(Twisted Tales)Author: Maureen McGowan
Format: ebook (netgalley)
Pages: 320 (paperback)
Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult
Published: 1st April 2011 (Silver Dolphin)
Cinderella is more than just a servant girl waiting for her prince—she's a tough, fearless girl who is capable of taking charge of a dangerous situation. Seeking to escape the clutches of her evil stepmother, Cinderella perfects her ninja skills and magic talents in secret, waiting for the day when she can break free and live happily ever after.
Title: Sleeping Beauty: Vampire Slayer
(Twisted Tales)Author: Maureen McGowan
Format: ebook (netgalley)
Pages: 320 (paperback)
Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult
Published: 1st April 2011 (Silver Dolphin)
In this thrilling story full of adventure and romance, Sleeping Beauty is more than just a lonely princess waiting for her prince—she's a brave, tenacious girl who never backs down from a challenge. With vampire-slaying talents that she practices in secret, Sleeping Beauty puts her courage to the test in the dark of night, fighting evil as she searches for a way to break the spell that has cut her off from her family. In a special twist, readers have the opportunity to make key decisions for Sleeping Beauty and decide where she goes next—but no matter the choice; the result is a story unlike any fairy tale you've ever read!
In the Twisted Tales series, the author takes classic fairy tales and gives them a twist - a really massive twist! Actually, there's really two major differences about these books that the average fairy story. The first is obviously the new take on the story; Cinderella as a Ninja and Sleeping Beauty as a Vampire Slayer! Seriously, nothing is as awesome than ninjas and slayers - okay, maybe pirates but that's not the point.
The second thing that makes these books stand out is the format. They follow a "Choose your own adventure" style, which not only means you get to pick the path the story takes but also there's the re-readability factor as you can take a different path each time. Obviously with it following the basic story line of the original tales, certain events have to happen but there's different ways of getting there and that adds a different element to the books.
The stories themselves were fun and were quick to read through (each read isn't the whole 320 pages). I've been trying to decide which I liked best but couldn't really come up with an answer. I like the story of Cinderella best but I liked the Vampire Slayer thing so, yeah, I don't know. Both were good. For me the best bit for me was that the heroines weren't all weak and pathetic and girly like in the originals. They were much more kick-ass and awesome.
If you like retelling's of classics, feisty main characters and a say in what happens in the story then you'll love these books.
Tomorrow, A Trillian Books will be hosting an interview with Maureen McGowan. Find out more about the Twisted Tales author and the books themselves.
