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In Death #37.5
Mirror, Mirror
Once upon a time...
...in a world far removed from the days when fairy tales were new, five bestselling authors spin versions that take the classic stories into a new dimension. You'll recognize Hansel and Gretel, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, and other enduring characters, but they'll exist in realms beyond your imagination, where the familiar is transformed into the extraordinary and otherworldly.
Contents:
Taken in Death / J.D. Robb --
If Wishes Were Horses / Mary Blayney --
Beauty, Sleeping / Elaine Fox --
The Christmas Comet / Mary Kay McComas --
Stroke of Midnight / R.C. Ryan.
...in a world far removed from the days when fairy tales were new, five bestselling authors spin versions that take the classic stories into a new dimension. You'll recognize Hansel and Gretel, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, and other enduring characters, but they'll exist in realms beyond your imagination, where the familiar is transformed into the extraordinary and otherworldly.
Contents:
Taken in Death / J.D. Robb --
If Wishes Were Horses / Mary Blayney --
Beauty, Sleeping / Elaine Fox --
The Christmas Comet / Mary Kay McComas --
Stroke of Midnight / R.C. Ryan.
410 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 2013
About the author
J.D. Robb
217 books34.3k followersJ.D. Robb is the author of the #1 New York Times bestselling In Death series and the pseudonym for #1 New York Times bestselling author Nora Roberts. The futuristic suspense series stars Eve Dallas, a New York City police lieutenant with a dark past. Initially conceived as a trilogy, readers clamored for more of Eve and the mysterious Roarke. Forgotten in Death (St. Martin's Press, September 2021) is the 53rd entry in the series.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 322 reviews
November 20, 2015
Happy Release Day! Be sure and grab your copy!
4.5 intriguing, lively, romantic, sinister, and enchanting stars!
This anthology offers something for everyone, and should not be missed! These stories work very well as stand alones.
#1 - Taken in Death by J.D. Robb - 5 stars -
For whatever reason, I haven't yet ventured into J.D. Robb's In Death series, even though my daughter is wild about these stories and owns every book. But I received the Mirror, Mirror anthology for review, so figured, why not give it a go. Holy cow! From the very first paragraph this story grabbed hold. It's a riveting retelling of the Hansel and Gretel fairy tale, and leaves absolutely no doubt in my mind why this series is so popular - Intense, intriguing, masterfully told... Ms. Robb is a brilliant author!
#2 - If Wishes Were Horses by Mary Blayney - 4 stars -
Told in shades of Goldilocks and the Three Bears, this is a delightful historical romance. It's a story about finding your perfect fit - be it in chairs, beds, or that once in a lifetime love. It's also a story about being careful what you wish for, because when your wish comes true, it might not happen in the way you had hoped.
#3 - Beauty, Sleeping by Elaine Fox - 5 stars -
This is a wonderfully imaginative and thoroughly entertaining retelling of Sleeping Beauty. It's unique, romantic, thoughtful, and I enjoyed every moment I spent reading. I also appreciated the 'moral of the story' which Ms. Fox wove neatly into this modern day twist on a beloved fairy tale.
#4- The Christmas Comet by Mary Kay McComas - 4 stars -
There was something special about this story...a feeling of hope, faith, love, and sweet but not sappy. Drawing from by Hans Christian Andersen's The Little Matchstick Girl, and the Brothers Grimm's The Star Money, theres just so much heart to this tale!
#5 - Stroke of Midnight by R. C. Ryan - 4 stars -
A modern day Cinderella tale, this story is entertaining and enchanting! I loved the strength of our heroine, Sydney, and her sense of adventure that led her to Cullen and their Happily Ever After!
The Bottom Line - I thoroughly enjoyed these stories. Each author has a distinctive, creative, and very entertaining voice and I'm looking forward to reading more of their writing!
Reviewed for Affaire de Coeur Magazine
Mirror, Mirror
J.D. Robb, Mary Blayney, Elaine Fox, Mary Kay McComas, and R.C. Ryan
Jove
Mass Market Paperback
ISBN: 978-0515154078
****1/2
November 12, 2013
As usual with an anthology, it's a mixed bag.
"Taken in Death" by J.D. Robb -- As usual I adored Robb's short story featuring Eve Dallas. I think Robb did a remarkable job of integrating the fairy-tale elements while still maintaining the usual 'feel' of Dallas' universe. I'd give this story 4 stars.
"If Wishes Were Horses" by Mary Blayney -- I found Martha rather inconsistent as a character. One moment she'd be acting in keeping with someone in service during that time period, and then she'd be acting like a careless 20-something of today. I quickly lost interest in Martha and the story.
"Beauty, Sleeping" by Elaine Fox -- Fox was clearly aiming at a funny and sarcastic tone told using the hero's voice, but I found the narration irritating rather than funny. And the ending was distinctly anti-climatic.
"The Christmas Comet" by Mary Kay McComas -- The Heroine, Natalie, was so perfect she'd qualify for sainthood. She was so 'perfect' that I couldn't bring myself to like her.
"Stroke of Midnight" by R. C. Ryan -- Pretty good story. The end was a bit rushed and the fairy tale aspect was a bit overplayed, but overall the story was fairly appealing.
"Taken in Death" by J.D. Robb -- As usual I adored Robb's short story featuring Eve Dallas. I think Robb did a remarkable job of integrating the fairy-tale elements while still maintaining the usual 'feel' of Dallas' universe. I'd give this story 4 stars.
"If Wishes Were Horses" by Mary Blayney -- I found Martha rather inconsistent as a character. One moment she'd be acting in keeping with someone in service during that time period, and then she'd be acting like a careless 20-something of today. I quickly lost interest in Martha and the story.
"Beauty, Sleeping" by Elaine Fox -- Fox was clearly aiming at a funny and sarcastic tone told using the hero's voice, but I found the narration irritating rather than funny. And the ending was distinctly anti-climatic.
"The Christmas Comet" by Mary Kay McComas -- The Heroine, Natalie, was so perfect she'd qualify for sainthood. She was so 'perfect' that I couldn't bring myself to like her.
"Stroke of Midnight" by R. C. Ryan -- Pretty good story. The end was a bit rushed and the fairy tale aspect was a bit overplayed, but overall the story was fairly appealing.
October 3, 2013
Yay! A novella I can read again. Decent police work, cute brave kids (I like the name Henry...even sounds brave) and cameos by almost everyone in the series. How Eve manages to fit in a nightmare and sex in the 3 hours of downtime she gets in the entire novel is....typical! :p
October 21, 2013
I was disappointed with this book. I thought it would be better than it was.
I would rate the first story "Taken in Death" as 2 stars. Lots of technical language and not much story. I could not get into this one and did not find it very interesting. This was supposed to be inspired by "Hansel & Gretel."
"If Wishes were Horses" centered around a magic gold coin and a man with healing ability. Better than the first story and a little bit entertaining but certainly not one of the best stories I've read. I'm not sure which fairy tale this was supposed to be.
I actually did like "Beauty, Sleeping." Inspired by "Sleeping Beauty" (if you could not guess!) it was an original story and unlike anything else I have read. 4 stars for this one.
"The Christmas Comet" was not too bad. I liked the story okay, but not much magic in this story.
My favorite was "Stroke of Midnight." An original "Cinderella" retelling. I really did enjoy this story.
All of the stories did have a happy ending. That is a plus. I do like my books to have happy endings!
I would rate the first story "Taken in Death" as 2 stars. Lots of technical language and not much story. I could not get into this one and did not find it very interesting. This was supposed to be inspired by "Hansel & Gretel."
"If Wishes were Horses" centered around a magic gold coin and a man with healing ability. Better than the first story and a little bit entertaining but certainly not one of the best stories I've read. I'm not sure which fairy tale this was supposed to be.
I actually did like "Beauty, Sleeping." Inspired by "Sleeping Beauty" (if you could not guess!) it was an original story and unlike anything else I have read. 4 stars for this one.
"The Christmas Comet" was not too bad. I liked the story okay, but not much magic in this story.
My favorite was "Stroke of Midnight." An original "Cinderella" retelling. I really did enjoy this story.
All of the stories did have a happy ending. That is a plus. I do like my books to have happy endings!
December 27, 2018
This was a good anthology. I pretty much liked all the stories in this book. I was definitely grabbed by the throat with the first one (In Death novella) and the rest were intriguing and different. The last story definitely left me with smile on my face from the characters and the ironic name. ;) Took me a few seconds to get it. The 'coin' novella was good too. I had completely forgotten about that series and it reminded me of how good it is. This is something I most definitely wouldn't mind reading again and has a story for any mood. Sit down, settle in and have some spine-tingling, breath holding, and romantic stroll into a different play on some of the fairy tales from our youth. Enjoy!
November 22, 2018
Only read J D Robb’s novella, Taken in death.
December 19, 2019
Mirror, Mirror is an anthology containing five stories inspired by fairytales and written by bestselling authors. I wanted to read this for J.D. Robb's contribution but I enjoyed the other stories too and have found a couple of new to me authors who I want to read more from in the future.
Taken in Death by J.D. Robb
This story is J.D. Robb's take on Hansel and Gretel, normally Eve is only involved in investigating murders but after the body of a nanny is discovered the team quickly realise that the children she was looking after have been abducted. Eve finds herself in a race against time to track down missing seven year old twins Henry and Gala before they come to harm at the hands of the evil witch who stole them.
Taken in Death was a really creepy novella with a cannibalistic evil twin and a couple of pretty smart children who are able to leave a trail for Eve to follow. A perfect read-in-one-sitting story that'll give you your Eve and Roarke fix while you're waiting for the next full length book to arrive.
If Wishes Were Horses by Mary Blayney
Mary Blayney's contribution is a historical romance inspired by the tale of Goldilocks, it's not what I'd call a complete retelling but you can definitely see hints of the original tale in here. This was quite a cute story that had a feel of Downton Abbey to it, there were a few things that didn't feel particularly realistic about this story but I found it fairly easy to overlook those because I liked the main characters and was interested in seeing them get a happily ever after.
Beauty, Sleeping by Elaine Fox
Elaine Fox has written a clever and original take on Sleeping Beauty where Beauty is a man and he's not technically asleep. Instead he's been cursed to spend his life as a ghost that nobody can see, hear or interact with, until his true love comes along and is able to save him.
The Christmas Comet by Mary Kay McComas
Mary Kay McComas' story is inspired by two tales I'm not really that familiar with, The Little Matchstick Girl by Hans Christian Andersen and The Star Money by the Brothers Grimm, so I probably didn't appreciate it as much as I could have. I think my main issue with this one was that the main character was just too much of a saint, it's great that she tried to help so many people but doing it to the point where she couldn't afford to pay her own rent or buy herself food was a bit ridiculous.
Stroke of Midnight by R.C. Ryan
The final story by R.C. Ryan is inspired by Cinderella. I really liked the way Sydney refused to be a victim and chose to live life on her own terms in spite of her step-mother. She and Cullen made a cute couple and I was really enjoying their romance but I have to admit the rushed proposal at the end did spoil it a little. I'd have preferred it if the romance had been developed over a longer time before getting to that point. Still a cute read but not my favourite in the anthology.
Taken in Death by J.D. Robb
This story is J.D. Robb's take on Hansel and Gretel, normally Eve is only involved in investigating murders but after the body of a nanny is discovered the team quickly realise that the children she was looking after have been abducted. Eve finds herself in a race against time to track down missing seven year old twins Henry and Gala before they come to harm at the hands of the evil witch who stole them.
Taken in Death was a really creepy novella with a cannibalistic evil twin and a couple of pretty smart children who are able to leave a trail for Eve to follow. A perfect read-in-one-sitting story that'll give you your Eve and Roarke fix while you're waiting for the next full length book to arrive.
If Wishes Were Horses by Mary Blayney
Mary Blayney's contribution is a historical romance inspired by the tale of Goldilocks, it's not what I'd call a complete retelling but you can definitely see hints of the original tale in here. This was quite a cute story that had a feel of Downton Abbey to it, there were a few things that didn't feel particularly realistic about this story but I found it fairly easy to overlook those because I liked the main characters and was interested in seeing them get a happily ever after.
Beauty, Sleeping by Elaine Fox
Elaine Fox has written a clever and original take on Sleeping Beauty where Beauty is a man and he's not technically asleep. Instead he's been cursed to spend his life as a ghost that nobody can see, hear or interact with, until his true love comes along and is able to save him.
The Christmas Comet by Mary Kay McComas
Mary Kay McComas' story is inspired by two tales I'm not really that familiar with, The Little Matchstick Girl by Hans Christian Andersen and The Star Money by the Brothers Grimm, so I probably didn't appreciate it as much as I could have. I think my main issue with this one was that the main character was just too much of a saint, it's great that she tried to help so many people but doing it to the point where she couldn't afford to pay her own rent or buy herself food was a bit ridiculous.
Stroke of Midnight by R.C. Ryan
The final story by R.C. Ryan is inspired by Cinderella. I really liked the way Sydney refused to be a victim and chose to live life on her own terms in spite of her step-mother. She and Cullen made a cute couple and I was really enjoying their romance but I have to admit the rushed proposal at the end did spoil it a little. I'd have preferred it if the romance had been developed over a longer time before getting to that point. Still a cute read but not my favourite in the anthology.
September 30, 2018
I found this was an enjoyable anthology with five twists on fairy tales. It opened my eyes up to some authors that I've never read before and included a nice In Death Novella as well.
Taken in Death by J.D. Robb- 4 Stars
If Wishes Were Horses by Mary Blayney- 2 Stars
Beauty, Sleeping by Elaine Fox-4 Stars
The Christmas Comet by Mary Kay McComas- 3 Stars
Stroke of Midnight by R.C. Ryan- 4 stars
Taken in Death by J.D. Robb- 4 Stars
If Wishes Were Horses by Mary Blayney- 2 Stars
Beauty, Sleeping by Elaine Fox-4 Stars
The Christmas Comet by Mary Kay McComas- 3 Stars
Stroke of Midnight by R.C. Ryan- 4 stars
June 19, 2022
Loved the In Death short story, but the others were just ok.
April 29, 2022
Taken in Death --> 5/5
If Wishes Were Horses --> 4/5
Beauty, Sleeping --> 3,75/5
The Christmas Comet --> 3/5
Stroke of Midnight --> 4/5
If Wishes Were Horses --> 4/5
Beauty, Sleeping --> 3,75/5
The Christmas Comet --> 3/5
Stroke of Midnight --> 4/5
August 31, 2019
I read this a while back and I must say I generally enjoyed most of the short stories. I remember the collection being higher than average.
April 17, 2019
yet again, a WONDERFUL find in this series, I started with book one, and now have almost finished the entire series - ..and now on to the next one! I was introduced to this series through a novella, much like this one, and there are several of them..... I truly enjoyed some of the entries, others not as much, but its a really good read.
October 9, 2018
http://openbooksociety.com/article/mi...
Mirror, Mirror
By Various Authors (See below break-down of each story).
ISBN# 9780515154078
Brought to you by OBS reviewer Heidi
*Beware of possible spoilers*
Taken in Death
In Death, Book #37.5
By J.D. Robb
Author’s Website: http://www.jdrobb.com/
This anthology is all about fairy tales with a twist. It starts out strong with J.D. Robb/Nora Roberts’s take on Hansel and Gretel. Lieutenant Eve Dallas reports to a scene where a family’s nanny has been murdered, and their twin seven year olds were abducted. The parents were off on a second honeymoon, and were due back the following day. But according to their surveillance videos their mother is the one that came to the house, killed the nanny, and took off with the kids. However, the parents alibi checks out … they were in New Zealand at the time of the murder and abduction. A ghost from the mother’s past has come to haunt them, and now Eve and her team must find where the kids have been taken before it’s too late.
I’m not a big fan of novellas and it’s been awhile since I’ve found a book in the In Death series that I truly loved, so I went into this story with low expectations. However, I really enjoyed it. I felt it read like a full-length novel, even though it was under 100 pages long.
With these two kids in danger, it wakes Eve’s memories of her horrible childhood. She’ll do anything to save them, even if that means she has to wait to stand for her victim! Roarke, of course, is by her side and ready to help in any way possible. And, he will make sure she takes care of herself in the process!
I also really enjoyed the twins too. There were a few scenes from their point of view and those kids were definitely fighters!
This story is all about how closely entwined good and evil really are. It was a fun and quick read that you can easily tackle in one afternoon or evening, when you’ve got a little time on your hands.
If Wishes Were Horses
By Mary Blayney
Author’s Website: http://www.maryblayney.com/
This story was a take on Goldilocks, I believe. This was a historical romance with some magical elements set in the year 1816. Martha Stepp is a maid that dreams of bigger things. When nobody is looking she’s testing various things in the castle where she works to see what is ‘perfect for her’. She’s already tested all the chairs and now she’s on to testing the beds. A task that leads her to nearly being caught sleeping in Major Craig’s bed! He came home during the night after being away for years. But the major isn’t what catches her eye, but the sergeant that came home with him to help him recover from being injured during the war.
Martha is also the keeper of a magic coin that grants wishes for everyone except her. If only she could find a man that would sweep her off her feet and away from the servant life.
This was just an okay read. I felt it was pretty cheesy and didn’t read like a historical story either. The romance was very slow to build, and honestly was nearly non-existent. For a moment I even thought the story had switched who her love interest was meant to be! Then, in the last chapter it was a case of instant love and planning a happily ever after. It happened too quickly to be believable and felt like the author was just trying to finish the story in a hurry.
This story teaches us to be careful what you wish for!
Beauty, Sleeping
By Elaine Fox
Author’s Website: http://www.elainefox.com/Home.html
This story is a take on Sleeping Beauty, as you would expect based on the title. This one had several changes from the original. For starters, beauty was a male! Instead of going to sleep he was cursed to be a ghost until his love found him. I especially loved the twist on the poisoned spindle.
I really enjoyed Michael’s narration. He was just sitting there having a conversation and I loved his humor and take on things. I would easily have read more from him and honestly wish this story had been longer. This tale suffered from a rushed insta-romance at the end, but I still found that I rather enjoyed the story overall.
I did find it odd that Stephen just kind of disappeared once Cassandra found Michael. I would assume if this had been a longer story, we would have seen some opposition from him. I kind of wish we had.
I feel the lesson in this book is not to take things and people for granted.
The Christmas Comet
By Mary Kay McComas
Author’s Website: http://www.marykaymccomas.com/
This story was molded after a couple more obscure fairy tales, and I wouldn’t have known that without reading the author’s note at the end of the story. This tale was inspired by both Hans Christian Andersen’s The Little Match Girl and The Brothers Grimm’s The Star Money. Regrettably, I have not read either tale to be able to compare to this story.
Natalie’s passion in life is to help those that are hard on their luck. She volunteers at the church to help feed the homeless on the nights that it’s offered, and hits the streets herself on the nights they don’t. She uses her own money to make meals for them, and collect supplies they may need such as coats and clothing. She spends so much on her mission that her own bills are often left unpaid.
Her friend, Miles, is a police offer that worries for her safety when she goes out alone at night to less desirable areas. The two have feelings for each other, but have never shared those feelings, afraid they won’t be reciprocated.
However, on Christmas Eve Natalie is supposed to meet Miles, but his worst fears come to fruition. Left stranded and battered on the side of the road in a snow storm, Natalie must pull the resources available to her and use her smarts to survive. But she just may need the luck of a Christmas miracle to see the dawn of the next day.
This was an okay story. It wasn’t earth-shattering to say the least, and a little dull at times. However, there is a sweet romance trying to emerge from underneath all the despair Natalie surrounds herself with. She is a good person and you know what they say … good things happen to good people.
I do feel there was more story to tell where Officer Morgan was concerned. His scorn for her seems too personal for the little interaction the two had. Unfortunately, there was no big revelation or resolution to that.
This story shows that we must take care of ourselves before we can truly help others. But, it also shows us that if you do good things for others, it will come back to you with good things as well.
Stroke of Midnight
By R.C. Ryan
Author’s Website: http://www.ryanlangan.com/
This story is a play on one of the classics, Cinderella! Sydney had a loving artistic father who was heartbroken when the love of his life died when Sydney was only five years old. He felt Sydney needed a mother figure and married Margot, who had twin daughters of her own. When Sydney’s father died Margot sold all of her father’s possessions and moved them to the city. Sydney was forced to give up the life she was accustomed to and to work multiple jobs to support her step-sisters.
Now Sydney lives on her own teaching second grade and also an adult art class. Her father had always wanted to take her to his small hometown in Ireland, but died before he got the chance. However, when Margot drops off a couple boxes of her dad’s old clothes she found, Sydney finds a letter and money that will afford her the ability to finally go see the land he so loved.
On the plane, Sydney sits next to a man from the same town she’s going to. Cullen offers to give her a ride and to show her his town. The two quickly form a bond and revel in the magic of Ireland. But once Margot finds out, will she find a way to ruin it all?
This was a nice story. I really enjoyed Cullen although I did not understand his rush at the end of the book. If I had been Sydney, it definitely would have scared me off! Like most of the other stories in this book, I do think this tale suffers from the rushed ending, but it was still enjoyable.
This story teaches us to trust in our hearts and just believe the fairy tale!
Overall Thoughts:
Overall I enjoyed this book a lot more than I thought I would. The J.D. Robb story was great and was the reason I picked this book up. But after reading the other stories, I’m also interested in reading more from Elaine Fox and R.C. Ryan. This anthology was great for opening my eyes to new-to-me authors. I also enjoyed the fairy tale theme and feel it’s one that anyone can connect with. I did feel that Elaine Fox’s Beauty, Sleeping was the most inventive twist on the fairy tale and I will definitely have to check out more of her work.
Mirror, Mirror
By Various Authors (See below break-down of each story).
ISBN# 9780515154078
Brought to you by OBS reviewer Heidi
*Beware of possible spoilers*
Taken in Death
In Death, Book #37.5
By J.D. Robb
Author’s Website: http://www.jdrobb.com/
This anthology is all about fairy tales with a twist. It starts out strong with J.D. Robb/Nora Roberts’s take on Hansel and Gretel. Lieutenant Eve Dallas reports to a scene where a family’s nanny has been murdered, and their twin seven year olds were abducted. The parents were off on a second honeymoon, and were due back the following day. But according to their surveillance videos their mother is the one that came to the house, killed the nanny, and took off with the kids. However, the parents alibi checks out … they were in New Zealand at the time of the murder and abduction. A ghost from the mother’s past has come to haunt them, and now Eve and her team must find where the kids have been taken before it’s too late.
I’m not a big fan of novellas and it’s been awhile since I’ve found a book in the In Death series that I truly loved, so I went into this story with low expectations. However, I really enjoyed it. I felt it read like a full-length novel, even though it was under 100 pages long.
With these two kids in danger, it wakes Eve’s memories of her horrible childhood. She’ll do anything to save them, even if that means she has to wait to stand for her victim! Roarke, of course, is by her side and ready to help in any way possible. And, he will make sure she takes care of herself in the process!
I also really enjoyed the twins too. There were a few scenes from their point of view and those kids were definitely fighters!
This story is all about how closely entwined good and evil really are. It was a fun and quick read that you can easily tackle in one afternoon or evening, when you’ve got a little time on your hands.
If Wishes Were Horses
By Mary Blayney
Author’s Website: http://www.maryblayney.com/
This story was a take on Goldilocks, I believe. This was a historical romance with some magical elements set in the year 1816. Martha Stepp is a maid that dreams of bigger things. When nobody is looking she’s testing various things in the castle where she works to see what is ‘perfect for her’. She’s already tested all the chairs and now she’s on to testing the beds. A task that leads her to nearly being caught sleeping in Major Craig’s bed! He came home during the night after being away for years. But the major isn’t what catches her eye, but the sergeant that came home with him to help him recover from being injured during the war.
Martha is also the keeper of a magic coin that grants wishes for everyone except her. If only she could find a man that would sweep her off her feet and away from the servant life.
This was just an okay read. I felt it was pretty cheesy and didn’t read like a historical story either. The romance was very slow to build, and honestly was nearly non-existent. For a moment I even thought the story had switched who her love interest was meant to be! Then, in the last chapter it was a case of instant love and planning a happily ever after. It happened too quickly to be believable and felt like the author was just trying to finish the story in a hurry.
This story teaches us to be careful what you wish for!
Beauty, Sleeping
By Elaine Fox
Author’s Website: http://www.elainefox.com/Home.html
This story is a take on Sleeping Beauty, as you would expect based on the title. This one had several changes from the original. For starters, beauty was a male! Instead of going to sleep he was cursed to be a ghost until his love found him. I especially loved the twist on the poisoned spindle.
I really enjoyed Michael’s narration. He was just sitting there having a conversation and I loved his humor and take on things. I would easily have read more from him and honestly wish this story had been longer. This tale suffered from a rushed insta-romance at the end, but I still found that I rather enjoyed the story overall.
I did find it odd that Stephen just kind of disappeared once Cassandra found Michael. I would assume if this had been a longer story, we would have seen some opposition from him. I kind of wish we had.
I feel the lesson in this book is not to take things and people for granted.
The Christmas Comet
By Mary Kay McComas
Author’s Website: http://www.marykaymccomas.com/
This story was molded after a couple more obscure fairy tales, and I wouldn’t have known that without reading the author’s note at the end of the story. This tale was inspired by both Hans Christian Andersen’s The Little Match Girl and The Brothers Grimm’s The Star Money. Regrettably, I have not read either tale to be able to compare to this story.
Natalie’s passion in life is to help those that are hard on their luck. She volunteers at the church to help feed the homeless on the nights that it’s offered, and hits the streets herself on the nights they don’t. She uses her own money to make meals for them, and collect supplies they may need such as coats and clothing. She spends so much on her mission that her own bills are often left unpaid.
Her friend, Miles, is a police offer that worries for her safety when she goes out alone at night to less desirable areas. The two have feelings for each other, but have never shared those feelings, afraid they won’t be reciprocated.
However, on Christmas Eve Natalie is supposed to meet Miles, but his worst fears come to fruition. Left stranded and battered on the side of the road in a snow storm, Natalie must pull the resources available to her and use her smarts to survive. But she just may need the luck of a Christmas miracle to see the dawn of the next day.
This was an okay story. It wasn’t earth-shattering to say the least, and a little dull at times. However, there is a sweet romance trying to emerge from underneath all the despair Natalie surrounds herself with. She is a good person and you know what they say … good things happen to good people.
I do feel there was more story to tell where Officer Morgan was concerned. His scorn for her seems too personal for the little interaction the two had. Unfortunately, there was no big revelation or resolution to that.
This story shows that we must take care of ourselves before we can truly help others. But, it also shows us that if you do good things for others, it will come back to you with good things as well.
Stroke of Midnight
By R.C. Ryan
Author’s Website: http://www.ryanlangan.com/
This story is a play on one of the classics, Cinderella! Sydney had a loving artistic father who was heartbroken when the love of his life died when Sydney was only five years old. He felt Sydney needed a mother figure and married Margot, who had twin daughters of her own. When Sydney’s father died Margot sold all of her father’s possessions and moved them to the city. Sydney was forced to give up the life she was accustomed to and to work multiple jobs to support her step-sisters.
Now Sydney lives on her own teaching second grade and also an adult art class. Her father had always wanted to take her to his small hometown in Ireland, but died before he got the chance. However, when Margot drops off a couple boxes of her dad’s old clothes she found, Sydney finds a letter and money that will afford her the ability to finally go see the land he so loved.
On the plane, Sydney sits next to a man from the same town she’s going to. Cullen offers to give her a ride and to show her his town. The two quickly form a bond and revel in the magic of Ireland. But once Margot finds out, will she find a way to ruin it all?
This was a nice story. I really enjoyed Cullen although I did not understand his rush at the end of the book. If I had been Sydney, it definitely would have scared me off! Like most of the other stories in this book, I do think this tale suffers from the rushed ending, but it was still enjoyable.
This story teaches us to trust in our hearts and just believe the fairy tale!
Overall Thoughts:
Overall I enjoyed this book a lot more than I thought I would. The J.D. Robb story was great and was the reason I picked this book up. But after reading the other stories, I’m also interested in reading more from Elaine Fox and R.C. Ryan. This anthology was great for opening my eyes to new-to-me authors. I also enjoyed the fairy tale theme and feel it’s one that anyone can connect with. I did feel that Elaine Fox’s Beauty, Sleeping was the most inventive twist on the fairy tale and I will definitely have to check out more of her work.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 3, 2015
MIRROR, MIRROR is an anthology comprised of five authors: J.D. Robb, Mary Blayney, Elaine Fox, Mary Kay McComas and R.C. Ryan. Of these five, I’ve only read Robb so I decided that it would be nice to explore the works of the others while still getting my Roarke fix!
What intrigued me about this anthology is that all the stories in this book are retellings or twists on well-known fairytales and we all know that I’m a sucker for those kind of things!
TAKEN IN DEATH by J.D. Robb – 4 stars
Robb’s story is based loosely on Hansel and Gretel and whoa, it’s a little chilling. The villain is a different kind of crazy! She harbors extreme jealous for her sister who has lived a great life. As someone who believes in witchcraft and cannibalism, this crazy woman kills the nanny taking care of her sister’s children and kidnaps the poor seven year old twins to use them as leverage over her sister. It’s a dramatic event that leads to a rollercoaster of emotions. I felt a spike in my pulse as I read this book, it was that suspenseful ! Robb does a fantastic job of taking the moving parts of the fairytale and make it her own. It’s such a well-done story that I’m surprised it’s only a short one. Robb is just so talented.
IF WISHES WERE HORSES – 3 stars
Mary Blayney’s story is a historical that deals with a magical coin that changes the lives of whoever wishes on it. While not my favorite of the series, I did enjoy the story and think that I could be persuaded to try more of Blayney’s work. As I said, this is the first of her novellas that I have tried and I believe that she plans to write more novellas that are all Regency set and revolve around this magical element.
BEAUTY, SLEEPING by Elaine Fox – 3.5 stars
Now this story was very very entertaining. Never having read this author before, I thought this story would be a little more somber in tone. It definitely wasn’t! It’s fun, flirty and quite funny too. I loved the upbeat narration. I read this book in the middle of the night and found myself smiling as I read it. It just enlivened my senses and brought a big smile to my face. I think after having read this unique take on Sleeping Beauty, I will want to read more from Fox. Her writing is so much fun!
THE CHRISTMAS COMET by Mary Kay McComas – 3 stars
McComas’ story is a mixture of two fairytales that I’m not very familiar with so I don’t think I could appreciate the author’s take on this tale as much as the others. However, I will say that it was enjoyable to read. McComas chose to be inspired by Hans Christian Andersen’s THE LITTLE MATCHSTICK GIRL and Brothers Grimm’s THE STAR MONEY.
STOKE OF MIDNIGHT by R.C. Ryan – 3 stars
R.C. is another author I haven’t read but I do like the writing style of. STROKE OF MIDNIGHT is Sydney and Cullen’s story. I don’t think this one was my favorite of the collection but I have had my eye of Ryan’s other work so I may try thought instead.
I am actually quite surprised by the wide variety of sub-genres that this anthology has. Usually you have authors put together who have a similar style or are from the same genre, but this one seems to jump around and give readers a bit of everything.
*ARC provided by publisher
January 20, 2014
Five short stories with a fairy tale at their core.
Series: "Taken in Death" (In Death, 37.5)
"If Wishes Were Horses" (Poppy's Coin, 6)
The Stories
J.D. Robb wrote "Taken in Death" and channels Hansel and Gretel while Eve is the good witch whom the children pray finds them. Great job on this one. Tension, drama, and great work from Eve, Roarke, Feeney and his eBoys, and Dr. Mira as well as the Feds!
Mary Blayney wrote "If Wishes Were Horses", which finds Martha Stepp in a Goldilocks of trouble through her need to find "just right" when the major gets home early with a keen-eyed aide. The clichéd confusion is redeemed by a twist of a pair of wishes.
I do love Martha's point that she was never looking for perfection, but just right for her. Jack's own last thought made me sigh deeply when he "hoped it would be the last scent he knew every night of his life". Mmmm, sigh…
Elaine Fox's "Beauty, Sleeping" is cute enough with its Sleeping Beauty references. Thankfully, those were original to the story, I wish, though, that Fox had been less clichéd in her execution, although the table scene was original in how Fox applied it to the curse. Nice descriptions. I'm not happy with that ending as it was too unbelievable in how Fox tied everything up.
Mary Kay McComas wrote "The Christmas Comet", a blend of The Little Match Girl and The Star Money, was just depressing for most of it, and I didn't care for the stupidity of her main character. Yeah, yeah, it was very sweet and caring and giving and warmhearted, and what was she thinking!? Another one that tied up too easily at the sweet ending.
R.C. Ryan wrote "Stroke of Midnight", and it's cute enough with its sweet Sydney and her trials and tribulations. Most of 'em imposed by herself as she's too timid to deal with her stepmama. Fox's idea of the "ball" was fun, although that "stroke of midnight" interpretation was not believable. I can't believe that even Sydney would fall for that one! As for Cullen's last name? Oh, brother…at least Ryan avoided most of the clichés.
Warning: insta-love with some random eye-rolling.
The Cover
The cover is rather dull with its textured burgundy background that runs a gradient of dark to light at the top that ends with a filigreed silver hand mirror radiating a Twilight Zone-ish effect.
The title is from a fairy tale, and I'm not sure if the authors intend for us to see ourselves or others in Mirror, Mirror.
Series: "Taken in Death" (In Death, 37.5)
"If Wishes Were Horses" (Poppy's Coin, 6)
The Stories
J.D. Robb wrote "Taken in Death" and channels Hansel and Gretel while Eve is the good witch whom the children pray finds them. Great job on this one. Tension, drama, and great work from Eve, Roarke, Feeney and his eBoys, and Dr. Mira as well as the Feds!
Mary Blayney wrote "If Wishes Were Horses", which finds Martha Stepp in a Goldilocks of trouble through her need to find "just right" when the major gets home early with a keen-eyed aide. The clichéd confusion is redeemed by a twist of a pair of wishes.
I do love Martha's point that she was never looking for perfection, but just right for her. Jack's own last thought made me sigh deeply when he "hoped it would be the last scent he knew every night of his life". Mmmm, sigh…
Elaine Fox's "Beauty, Sleeping" is cute enough with its Sleeping Beauty references. Thankfully, those were original to the story, I wish, though, that Fox had been less clichéd in her execution, although the table scene was original in how Fox applied it to the curse. Nice descriptions. I'm not happy with that ending as it was too unbelievable in how Fox tied everything up.
Mary Kay McComas wrote "The Christmas Comet", a blend of The Little Match Girl and The Star Money, was just depressing for most of it, and I didn't care for the stupidity of her main character. Yeah, yeah, it was very sweet and caring and giving and warmhearted, and what was she thinking!? Another one that tied up too easily at the sweet ending.
R.C. Ryan wrote "Stroke of Midnight", and it's cute enough with its sweet Sydney and her trials and tribulations. Most of 'em imposed by herself as she's too timid to deal with her stepmama. Fox's idea of the "ball" was fun, although that "stroke of midnight" interpretation was not believable. I can't believe that even Sydney would fall for that one! As for Cullen's last name? Oh, brother…at least Ryan avoided most of the clichés.
Warning: insta-love with some random eye-rolling.
The Cover
The cover is rather dull with its textured burgundy background that runs a gradient of dark to light at the top that ends with a filigreed silver hand mirror radiating a Twilight Zone-ish effect.
The title is from a fairy tale, and I'm not sure if the authors intend for us to see ourselves or others in Mirror, Mirror.
September 9, 2014
I liked this set of stories based on fairy tales.
J D Robb takes on Hansel and Gretel in Taken in Death. Twins are stolen by a woman who looks like their mother and they try to leave some breadcrumbs for someone to find them.
If Wishes were horses tells the tale of a servant who finds true love when she embraces a chance she gets. Nice story by Mary Blayney, a little supernatural stuff and I'd like to see more of these characters.
Beauty, Sleeping by Elaine Fox is a story of Faerie and a man who disappears who finds love is the answer to his problem of incorporeality.
The Christmas Comet by Mary Kay McComas is a story of a woman who tries to do good who finds that there's love under her nose.
Stroke of Midnight by R C Ryan, takes a twist on the tale of Cinderella. Dear Author, Shannon is in the WEST of Ireland, it's an Airport, Dublin Airport is in the EAST, both have routes to the US. Asking to go to "Dublin, please. Shannon Airport" (p 397) is going to incur one hell of a taxi fare from everywhere in the country, it broke the suspension of disbelief for me just before the end. A little research goes a long way. Though the Ireland was thankfully not as twee as many other authors would have it, plaudits due for that.
Overall not a bad set of stories and well done. I want to read more by several of the authors, J D Robb is already on my must-read list.
J D Robb takes on Hansel and Gretel in Taken in Death. Twins are stolen by a woman who looks like their mother and they try to leave some breadcrumbs for someone to find them.
If Wishes were horses tells the tale of a servant who finds true love when she embraces a chance she gets. Nice story by Mary Blayney, a little supernatural stuff and I'd like to see more of these characters.
Beauty, Sleeping by Elaine Fox is a story of Faerie and a man who disappears who finds love is the answer to his problem of incorporeality.
The Christmas Comet by Mary Kay McComas is a story of a woman who tries to do good who finds that there's love under her nose.
Stroke of Midnight by R C Ryan, takes a twist on the tale of Cinderella. Dear Author, Shannon is in the WEST of Ireland, it's an Airport, Dublin Airport is in the EAST, both have routes to the US. Asking to go to "Dublin, please. Shannon Airport" (p 397) is going to incur one hell of a taxi fare from everywhere in the country, it broke the suspension of disbelief for me just before the end. A little research goes a long way. Though the Ireland was thankfully not as twee as many other authors would have it, plaudits due for that.
Overall not a bad set of stories and well done. I want to read more by several of the authors, J D Robb is already on my must-read list.
November 5, 2013
This time Eve and her team met face to face with a crazy twin sister in eerie circumstances. Fairy tales in real life? In 2060s? That's something new...
One thing is for sure, this series never gets boring. At least for me. It's give or take 40 books long series and every other book brings something new. This time you get a warning that every story has its own interpretation, to never confuse people's intentions, and more importantly there are wackos all around us and probably always will be. If there weren't this series and many others would probably be long done with ;)
More and more...
One thing is for sure, this series never gets boring. At least for me. It's give or take 40 books long series and every other book brings something new. This time you get a warning that every story has its own interpretation, to never confuse people's intentions, and more importantly there are wackos all around us and probably always will be. If there weren't this series and many others would probably be long done with ;)
More and more...
October 5, 2013
This is for Taken in Death only
I'm not a fan of the novellas in this series but this was a very nice surprise, one where the short format works.
It's a race against time to find Henry and Gala (our Hansel & Gretel), who've been kidnapped. The next 24 hours is a tense and exciting ride with Eve Dallas and her team as they work the case. Once you start this story you will not stop until the end in this classic In Death procedural and interesting take on a classic fairy tale. I now have a new favorite novella.
I'm not a fan of the novellas in this series but this was a very nice surprise, one where the short format works.
It's a race against time to find Henry and Gala (our Hansel & Gretel), who've been kidnapped. The next 24 hours is a tense and exciting ride with Eve Dallas and her team as they work the case. Once you start this story you will not stop until the end in this classic In Death procedural and interesting take on a classic fairy tale. I now have a new favorite novella.
September 25, 2013
After a few lackluster novella, this one was very powerful. Thankless in Death was a bit too disturbing for me, so it was really nice to see a more typical In Death story with Taken. I love how you see Eve's growth as a leader. Where she once fought against reaching out to certain organizations, to play politics, she doesn't hesitate this time. If anything, this book is a solid record of character growth for Eve, and I highly enjoyed it and appearances by most of the cast. This is a great novella to re-read. I plan to eventually read the other fairy tale retellings as well.
October 11, 2016
The stories were arranged in order of merit and entertainment value I believe.
By the time I got to the last story I kinda get the feeling that it was written half-heartedly. I jest.
But, I did like the imagery in the first story and got to sketching. Update soon.
Omg, I actually did this almost a year ago. Found my doodling notebook. Maybe I should continue inking and sketching the rest of the stories.
Get colouring, kids.
By the time I got to the last story I kinda get the feeling that it was written half-heartedly. I jest.
But, I did like the imagery in the first story and got to sketching. Update soon.
Omg, I actually did this almost a year ago. Found my doodling notebook. Maybe I should continue inking and sketching the rest of the stories.
Get colouring, kids.
October 5, 2013
Giving it a 4 star mostly because it starts with the novella "Taken in Death", which should get a 5 star of it's own. This book consists of 5 novellas that are a new twist on old fairy tales. "Taken in Death" is a great twist, the others are varying degrees of cheesy. Though I do like cheese, and although it may win the "Cheesiest of the All" award, I liked the final installment in the book, "Stroke of Midnight", mostly because it was based primarily in Ireland, where my soul is.
October 11, 2013
this book has 5 stories based on fairy tales with jd robb's being the best one. the other stores are worth reading once but frankly i'll probably never read them again. they were (although some had a unique take on their fairy tale) kind of predictable and a bit silly.
September 29, 2013
Enjoyed the JD Robb portion of Mirror, Mirror. The rest of the authors, not so much. Good thing I only purchased the book to find out how Eve Dallas solved her latest crime.
February 17, 2014
I only read the Robb story, Taken in Death which was very good. The whole book is a take on fairy tales and Robb's story is about Hansel and Gretel. Love Eve and Roarke.
June 17, 2015
I really enjoyed JD Robb’s version of Hansel and Gretel. I can’t say the same for the rest of the stories.
June 22, 2015
This rating is only for J D Robb - the others are not more than 2 stars and a couple only 1 star.
November 2, 2019
Mirror, Mirror (in death)
Wish, witch and magic coin. Eve must rescue twin from the aunt who is their mother twin sister. Great stories, fun fairytales.
Wish, witch and magic coin. Eve must rescue twin from the aunt who is their mother twin sister. Great stories, fun fairytales.
March 12, 2018
Taken in Death
Henry and Gala sure were brave from their cannibal Lector aunt from Hansel and Gretel.
Henry and Gala sure were brave from their cannibal Lector aunt from Hansel and Gretel.
November 6, 2013
Once upon a time...
...in a world far removed from the days when fairy tales were new, five bestselling authors spin versions that take the classic stories into a new dimension. You'll recognize Hansel and Gretel, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, and other enduring characters, but they'll exist in realms beyond your imagination, where the familiar is transformed into the extraordinary and otherworldly.
J.D. Robb – Taken in Death
Genre: futuristic romantic suspense.
An open and shut case, if you believe the security video. A woman comes home just before midnight, and leaves a few minutes later with her children. Leaving a dead nanny behind. Eve doesn’t hesitate for a moment, and sends out an Amber alert for both children. And when the parents come home early, it should all have wrapped up nice and quickly.
But looks are deceiving, as Ross and Tosha MacDermit where still in Australia at the time of the murder/kidnapping. Eve does believe the shocked mother’s horrible story about her evil twinsister. Maj has always accused Tosha of killing their mother at birth, of stealing her rightful powers, just by living. She has tried to kill and injure Tosha as early as she can remember, and when they were twelve, Maj killed their father and was found laughing, while sitting on his dead body and drinking his blood. Maj has been imprisoned ever since, and Tosha was raised by family. She has officially deleted Maj from her personal records, and has moved from Sweden to America to escape her memories and her twinsister. At last, the bond between them has died, after Tosha consciously suppressing it.
And now Maj has appeared in her life again, kidnapping her children, Tosha’s most beloved “possessions”, in order to hurt Tosha the most.
And Eve and her loyal team are involved in a race against the clock, to find the children before they are hurt or killed. Maj is clearly psychotic, and she loves killing, and has even cannibalistic tendencies. She seduced her shrink into helping her escape, and as a thank you, she killed him after cleaning out his bank accounts.
A little toy will help Eve find little Henry and Gala, like leaving bread crumbs in the forest to the candy house …
“The evil witch killed Darcia”. The first sentence and I was captivated till the last sentence of the book. As it is a novella, it was very fast paced, a race against the clock to find the kidnapped children. They were brave in the face of evil, and they kept faith that the Good Witch would find them in time.
It is short, but all of J.D. Robb’s signature skills are put in this story, and I gobbled it up in a few hours. It was thrilling to follow all the crumbs, to learn about Maj and to witness everything. This is a nice retelling of Hansel and Gretel.
10 stars.
Mary Blayney – If wishes were horses
Genre: historical romance.
This story centers around a magical coin, which has been used for earlier anthologies. It is currently owned by a maid, Martha Stepp, who is working in a big castle. Martha offers the coin to people she knows she can trust not to think her insane, who can certainly use a wish. With the warning, that the coin has its own strange way of making the wish come true, and not in the manner the wishmaker expects or wants.
Martha doesn’t want to be a maid forever; she would love to have a real adventure, and a husband and children of her own. If she can’t have that, she will strive to become a housekeeper in a grand house.
One of Martha’s hobbies is trying which seat or bed is the best in the house. It is an innocent hobby, until she is almost caught when the Major comes home from the war, with his servant. Sergeant Jack Tresbere has secrets of his own, but when he recognizes Martha as the one who got away from him whey they arrived, he is certainly interested in her. But Jack thinks he is not suitable marriage material, and he has no idea how to talk to a woman, having lived his entire life in the army.
It was fun getting to know Martha and Jack, and how they both wanted the other, but were afraid to act upon it. Until Martha got fired when she was discovered in another bed, and Jack went after her.
A nice story, perhaps a retelling of Goldilocks?
8 stars.
Elaine Fox – Beauty, Sleeping
Genre: paranormal romance.
Cassandra is 5 years old, and prone to horrible nightmares. When she has one, her father takes her downstairs with him, and they watch some old television together. One night, she sees a picture of a man who has mysteriously disappeared. He looks just like the Night Prince in her favourite story book. But Cassandra just knows that he will be waiting for her, and they will be living in his big house together someday.
Michael Prince is an upcoming tv newscaster, and he got on the wrong side of a fairy. When he was born, his parents did not invite aunt Malva to the christening party, and Malva cursed Michael to die from a poisoned spindle. His other aunt Amelia managed to alter the curse to sleep or something like that. Of course Michael never believed in the curse, and anyway, he had no idea what a spindle was.
Turned out, it was not a part of a spinning wheel he had to be careful of, it was a person (or Faery as he later found out) named Deirdra Spindle who did not take it kindly when he did not date her again or exclusively. She cursed him, Michael disappeared without a trace, and has been in some kind of other dimension ever since. He has no idea how much time has elapsed, but he does know that his father eventually had him declared dead, and has empted the house of his things. And now his house has been sold to a stranger.
The good faery Astrid who sometimes keeps him company tells him this person is important to him, and then she disappears. What does it mean? How can he communicate with Cassandra as he is like a ghost to her?
Cassandra has recently won the lottery, this enabled her to buy the house of her dreams. Her ex-boyfriend is not happy with that, if not for his money, what can he offer her that she wants? Cassandra likes him enough, but is not in love with him, to the desperation of her mother. What is not to love about a rich, handsome, gallant man? She should jump at the opportunity to marry him! And with this big house, she needs a man to help her!
Cassandra is determined to do it all alone though, it is her house. The house of her Night Prince, whom she has never forgotten. And when she senses a presence in the house, she is determined to find out what, or who, it is. Michael gets more and more presence in the present time, but he also looses big chunks of time, just when Cassandra starts believing…
A very charming faery tale retelling, I enjoyed it very much. I admired Cassandra for wanting to do things her way, and not just accepting a marriage proposal under pressure. There is not much background on Michael though, just that he was a rogue, having a different woman every week. So why she fell for him, I have no idea, he has not redeemed himself or something, just spend 30 years in limbo, not again, but also not accomplishing anything. And why he fell for Cassandra? Because she was the one who could finally sense and see him?
So, a nice and sweet story, but lacking the romance for me. There has to be more to a couple than something like destiny. Obviously, this is a retelling of Sleeping Beauty.
6 stars.
Mary Kay McComas – The Christmas Comet
Genre: contemporary romance.
Natalie knows what it is to live on the streets. She was 5 when she was rescued and adopted by a nice couple. But she never forgot what it meant, and how much difference a little help can make in a person’s life. And so Natalie has a dayjob, and after work, she cooks for the homeless, and hands out the food and clothes and whatever else they need. She also volunteers at the local church and homeless centers as much as she can. With little care for herself and her own bills, which will bite her in the behind soon enough.
One of the local cops likes nothing as much as arresting her for breaking local laws, and messing up her stuff. Lucky for Natalie, there is a good cop, Paul Morgan, who looks out for her and helps out where he can.
Finally, Paul gets up the courage to ask Natalie out on a date, he has been in love with her for years now, and she is very happy to accept him. But there is a lot of trouble before they will be able to have a real date …
Even as a retelling of the Matchstick Girl, this short story made me cry. Natalie is just to good to be true, with helping others while not taking care of her own financial needs first. How can she keep on helping if she is getting evicted, or her car breaks down? Very naïve, and believing and the good of people. She was a real nice person, but okay, a bit too good for my tastes. It is a very short story, so little background on Paul, but I liked his character.
8 stars.
R.C. Ryan – Stroke of Midnight
Genre: contemporary romance.
Sydney’s father loved her mother as the light in his eye, and after her dead, he was desperate. Thinking if he married a woman with two daughters of her own he would give Sydney a nice family who would help him raise her. But after his death, the widow sold all his artwork, and the country home, and they moved to the big city. Where Sydney had to get a job to help pay for college for her two step sisters. And to provide for her stepmother as Margot thought she deserved.
Sydney would love to be a painter like her father was, but does not believe she is any good, as her stepmother keeps telling her. Sydney has a day job as an English teacher, and in the evenings she gives art classes at the community center. She is used to working at least two jobs, and she loves helping people, to her stepmother’s dismay. She should be out there, dating doctors and lawyers and such, like her two own daughters are doing.
When Sydney finds 5.000 dollars in one of her father’s old painter shirts, she decides to do something she wants, for a change. She is going on vacation to Ireland, to the small village her father was born and that he was talking about to her all the time. Margot is furious when she finds out of course, that money could have been used in better ways.
On the plane to Ireland Sydney finds herself sitting to a nice but a bit shabby man, and they strike up a conversation. When he finds out she is going to his home town, he offers her a lift, and after a bit of hesitating, Sydney accepts. She likes him, and when he offers to take her sightseeing the next day, she is happy to see him again. But shouldn’t Cullen go back to his own life now he is back home? But Cullen tells her he is still on vacation too, and has the time to spend with her.
He takes her to the river Glass, where her father used to paint a lot, and Sydney is totally captivated by the beautiful scenery, and starts painting, while Cullen just takes a nap waiting with the picnic basket. They spend a verrry nice day together, and Sydney is a bit sad he can’t stay the night. She would have liked to make love to him again, and just lie in his arms.
The next day Cullen proposes, and he wants to get married that same day. Sydney is overjoyed and she accepts, but when she tells Margot, the woman puts a lot of questions and doubts in her head, and she tries to leave for America while Cullen is in Dublin on business.
Will he find her in time?
Another sweet little fairy tale, a retelling of Cinderella. I just can’t believe in the enormous rushing here, I have no idea why it was so important that they married that very same day. It is not being explained, although Cullen and his background are told about.
I enjoyed the journey and discovery of Ireland along with Sydney, but that hasty proposal just confused me.
7 stars.
...in a world far removed from the days when fairy tales were new, five bestselling authors spin versions that take the classic stories into a new dimension. You'll recognize Hansel and Gretel, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, and other enduring characters, but they'll exist in realms beyond your imagination, where the familiar is transformed into the extraordinary and otherworldly.
J.D. Robb – Taken in Death
Genre: futuristic romantic suspense.
An open and shut case, if you believe the security video. A woman comes home just before midnight, and leaves a few minutes later with her children. Leaving a dead nanny behind. Eve doesn’t hesitate for a moment, and sends out an Amber alert for both children. And when the parents come home early, it should all have wrapped up nice and quickly.
But looks are deceiving, as Ross and Tosha MacDermit where still in Australia at the time of the murder/kidnapping. Eve does believe the shocked mother’s horrible story about her evil twinsister. Maj has always accused Tosha of killing their mother at birth, of stealing her rightful powers, just by living. She has tried to kill and injure Tosha as early as she can remember, and when they were twelve, Maj killed their father and was found laughing, while sitting on his dead body and drinking his blood. Maj has been imprisoned ever since, and Tosha was raised by family. She has officially deleted Maj from her personal records, and has moved from Sweden to America to escape her memories and her twinsister. At last, the bond between them has died, after Tosha consciously suppressing it.
And now Maj has appeared in her life again, kidnapping her children, Tosha’s most beloved “possessions”, in order to hurt Tosha the most.
And Eve and her loyal team are involved in a race against the clock, to find the children before they are hurt or killed. Maj is clearly psychotic, and she loves killing, and has even cannibalistic tendencies. She seduced her shrink into helping her escape, and as a thank you, she killed him after cleaning out his bank accounts.
A little toy will help Eve find little Henry and Gala, like leaving bread crumbs in the forest to the candy house …
“The evil witch killed Darcia”. The first sentence and I was captivated till the last sentence of the book. As it is a novella, it was very fast paced, a race against the clock to find the kidnapped children. They were brave in the face of evil, and they kept faith that the Good Witch would find them in time.
It is short, but all of J.D. Robb’s signature skills are put in this story, and I gobbled it up in a few hours. It was thrilling to follow all the crumbs, to learn about Maj and to witness everything. This is a nice retelling of Hansel and Gretel.
10 stars.
Mary Blayney – If wishes were horses
Genre: historical romance.
This story centers around a magical coin, which has been used for earlier anthologies. It is currently owned by a maid, Martha Stepp, who is working in a big castle. Martha offers the coin to people she knows she can trust not to think her insane, who can certainly use a wish. With the warning, that the coin has its own strange way of making the wish come true, and not in the manner the wishmaker expects or wants.
Martha doesn’t want to be a maid forever; she would love to have a real adventure, and a husband and children of her own. If she can’t have that, she will strive to become a housekeeper in a grand house.
One of Martha’s hobbies is trying which seat or bed is the best in the house. It is an innocent hobby, until she is almost caught when the Major comes home from the war, with his servant. Sergeant Jack Tresbere has secrets of his own, but when he recognizes Martha as the one who got away from him whey they arrived, he is certainly interested in her. But Jack thinks he is not suitable marriage material, and he has no idea how to talk to a woman, having lived his entire life in the army.
It was fun getting to know Martha and Jack, and how they both wanted the other, but were afraid to act upon it. Until Martha got fired when she was discovered in another bed, and Jack went after her.
A nice story, perhaps a retelling of Goldilocks?
8 stars.
Elaine Fox – Beauty, Sleeping
Genre: paranormal romance.
Cassandra is 5 years old, and prone to horrible nightmares. When she has one, her father takes her downstairs with him, and they watch some old television together. One night, she sees a picture of a man who has mysteriously disappeared. He looks just like the Night Prince in her favourite story book. But Cassandra just knows that he will be waiting for her, and they will be living in his big house together someday.
Michael Prince is an upcoming tv newscaster, and he got on the wrong side of a fairy. When he was born, his parents did not invite aunt Malva to the christening party, and Malva cursed Michael to die from a poisoned spindle. His other aunt Amelia managed to alter the curse to sleep or something like that. Of course Michael never believed in the curse, and anyway, he had no idea what a spindle was.
Turned out, it was not a part of a spinning wheel he had to be careful of, it was a person (or Faery as he later found out) named Deirdra Spindle who did not take it kindly when he did not date her again or exclusively. She cursed him, Michael disappeared without a trace, and has been in some kind of other dimension ever since. He has no idea how much time has elapsed, but he does know that his father eventually had him declared dead, and has empted the house of his things. And now his house has been sold to a stranger.
The good faery Astrid who sometimes keeps him company tells him this person is important to him, and then she disappears. What does it mean? How can he communicate with Cassandra as he is like a ghost to her?
Cassandra has recently won the lottery, this enabled her to buy the house of her dreams. Her ex-boyfriend is not happy with that, if not for his money, what can he offer her that she wants? Cassandra likes him enough, but is not in love with him, to the desperation of her mother. What is not to love about a rich, handsome, gallant man? She should jump at the opportunity to marry him! And with this big house, she needs a man to help her!
Cassandra is determined to do it all alone though, it is her house. The house of her Night Prince, whom she has never forgotten. And when she senses a presence in the house, she is determined to find out what, or who, it is. Michael gets more and more presence in the present time, but he also looses big chunks of time, just when Cassandra starts believing…
A very charming faery tale retelling, I enjoyed it very much. I admired Cassandra for wanting to do things her way, and not just accepting a marriage proposal under pressure. There is not much background on Michael though, just that he was a rogue, having a different woman every week. So why she fell for him, I have no idea, he has not redeemed himself or something, just spend 30 years in limbo, not again, but also not accomplishing anything. And why he fell for Cassandra? Because she was the one who could finally sense and see him?
So, a nice and sweet story, but lacking the romance for me. There has to be more to a couple than something like destiny. Obviously, this is a retelling of Sleeping Beauty.
6 stars.
Mary Kay McComas – The Christmas Comet
Genre: contemporary romance.
Natalie knows what it is to live on the streets. She was 5 when she was rescued and adopted by a nice couple. But she never forgot what it meant, and how much difference a little help can make in a person’s life. And so Natalie has a dayjob, and after work, she cooks for the homeless, and hands out the food and clothes and whatever else they need. She also volunteers at the local church and homeless centers as much as she can. With little care for herself and her own bills, which will bite her in the behind soon enough.
One of the local cops likes nothing as much as arresting her for breaking local laws, and messing up her stuff. Lucky for Natalie, there is a good cop, Paul Morgan, who looks out for her and helps out where he can.
Finally, Paul gets up the courage to ask Natalie out on a date, he has been in love with her for years now, and she is very happy to accept him. But there is a lot of trouble before they will be able to have a real date …
Even as a retelling of the Matchstick Girl, this short story made me cry. Natalie is just to good to be true, with helping others while not taking care of her own financial needs first. How can she keep on helping if she is getting evicted, or her car breaks down? Very naïve, and believing and the good of people. She was a real nice person, but okay, a bit too good for my tastes. It is a very short story, so little background on Paul, but I liked his character.
8 stars.
R.C. Ryan – Stroke of Midnight
Genre: contemporary romance.
Sydney’s father loved her mother as the light in his eye, and after her dead, he was desperate. Thinking if he married a woman with two daughters of her own he would give Sydney a nice family who would help him raise her. But after his death, the widow sold all his artwork, and the country home, and they moved to the big city. Where Sydney had to get a job to help pay for college for her two step sisters. And to provide for her stepmother as Margot thought she deserved.
Sydney would love to be a painter like her father was, but does not believe she is any good, as her stepmother keeps telling her. Sydney has a day job as an English teacher, and in the evenings she gives art classes at the community center. She is used to working at least two jobs, and she loves helping people, to her stepmother’s dismay. She should be out there, dating doctors and lawyers and such, like her two own daughters are doing.
When Sydney finds 5.000 dollars in one of her father’s old painter shirts, she decides to do something she wants, for a change. She is going on vacation to Ireland, to the small village her father was born and that he was talking about to her all the time. Margot is furious when she finds out of course, that money could have been used in better ways.
On the plane to Ireland Sydney finds herself sitting to a nice but a bit shabby man, and they strike up a conversation. When he finds out she is going to his home town, he offers her a lift, and after a bit of hesitating, Sydney accepts. She likes him, and when he offers to take her sightseeing the next day, she is happy to see him again. But shouldn’t Cullen go back to his own life now he is back home? But Cullen tells her he is still on vacation too, and has the time to spend with her.
He takes her to the river Glass, where her father used to paint a lot, and Sydney is totally captivated by the beautiful scenery, and starts painting, while Cullen just takes a nap waiting with the picnic basket. They spend a verrry nice day together, and Sydney is a bit sad he can’t stay the night. She would have liked to make love to him again, and just lie in his arms.
The next day Cullen proposes, and he wants to get married that same day. Sydney is overjoyed and she accepts, but when she tells Margot, the woman puts a lot of questions and doubts in her head, and she tries to leave for America while Cullen is in Dublin on business.
Will he find her in time?
Another sweet little fairy tale, a retelling of Cinderella. I just can’t believe in the enormous rushing here, I have no idea why it was so important that they married that very same day. It is not being explained, although Cullen and his background are told about.
I enjoyed the journey and discovery of Ireland along with Sydney, but that hasty proposal just confused me.
7 stars.
© 2013 Reviews by Aurian
March 30, 2018
This anthology contains several short stories that provide new twists on old folktales. - Hence the title of the book. Each book has a J.D Robb, "In Death " story and a Mary Blayney "Poppy's Coin" as well as a few more romantic fantasies. Where as some of these books have been uneven, I enjoyed all of the stories in this book. The J.D. Robb Eve Dallas stories are usually a mystery story with a dash of hot romance. But the stories in these antholgies also include a lot of fantasy. The rest of the stories are all romances with a touch of magic.
Start with"Bump in Night" and read through these books for several hours of magical romance.
Start with"Bump in Night" and read through these books for several hours of magical romance.
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