Gem ’s Comments (group member since Sep 12, 2022)

Gem ’s comments from the Once Upon a Time... group.

Hello Fellow Fairy Tales Readers,


Welcome to our discussion about Cinderella: By Charles Perrault - Illustrated by Charles Perrault.
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Summary

A young woman, mistreated by her stepmother and stepsisters, but carrying within her a good and gracious heart, wins the love of prince with the help of her fairy godmother.

Hello Fellow Fairy Tales Readers,


Welcome to our discussion about Dragon Fairest (Dragon Ever After #1) by Amberlyn Holland.
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Summary

This Snow White is no damsel in distress. He's a dragon shifter on the run from the foster mother who wants him dead.

Jack has three unbreakable rules of survival:

One, never reveal his full dragon form.
Two, steer clear of magic users at all costs.
Three, always trust his instinct for trouble.

And there's no doubt a princess accused of cursing her own family is exactly the kind of trouble he should avoid.

Despite Jack's intention to keep Kynara at arm's length though, her intriguing mix of vulnerability and stubborn determination draws him like no one else ever has.

A fugitive from her own people, exhausted and alone for the first time in her life, Kyn is running out of options. Asking for aid from a band of shady treasure hunters is a risk, but she has nothing left to lose.

To save her family and her kingdom, she'll take any help she can get.

Even from handsome, irritating Jack who despises her magic yet throws himself into danger to defend her.

With the evil Grey Enchantress tightening her grip on the kingdom of Ardell, Jack and Kyn may have to sacrifice everything to stop her.

Hello Fellow Fairy Tales Readers,


Welcome to our discussion about The Looking-Glass Illusion) (The Curious Realities #2) by Sara Ella.
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about spoilers

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Summary

Step through the looking glass. Slay the Jabberwock. Seek the King.

Alice is not prepared to face what awaits beyond the Tulgey Wood. When she and the rest of Team Heart enter the fourth and final Wonderland Trial, it’s up to her to lead them to victory. But this Trial is more than a game. If Alice and the others fail to defeat the Jabberwock and reveal the truth about Wonderland, more than points and fame will be lost.

Chess Shire never believed he’d make it this far. Now he’s stuck navigating a Trial he’s seen but doesn’t remember, all while searching for the brother he left behind. Not everything is as black and white as the game that shares his name. And if Alice discovers his deepest regret? Chess might just lose her too.

Apart, Chess and Alice scour the eight squares of the Heart Trial in search of memories, truth, and an Ivory King who seems more illusion than reality. Will they learn to lead together to face their greatest fears? Or will they remain pawns in a queen’s game, never truly seeing the Wonderland they’ve come to believe in?

Hello Fellow Fairy Tales Readers,


Welcome to our discussion about What Once Was Mine (A Twisted Tale #12) by Liz Braswell.
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about spoilers

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Summary

Desperate to save the life of their queen and her unborn child, the good people of Corona search for the all-healing Sundrop flower to cure her—but mistakenly acquire the shimmering Moondrop flower instead. Nonetheless it heals the queen, and she delivers a healthy baby girl with hair as silver and gray as the moon. With it comes dangerous magical powers: the power to hurt, not heal. For her safety and the safety of the kingdom, Rapunzel is locked in a tower and put under the care of powerful goodwife, Mother Gothel.

For eighteen years Rapunzel stays locked away, knowing she must protect others from her magical hair. But when she leaves the only home she's ever known, wanting only to see the floating lights that appear on her birthday, she gets caught up in an adventure across the kingdom with two thieves—a young woman named Gina, and Flynn Rider, a rogue on the run. Before she can reach her happy ending, Rapunzel learns that there may be more to her story, and her magical tresses, than she ever knew.

Hello Fellow Fairy Tales Readers,


Welcome to our discussion about Sorcery of Thorns (Sorcery of Thorns #1) by Margaret Rogerson.
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Summary

All sorcerers are evil. Elisabeth has known that as long as she has known anything. Raised as a foundling in one of Austermeer’s Great Libraries, Elisabeth has grown up among the tools of sorcery—magical grimoires that whisper on shelves and rattle beneath iron chains. If provoked, they transform into grotesque monsters of ink and leather. She hopes to become a warden, charged with protecting the kingdom from their power.

Then an act of sabotage releases the library’s most dangerous grimoire. Elisabeth’s desperate intervention implicates her in the crime, and she is torn from her home to face justice in the capital. With no one to turn to but her sworn enemy, the sorcerer Nathaniel Thorn, and his mysterious demonic servant, she finds herself entangled in a centuries-old conspiracy. Not only could the Great Libraries go up in flames, but the world along with them.

As her alliance with Nathaniel grows stronger, Elisabeth starts to question everything she’s been taught—about sorcerers, about the libraries she loves, even about herself. For Elisabeth has a power she has never guessed, and a future she could never have imagined.

Hello Fellow Fairy Tales Readers,


Welcome to our discussion about A Dream of Ebony and White (Beyond the Four Kingdoms #4) by Melanie Cellier.
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Summary

Snow has always lived under the shadow of her cruel stepmother, with only her beloved father and her childhood friend--the huntsman, Alexander--to make life bearable. When her father dies, she should be crowned queen, but instead she finds herself fleeing for her life. With no allies, no skills, and no food, her future could be over before it has truly begun.

But there's more at stake than just one life. If Snow can't claim her throne, her kingdom faces destruction. Snow has to make a choice: focus on her own salvation or put everything on the line--even those she loves the most. And if she's going to succeed, Snow must fight the hardest battle of all, against her own doubt and weakness, and gain new skills and strength she never imagined possessing.

Alexander is ready to help her. But if she lets him, the consequences might be more than she can bear--because her heart is in as much jeopardy as the kingdom.

In this reimagining of the classic fairy tale, Snow must find her inner strength in time to fight for her throne before it's too late.

Hello Fellow Fairy Tales Readers,


Welcome to our discussion about Circe by Madeline Miller.
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about spoilers

Please note: If you have not finished reading the book spoilers are permitted in this discussion from the start. If you would like to use the spoiler formatting it can be found on the top right of the comment box in the "(some html is ok)" menu.
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Summary

In the house of Helios, god of the sun and mightiest of the Titans, a daughter is born. But Circe is a strange child--neither powerful like her father nor viciously alluring like her mother. Turning to the world of mortals for companionship, she discovers that she does possess power: the power of witchcraft, which can transform rivals into monsters and menace the gods themselves.

Threatened, Zeus banishes her to a deserted island, where she hones her occult craft, tames wild beasts, and crosses paths with many of the most famous figures in all of mythology, including the Minotaur, Daedalus and his doomed son Icarus, the murderous Medea, and, of course, wily Odysseus.

But there is danger, too, for a woman who stands alone, and Circe unwittingly draws the wrath of both men and gods, ultimately finding herself pitted against one of the most terrifying and vengeful of the Olympians. To protect what she loves most, Circe must summon all her strength and choose, once and for all, whether she belongs with the gods she is born from or with the mortals she has come to love.

Hello Fellow Fairy Tales Readers,


Welcome to our discussion about Hook's Little Mermaid (The Untold Stories) by Suzanna Lynn.
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about spoilers

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Summary

Captain James Hook was once a good man trying to make a somewhat honest living. He is a pirate, after all. However, after getting word that a boy named Peter Pan played a part in the death of a dear loved one, Hook makes it his sole purpose to hunt down and destroy the fiend.

On his journey for vengeance, the captain encounters many new comrades, including a young girl named Red and a fairy called Tinker Bell, and both push him to reconsider his desire for justice.

The accidental rescue of a mermaid leads him on a whirlwind adventure in Neverland. The journey is not a simple one, considering Pan, the Lost Boys, mermaids, and magic all come into play. After several misadventures, Hook must choose between the possibility of a new life with love and his much-desired retaliation against Pan.

Once everything is said and done, will the captain be able to overcome his need for revenge? Will he let compassion steer him toward love? Or will Captain Hook live up to his villainous reputation?

Hello Fellow Fairy Tales Readers,


Welcome to our discussion about Cin d'Rella and the Water of Life (Circle of the Rose Chronicles #1) by S.J. West.
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about spoilers

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Summary

She is our Rose. We are her Thorns.

When Cin lost her father, she thought her world had been torn apart. Little did she know it was just the beginning of her story…

Being the sole heir to the d’Rella family fortune placed a target on Cin’s back that she wasn’t prepared to deal with at the age of ten. Luckily for her, she had a fairy godfather looking out for her best interests who whisked her away from her selfish step-family and helped Cin discover her true destiny as a Thorn within the formidable Circle of the Rose.

Thorns are an elite fighting force trained at an early age to protect Briar Rose and search for a way to awaken her from a seemingly eternal slumber. The city of Briardale has been cut off from the rest of the world for a hundred years by a spell no one seems to be able to break. Only by finding a cure to awaken Rose will the city be released from the magical curse and its citizens allowed to rejoin the world of Faloria.

A chance encounter brings Cin into contact with the dashing black sheep of the Prince empire, Coltan Prince. For years, his family has been thwarting the Circle of the Rose at every turn in order to keep Briardale isolated and completely at their mercy. Although Cin knows Coltan is the enemy, she feels inexplicably charmed by him for some reason. When Coltan goes to the Circle with information about the whereabouts of the fabled Water of Life, Cin worries that he’s just using them for his own nefarious purposes. Everyone knows you can’t trust a Prince, but a chance to find the magical elixir is too good of an opportunity to pass up. With her trusty daggers by her side, Cin offers to help Coltan on his quest. Not only does she hope to find a possible cure for Rose but Cin also yearns to discover why she feels so drawn to a man she’s supposed to hate.

Hello Fellow Fairy Tales Readers,


Welcome to our discussion about The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker.
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about spoilers

Please note: If you have not finished reading the book spoilers are permitted in this discussion from the start. If you would like to use the spoiler formatting it can be found on the top right of the comment box in the "(some html is ok)" menu.
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Summary

Chava is a golem, a creature made of clay, brought to life by a disgraced rabbi who dabbles in dark Kabbalistic magic, created to be the wife of a man who dies at sea on the voyage from Poland. Chava is unmoored and adrift as the ship arrives in New York harbor in 1899.

Ahmad is a jinni, a being of fire born in the ancient Syrian desert, trapped in an old copper flask, and released in New York City, though still not entirely free.

Ahmad and Chava become unlikely friends and soul mates with a mystical connection. Marvelous and compulsively readable, Helene Wecker's debut novel The Golem and the Jinni weaves strands of Yiddish and Middle Eastern literature, historical fiction and magical fable, into a wondrously inventive and unforgettable tale.

I downloaded the audiobook but I'm in the middle of another audiobook that has me captivated. I'll listen to this after I finish the book I'm currently listening to.

The following selections are what we will be reading in 2025. At the moment it is still a work in progress, I'll update the final selections as soon as I can.

Jan - Dealing with Dragons (Enchanted Forest Chronicles, #1) by Patricia C. Wrede

Feb - The Bloody Chamber and Other Stories by Angela Carter

Mar - The Golem and the Jinni (The Golem and the Jinni, #1) by Helene Wecker

Apr - Cinderella by Charles Perrault and Cin d'Rella and the Water of Life (Circle of the Rose Chronicles, #1) by S.J. West

May - Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie and Hook's Little Mermaid (The Untold Stories) by Suzanna Lynn

Jun - Circe by Madeline Miller

Jul - Snow White by Jacob Grimm and A Dream of Ebony and White (Beyond the Four Kingdoms #4) by Melanie Cellier

Aug - Sorcery of Thorns (Sorcery of Thorns, #1) by Margaret Rogerson

Sep - What Once Was Mine (A Twisted Tale #12) by Liz Braswell

Oct - The Looking-Glass Illusion (The Curious Realities, #2) by Sara Ella

Nov - Dragon Fairest (Dragon Ever After #1) by Amberlyn Holland

Dec - Letters from Father Christmas by J.R.R. Tolkien

Hello Fellow Fairy Tales Readers,


Welcome to our discussion about The Bloody Chamber and Other Stories by Angela Carter.
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about spoilers

Please note: If you have not finished reading the book spoilers are permitted in this discussion from the start. If you would like to use the spoiler formatting it can be found on the top right of the comment box in the "(some html is ok)" menu.
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Summary

From familiar fairy tales and legends - Red Riding Hood, Bluebeard, Puss in Boots, Beauty and the Beast, vampires and werewolves - Angela Carter has created an absorbing collection of dark, sensual, fantastic stories.

Hello Fellow Fairy Tales Readers,


Welcome to our discussion about Dealing with Dragons (Enchanted Forest Chronicles #1) by (Patricia C. Wrede).
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about spoilers

Please note: If you have not finished reading the book spoilers are permitted in this discussion from the start. If you would like to use the spoiler formatting it can be found on the top right of the comment box in the "(some html is ok)" menu.
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Summary

Cimorene is everything a princess is not supposed to be: headstrong, tomboyish, smart - and bored. So bored that she runs away to live with a dragon - and finds the family and excitement she's been looking for.

Fairy Tales are a type of short narrative that typically features such folkloric characters, such as fairies, goblins, elves, trolls, dwarves, giants or gnomes, and usually magic or enchantments.

Fairy tales are high fantasy based on stories that are not only not true, but that couldn't possibly be true, while Legends are sometimes perceived as real or plausible. Fairy tales may merge into legends, where the narrative is perceived both by teller and hearers as being grounded in historical truth. However, unlike legends and epics, they usually do not contain more than superficial references to religion and actual places, people, and events; they take place once upon a time rather than in actual times.

Fabels, Folktales, and Legends will be included in fairy tales.

I've reserved a physical book and an audio book but there is a wait for both of them so I'll be late joining in with this one.

Oh my, lol. I loved Cinder but I didn't like this one. That's funny how we're completely opposite. I felt this story moved so slowly and the ending?!?! It "felt" to me like she didn't resolve anything just to sell another book. I hate to say that given how much I loved Cinder but...

I'm thinking of listening to Cursed just to get some resolution. Not having any is making my brain itch.

I've been listening to this one, I'm about half way through. I was excited to read another book by Marissa Meyer because I loved the Cinder series so much. I can't say that I'm not enjoying this but I am not enjoying it as much as I expected to. I will finish it, maybe the best part of the story is still ahead of me.

Original Tales are fantasies not based on traditional tales but rather are from the author's own imagination.

Browse Fantasy new releases and lists.

Low Fantasy takes place in the real world, or something very like the real world and includes magical or supernatural elements (“low” does not mean this is a lesser or poorer form of fantasy). Characters often discover secret magical forces or supernatural creatures within their supposedly normal surroundings.

Urban Fantasy is generally understood to be a low fantasy set in a real-world, modern, urban society (or something closely resembling one).

Browse Low and Urban Fantasy new releases and lists.