The Little Library Project

  If there's one thing I'm a sucker for, it's a Beauty and the Beast retelling and this, was stunning. The fairytale has always been my favourite and everytime I see a new version I'm guaranteed to add it to my To Be Read or buy it straight away. I can't help myself.  Told from the Beasts perspective, the insight into what brought him to the point where Isabeau (Belle) is introduced into his life.  Firstly, we learn about the years following the curse when he is learning about his new self.  "I did not know if I was a beast who dreamed of being a man, or a man who dreamed he was a beast" The isolation and introspection that he goes through in those years is wonderfully written. The whole book is extremely poetic in it's writing but this part especially was stunning.  There is no dialogue in the first few chapters, allowing the reader to truly feel that alone with just The Beasts thoughts.  I don't believe it's possible for anyone to not know th...

Whilst I admittedly haven't yet read the original Peter Pan story - I love the idea of it so when this new release became available to request on NetGalley, I couldn't help myself.  Lou has a Grown. Her little sister has an invisible friend but with their mother planning Lou's betrothal, the sisters are fighting with the expectations of society whilst navigating their life without their father and what they want from their own lives.  Jay is Number Two. He's been by Peter's side for as long as he can remember but their leader has been captured by Blackbeard and the magic of the island is in trouble.  Faced with a the prospecting of marrying the bland son of a family friend, Lou panics and finds herself in a land of savage children with no idea how to get back.  Combining the dark retelling with the Hook origin story was perfect. I found it slow to get into but once Lou reached the island, it definitely stepped up a notch. And whilst I struggled with this book, the e...

Having read another Nutcracker retelling immediately before, I was hesitant about jumping straight into A Curse of Frost and Fate but what better time than the weekend before Christmas?! This tale was very different though and in some ways, made for enjoyable easy reading full of cosy imagery and spicy scenes to get the heart rate going.  Klara lives in New York, she's just your typical 27 year old but she has an eccentric uncle, who for Christmas gives her a nutcracker ornament from his travels. After being let down for her Christmas Eve date, Klara ends up in a different realm with the gorgeous Prince Jaemis, looking to rescue the kingdom from the evil Mouse King. I loved this book and couldn't have asked for a better, cosy read to transport me on the run up to the holiday season.  Highly recommended for some festive fantasy escapism!

Midnight In Everwood was an impulse purchase based on the cover because LOOK AT IT! It's stunning. Of course, I'd taken a look over the synopsis and the idea of a retelling of the infamous Nutcracker story was definitely too delicious to pass up.  It was relatively new out when I first purchased it but I left it until December before picking it up - purposely because I knew it would give me all of the Christmas feels.  I don't think I've been alone in this - I've noticed a few people post up about reading Midnight in Everwood this month and we've all been saying the same thing... it isn't the easiest book to read.  The first half dragged for me, it was relatively slow paced at first and had I not had the temptation of The Nutcracker retelling in the back of my mind, I probably would have DNF'd it.  But I persevered and the second half of the book really ramped up. I think it took about 2/3 days to get to the second half but once I was there, I couldn...

I'm not feeling very Christmassy this year - anyone else? The decorations are up, the fake fire has been lit and the presents are bought and wrapped but I just cannot get excited about it.  So what am I going to do about it?  Force myself; kicking and screaming I am going to get that festive feeling. Here's a list of books that I'll be reading this month! A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens The classic. I've never read it before but of course, I know the story well so I'm excited to finally get round to it! I'm probably going to save this for maybe the week before Christmas to really get me into the spirit of Christmas.  Christmas at the Island Hotel, Jenny Colgan As you'll have read from my November Book Haul post - this is long overdue. I haven't read all of the Island series so I may be a little out of the loop but I just know that the lovely Jenny will fill me in as I read my way through! The Christmas Bookshop, Jenny Colgan I've been excited to r...

  Started: Sunday 24th July 2022 Finished: Sunday 24th July 2022 Rating:  ⭐️⭐️⭐️ ⭐️⭐️ I'm a sucker for Beauty and the Beast , it's always been my favourite fairytale and my best friend treated me to the book that was released alongside the live-action film a few years ago.  I'm going to share a post another time about the multiple copies of the fairytale that I own because it's a mild obsession.  I really enjoyed how this book was written in the sense that you didn't lose the music. I think when it comes to a film that you know SO WELL, you play it along in your mind as you read the book and I was hesitant as to how they would handle the musical numbers.  But they did it really cleverly, there was no bursting into song by the characters but nods were made to the lyrics in the right places and it allowed me to continue to play out the scenes in my imagination.  This story very much follows the live-action adaptation including the scene where Maurice is taken...