world. I loved Melly the witch-slash-elf's attempts at being wicked (can't you just hear her smoker's drawl?) while keeping her air of mystery (check out her headgear!), the bizarre puppy-dog Mistasinion, even the electrifyingly dangerous Seven. They might not all have massive parts, but there are so many hooks that make you want to know more about them and where they came from. Human characters are great fun too, being plays on the fairy tale cliches as they work out what it is they want if not the standard HEA.
Anyone coming for a straight out retelling with romance and swooning will need to look elsewhere. There's plenty of character development and playing around with plots we all know and love, but feelings are gorgeously understated and left to insinuation for the most part.
At first I wondered just how invested I could be in a series when I felt the beginning didn't always explain things in the right order (for example, "The Beast" is mentioned, but no one says exactly what it is until chapters later - I had some kind of twisted Beauty & The Beast in my head rather than three-headed dog of doom!) and, like quite a few indie novels, I was picking up a few typos and missing words that a good proof read should have caught (admittedly, these could have been revised in later editions).
But in the end, I felt the writing really found it's feet and I fell in love with that blend of darkness and silliness that drew me to the book in the first place. I would certainly need (yup, not want, need) to find out more about Bea's tangle of Plots and intrigues in this messed up fairy tale world.
-I received a free copy of this e-book in a giveaway. This does not influence my review-
November 12, 2018
This book started of with the main character Bea watching plots as a job, she was secretly changing them to what she thought was better without thinking about the consequences of been caught. The plots are the main storyline of a book, they are what cause the characters and others to believe. The more belief there is within the world the less likely the mirrors will break. But it isn’t just that simple, there are antis who don’t believe in the plots and are determined to make them go wrong so there is no happily ever after within the stories which cause the mirrors to break, or at least what we have been told.
But Beas life is changed when she is called in for a meeting after handing her latest plot back. I’m not going to go into too much detail about the meeting because it slightly spoils the main part of the book which was really interesting to read.
The start of the book was quite slow in my opinion, and felt quite basic. By basic I mean I felt that the writing style was for a younger person and wasn’t too advanced, this book is aimed at young adults I believe, but I’m thinking more early teens rather than older teens. This wasn’t such a bad thing it was just not my usual writing style I read, as I’m more older teens.
Once the start had been fully described and more depth of the characters had been discovered I felt that I was more connected to the book. But I did take a break before I got to this part. I read the first 33% but I just felt like I wasn’t enjoying it as much as I could have been and I was feeling myself to going into a reading slump. But I started again when I was struggling to find something to read I didn’t bother going back to the start as I remembered everything that had happened and I eventually finished it this morning after 9 hours of travelling on a train.
The main part of the book was excellent and Bea and her friends had been developed a lot, I started to understand why they were doing the actions that they were doing, mainly it was just down to their personalities and their past experiences.
The story itself was quite interesting, to have someone watch over these fairy tales and have an insight of how they work is quite good whether this would actually happen I’m not sure, but it was something different and very believable, which made it enjoyable to read. The twists that were included was amazing I wasn’t really expecting them to happen but it made the whole book a better read in general.
I felt sorry for Bea as she wasn’t certain that she was doing the right thing at times so was asking her friends for help and advice but never followed it. Which is exactly what I do. But at times I do listen when I am seriously stuck. So Bea was my most relatable character, I’m not too sure she was my favourite though as I’m currently on the border with her and Melly. I’ll decide by the end of this review who my favourite character was.
Some of the characters in this book I wasn’t a fan of especially Seven and Maria Sophia, I found both of these to be very selfish, stubborn and really annoying! At times I did like seven but my overall opinion of him is that I don’t like him. He was helpful at times and allowed Bea to have an insight of a different opinion on the mirrors but he seemed to push his beliefs and opinions on others.
The ending of the book was also another twist. Not something I was actually expecting but it was a well deserved ending, in a way the more I think about the ending the more it actually fits in with the style of book.
I’m looking forward to reading the next book in the series which should be very shortly.
I’d recommend this book to anyone who likes twists, fairy tales, love stories, and sly characters.
But Beas life is changed when she is called in for a meeting after handing her latest plot back. I’m not going to go into too much detail about the meeting because it slightly spoils the main part of the book which was really interesting to read.
The start of the book was quite slow in my opinion, and felt quite basic. By basic I mean I felt that the writing style was for a younger person and wasn’t too advanced, this book is aimed at young adults I believe, but I’m thinking more early teens rather than older teens. This wasn’t such a bad thing it was just not my usual writing style I read, as I’m more older teens.
Once the start had been fully described and more depth of the characters had been discovered I felt that I was more connected to the book. But I did take a break before I got to this part. I read the first 33% but I just felt like I wasn’t enjoying it as much as I could have been and I was feeling myself to going into a reading slump. But I started again when I was struggling to find something to read I didn’t bother going back to the start as I remembered everything that had happened and I eventually finished it this morning after 9 hours of travelling on a train.
The main part of the book was excellent and Bea and her friends had been developed a lot, I started to understand why they were doing the actions that they were doing, mainly it was just down to their personalities and their past experiences.
The story itself was quite interesting, to have someone watch over these fairy tales and have an insight of how they work is quite good whether this would actually happen I’m not sure, but it was something different and very believable, which made it enjoyable to read. The twists that were included was amazing I wasn’t really expecting them to happen but it made the whole book a better read in general.
I felt sorry for Bea as she wasn’t certain that she was doing the right thing at times so was asking her friends for help and advice but never followed it. Which is exactly what I do. But at times I do listen when I am seriously stuck. So Bea was my most relatable character, I’m not too sure she was my favourite though as I’m currently on the border with her and Melly. I’ll decide by the end of this review who my favourite character was.
Some of the characters in this book I wasn’t a fan of especially Seven and Maria Sophia, I found both of these to be very selfish, stubborn and really annoying! At times I did like seven but my overall opinion of him is that I don’t like him. He was helpful at times and allowed Bea to have an insight of a different opinion on the mirrors but he seemed to push his beliefs and opinions on others.
The ending of the book was also another twist. Not something I was actually expecting but it was a well deserved ending, in a way the more I think about the ending the more it actually fits in with the style of book.
I’m looking forward to reading the next book in the series which should be very shortly.
I’d recommend this book to anyone who likes twists, fairy tales, love stories, and sly characters.
March 3, 2019
Bea is a cabbage fairy, dreaming of a full promotion to a fairy godmother. (Not technically, the book is full of new-age randomly capitalized fairy tale terms like FME, GenAm, Plot, Book, Etc.) She's been manipulating Plots already, hopefully under the radar, but she's been caught... and praised for it. She's given a Book and a Plot and characters to ensure the right steps happen for a Happily Ever After.
Of course, everything happening right would make for a boring read, so that's not what happens.
Bea seems to fall for two of the men that take time to speak with her, the heroine wants no part of the hero, the Mirrors are breaking, and in general nothing in the world is going according to Plot. This is where the lowly cabbage fairy steps up her game with her friends to try to save everything...
Without spoilers, the book has a satisfactory ending but still enough going on to segue into sequels. I wasn't as enthralled with the book as I'd hope, so I won't be going to the sequels. The story tried to go in too many directions at once, and some of the plot lines suffered for it. The writing in general is quick and clever, sly humor wound in. An example:
"Depressed and without a new Plot to watch, Bea arrived home. She lived in a one-room apartment on the fourth floor of a building that gave the impression that time had started demolishing it when it had become clear no one else was going to. It was square, crumbling, and carried in its design the nightmares of a thousand bored architectural students."
I received a free copy of this book from the author by signing up for their email list.
Of course, everything happening right would make for a boring read, so that's not what happens.
Bea seems to fall for two of the men that take time to speak with her, the heroine wants no part of the hero, the Mirrors are breaking, and in general nothing in the world is going according to Plot. This is where the lowly cabbage fairy steps up her game with her friends to try to save everything...
Without spoilers, the book has a satisfactory ending but still enough going on to segue into sequels. I wasn't as enthralled with the book as I'd hope, so I won't be going to the sequels. The story tried to go in too many directions at once, and some of the plot lines suffered for it. The writing in general is quick and clever, sly humor wound in. An example:
"Depressed and without a new Plot to watch, Bea arrived home. She lived in a one-room apartment on the fourth floor of a building that gave the impression that time had started demolishing it when it had become clear no one else was going to. It was square, crumbling, and carried in its design the nightmares of a thousand bored architectural students."
I received a free copy of this book from the author by signing up for their email list.
May 13, 2020
Clever and so very witty
The opening of The Fairy's Tale was such an amazing blend of action, adventure, wit, and humor that I posted about it on Facebook and told all my friends you have to see this book.
I grew up on fairy tales and Disney, knowing that true love conquers all and there's always a Happy Ever After. So I couldn't wait to read this tale of free will and personal choice.
I loved the world that Lee created: the GenAm; the horrible Redactionists; the Teller whocaresaboutus; Bea, the cabbage fairy, with her big heart and determination to get the story right no matter how many times she has to fix it; her friends the elf and tooth fairy; the Sheltering Forest that wasn't always a shelter; and the wonderful array of other characters that help and hinder Bea as she strives to become a godmother. The description lends itself to great humor. Bea's constant mishaps on her quest touch your heart. And you can't help but cheer for her to succeed, even though she bumbles through every step and gets everything terribly wrong.
The story line kept me intrigued through the entire book but there were two things I found distracting. One was the growing assortment of characters that became difficult to track. The other was the growing number of points of view, sometimes within the same scene.
Despite those, this is such a clever tale and one I know you'll enjoy.
The opening of The Fairy's Tale was such an amazing blend of action, adventure, wit, and humor that I posted about it on Facebook and told all my friends you have to see this book.
I grew up on fairy tales and Disney, knowing that true love conquers all and there's always a Happy Ever After. So I couldn't wait to read this tale of free will and personal choice.
I loved the world that Lee created: the GenAm; the horrible Redactionists; the Teller whocaresaboutus; Bea, the cabbage fairy, with her big heart and determination to get the story right no matter how many times she has to fix it; her friends the elf and tooth fairy; the Sheltering Forest that wasn't always a shelter; and the wonderful array of other characters that help and hinder Bea as she strives to become a godmother. The description lends itself to great humor. Bea's constant mishaps on her quest touch your heart. And you can't help but cheer for her to succeed, even though she bumbles through every step and gets everything terribly wrong.
The story line kept me intrigued through the entire book but there were two things I found distracting. One was the growing assortment of characters that became difficult to track. The other was the growing number of points of view, sometimes within the same scene.
Despite those, this is such a clever tale and one I know you'll enjoy.
February 2, 2019
I am someone who enjoys fantastical literature. My tendencies lean towards darker urban fantasy species (vampires, werewolves, witches etc), but with this book I decided to challenge myself to try something different.
After reading the first couple of chapters, I was still concerned this wasn’t going to be for me. The writing is very simple; almost writing-by-numbers in places, which puts me off as I start to look for literary techniques my children are being taught at Junior school. The feel of it is also very light and sugary, which is just not normally me.
But I decided to stick with it as it isn’t a difficult read, it is proper escapism from the real world, plus, although I found the writing simplistic, the grammar and spelling was fine meaning I wasn’t entirely put off.
I have to say that by the end of the book I came to enjoy it; to warm to the characters; to want to know what happened to them. I also felt the writing improved throughout, though I can’t tell you on what basis I made that judgement. Having said this, I don’t ‘care’ enough to rush out and read the next in the series, despite meaning I will never know whether the Teller gets his comeuppance, which I suspect is where the series as a whole is heading.
Overall, there is a lot to like about this book, if you like fairy stories and happy endings.
After reading the first couple of chapters, I was still concerned this wasn’t going to be for me. The writing is very simple; almost writing-by-numbers in places, which puts me off as I start to look for literary techniques my children are being taught at Junior school. The feel of it is also very light and sugary, which is just not normally me.
But I decided to stick with it as it isn’t a difficult read, it is proper escapism from the real world, plus, although I found the writing simplistic, the grammar and spelling was fine meaning I wasn’t entirely put off.
I have to say that by the end of the book I came to enjoy it; to warm to the characters; to want to know what happened to them. I also felt the writing improved throughout, though I can’t tell you on what basis I made that judgement. Having said this, I don’t ‘care’ enough to rush out and read the next in the series, despite meaning I will never know whether the Teller gets his comeuppance, which I suspect is where the series as a whole is heading.
Overall, there is a lot to like about this book, if you like fairy stories and happy endings.
July 19, 2020
If your looking for a unpredictable, exciting fantasy book then I 100% recommend this book.
I was really sqeptical going into the read as I'm not the biggest fan of fairy tales, or fairy tale retelling, but I am so glad that I did!
All the characters where relatable in there own way, and I don't think there was a single character that I disliked (which is rare for me).
The pacing was even and steady throughout the the book, with most of the action happening towards the ending, this also involved a plot twist that I was not expecting! I am really excited to see how this plot twist evolves over the next 2 books.
The different countries and towns within the book where also well described and plenty of background to the different cultures where given.
The only downside about this book was that I felt not enough emphasis was given to how the books and mirrors work. I don't know if this is something we are ment to find out later on in the series alongside Bea, but it did leave for a bit of an unsettled read at times, especially given how indeph the rest of the book was. This is only a minor inconvenience, hence the high score.
I do plan on rereading this book in the future, and I can't wait to sink my teeth into the next 2 in the series along with the other 2 books by the author. 100% recommend.
I was really sqeptical going into the read as I'm not the biggest fan of fairy tales, or fairy tale retelling, but I am so glad that I did!
All the characters where relatable in there own way, and I don't think there was a single character that I disliked (which is rare for me).
The pacing was even and steady throughout the the book, with most of the action happening towards the ending, this also involved a plot twist that I was not expecting! I am really excited to see how this plot twist evolves over the next 2 books.
The different countries and towns within the book where also well described and plenty of background to the different cultures where given.
The only downside about this book was that I felt not enough emphasis was given to how the books and mirrors work. I don't know if this is something we are ment to find out later on in the series alongside Bea, but it did leave for a bit of an unsettled read at times, especially given how indeph the rest of the book was. This is only a minor inconvenience, hence the high score.
I do plan on rereading this book in the future, and I can't wait to sink my teeth into the next 2 in the series along with the other 2 books by the author. 100% recommend.
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