The Paper Bag Princess 40th Edition Book Review

Title: The Paper Bag Princess

Author: Robert Munsch

Genre: Fiction, Children, Classic, Illustrated, Fairy tale, Princess, Dragons.

Plot: Princess Elizabeth is spunky, clever and madly in love with the handsome and pretty Prince Ronald. But there's a tiny wrench in her wedding plans: a local dragon. This dragon further throws things into chaos by attacking and burning down the castle, including all of the fine clothes in Elizabeth's wardrobe and then the dragon carries off Prince Ronald as his captive snack for later.

Undaunted by these events and the lack of decent clothes, Elizabeth determines to rescue her handsome prince. So she dons a paper bag and sets off on her mission, armed only with her wits and patience.

Likes/Dislikes: For 40 years, readers young and old have adored this simple and beautiful story. Elizabeth is a princess but she doesn't let that get in her way as she firmly establishes herself as the hero in her story. She is resourceful (see: the paper bag) and clever with a large store of patience at her youthful disposal. On top of that, she knows how to tell when someone is throwing her shade and how to put them back in their place. Her confidence has inspired girls everywhere and will continue to do so with this beautiful special edition of the classic book.

I read this a couple of times as a kid and always remembered it as the story with the girl wearing the paper bag. It wasn't until I was older that more of the story's subtle undertones clicked for me. Now I'm on the hunt for a copy for my girls so they can grow up with this book nestled in their subconscious. They can defeat dragons wearing only a paper bag and walk off into the sunset if they so choose.

Rating: G-all ages. Highly recommended.

Date Reviewed: January 11th, 2020

I received a copy of this book courtesy of Netgalley for my honest opinion. I wasn't required to write a positive review and the opinions expressed in the above review are my own.

The Warrior Maiden Book Review

Title: The Warrior Maiden

Author: Melanie Dickerson

Genre: Fiction, Fantasy, Fairy Tale Retelling, Christian, Romance, Action/Adventure, Series

Plot: Mulan is 18 years old and resigned to the fact that she will have to marry someday to take care of her mother. But Mulan has big dreams to see the world and do more with her life than just cooking, cleaning and having babies. She wants a different existence than that of her long-suffering mother. So when the opportunity arises out of unfortunate circumstances, Mulan doesn't miss a beat and takes it. But will her risk be worth it or would it have been better to marry the butcher's son instead?

Wolfgang is the son of a duke but on the battlefield he is just a 20 year old boy trying to prove himself just like all the other soldiers. Like the short archer who nearly bested him in the competition, Wolfgang has his secrets and holds them close. But when he accidentally discover's Mulan's secret, will he be able to add it to his list of secrets or will everything collapse around him?

Likes/Dislikes: This is the 9th book in a series with an established world and characters peppered from previous books. That being said, this book reads like it is a stand-alone so we shouldn't get too lost. Unfortunately, this book was not at all what I was hoping to read. I adore the story of Mulan and really wanted a cool retelling where the character is just as butch, tough and feminine as the original. This version of Mulan is frustrating. She is the stereotypical unusual beauty who doesn't fit in with her little village and is clumsy. She overthinks the littlest things. Furthermore, the story itself was frustrating. They all meet up for some random competitions and then immediately go out to battle followed by another battle and then another one in such rapid succession that there is hardly any breathing room. In that span of that week, Mulan crushes hard on the only handsome dude around and her secret gets discovered by him.

Needless to say, this was not the right book for me to enjoy from all of these minor but annoying plot decisions and I did not finish the story.

Rating: PG-15 and up, mainly for reading level (nothing graphic)

Date Review Written: April 27th, 2019

I received a copy of this book courtesy of Booklook Bloggers for my honest opinion. I wasn't required to write a positive review and the opinions expressed in the above review are my own.

The Time Chamber Book Review

Title: The Time Chamber

Author: Daria Song

Genre: Coloring Book, Fantasy, Fairies, Unique

Plot: A fairy enters the human world when the cuckoo clock chimes midnight and the fascinating wonders that she finds fill each page as her journey serenely takes her through doors and windows. She discovers jewelry boxes, pens and clocks with charms and stars abounding, dazzling the eye. And the best part is; you get to decide what color everything should be in this gorgeous creative adult coloring book.

A sequel to The Time Garden and holds eighty pages that beg to be filled in and brought to life with pens, pencils, even crayons in a pinch! And just in time for a lovely Christmas gift to the artist in your family.

Likes/Dislikes: I love coloring now that I'm older but haven't indulged in the current trend of adult coloring till now {though I have flipped through a couple}. The title caught my eye first and I thought, why not? The paper feels smooth and thick with a slightly odd smell to it {yes, I smell books}. The pages are filled in lovely intricate designs that make me itch to color them in. I bet colored pencils would look beautiful on the paper. The book jacket slips off so you can easily color that too which is nice, though I intend to tape mine in once it's colored because jackets never stay in place for me. Now all I need is more pencils.

Rating: G-14 and up, mainly for intricate designs {no nudity or anything weird like that, thankfully}.

Date Review Written: December 17th, 2015

I received a free copy of this book courtesy of Blogging for Books in exchange for my honest opinion. I wasn't required to write a positive review and the opinions expressed in the above review are my own.

Galavant Pilot

In a fun new four-week series named after the star, we meet the hilarious hero Galavant. He’s the greatest warrior in five kingdoms and happily in love with a sweet fair maiden named Madeline. But when the king kidnaps Madeline and forces her to marry him, Galavant rides to the rescue and interrupts the wedding – only to have his ladylove stomp on his heart, declaring she’d rather have “fame and fortune.” Fast-forward a little and now we have Galavant, a sad sorry drunk with no inclination to do anything other than wallow in sorrow and ale. Madeline, now queen, begins to show her true colors by cheating on her husband yet keeping him at a frigid arms’ distance. The king, a rather unmanly man, teams up with his chef and his bodyguard to butch up for his queen while sending a captive princess to lure Galavant to his death. Intermixed in this complex tale are loads of funny scenes and hilarious songs. This show is gonna be so good!

The Librarians 1.6

And we have a fairy tale twist this week, courtesy of The Librarians. When the clippings book sends them to a little out-of-the-way town to investigate a suspicious truck accident, the group finds more than they bargained for. With someone reading the original Grimm’s fairy tales out of a certain deadly book, the townspeople begin to change, reflecting the stories. Jake turns all huntsman when he kills an overly large wolf and cuts little red riding hood out of the wolf’s belly, while Eve gradually turns into a princess and Cassandra {very weirdly} becomes Prince Charming. The only one unaffected is the “lovable rogue” Ezekiel who, by chance, manages to save the day. I really liked this fairy tale twist on things; it was fun!

Once Upon a Time 4.12

On Once, the Snow Queen may be gone but her magic remains, keeping everyone trapped in Storybrooke . When Elsa learns of Hans’ invasion of Arendale, it becomes all the more important for her and Anna to get back home as soon as possible. Meanwhile, Rumple runs around the town with Hook, trying to put the final touches to his evil plan until he is thwarted by the least likely person of all. And Robin may have chosen Regina, but fate intervenes and Regina is once again forced to live with an unhappy ending. And we are introduced to a set of nasty new villains in a slightly confusing flashback featuring Rumple and Belle.

I enjoyed this half of the season, although I have to admit that with all the hype and promise, the actual show rather fell short of expectations. Anna was marvelously cast and acted, but Kristoff, Hans, Elsa and especially Oaken were all so poorly played. It was a let-down and I’m not entirely sure how exciting the next half is looking so far. Plus, my favorite character didn’t get her happy ending!

Once Upon a Time 4.11

I was right. This week's episode of Once was epic! We had so many hints and clues wrapped up neatly; why the Snow Queen took Emma's memories, and the message in the bottle being the major ones. Such a sweet scene at the end when Anna came to the rescue! It was exciting to see Regina in her old outfits and to see how much she has changed since then. Still not so sure about Rumple and his stupid plan.

The second half of the season features Cruella {however that's spelled}, Ursula and Maleficent from Sleeping Beauty. I thought they already covered Sleeping Beauty in previous episodes? Not sure how epic the second half is gonna be, but ya know, it could be interesting. I kinda like how they're turning it into two mini-seasons. Ooooh, maybe Maleficent will turn into a dragon?! I like dragons. :)

Once Upon a Time 4.10

So this latest episode of Once was very explosive and epic! Mr. Gold is up to no good for sure now and uses Hook to cause some very serious mischief while he makes a deal with the Snow Queen to save Belle and Henry from her awful curse. Hook obviously regrets getting mixed up with Gold. Emma and Elsa spend most of the episode running around trying to stop the approaching curse only to waste time and lose their opportunity. Everyone else braces for the impact, looking themselves away for their own protection or, in Regina's case, the protection of others. And then they wait.

Anna and Elsa are finally reunited in this episode after being apart for thirty years! Yay and weird. My husband pointed out that they could so easily solve their problem by using the wishing star; just wish the curse away. Ah well. Next week's episode is gonna be so good!

Once Upon a Time 4.8 & 9

In an epic two hour special of Once, we had quite a lot of action, romance and adventure going on. With her powers now out of control, Emma hides out in the forest and becomes desperate when she accidentally hurts Henry. So she goes to Gold for help; the only problem is that he, of course, has his own agenda. The Snow Queen tries to warn Emma, but with her track record, who can blame Emma for not listening to her? We finally get to learn why she's so nasty but we don't fully know where Anna is - just that she's frozen. Poor Anna. Meanwhile, Regina explains her plan to Robin about finding the author of the fairy tale book and he enlists Will's help to track down the author after stealing the book. The clue they find is astonishing and gives them hope.

With the way things ended, everyone is thinking that Hook is getting set up to die. I hope not; he's cool and just think how horrible that would be for Emma who seems to never find a true love that doesn't go off and die. Regina thinks she has it bad but not really; she just whines about it more. The next episode is gonna be exciting!

Once Upon a Time 4.7

We had an exciting Once Upon a Time episode. Using her magic, Emma captures the Snow Queen {with Belle's help} before the Snow Queen can unleash her mirror on the townspeople. But while interrogating the queen, Emma loses her focus and is pushed over the edge, causing her powers to unlock and become uncontrollable. The startled reactions from her family and Snow's sharply worded, "Emma!" don't help at all and Emma flees. Elsa can understand her and tries to reassure her family. Meanwhile, Robin Hood is in quite a pickle; he wants to save his wife because he sees that as the right and honorable thing to do, but he's deeply in love with Regina and can't give her up as she requests. All of this action is backed up with flashbacks into the Snow Queen's past wherein we meet the silly Duke of Weaseltown and find out why she was in the jar and so bitter.

The only plot problem I recall was that the memory spell wouldn't work on all the neighboring countries who would've heard all about the three beautiful princesses of Arendale.

Once Upon a Time 4.6

We had an exciting episode of Once on Sunday. In a flashback, Belle teams up with Anna to find the rock trolls. The two girls get along well, but when trouble hits, a critical decision is made that could have devastating consequences. Meanwhile, Emma shows the video tape to her family and a search into her past connection with the Snow Queen begins. Loyal Hook stays by her side as she uncovers a surprising history. With the pieces beginning to fall into place, the scope of what the queen has planned is bigger than anyone anticipated.

It was nice having more of the plot revealed and seeing Regina selflessly giving up Robin so he can try to save Marian. It'd be so sweet if those two get together in the end. I was bummed with Oaken; they seriously couldn't find a big board shouldered guy to play him? All they had was this skinny guy with fake hair. It looked so bad. Ah well.

Little Hood Promo!

So we have a brand new book out to tell you all about! One of my best friends has self-published a gorgeous novella - a retelling of sorts of Hans Christen Andersen's Golden Hood. Joanna has a wonderful talent for writing and each of her stories has always held a magical enchantment that draws you in and keeps you there until long after the story ends. She could really use all the support you can give her so share this with all your friends and buy her book please.


DESCRIPTION:

    Blanchette has never known much comfort. And in a world where happiness is hard to keep, she finds her one consolation in someday finding a new father. As the world around her darkens, however, her innocence can't protect her from everything. And soon she will learn how easy it is to place trust in the wrong person - or beast.

AUTHOR BIO:

    Joanna G. Holden was born into a family that loves good books with a passion. She has always been a writer and has a fascination with many genres of literature and film. She has taught creative writing as well as several kinds of dance, and enjoys listening to music and composing her own. She and her husband currently live in northern Alabama with their faithful dog, Snickers, and a baby on the way.

To purchase her book, you can find the Kindle or paperbook copies at Amazon or you can get it at the CreateSpace store page. If you have FaceBook, please like and follow Joanna's page and help promote her book via all your friends. You can also follow her on Twitter. Her book is also on GoodReads so be sure to review it and add it to your shelves. Interview coming soon! Tell all your friends please!!

Once Upon a Time 4.5

In Once, we have a glimpse into Emma's past where she had a chance to make a good friend but threw it away. Determined not to make the same mistake, she pushes herself to mending things with Regina and shooting for that elusive friendship she wants so badly. Meanwhile, Elsa has to face her fears and learn to conquer them, but for what purpose? And the Snow Queen is back, the mystery surrounding her growing like a storm on the horizon.

Admittedly, I missed the beginning of this episode, but I caught the end and really enjoyed it. Hook was so sweet with Emma and wanting to know about "her beginnings." Love it!

Once 4.4

This week's episode of Once was very Hook-centric. Not that I'm complaining or anything. It just was more of a filler than a plot reveal/twist/follow-up. Hook and Emma going out together was so cute. Although {due to being in the kitchen making apple cider probably}, I was a little confused over the whole hand thing. I did like that we finally got to see what the funny hat box Rumple found was all about and I was right! It was a nod to The Sorcerer's Apprentice. Anna was so sweet too. The snow queen definitely has a connection to Emma but my only theory is that it has something to do with Emma's past in the foster care system. Anyway, maybe I'll be more attune for next week's episode. *winks*

Once Upon a Time 4.3

When Marian falls under a frozen curse, suspicion turns to Elsa while a distraught Robin comes running to Regina for help. Emma feels discouraged but stands by Elsa alongside her father, David. Together, they set out looking for the real perpetrator behind Marian's curse. While they're busy with that, Hook and Elsa do a little snooping of their own and come across some very interesting surprises. Meanwhile, Snow White begins to feel overwhelmed by her new role as mayor, and Henry enthusiastically joins Regina in her quest to find the author of the fairytale book. They code name it Operation Mongoose.

Hook was particularly sweet in this episode, moping about and whining about Emma till he found out why she's so reluctant to return his affections. And Elsa had a new hairdo in the flashbacks! Awesome! Still not so sure about Kristoff but I could get used to him. Seeing all of Hans' brothers was interesting. The backstory behind the new snow queen must be really neat; my husband and I had fun discussing it.

Once Upon a Time S4 E2

In this week's explosive episode of Once Upon a Time, we have more questions than answers, yet plenty of excitement to keep us all happy as we wait for those answers. With her sister's necklace in hand, Elsa puts the town in lock-down via a massive ice wall and waits. When Hook, David and Emma come to investigate, they find a nervous Elsa waiting. But when those nerves react in the form of more ice, Elsa and Emma become trapped, and the cold begins to {quickly} take a toll on Emma. Meanwhile, Snow is suddenly thrust into her new role of town leader, and we get flashbacks concerning Anna meeting a pre-Snow White David. With a surprising twist at the end, the next episode should be even more exciting.

We still don't know what the funny purple hat Rumple found is {Merlin's maybe?} and we still don't know what the far-reaching consequences of Regina's choice to rewrite the book will be {provided she even finds the author}, and now we get to wonder who this new character is {perhaps the bad ice queen as depicted in the original fairy tale?}. Emma's quick decent into hypothermia and then amazingly time recovery was so distractingly silly. And Snow just had a baby, she shouldn't be walking around so easily so soon. Ah well.

Talking to Dragons Book Review

Title: Talking to Dragons.

Author: Patricia C. Wrede.

Genre: Fantasy, Fairy Tale Retelling, Sequel, Dragons, Humorous, Adventure.

Plot: In this conclusion to the Enchanted Forest Chronicles, we meet young Daystar. He is the down to earth, very polite son of Cimorene and Mendanbar. The catch is that he doesn't know who his parents are or anything about his family's history. He just knows he has to be very polite to dragons.

So when his mother hands him a magic sword after melting a wizard and kicks him out of the house, Daystar doesn't have a clue what's going on. He meets a gold lizard who talks in riddles, a firewitch girl who becomes his best friend, a young inquisitive dragon, Morwen and Telemain as he wanders through the forest on his odd adventure.

Likes/Dislikes: I waited quite a while to read this book, and sadly, it was not at all what I'd expected. I found Daystar to be a very boring character and rather too dumb for my tastes. I liked having all my "old friends" pop up here and there - namely, Morwen and her cats. And I really wish that the end had been told from Mendanbar or Cimorene's perspective; they had more at stake and had waited for that moment for so long. Daystar didn't react the way I'd hoped for when he learned who his parents were either. The writing was pretty good, though all the magic scenes with the sword were very confusing and boring.

Rating: PG- 12 and up, mainly for reading level and magical content {lots of magic}.

Date Report Written: July 10th, 2014.

Calling on Dragons Book Review

Title: Calling on Dragons.

Author: Patricia C. Wrede.

Genre: Children's, Fantasy, Action/Adventure, Sequel, Fairy Tale Retelling, Humor.

Plot: The happily married King and Queen of the Enchanted Forest are expecting their first baby. They spend their time at the sea side or in the castle as Cimorene enjoys being queen and Mendanbar fusses over her. But things aren't all happy and peaceful everywhere. The witch Morwen has a series of minor problems that soon escalate into a much bigger problem. With a traditionalist named Vamist making trouble, a rabbit named Killer with a huge appetite accidentally in her charge, and several wizards poking around, Morwen decides to call in some help.

When Telemain figures out what the spell is, they bounce over to the castle to consult with Mendanbar and Cimorene, only to discover that Mendanbar's magic sword is missing. With the stakes raising every minute, the group divides and heads off to retrieve the sword, leaving Mendanbar in charge of the castle and to watch out for wizards. However, this time the wizards have the upper hand.

Likes/Dislikes: The first time I read this book, several years ago, I was so disappointed with the ending. I still don't know how much I like it, but I have the sequel so I can find out how they save the day - finally! Killer is a funny character at first, but by the end when they're trying to figure out how to solve all these difficult problems and he's just complaining about how hungry he is every other line, I didn't much like him anymore. The cats were hilarious and Morwen is a pretty sensible character. There is a lot of magic in this book, but that shouldn't bother too many people. I wish there had been alternating chapters between everyone else and Mendanbar - he's my favorite character. Ah well.

Rating: PG- 12 and up, mainly for reading level and magic.

Report Written: June 25th, 2014.

Rapunzel Let Down Book Review

Title: Rapunzel Let Down.

Author: Regina Doman.

Genre: Catholic, Fairy Tale Retelling, Romance, Action/Adventure, Drama.

Plot: Hermes is the youngest son of three sons. His father's political career dominates his family, and his two older brothers are mean and take everything {particularly pretty girls he shows an interest in} from him. Finally, one eventful summer, he finds something that his brothers don't have and he keeps it to himself: a tower in which lives a beautiful girl named Raphaela. His visits are dangerous and made so by the fact that Raphaela's mother is paranoid of strangers, the groundskeeper is creepy and trigger-happy, and Hermes has to climb the tower freehand. But he keeps visiting anyway and quite quickly makes a mistake that he will regret for a long time to come.

Fifteen year old Raphaela was adopted by her career-oriented scientist mother and, while having a privileged life, never had a truly happy one. Her mother has plans for her and none of them are what Raphaela would like for her own future. Her dreams are to be a doctor. When a mysterious eighteen year old boy climbs up her tower and tumbles into her room, Raphaela sees a chance to make a new interesting friend and to possibly escape her mother's world. But Hermes has other plans and Raphaela's plans are put on hold indefinitely as she makes a run for her life, and the lives of her unborn twins.

Likes/Dislikes: This is a very graphic, nitty-gritty novel to read, but it packs a powerful punch. Having sex outside of marriage really does have far-reaching consequences {though possibly not as bad as the ones our heroes face}, and few people nowadays recognize this fact. As we watch the characters struggle and endure the harsh consequences of their actions, we get to see them grow, mature and find the bright side of life. It was personally difficult for me to read certain parts, but the underlying beauty of the story made up for that. I personally would've made the one major scene that everything hangs off of a little more descriptive - taking in especially how Raphaela was feeling. But it came off beautifully. I don't recommend this for a young impressionable readers, but it's a good read for mature ones.

Rating: PG-18 and up, mainly for content.

Date Report Written: April 17th 2014.

I received a copy free from the author in exchange for an honest review. I wasn't required to write a positive review. The opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Dealing With Dragons Book Review

Title: Dealing With Dragons.

Author: Patricia C. Wrede.

Genre: Fantasy, Action/Adventure, Fairytale Rewrite/Mash-up, Humorous.

Plot: Cimorene isn't like most princesses. Her protocol and etiquette lessons are boring beyond measure and she doesn't look like most princess either, with her black hair and tall height. Looking for other interests, she secretly takes fencing lessons, then magic lessons, cooking, politics, etc. Each new interesting subject is banned when her father discovers her learning it. Finally, out of desperation, her parents cart her off to a nearby kingdom and plan to marry her off to the dimwitted prince there.

Not wanting to marry the prince, nice enough as he is, Cimorene takes advice from a talking frog and sets off to find some dragons. When she does so, she convinces Kazul, an interesting female dragon, to take her on her princess - basically, as a live-in housekeeper till a prince or knight rescues her. Kazul and Cimorene get along famously, and Cimorene loves her new life as a dragon's princess, despite the annoying knights who come to rescue her. But a plot is afoot involving the wizards lurking among the dragons' mountains and Cimorene soon has her hands full trying to figure it out.

Likes/Dislikes: This is the first book in the Enchanted Forest Chronicles and while it's not my favorite, it is the one in which I first met the dauntless princess Cimorene and found her quite captivating. It was especially refreshing that she isn't a blonde princess; growing up, I hated blonde princesses because I'm a brunette. About the only downside to this well written beautiful little story is all the magic in it. If you know that magic is bad and it doesn't bother you to read a story with it in it, then you should be fine.

Rating: PG-10 and up, mainly for reading level.

Date Report Written: March 12th, 2014.