Grimm Rose by Kasi Blake is the start young adult fantasy fairytale retelling series with some interesting twists. I received a review copy from the author and will be including the full blurb and a link to purchase at the end of this review.
We follow Shayne a half-ling servant of the Ivory Queen who inadvertently and by force is going to marry the Ivory Queen’s son unless she steals Cinderella’s glass slipper. However, the slipper is closely guarded by Cinderella’s son who is know to kill those who try to steel from him. When Shayne and him meet they hate each other but their fates may be intertwined. While this is a fairytale retelling in many ways the focus is on the children of the characters from the original stories and a magic system that is unique to this series. I loved how the different magic systems worked and who had different types of magic.
Shayne is a stubborn protagonist that doesn’t want to be saved but to find a way to save herself which she ultimately does with the help of friends new and old. Without spoiling anything I loved finding out Shayne’s past and how she is connected to the magic of this world. While I didn’t love the relationship with her father I did love how that relationship is affected by the plot and other characters. In comparison, the love interest Aric is a much colder and calculating character which when you find out his past makes so much since and at first I didn’t think I would enjoy the romance between these two but I like where it went.
Overall, I enjoyed this book and start to this new series. I feel like this is a great series for those who love fairytale retellings, young adult fantasy, and slow burn romance.
Blurb from Amazon:
Happy endings are optional.
If she steals Cinderella’s glass slipper, she gains her freedom.
If she fails, she loses her life.
At sixteen, Shayne should be attending parties and giggling over boys. But half-ling servants—half faerie and half mortal—aren’t allowed to have fun. Her destiny is to serve the royal family until she dies. It’s a bleak existence with no way out… or so she thinks.
When a runaway bride chooses death over marriage to the pudgy prince, the Ivory Queen shoves the cursed engagement ring onto Shayne’s hand and announces that she will take the dead girl’s place. Marriage to the Toad? She’d rather die.
Seeing her reluctance, the queen offers her a choice. She can marry the prince, or she can steal Cinderella’s glass slipper. Swiping a shoe from Cinderella’s last living relative sounds easy.
Then she meets Cinderella’s son. It’s hate-at-first-sight for both of them. He has magical powers, a bad attitude, and a deep thirst for vengeance that rivals her own. Stinking troll!
Aric refuses to let her have his mother’s glass slipper. She tries reasoning with him. That doesn’t work. She gives him a sob story about a fictional sister locked in the queen’s dungeon. He doesn’t even blink. By his own admission, he has a heart of stone. Nothing can sway him.
In what she sees as an act of cowardice, he spills sugar and orders her to count each crystal. Her knees buckle. She hits the floor hard. There isn’t anything she can do.
Their hatred for the queen is the only thing they have in common. Can they put their loathing for each other to the side long enough to destroy the Ivory Queen and save the faerie realm?
This is the first book in the Once Upon a Curse series. Revenge meets Once Upon a Time (tv shows), and will appeal to both fairytale retelling lovers and straight up fantasy fans.
A Beauty and the Beast/Cinderella retelling with elements of both exciting stories intertwined. Familiar favorites and interesting new characters you will fall in love with are cleverly woven together to make a story you won’t soon forget. Get ready for a tale of powerful magic with an enemies-to-lovers, slow burn romance, plenty of action, and surprising plot twists.
Night Owl Reviews 