Top Ten Tuesday #61

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish!

This week's topic is...

Top Ten Fairytale Retellings I've Read/Want To Read/Want To Be Retold

So I'm going to do a big mix up this week since there are only 4 retellings listed on my "read" bookshelf on Goodreads and I'm pretty sure if I sit here and try to think of any more I've probably already read it'll be hours of staring into space. So let's see what I can come up with here...

Awake (A Fairytale Trilogy #1) by Jessica Grey

I haven't seen very many, or any that I can think of off the top of my head to be honest, Sleeping Beauty retellings and I absolutely loved this one. It's the perfect blend of modern and fantasy world.

Atone (A Fairytale Trilogy #2) by Jessica Grey

Beauty and the Beast is probably one of the most popular and easily done retellings, the ones you find most often. This one just like the first book in this series puts a modern day setting and other tiny twists on the classic tale. I've really loved this series and can't wait to see what the final book brings!

Beauty and the Wolf (The Cursed Princes #1) by Marina Myles

I love me some good Historical Romances and this take on Beauty and the Beast is just a nice little slice of perfection.

A Kiss at Midnight (Fairy Tales #1) by Eloisa James

Now it's been a few years since I read this one but I remember loving this HR Cinderella retelling. In typing up this post I realized that this was part of a series so I think I know what I'll be adding to my want to read section...

Alice in Zombieland (White Rabbit Chronicles #1) by Gena Showalter

I'm not sure how much retelling this is or if it's more like taking beloved characters and throwing them into a whole new experience. Regardless you take Alice from Alice in Wonderland/Through the Looking Glass and throw in zombies and all I can say is yes please. 

A Court of Thorns and Roses (A Court of Thorns and Roses #1) by Sarah J. Maas

Yeah I'm late to the party on this one. I have it...I just haven't been able to pick it up yet. But Beauty and the Beast AND faerie lore...excited!

A Thousand Nights by E.K. Johnston

I don't think I've ever picked up a One Thousand and One Nights/Scheherazade retelling before but I am highly intrigued by this one!

The Ugly Duchess (Fairy Tales #4) by Eloisa James

Oh, oh, oh! The Ugly Ducking HR? YES! I WANT THIS!!!

Once Upon a Tower (Fairy Tales #5) by Eloisa James

Yeah I am all about Rapunzel. I'd love to see what Eloisa James does with this story!

RAPUNZEL!!

Alright so I know that there are plenty of Rapunzel retellings out there. Some good, some terribad. But what I really, really want is someone to come out with a brilliant MODERN DAY retelling. It's all to easy to throw this tale into a Historical Romance. It fits there. Princess locked away in a castle blah, blah, blah. But I want a really creative modern day, city girl type of Rapunzel. Lock her up in some New York high rise instead of a castle tower. I don't know. Whatever. If there's something out there I've never come across LINK ME BABY! 

I absolutely love a really good fairy tale retelling. It's so fun to see people put a new twist on an old classic. Sure most of the Beauty and the Beast retellings are paranormal shifter/werewolf ones and we could use some fresh new takes. Regardless this is a really fun genre to read from. Be they modern or historical. What books did you come up with for this week's topic? Leave me the link to your posts so I can come discover some new books! And I was serious about the Rapunzel thing! If you know one set in modern times leave me titles or links or something! :)

BLOG TOUR: The Collectors' Society by Heather Lyons [ARC Review +Giveaway]

Title/Series: The Collectors' Society | The Collectors' Society #1
Author: Heather Lyons
Publisher: Cerulean Books
Published: October 23rd 2014
Format: eARC | Pages: 355
Genre: Adult, Fantasy, Romance
Source: InkSlinger PR
★★★★★ (5/5) Stars!

From the author of the Fate series and The Deep End of the Sea comes a fantastical romantic adventure that has Alice tumbling down the strangest rabbit hole yet.

After years in Wonderland, Alice has returned to England as an adult, desperate to reclaim sanity and control over her life. An enigmatic gentleman with an intriguing job offer too tempting to resist changes her plans for a calm existence, though. Soon, she’s whisked to New York and initiated into the Collectors’ Society, a secret organization whose members confirm that famous stories are anything but straightforward and that what she knows about the world is only a fraction of the truth.

It’s there she discovers villains are afoot—ones who want to shelve the lives of countless beings. Assigned to work with the mysterious and alluring Finn, Alice and the rest of the Collectors’ Society race against a doomsday clock in order to prevent further destruction . . . but will they make it before all their endings are erased?

*This is the first book in the Collectors' Society series.

I received a copy of this book from InkSlinger PR in exchange for an honest review for a blog tour. In no way did this sway either my review or my rating!

The adventures, the dangers, the surprising characters and the fun were all expected and quite thoroughly executed. What I wasn't expecting, and what took me completely by surprise, were the moments that made my heart flutter, my stomach flip flop, and the scorching heat that nearly had me bursting into flames.  Sigh. I have become quite thoroughly obsessed with this book and Finn. Oh. My. Heart. Thank you Heather Lyons!

Alice is perfect. She's exactly how I picture a grownup version of her character would be. A bit paranoid, a bit untrusting, sarcastic, confident, tough as nails and maybe just a slight bit off. I feel like her characteristics and demeanor were captured perfectly knowing all that she more than likely went through in her time spent in Wonderland. Alice in this book kicks so much ass. Both literally and figuratively! But one of the things I loved most, just one of the many mind you, was watching Alice adjust to life in the 21st century, something else that Heather Lyons was able to capture perfectly. Alice's awe, fear, confusion, frustrations, all of it as she learns to navigate this new, technological world around her were very accurately portrayed. Especially for her character.

So many of the characters in this book were from stories, or related to characters from stories, that I loved and read often in my youth. Every time someone would pop up that I recognized I would quite literally say to the book "Shut. Up!" It's exciting to see them all mixed together in modern day New York and interacting together. Even form relationships, argue and fall in love.

What really had me was the trip to Wonderland though. It was crazy fun and a whole new view on the place that had both my jaw dropping and laughing my butt off at the same time. It's definitely not the same Wonderland you're expecting. The characters are very...different and I was loving it. Though for a few reasons all of it's own, the trip to Wonderland is completely bittersweet as well.

The build up toward the next book was fantastic and now I'm left sitting here utterly depressed because this one isn't even released yet at the time of my writing this and I'm already dying to get my hands on the next book. It had everything; moments of humor, danger, adventure, battles, angst, pain and of course...love. Sigh. The Collectors' Society has quite easily taken the spot at the top of my list of favorite books. I can't wait for more. I need more. Like yesterday! For now I'll just have to read all of her other books while I wait (im)patiently. She says as if she's going to suffer doing it...ha right!

Giveaway!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

About the author:

Heather Lyons has always had a thing for words—she’s been writing stories since she was a kid. In addition to writing, she’s also been an archaeologist and a teacher. Heather is a rabid music fan, as evidenced by her (mostly) music-centric blog, and she’s married to an even larger music snob. They’re happily raising three kids who are mini music fiends who love to read and be read to.

Heather Lyons | Twitter | Facebook

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RELEASE DAY LAUNCH: The Collectors' Society by Heather Lyons [Excerpt + Giveaway]

The Collectors' Society

(The Collectors' Society #1)

by Heather Lyons

Publisher:

Cerulean Books

Genre:

Adult

Fantasy

Romance

Summary:

From the author of the Fate series and The Deep End of the Sea comes a fantastical romantic adventure that has Alice tumbling down the strangest rabbit hole yet.

After years in Wonderland, Alice has returned to England as an adult, desperate to reclaim sanity and control over her life. An enigmatic gentleman with an intriguing job offer too tempting to resist changes her plans for a calm existence, though. Soon, she’s whisked to New York and initiated into the Collectors’ Society, a secret organization whose members confirm that famous stories are anything but straightforward and that what she knows about the world is only a fraction of the truth.

It’s there she discovers villains are afoot—ones who want to shelve the lives of countless beings. Assigned to work with the mysterious and alluring Finn, Alice and the rest of the Collectors’ Society race against a doomsday clock in order to prevent further destruction . . . but will they make it before all their endings are erased?

*This is the first book in the Collectors' Society series.

Excerpt:

“Do you find my ability to converse lacking, Doctor?”

He chuckles softly, no doubt remembering how I wasn’t chatty with anyone, himself included, for the first month of my stay. To be fair, it is difficult to carry on an invigorating discussion when one is shaking so hard from withdrawals they fear they might shatter into thousands of painful pieces before a single word can be uttered. Plus, there was the whole bit of how once I did open up, I raved liked a lunatic about things no normal person could imagine being true.

“Certainly not,” he says to me. “But as I must stay at the Pleasance and you must go forth into the world, it will do you good to practice on somebody new.”

“Then send in one of the orderlies. Or one of the nurses. I’ll happily chat with a staff member.”

One of his bushy, out-of-control eyebrows lifts high into his forehead.

“There are people out there who are quite content being solitary,” I point out. “Who do not need to converse with anybody but themselves and their dogs.”

He sets his pen down. “What about cats?”

Rigor mortis sets in ever so briefly at this question.

“You father said you were quite fond of cats growing up. There was one in particular that you favored. Dinah, was it not?”

“I’m—” I have to clear my throat. “Lately, I wonder if perhaps I’m more of a dog person after all.”

Giveaway!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

About the author:

Heather Lyons has always had a thing for words—she’s been writing stories since she was a kid. In addition to writing, she’s also been an archaeologist and a teacher. Heather is a rabid music fan, as evidenced by her (mostly) music-centric blog, and she’s married to an even larger music snob. They’re happily raising three kids who are mini music fiends who love to read and be read to.

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