Tag: Fairy Tale

I have reached the end of this series. The last Transplanted Tales book is a very short novella, less than one hundred pages. And, like the other novella in this series, Grimm Consequences, we get an additional look at two of the lead characters from one of the full length novels. Lavender and Seth have been enjoying a quiet life in the west coast village where they first met. But after five years of peace and happiness, chaos once again barrels into their lives.

It’s a few days before Christmas, and Seth senses that something is off. He thinks that he has just grown a little restless, his entire life before Lavender was spent either on the run, in hiding, or being on the receiving or giving end of violence, he is not used to his existence being easy and blissful. Only hours after opening up to his wife about his cabin fever, his instincts prove to be true when several children go missing. The wolf shifting sheriff immediately goes on the hunt to find the children and those who have taken them. 

I liked getting introduced to even more tales in this very short story, this time they came from Icelandic folklore. One of my favorite things about reading is that when I pick up a book I either learn something new or I read about something that I in turn decide I want to know more about. It makes me excited for all the research I get to do looking for my next read. And as excited as I got at the inspiration to research the tales and stories of other cultures, I found myself wanting more from this series. I feel like more than can be written here, the author said so herself in the dedication. I would gladly read another full length book about any of the characters we have already been introduced to, or entirely new ones. There were two loose ends at the end of Ever After, one being that the Huntsman completely disappeared again, and the second being that Fabrizio is still missing. I would love to see Fabrizio released from the curse that has him trapped in the mirror, that would make an amazing book, I am sure of it. Gideon did mention in the epilogue that they had narrowed down where the mirror was last seen, they need only to track down who bought it. Or, perhaps a book that focuses on one of Lavender’s sisters is a possibility, particularly one about Lily, whom it seems was beginning to pursue a romantic relationship with Merlin.

For now, I will keep my eye on Kate SeRine’s website to see if there is any news about her continuing the series in the future. And while I wait, perhaps I will read some of her other books. This series was definitely worth my time.

If you have read the rest of the Transplanted Tales series you are familiar with Gideon, right hand man to the fairy king. When I read about how he was forced to give up his romantic relationship with the king’s daughter in The Better To See You, I felt his grief like it was my own. Little did I know that that forced break up was just the beginning of the sorrows of his heart. 

Before Gideon was employed by the king he was the Little John of Robin Hood. After tragedy struck him in the woods one day, he was unwillingly bound into the king’s service. For many years, before the curse brought tales into the real world, Gideon served the king as his knight and protector of his entire family. In the real world he continues to do so, and the king has a new command for him: discover who is stealing large shipments of fairy dust. This potent substance is a vital medication used to treat tale ailments all over the world, and it also happens to be the source of the family’s very vast riches. His investigation leads him to cross paths with a very old friend.

I don’t want to tell you any more of the plot, but Gideon finally gets his happy ending. I was rooting for him the entire time, he is such a great guy I felt like he deserved all the happiness he found. There is a time jump when you get to the epilogue, and it reveals what I believe will be covered in the next book, which is actually a novella. There are two loose ends that I think might be tied up. If they aren’t, I am hopeful that the author might consider continuing this series in the future. There was a seven year gap between this book and the novella that I will be reading next, so maybe there is going to be a resurgence.

In book three of the Transplanted Tales we get to follow along with Trish Muffet, the woman we have observed working all the criminal investigations and autopsies since book one. The first time we were introduced to her on the page I was given the impression that she was a meek miss, despite her occupation. However, we finally get an inside look at the person she actually is and she is not a shy girl at all. Even though Trish initially found it a struggle to adjust to living in the real world, like all the tales did when they came over, she has become very settled with her job at the Fairytale Management Authority. Despite enjoying her job and having a comfortable life,Trish is still haunted by a couple of pretty horrific experiences from her childhood. Suffering from nightmares she can’t seem to escape from, involving the spider from her nursery rhyme, the only way she can get away from them is to stay awake after a bad dream. 

She is shocked when one night Nicky Blue, one of Red’s best friends who has been gone for about two years, shows up in her apartment when she just so happens to be under attack. Everyone assumed that Nicky just needed to get away after he lost his wife but he has actually been on a mission of vengeance. And the trouble that Trish finds herself in happens to coincide with what Nickly has been up to. The two team up to find out what is actually going on, because it is a confusing, mysterious mess. There are a lot of players in this book, as we are introduced more in depth to the human agency that works with the FMA to keep tales a secret while also protecting ordinary humans. It’s kind of like a men in black organization, but they have some shady business practices.

The ending kind of makes it clear that we probably aren’t going to be reading any more books starring the main characters from the previous stories, it also kind of seems like they might not mention some of these characters at all. I do have one more book to read in the Transplanted Tales series and a second novella. I’m going to get started on book four right now, and I will probably immediately read the novella because I am enjoying this series very much.

Like I mentioned last week, I was able to predict who the focus of the next book in the Transplanted Tales series would be due to more page time for a certain character. The cover of The Better To See You also kind of gives it away, and the title itself clues you into its biggest supporting character. 

Lavender Seely, former fairy godmother to Cinderella, has been sober for a year. Getting sober has been great for her mental health, but not for her magic. An accident she caused due to a burst of faulty magic results in her needing to leave Chicago and find a safe haven until things calm down. Red sends her across the country to a remote community of tales, characters who have chosen to live amongst themselves, free of humans, where they can also mostly govern themselves. In this village, Lavender should be far enough away that the death threats promised by the victim of her uncontrolled magical burst should go unfulfilled. However, Lavender doesn’t even make it to the destination Red relayed to her before she gets into trouble. 

This is a passionate story of two individuals who have had a very rough life since coming over. They have both suffered immensely, but in vastly different ways. It seems that the old saying misery loves company rings true here, as these two sad souls find solace in each other. I don’t want to say anything else, you will just have to read and see for yourself. I really enjoyed the pairing in this story, I wasn’t expecting it, but it works surprisingly well.

Even though I am an old school paper and ink book reader, I did enjoy reading this digital only novella in the Transplanted Tales series. It’s very short, I think I got through the entire story in less than two hours, but I was dying to read more of Red and Grimm and this satisfied the need.

This tale begins two months after the conclusion of Red, and things seem to be going well for the law enforcement officers. There is something hanging over Nate’s head, however, and it is not the fact that there has been no trace of Dracula since he disappeared, plus, combine that with the still missing corpse of the mysterious witch. Nate committed a serious crime in the world of Reapers and he has been waiting to see what his punishment will be and wondering when exactly they will be coming for him. The stubborn Tess Little notices that Nate has not been himself lately, and even though he tries to warn her off she insists on being involved.

I loved getting more background information on Nate, he has an evil origin story and centuries of history making up who he is and how he got to where he is now. It’s incredible that he turned out to be such a decent person. Grimm Consequences is also a great bridge between Red and the next book in the series, The Better To See You, because I was able to predict who the focus of the next novel would be and it fit in really nicely in terms of the flow of the story. I will actually be posting my review of that story next week, so if you are ready for more, come back and read my thoughts on it.