SurLaLune Fairy Tales Blog

Tuesday, February 25, 2025

Forest Ceramic Candle Holder

I received this candle holder for free to review recently and really liked it so I thought I would share it here. It is a White Ceramic Candle Holder available in a forest theme (my pick) or a fairy (they say elf) theme which is just as whimsical but less my own taste. I think I have some dryad blood in me as I usually pick trees. I am not putting a candle in but a string of rechargeable fairy lights which makes it really glow, too. I put it on my end table to live with it for a few days before reviewing it but I think it will be making a permanent home there for a while.

Many years ago, a friend had something similar, a floral one that was painted inside so it was white on the outside but when lit within the soft colors shone through. This doesn't do that but this is pleasing all unto itself.

This one reminds me of Aschenputtel, the German Cinderella, with her birds and tree helpers.

Here's the fairy one:

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New Book: Order of Swans by Jude Deveraux

A new book released in the last month: Order of Swans: A Magical Romantasy Journey of Love and Destiny in a Fairy Tale Kingdom, Filled with Suspense, Romance, and the Power to Change Fate by Jude Deveraux. I included the full subtitle here because these new marketing techniques amuse and fascinate me.

Jude Deveraux is a bestselling mainstay in the romance genre. So when she releases a new fairy tale inspired book--not just a sword and princess fantasy labeled a fairy tale--I pay attention. Mainstream publishing has been mostly quiet on the fairy tale inspired novels recently but this may be a one-off or the start of a new uptick. Deveraux apparently plays with several in this novel. Be warned that it is a duology so there are some complaints about the unsatisfactory ending to this one that I am sure will be resolved in book two.

Book description from the publisher:

"A captivating blend of science fiction, fantasy, and fairy tale reimagining that challenges traditional genre boundaries. . . . an engaging, thought-provoking reading experience that challenges and delights in equal measure.” —Medium
In this spellbinding, fantasy-rich romance, a woman is swept into a world where she has the power to alter fairy tales, and change a kingdom’s destiny…
To Kaley Arens, a PhD student and expert in folklore, fairy stories have always had a power and an allure beyond mere entertainment.
It’s only when Kaley accompanies her lifelong friend Jobi on a visit to his home that she realizes how much she still has to learn. Bellis isn’t the remote island that she believed it to be. It’s another world—a stunningly beautiful and seductive one, with its own royalty, its own rules, and inhabitants who breathe life into the tales she was taught were fiction.
Kaley’s presence is no simple holiday. She has a mysterious connection with Jobi and with Bellis, and abilities that may help determine this world’s fate. Tasked with locating a lost prince, Kaley and her companions—the enigmatic Tanek, a member of the Order of Swans, and Sojee, Kaley's colossal bodyguard—journey through a land both thrilling and terrifying, where the uncanny and the familiar go hand in hand.
But in fairy tales, heroes and villains are easy to discern. Here, nothing is quite as it seems. And though Kaley is discovering that she can change the outcome of the fairy tales she knows so well, her own story is unfolding in ways impossible to predict, with a destiny she could never have foretold…

Bargain Ebook: The Wild Girl by Kate Forsyth

The ebook edition of The Wild Girl by Kate Forsyth is on sale for $2.99 perhaps through the end of the month since the sale has lasted a few days but it could end anytime and go back up to $9.99. It is inspired by the real Dortchen Wild who provided many of the tales for the Brothers Grimm and ended up marrying Wilhelm.

Book description by the publisher:

One of six sisters, Dortchen Wild lives in the small German kingdom of Hesse-Cassel in the early 19th century. She finds herself irresistibly drawn to the boy next door, the handsome but very poor fairy tale scholar Wilhelm Grimm. It is a time of tyranny and terror. Napoleon Bonaparte wants to conquer all of Europe, and Hesse-Cassel is one of the first kingdoms to fall. Forced to live under oppressive French rule, Wilhelm and his brothers quietly rebel by preserving old half-forgotten tales that had once been told by the firesides of houses grand and small over the land.
As Dortchen tells Wilhelm some of the most powerful and compelling stories in what will one day become his and Jacob's famous fairy tale collection, their love blossoms. But Dortchen's father will not give his consent for them to marry and war, death, and poverty also conspire to keep the lovers apart. Yet Dortchen is determined to find a way.
Evocative and richly-detailed, Kate Forsyth's The Wild Girl masterfully captures one young woman's enduring faith in love and the power of storytelling.

Tuesday, February 4, 2025

New Beauty and the Beast Inspired Book: Black Woods, Blue Sky: A Novel by Eowyn Ivey

For all of Beauty and the Beast fans, a new book inspired by the tale and set in Alaska: Black Woods, Blue Sky: A Novel by Eowyn Ivey (Author), Ruth Hulbert (Illustrator) is officially released today.

Book description from the publisher:

Pulitzer Prize finalist and New York Times bestselling author of The Snow Child Eowyn Ivey returns to the mythical landscapes of Alaska with an unforgettable dark fairy tale that asks the question: Can love save us from ourselves?

“No one writes like Eowyn Ivey.”—Geraldine Brooks
“You will find yourself in places you have never been.”—Louise Erdrich
“A stunning tale told by a master of her craft.”—Jason Mott

Birdie’s keeping it together; of course she is. So she’s a little hungover, sometimes, and she has to bring her daughter, Emaleen, to her job waiting tables at an Alaskan roadside lodge, but she’s getting by as a single mother in a tough town. Still, Birdie can remember happier times from her youth, when she was free in the wilds of nature.

Arthur Neilsen, a soft-spoken and scarred recluse who appears in town only at the change of seasons, brings Emaleen back to safety when she gets lost in the woods. Most people avoid him, but to Birdie, he represents everything she’s ever longed for. She finds herself falling for Arthur and the land he knows so well.

Against the warnings of those who care about them, Birdie and Emaleen move to his isolated cabin in the mountains, on the far side of the Wolverine River.

It’s just the three of them in the vast black woods, far from roads, telephones, electricity, and outside contact, but Birdie believes she has come prepared. At first, it’s idyllic and she can picture a happily ever after: Together they catch salmon, pick berries, and climb mountains so tall it’s as if they could touch the bright blue sky. But soon Birdie discovers that Arthur is something much more mysterious and dangerous than she could have ever imagined, and that like the Alaska wilderness, a fairy tale can be as dark as it is beautiful.

Black Woods, Blue Sky is a novel with life-and-death stakes, about the love between a mother and daughter, and the allure of a wild life—about what we gain and what it might cost us.

Sunday, January 26, 2025

Bargain Ebook: Workers' Tales: Socialist Fairy Tales, Fables, and Allegories from Great Britain

Workers' Tales: Socialist Fairy Tales, Fables, and Allegories from Great Britain (Oddly Modern Fairy Tales Book 12) by Michael Rosen (Editor) is also on sale for $2.99. This one is at least $10 normally so this is a great bargain.

Book description:

“Plain-language, kid-friendly introductions to socialist politics . . . striking allegories that remain pertinent now, even on the other side of the Atlantic.” —J. C. Pan, The Atlantic
In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, unique tales inspired by traditional literary forms appeared frequently in socialist-leaning British periodicals, such as the Clarion, Labour Leader, and Social Democrat. Based on familiar genres—the fairy tale, fable, allegory, parable, and moral tale—and penned by a range of lesser-known and celebrated authors, including Schalom Asch, Charles Allen Clarke, Frederick James Gould, and William Morris, these stories were meant to entertain readers of all ages—and some challenged the conventional values promoted in children’s literature for the middle class. In Workers’ Tales, acclaimed critic and author Michael Rosen brings together more than forty of the best and most enduring examples of these stories in one beautiful volume.
Throughout, the tales in this collection exemplify themes and ideas related to work and the class system, sometimes in wish-fulfilling ways. In “Tom Hickathrift,” a little, poor person gets the better of a gigantic, wealthy one. In “The Man Without a Heart,” a man learns about the value of basic labor after testing out more privileged lives. And in “The Political Economist and the Flowers,” two contrasting gardeners highlight the cold heart of Darwinian competition. Rosen’s informative introduction describes how such tales advocated for contemporary progressive causes and countered the dominant celebration of Britain’s imperial values. The book includes archival illustrations, biographical notes about the writers, and details about the periodicals where the tales first appeared.
Provocative and enlightening, Workers’ Tales presents voices of resistance that are more relevant than ever before.

Bargain Ebook: Fairy Tales for the Disillusioned: Enchanted Stories from the French Decadent Tradition

Fairy Tales for the Disillusioned: Enchanted Stories from the French Decadent Tradition (Oddly Modern Fairy Tales Book 14) by Gretchen Schultz (Editor), Lewis Seifert (Editor) is on sale for $2.99. This one is at least $10 normally so this is a great bargain.

Book description:

A collection that subverts the conventions of the traditional fairy tale—to entertain and startle even the most disenchanted reader: “Thoroughly engaging.” —Gramarye Journal
The wolf is tricked by Red Riding Hood into strangling her grandmother and is subsequently arrested. Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella do not live happily ever after. And the fairies are saucy, angry, and capricious. Fairy Tales for the Disillusioned collects thirty-six tales, many newly translated, by writers associated with the decadent literary movement, which flourished in France in the late nineteenth century. Written by such luminaries as Charles Baudelaire, Anatole France, and Guillaume Apollinaire, these enchanting yet troubling stories reflect the concerns and fascinations of a time of great political, social, and cultural change. Recasting well-known favorites from classic French fairy tales, as well as Arthurian legends and English and German tales, the updated interpretations in this collection allow for more perverse settings and disillusioned perspectives—a trademark style and ethos of the decadent tradition.
In these stories, characters puncture the optimism of the naive, talismans don’t work, and the most deserving don’t always get the best rewards. The fairies are commonly victims of modern cynicism and technological advancement, but just as often are dangerous creatures corrupted by contemporary society. The collection underlines such decadent themes as the decline of civilization, the degeneration of magic and the unreal, gender confusion, and the incursion of the industrial. The volume editors also provide an informative introduction, biographical notes for each author, and explanatory notes throughout.
“Sometimes sardonic, sometimes brutal, often blackly funny.” —Sydney Morning Herald
“A wide variety of cynical characters, forgotten forests, and perverse plots . . . The work will delight and possibly disenchant both fairy-tale enthusiasts and scholars.” —Marvels & Tales
“A perfect book, perhaps, for the moment.” —The Washington Post

Bargain Ebook: Little Red Writing by Joan Holub (Author), Melissa Sweet (Illustrator)

Little Red Writing by Joan Holub (Author), Melissa Sweet (Illustrator) is on sale for $1.99 most likely for today only.

Book description:

A little red pencil embarks on a creative writing adventure in this delightfully illustrated children’s book with “style, humor, and solid writing advice” (Publishers Weekly, starred review).
At the Pencilvania School, all the young pencils are given a writing assignment. With a basket of nouns, Little Red embarks on the storytelling path, discovering the joys of creative writing. But when she gets tangled in a run-on sentence full of descriptive adjectives, she must escape a dangerous encounter with the pencil sharpener, Wolf 3000!
Acclaimed writer Joan Holub and Caldecott Honoree Melissa Sweet team up in this hilarious and exuberant retelling of Little Red Riding Hood. “The artwork—which integrates written text in a variety of lettering styles—fills the pages with a riot of color, shape, movement and design… Every writers’ group should start with this story.” (Kirkus, starred review).
A Kirkus Best Children’s Books of 2013

Tuesday, January 7, 2025

Bargain Ebook: Hunted by Meagan Spooner is a Kindle Daily Deal for $1.99

Hunted by Meagan Spooner is a Kindle Daily Deal on sale for $1.99 today. It's a Beauty and the Beast retelling.

Book description from the publisher:

New York Times bestselling author Meagan Spooner spins a thoroughly thrilling Beauty and the Beast story for the modern age, expertly woven with spellbinding romance, intrigue, and suspense that readers won’t soon be able to forget.
Beauty knows the Beast's forest in her bones—and in her blood. After all, her father is the only hunter who’s ever come close to discovering its secrets.
So when her father loses his fortune and moves Yeva and her sisters out of their comfortable home among the aristocracy and back to the outskirts of town, Yeva is secretly relieved. Out in the wilderness, there’s no pressure to make idle chatter with vapid baronessas…or to submit to marrying a wealthy gentleman.
But Yeva’s father’s misfortune may have cost him his mind, and when he goes missing in the woods, Yeva sets her sights on one prey: the creature he’d been obsessively tracking just before his disappearance. The Beast.
Deaf to her sisters’ protests, Yeva hunts this strange creature back into his own territory—a cursed valley, a ruined castle, and a world of magical creatures that Yeva’s only heard about in fairy tales. A world that can bring her ruin, or salvation.
Who will survive: the Beauty, or the Beast?

Bargain Ebook: If the Slipper Fits: A Cinderella Sisterhood Series by Olivia Drake for $2.99

If the Slipper Fits: A Cinderella Sisterhood Series by Olivia Drake is on sale as a Kindle Daily Deal for $2.99. This is a romance novel using Cinderella tropes, of course.

Book description from the publisher:

“A tale filled with gothic overtones, sensuality, sprightly dialogue, emotion, an engaging cast and a beautiful pair of perfectly fitting slippers.” —RT Book Reviews (4 stars)
Raised in a girls’ school, Annabelle Quinn longs for the world outside the walls of the academy. When she’s hired as the governess to an orphaned duke, Annabelle never expects the child’s breathtakingly handsome guardian to capture her imagination—or her heart.
Falling for his young nephew’s governess is an irksome complication in Lord Simon Westbury’s orderly life, but Annabelle’s quiet beauty and wry intellect are too much to resist. Meanwhile, a mysterious danger looms over the remote Cornwall estate. Will their newfound desire stand the test of time? Or are some happy endings just too good to come true?

Wednesday, January 1, 2025

KDD Bargain Ebook: A Sorceress Comes to Call by T. Kingfisher for $1.99

A Sorceress Comes to Call by T. Kingfisher is on sale as a Kindle Daily Deal today. This is a Goose Girl retelling.

Book description from the publisher:

Named a Best Fantasy Book of the Year by NPR, Elle, and Paste
A Goodreads Best Fantasy Choice Award Nominee
From New York Times bestselling and Hugo Award-winning author T. Kingfisher comes A Sorceress Comes to Call—a dark reimagining of the Brothers Grimm's "The Goose Girl," rife with secrets, murder, and forbidden magic.
*The hardcover edition features a foil stamp on the casing and custom endpapers illustrated by the author.*
Cordelia knows her mother is . . . unusual. Their house doesn’t have any doors between rooms—there are no secrets in this house—and her mother doesn't allow Cordelia to have a single friend. Unless you count Falada, her mother's beautiful white horse. The only time Cordelia feels truly free is on her daily rides with him.
But more than simple eccentricity sets her mother apart. Other mothers don’t force their daughters to be silent and motionless for hours, sometimes days, on end. Other mothers aren’t evil sorcerers.
When her mother unexpectedly moves them into the manor home of a wealthy older Squire and his kind but keen-eyed sister, Hester, Cordelia knows this welcoming pair are to be her mother's next victims. But Cordelia feels at home for the very first time among these people, and as her mother's plans darken, she must decide how to face the woman who raised her to save the people who have become like family.
"Kingfisher never fails to dazzle."—Peter S. Beagle, Hugo, Nebula, and Locus Award-winning author of The Last Unicorn

Thursday, December 19, 2024

Off Topic Bargain Book: The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year by Ally Carter is $2.99

The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year by Ally Carter is on sale for $2.99. I wanted to share this one because I read it a few months ago and really enjoyed it. No, no fairy tale tropes in this one per se, but it's an entertaining Christmas adventure. I have read over 215 books this year and this one stands out as a personal favorite for the fun expertise of the story. It can be taken as light and fluffy but it has depths if you want to plumb them. The plotting and the skill Carter uses are admirable, too. I would pause every so often and applaud her mentally at the deft storytelling which I wasn't noticing because I was entertained until I would notice because I'm a writer at heart. She also uses flashbacks really well and I have an aversion to flashbacks. I paid full price at over $10 so $2.99 is about the cheapest treat you will get this holiday season.

Book description from the publisher:

"Full of tongue-in-cheek humor, excellent dialogue, and fantastic characters, this expertly crafted story from Carter (The Blonde Identity) is a heart-melting rivals-to-lovers romance combined with a delightful locked-room mystery." — Library Journal (starred review)
Knives Out gets a holiday rom-com twist in this rivals-to-lovers romance-mystery from New York Times bestselling author Ally Carter.
The bridge is out. The phones are down. And the most famous mystery writer in the world just disappeared out of a locked room two days before Christmas.
Meet Maggie Chase and Ethan Wyatt:
She’s the new Queen of the Cozy Mystery.
He’s Mr. Big-time Thriller Guy.
She hates his guts.
He thinks her name is Marcie (no matter how many times she’s told him otherwise.)
But when they both accept a cryptic invitation to attend a Christmas house party at the English estate of a reclusive fan, neither is expecting their host to be the most powerful author in the world: Eleanor Ashley, the Duchess of Death herself.
That night, the weather turns, and the next morning Eleanor is gone.
She vanished from a locked room, and Maggie has to wonder: Is Eleanor in danger? Or is it all some kind of test? Is Ethan the competition? Or is he the only person in that snowbound mansion she can trust?
As the snow gets deeper and the stakes get higher, every clue will bring Maggie and Ethan closer to the truth—and each other. Because, this Christmas, these two rivals are going to have to become allies (and maybe more) if they have any hope of saving Eleanor.
Assuming they don’t kill each other first.
The laugh out loud holiday "romystery" that you've been waiting for!

Wednesday, December 18, 2024

3D Wood Carved Little Red Riding Hood and Frog Prince LED Lights

Jimeva 3D Wood Carved Frog Prince Rainbow LED Night Light and Jimeva 3D Wood Carved Little Red Riding Hood USB LED are $5.99 each at Amazon. They light up! Where do I have room for these? I love the details in these, like the prince and princess in the center of the frog and Granny Wolf to the right in Red Riding's hood.

Here's some images of them illuminated.