Best Teen & Young Adult Fairy Tales & Folklore Adaptations eBooks
Princess Winter is admired by the Lunar people for her grace and kindness, and despite the scars that mar her face, her beauty is said to be even more breathtaking than that of her stepmother, Queen Levana. Here, she offers an appropriately sweet, fluttery Snow White-esque voice for Winter; a deliciously purring, cooing "popular mean girl" voice for Queen Levana; a French accent for Jacinl and many, many more. Even background characters who appear for just a line or two get distinctive voices, such as an Australian-accented guest at the wedding banquet. Soler's pacing is excellent, and she skillfully navigates listeners through Meyer's 23-hour story."
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"The Lunar Chronicles is a re-imagined set of fairy tales set in the future that intertwines Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, Rapunzel, and Snow White. Fairest of Them All is a companion book that offers Levana's (evil stepmother to Winter) and Stars Above - a set of short stories that take place after Winter."
"Having all been united (except for Scarlet- shes still imprisoned on Luna), the team has successful derailed the marriage between Emperor Kai and queen Levena by kidnapping Kai and escaping off in the Rampion to plot their next moves; head to Luna, rescue Scarlet, and overthrow Levena while instating the true Lunar Queen in her place, none other than our beloved Cinder (or Princess Selene as is her true birth name). Meanwhile, Scarlet is imprisoned on Luna, the plaything of the mentally fragile Princess of Luna, Winter. She is thrilled with the return of her best friend Jacin after the kidnapping of the Queens betrothed and through him eventually learns of the plan by the others to overthrow Levena and instate Cinder (Selene) as Queen. Having always been jealous of her beauty and the way in which the people of Luna love her, Levena (becoming more and more unhinged as the book wears on) orders the assassination of Winter, by none other than Jacin (she is so twisted that Levena). Cinder and her gang eventually put into motion their plan which involves returning Kai to resume his marriage to Levena, arriving (semi)undetected to Luna, rescuing Scarlet."
"A very good friend enlightened me, and I promptly purchased and consumed the preceding books and then started "Winter" from the top."
"I don't want to spoil it for anyone, but all of the fighting and mind controlling was just nuts! I just wish that the final scene could have been a wedding between Kai and Selene!"
Why exactly is the wicked Queen so nasty, particularly to Snow White? Serena Valentino has been weaving tales that combine mythos and guile for the past decade.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"I enjoyed reading this and loved having the back story."
"One of my favorite books purchased in 2017."
"Love the spin on the story."
"Super obsessed with this series, you must read them!"
"I bought this book for my classroom library."
"Love the take on this series."
"Can't wait till my niece gets this."
When Scarlet encounters Wolf, a street fighter who may have information as to her grandmother's whereabouts, she is loath to trust this stranger, but is inexplicably drawn to him, and he to her. *Starred Review* Cinder, the beautiful lunar cyborg mechanic, is back, this time in what initially appears to be parallel story lines with Scarlet, the granddaughter of a former military pilot turned farmer in the small town of Rieux, France. After her midnight fall down the palace steps and her imprisonment, Cinder is a media sensation, escaping the New Beijing prison with Captain Carswell Thorne, a handsome if rather clueless petty thief. Only when Scarlet meets the violent yet attractive Wolf, an alpha human with animal instincts, is she on the trail of her beloved grand-mère, and a trajectory that intersects with Cinder’s attempt to save the earth by foiling Lunar Queen Levana’s marriage to Emperor Kai. Readers will be pushed into a horrific alternate universe where violence, especially mind manipulation and control, create ethical and life-threatening situations for both teens. “ A great choice for all ages, with strong appeal for both girls and boys , these novels will be read and enjoyed―repeatedly.” ― VOYA, starred review on Scarlet. “Returning fans of Meyer's Cinder will gladly sink their teeth into this ambitious, wholly satisfying sequel.” ― Publishers Weekly, starred review on Scarlet. “Further development of this futuristic world plus plenty of action, surprises, and a fast pace will keep readers invested in their journey.” ― The Horn Book on Scarlet.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"I've heard a lot of people say they like this one the least of all the Lunar Chronicles, and now, I've only read the first 2, but I loved this one a lot more than the first one, and I loved the first one a lot! The story line picks up a lot quicker than it does in Cinder, which was much appreciated, although it picks up with Scarlet's story, and after having just finished Cinder, I really wanted to find out what happened with her. Usually, I see betrayals from a mile away; I've read enough books and seen enough movies that things like that don't surprise me. I'm so glad I decided to read this series, and I'm exceptionally glad I decided to wait until all the books were out so I wasn't waiting impatiently."
"So exciting to get thrown right back into this world with some new characters. I am glad we got to go back to Cinder and see what happened with her but I did find going back and forth between Cinder and Scarlets story arcs left me lacking on them."
"The second book in the Lunar chronicles picks up where the other left off, and then starts up a whole new set of delightful subplots that all come together beautifully, if a bit violently. This whole time, Snow White’s Evil Queen has mainly stayed on the moon, but after the moves she made in book two, I don’t even want to imagine what she does next. Many questions are answered and new problems and mysteries arise as we get caught up in a new level of action and brutality that somehow never lets you forget, there just might be room for romance in the end."
"Scarlet is dropping off her weekly produce to a tavern in a nearby town, and everyone at the tavern is watching the ending scenes of "Cinder" play out. I love how this story plays out!"
Best Teen & Young Adult Fairy Tale & Folklore Anthologies eBooks
Soon, he’s doing all he can to succeed and not embarrass his new dragon partner, Thea. She’s not thrilled with her awkward, scruffy partner, Seb, but their dragon has chosen, and now the unlikely duo must learn to work as a team. The battle in this story line had my heart thumping and I like how nothing gets to graphic (unlike so many fantasies ) so I can read this book outloud to young readers as well...Job well done and a must read for all fans of dragons young and older! ". "An epic tale of legend, magic, fantasy and Dragon flight that is fit for anyone to read . "I thoroughly enjoyed flying through this book with Sebastion, Agathea, & the young red dragon, Kalax, that chose them . Thea, from the noble House of Flamma, & Seb, the son of a poor, drunken blacksmith, both seem to have a flair for disobeying rules & finding trouble, but finally become full-fledged Dragon Riders." But I found these books and I loved them, fast paced from beginning to end plenty of magic and a good plot. Interesting battle between good and evil , and the best dragon story since Anne McCaffrey. ".
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Lady Flamma is disappointed when she realizes that the partner her dragon chose is a nobody from the poorest place in the city Torvald, Seb as Sebastian likes to be called, is the son of a blacksmith and while he is strong he has no idea how to hold a weapon let alone what to do with it. Seb is in awe of Thea, as Agathea Flamma likes to be called, because even though she is of a noble house she knows what to do in a fight, whether she uses a blade, a quarter staff, or her favorite a bow and arrows."
"Kindle version of many books have big editing mistakes, wrong word substation, strange confusing sentence structure."
"It was a good read and I like that it was a complete story with a good ending."
"Truly one of the most enjoyable books I've read."
"This is a well developed story bringing together wonderful characters and intense action."
"This book has the great quality of quickly grabbing and holding your imagination."
"It brought me back to reading Piers Anthony as a child."
"This book stands on its own yet sets up more volumes as well."
Best Teen & Young Adult Royalty Fairy Tales & Folklore eBooks
Red Queen , by #1 New York Times bestselling author Victoria Aveyard, is a sweeping tale of power, intrigue, and betrayal, perfect for fans of George R.R. As Mare is drawn further into the Silver world, she risks everything and uses her new position to help the Scarlet Guard—a growing Red rebellion—even as her heart tugs her in an impossible direction. Mare's resigned herself to the fact that she'll always serve the Silver, a genetically gifted group of people with supernatural abilities. A chance encounter with the prince causes Mare to suddenly find herself at the royal palace as a servant, where she discovers in front of everyone that she also has a unique gift. The king and queen quickly cover up Mare's anomaly by presenting her to the rest of the Silvers as a long-lost princess and betroth her to their second-born son. There's a bit of teen romance, but luckily the characters are self-aware enough to realize its frivolity among the story's more important plot points. A solid debut from Aveyard and a welcome addition to the plethora of speculative teen lit.—Kimberly Castle-Alberts, Hudson Library & Historical Society, OH "A sizzling, imaginative thriller, where romance and revolution collide, where power and justice duel. " [Aveyard] sets her audience up for a gaspworthy twist that reconfigures nearly every character's role and leaves Mare with no one to trust but herself... Readers will be intrigued by a world that reflects today's troubling issues concerning ethnic inequality, unfair distribution of wealth, pollution, warfare, political corruption, and the frightening power of the media."
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Mare and her family and friends despise Silvers, who treat Reds like dirt and have Reds fight an unending war with a neighboring country for them. Things That Frustrated Me: The heroine: my biggest frustration with this book was the lack of character development in Mare. The romance: There were (count 'em) THREE love interests for Mare in this book. The tropes: The problem with obvious writing is that if you have a story hat relies on a lot of tropes (poor girl who's special and different; prince who is not thrilled about being prince and just wants to be normal, world that is separated into classes that needs to be overthrown), you can guess what's going to happen, and your mind tends to wander. It's frustrating because I couldn't help but notice and compare this book to a ton of other YA books (I thought of The Selection, Divergent, Hunger Games, even Harry Potter while I was reading), and the book never went beyond or did anything better or different with those tropes. I enjoyed getting into this world through Mare's eyes - as a Red, she really doesn't know much about it, and it's both interesting to see it develop and to see her thoughts on it in her unique position. I felt like I knew more about them than I did about Mare by the end of the book. Brimming with action and classic speculative fiction tropes, this is a good book for younger teens new to fantasy or looking for a book with magic to devour like popcorn."
"I liked the twist on evolution and the class struggle between the Reds and the Silvers, differences compounded by different colors of blood (literally) and the presence, or lack, of supernatural powers."
"If you are a red then you are the weaker and less fortunate in a world run by powerful silvers, reds are basically slaves to the silvers and even fights their wars on the boarder where thousands go to die. The story centers around Mare Barrow a red who grows up assuming she will be sent to the boarder to fight like her three brothers before her, her sister Gisa is talented at sewing and will be the main bread winner for her and her family when Mare leaves."
"But the writing is not particularly artistic, and the emotional portraits of the characters are flat and immature."