26. sij 2014.

First Frost by Liz DeJesus

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Book summary:
For generations, the Frost family has run the Museum of Magical and Rare Artifacts, handing down guardianship from mother to daughter, always keeping their secrets to “family only.”
Gathered within museum’s walls is a collection dedicated to the Grimm fairy tales and to the rare items the family has acquired: Cinderella’s glass slipper, Snow White’s poisoned apple, the evil queen’s magic mirror, Sleeping Beauty’s enchanted spinning wheel…
Seventeen-year-old Bianca Frost wants none of it, dreaming instead of a career in art or photography or…well, anything except working in the family’s museum. She knows the items in the glass display cases are fakes because, of course, magic doesn’t really exist.
She’s about to find out how wrong she is.
         When I was first asked to read this book, I was a bit skeptical. The reason is that little word that this book carries within - retellings. I'm not a hug fan of these but I decided to give it a try anyhow. It turned out to be a good decision.

         First of with retelling part. Well, I'm not sure how to classify this one but it's different from other retellings I encountered with. Mostly this book is not based on only one fairy tale but it manages to intertwine some of the most famous fairy tales together. But at the same time is has new and unique elements.

        Bianca Frost, our main character in this book is a seventeen-year-old girl who comes from a family that owns a really interesting museum called the Museum of Magical and Rare Artifacts. This museum is full of the fairy tale items like Cinderella's glass slipper, Show White's poisoned apple, the evil queen's magic mirror and much  more. Even though Bianca is used to these items as she has grown up around them still it's hard not to question the possibility that they are real items from the fairy tales, even though she is old enough to believe in that. Until one day she sees unbelievable and soon enough must find what's real and what's fake.

       What I liked the most here is the family relationship between Bianca and her parents. It was wonderful to see how much they care for each other even though magic separated them. Another thing is that while this story has many elements of a fairy tales at the same time it's completely easy to believe in it. Beside the all well known characters I'm happy that we meet some other not so much popular fairy tales and their characters. It was a nice reminder without changing the memories so much. They're still same old twisted and complicated characters.

       One element that truly was surprising was the whole story behind "happily ever after". It's truly interesting how author managed to work around it.

Rating: 4 stars. 

Until the next time,
***NOTE: Copy of this book was kindly provided by the author, Liz DeJesus. Thank you! 
I'm not paid for writing this review - I do it as a lover of written word. All opinions are personal. 

43 komentara:

  1. Okay the cover on this is gorgeous!

    And yay for finding a retelling that you like! I know that you aren't big on them so I am happy that this one surprised you. :)

    OdgovoriIzbriši
  2. Ooh sounds like a really interesting book. I don't really read re-tellings, but I'm curious about some. this sounds unique.

    OdgovoriIzbriši
  3. I really liked this one too! I quite enjoy retellings, and it was cool to see all the different fairy tale characters that are in here. I enjoyed the sequel, Glass Frost, even more :)
    Great review!

    OdgovoriIzbriši
    Odgovori
    1. I'm so glad you enjoyed it. I have read Glass Frost too and I'll review it soon. Thanks Richa :)

      Izbriši
  4. Thank you so much for taking the time to read and review my book! I'm thrilled to hear that you enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing it. :)

    OdgovoriIzbriši
    Odgovori
    1. Thank you so much for offering me these two in first place :)

      Izbriši
  5. It's great to see that you still gave this a try even though you aren't a big fan of retellings!

    Fantastic review as always, hun! <33

    OdgovoriIzbriši
  6. oh, well, this cover is cute, though I hate the typography. I like the sound of the way this combines into a one big retelling--nice! It's mostly always about Snowwhite, Red Riding Hood, Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast, Rapunzel--so I'm happy that this book has some not so typical characters in it. I had no idea this book existed, so thanks for sharin, sweets! :)

    OdgovoriIzbriši
    Odgovori
    1. It's interesting how the author combines all these, with addition of some new faces. Thanks hun ;)

      Izbriši
  7. So based on your last sentence, should I assume this doesn't necessarily have a happy ending? I'm a huge fan of retellings, and I love that this one actually combines multiple fairytales together, kind of like the Lunar Chronicles in that sense. Glad you enjoyed this overall and it turned out to be a better read than you imagined!

    OdgovoriIzbriši
    Odgovori
    1. Hahah nope :) I won't say about the ending but the whole meaning of that phrase is different here :) Thanks Jenny :)

      Izbriši
  8. haven't read many retellings so I haven't found one I absolutely loved yet. This seems like a nice read though and I like great family dynamics. :)

    OdgovoriIzbriši
  9. That's so interesting that this one had a blend of fairytales. I definitely enjoy a book where the characters have strong relationships with their family.
    Glad you enjoyed this, Tanja!
    Great review!

    OdgovoriIzbriši
  10. Interested because of the unique retelling aspect

    OdgovoriIzbriši
  11. I've not heard of this one before, but I'm always skeptical going into retellings as well. It sounds pretty interesting because it blended many retellings together. Great review Tanja!

    Janina @ Synchronized Reading

    OdgovoriIzbriši
  12. haha see I don't know why but I absolutely love retellings :) glad you enjoyed this one thought, it does seem to have very interesting elements!

    OdgovoriIzbriši
  13. I'm glad you liked this one! I actually really like retellings, so I might check this one out :)

    Lovely review!

    OdgovoriIzbriši
  14. I don't know I struggle with retellings, they are hit and miss withe me. This does perk my interest and I am curious.

    OdgovoriIzbriši
  15. This sounds delightful and retellings can be hit or miss for me. I like that this weaved several and the cover is lovely!

    OdgovoriIzbriši
  16. I love retellings, and this one sounds amazing! The family relationship between Bianca and her parents seems great and I'm excited to see how all the different fairytales will be incorporated throughout the story. Great review :)

    OdgovoriIzbriši
  17. I've heard a bit about this one but I never got around to it, but after your review I'll have to try because it sounds like a good read and I really enjoy re-tellings. Great review!

    Teresa @ Readers Live A Thousand Lives

    OdgovoriIzbriši
  18. Oh my goodness, I wish a museum like that existed in real life! I'd be there in a heartbeat. :-) I don't mind retellings, and have read so many amazing ones lately, and the idea of a story that incorporates many beloved fairy tales is definitely appealing to me. Very curious to see how the author handles "happily ever after." Thanks for putting this on my radar with your lovely review!

    OdgovoriIzbriši
    Odgovori
    1. I wish it existed too!! I hope you'll get to read it. Thanks Lauren :)

      Izbriši
  19. I'm always drawn to fairy tale retellings, even if I don't always have the best of luck with them. This one sounds so promising, though, especially since you were somewhat hesitant by then enjoyed it!

    I hadn't heard of this title at all, so thanks for the review, Tanja. :)

    Wendy @ The Midnight Garden

    OdgovoriIzbriši
  20. I love when a book ends up surprising us like this! I have to admit I too would be a bit iffy because these can so easily go wrong but it's great to hear that's not the case!

    OdgovoriIzbriši
  21. Then I'm sure you'll enjoy it. Thanks Aman :)

    OdgovoriIzbriši
  22. Oh, I'm so glad you read this book and loved it! I did too. It's such a beautiful world to be in. Awesome review!

    Sarika @ The Readdicts

    OdgovoriIzbriši

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