The Forgotten Fairy Tales by Angela Parkhurst Review

Title: The Forgotten Fairy Tales
Author: Angela Parkhurst
Age Group: Teen/Young Adult
Genre: Fantasy/Romance
Series: The Forgotten Fairy Tales, book one
Star Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars

This book was given to me by the author in exchange for an honest review--thanks so much, Angela!

I am a total junkie for fairy tales. I'm absolutely obsessed. They're honestly like literary crack for me--I could read them happily all day long. There's just something so beautiful and timeless about them, deep and endless wells of inspiration for writers like me. So if anything even slightly smacks of fairy tales, I am all over it, just on principle.

Norah Hart loves fairy tales--but her life is over when she's sent to a mysterious boarding school. And everyone seems absolutely cracked out--everyone is convinced that they are the modern incarnations of fairy tales--Cinderella, Goldilocks, the whole nine yards. Convinced that she's ended up in a European loony bin, she realizes that she, too, is connected to this strange world, where magic is real and happily ever after requires fighting for.

I'll start off with the things I liked: I really enjoyed the concept of this novel, and the way it mixed modern and fantasy, fairly skillfully. Norah, though, was definitely my favorite part of the book, I really related to her, longing for a place in the world and some stability. I liked her a lot--her character development was rich and real, and it was even better that she was a kick-ass protagonist.

The pacing of this novel was great, too--I couldn't put it down once things started rolling. That was another great thing about this: once things began, they didn't stop, and the twists and turns made it that much more fun.

The whole clique-esque vibe of the school kind of bored me, but overall, I really enjoyed it. The characters were what sold this for me: head-strong Norah, shy, stand-offish April, and Wolf, the bad boy who is insufferable and sexy all at once. And then there's Finn, the drunk prince searching for a happy ending, and Pearl, and Desiree.

My favorite part of this book was that I really couldn't predict the characters, and it really made it fun. The bottom line: A fun, wonderful romp through the world of fairy tales, The Forgotten Fairy Tales was a hit--I loved it! Next on deck: Sanctum by Sarah Fine!

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