Enchanted Fairy Tales Review

Title: Enchanted Fairy Tales

Author: Cindy C. Bennett

Publisher: Amazon

ISBN: 9781482721867

More Information: http://www.amazon.com

My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Beautiful Beast

3.5 out of 5 stars
Calli and her group of friends wanted to catch a peek of the monster of Monster House.  What they did not expect was for the monster to see them and give chase.  Injured and left behind, Calli was at his mercy.  Forced to live with him and become his friend, Calli began to realize there was sweet soul underneath all the pain and sorrow.  Will she be able to convinced Alex that he wasn't the monster he thought himself to be?

I'm a sucker for a contemporary Beauty and the Beast story and 'Beautiful Beast' foot the bill.  The plot was different with its "real life" aspect and no magic.  Usually, romances tend to suffer in short stories but the author handled the length of time by jumping from days to weeks to months.  So, their budding love made sense.  The cast of characters were all nice and didn't add any unnecessary drama.  However, my only gripe would be how fast she readily accepted him.  The length of the story required there be a rush but since they were teenagers, I kind of expected them to be a bit of reservation before becoming BFF after day one.  Other than that, a good read.

Red and the Wolf

4.5 out of 5 stars
Ruby was heartbroken when Rafe suddenly went away three years ago.  And just as suddenly, he returned.  Can Ruby forgive the past and renew her love for him?  Or will his family's dark secret keep them apart?

Never was a fan of Red Riding Hood.  But this version I like.  Since there was a past history, the plot moved in an agreeable swift pace.  It was pack-filled with angst, drama, sweetness and action.  The story will keep you to the edge of your seat.  Ruby was someone I can definitely relate to and villain was deliciously evil.  A strong story.

Snow White

4 out of 5 stars
By her stepmother's orders, Snow White was to be taken to the forbidden forest and be killed.  Tricking her executioner, Snow White escaped and found her way to a hidden village of Fableton.  In Fableton, she met a prince and seven men who were trapped there for centuries.  The only way to break the curse was to kill her stepmother.  And Snow was the only person to do it.
 
There was a tidbit that reminded me of "Mirror, Mirror."  For example, Snow was taught to fight from the 7 "dwarves" and had to go up against her stepmother.  Other than that, this was a pretty original tale on its own.  Influences from the original fairy tale were present at the start and the ending.  The unexpected twist with the hidden village and cursed prince made this retelling a breath of fresh air.  Also, there was a good lesson to learn. 

The Unmasking of Cinderella

4 out of 5 stars
After the death of her father, Amella was forced to stay home and be her evil stepmother's personal, overworked maid.  But a chance encounter at the laundromat changed Amella's fate.  But with her stepmother still pulling the strings, can Amella escape her clutches and seize her prince?

*sigh*  Since I'm in a Cinderella kick lately, I was looking forward to reading this one.  This was pretty standard.  The stepmother and stepsister were especially evil.  The godmother was a cool but mysterious lady.  Though there was no real explanation why she was helping Amella for or where exactly she came from.  Amella was your basic Cinderella heroine.  The prince was slightly awkward, making him a cutie.  The second half of the story was the best part.  It was really intense, those last few pages.  The plot was a little slow in the beginning, but the ending sure made up for it.  It was sweet.

The White Swan

3.5 out of 5 stars
Odette was turned into a swan by her jealous friend, Rothbart, who wanted to keep her for himself.  Odette have to figure out to escape and protect her love, Victor.  When Victor figured out the truth, can their love be strong enough to thwart the evil?

Another story I have a love/hate for.  As the author stated, you will see some influences from "The Swan Princess" movie.  However, I liked the twist with having Odile as her twin sister.  It really added to the emotional aspect of the swan curse.  Overall, the story was nicely paced and the ending was quickly wrapped up.

This has to be one of the best anthology from one author that I have ever read. The writing was well done.  What made this book unique was that the characters were around college-aged and took placed in modern times.  My main gripe with all the stories was that it was too short.  I would've loved an epilogue to wrap up their happily ever afters. Overall, I enjoyed these tales.  Ms. Bennett adapted each fairy tale pretty well.  So, if you are a fellow fairy tale fan, get this anthology.  It will be worth it.  Even if you aren't and looking for a clean, drama, YA romance, go for it.  The only reason I gave it 4 stars was because I can't see myself reading it over and over again.  But I'm definitely keeping it.