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!

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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.

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Bargain Ebook: Ask Baba Yaga: Otherworldly Advice for Everyday Troubles by Taisia Kitaiskaia for $1.99

 

Ask Baba Yaga: Otherworldly Advice for Everyday Troubles by Taisia Kitaiskaia is on sale for $1.99 in ebook format.

Book description from the publisher:

Dear Baba Yaga,

I think I must crave male attention too much. I fear that, without it, I would feel invisible.

BABA YAGA:

When you seek others this way, you are invisible nonetheless. Yr shawl is covered in mirrors in which others admire themselves; this is why they greet you so passionately. It is good to be seen, but it is better to see. Find a being to look hard into, & you will see yrself and what is more than you.

In age-old Slavic fairy tales, the witch Baba Yaga is sought out by those with a burning need for guidance. In contemporary life, Baba Yaga—a dangerous, slippery oracle—answered earnest questions on The Hairpin for years. These pages collect her most poignant, surreal, and humorous exchanges along with all-new questions and answers for those seeking her mystical advice.

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Bargain Ebook: Breaking the Magic Spell: Radical Theories of Folk & Fairy Tales by Jack Zipes

 

Breaking the Magic Spell: Radical Theories of Folk & Fairy Tales by Jack Zipes is on sale for $2.99. This could end at any time since it was a deal for yesterday but it still active as I post this. 

Book description from the publisher:

“Zipes ably demonstrates that moral, political, religious, and other ideologies have shaped these apparently innocent narratives.” —Lore and Language

This revised, expanded, and updated edition of the 1979 landmark Breaking the Magic Spell examines the enduring power of fairy tales and the ways they invade our subjective world. In seven provocative essays, Zipes discusses the importance of investigating oral folk tales in their socio-political context and traces their evolution into literary fairy tales, a metamorphosis that often diminished the ideology of the original narrative. Zipes also looks at how folk tales influence our popular beliefs and the ways they have been exploited by a corporate media network intent on regulating the mystical elements of the stories. He examines a range of authors, including the Brothers Grimm, Hans Christian Anderson, Ernst Bloch, Tolkien, Bettelheim, and J.K. Rowling to demonstrate the continuing symbiotic relationship between folklore and literature.

“The name Jack Zipes is synonymous with highly regarded and widely read anthologies and critiques of fairy tales.” —Choice

“Fairy Tales are a highly fashionable study today for literary scholars as well as folklorists, and another new book shows what a range of interest can be evoked by them. This time in Jack Zipes’ interesting and vigorous study.” —Encounter

“Places traditional tales in their socio-political, economic and cultural contexts.” —Teacher Librarian

“Zipes reveals the extraordinary breadth of his acquaintance with both recent and classic literature in the field of folk and fairytale research.” —Fabula

“Zipes manages the impressive trick of communicating both detail and overview without simplifying either . . . the serious folklorist should definitely have this on his bookshelf.” —Fortean Times

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Bargain Ebook: So This is Love: A Twisted Tale by Elizabeth Lim for $1.99

 

So This is Love: A Twisted Tale by Elizabeth Lim is on sale today only for $1.99. It's a retelling of Disney's version of Cinderella, part of the Twisted Tale series.

Book description from the publisher:

What if Cinderella never tried on the glass slipper? Unable to prove that she's the missing princess, and unable to bear life under Lady Tremaine any longer, Cinderella attempts a fresh start, looking for work at the palace as a seamstress. But when the Grand Duke appoints her to serve under the king's visiting sister, Cinderella becomes witness to a grand conspiracy to take the king—and the prince—out of power, as well as a longstanding prejudice against fairies, including Cinderella's own Fairy Godmother. Faced with questions of love and loyalty to the kingdom, Cinderella must find a way to stop the villains of past and present . . . before it's too late.

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New Book Release: The Brothers Grimm: A Biography by Ann Schmiesing

 

The Brothers Grimm: A Biography by Ann Schmiesing was released this fall. I haven't had a chance to read it yet. However, I did get to visit the GRIMMWELT Kassel this past October and feel an even greater affection for the Grimms than I ever have--and that's saying a lot. The museum in Kassel focuses more on the Grimms' German dictionary with the fairy tale work relegated more to exhibits for children. I fangirled throughout the museum.

I plan to write more about my recent experiences on Germany's Fairy Tale Road next year. But for now, this book sounds like a great way to learn more about the Brothers Grimm without having to travel. And to learn in smaller bites because the museum was like trying to feast on a year's worth of food in a single afternoon.

Book description from the publisher:

The first English-language biography in over fifty years to tell the full, vibrant story of Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, known to history as the Brothers Grimm

 A New Yorker “Best Book of 2024” Selection

 “Ann Schmiesing . . . has brought the brothers to life in their fullness.”—Dominic Green, Wall Street Journal

 “Magisterial.”—Kirkus Reviews

 More than two hundred years ago, the German brothers Jacob Grimm (1785–1863) and Wilhelm Grimm (1786–1859) published a collection of fairy tales that remains famous the world over. It has been translated into some 170 languages—more than any other German book—and the Brothers Grimm are among the top dozen most translated authors in the world. In addition to collecting tales, the Grimms were mythographers, linguists, librarians, civil servants, and above all the closest of brothers, but until now, the full story of their lifelong endeavor to preserve and articulate a German cultural identity has not been well known.

 Drawing on deep archival research and decades of scholarship, Ann Schmiesing tells the affecting story of how the Grimms’ ambitious projects gave the brothers a sense of self-preservation through the atrocities of the Napoleonic Wars and a series of personal losses. They produced a vast corpus of work on mythology and medieval literature, embarked on a monumental German dictionary project, and broke scholarly ground with Jacob’s linguistic discovery known as Grimm’s Law. Setting their story against a rich historical backdrop, Schmiesing offers a fresh consideration of the profound and yet complicated legacy of the Brothers Grimm.

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Bargain Ebook: Two Peas in a Pod by Sarah Mlynowski for $1.99

 

Two Peas in a Pod (Whatever After Book 11) by Sarah Mlynowski is on sale for $1.99 in ebook format. A Princess and the Pea retelling, of course.

Book description from the publisher:

This hilarious novel in the New York Times–bestselling series fractures the beloved fairy-tale of The Princess and the Pea . . .

I’ve landed—along with my brother, Jonah, and our dog, Prince—on the other side of the portal . . . and in the fairy tale of The Princess and the Pea! When I can’t fall asleep on top of a hundred mattresses, the kingdom decides I must be the princess they’re looking for. Talk about royal treatment—I’m suddenly being waited on hand and foot. Plus, I get unlimited ball gowns, sparkly jewelry, and ice cream. But can we find a REAL princess to run the kingdom? Now we have to:

Hold a princess contest

Defeat an obnoxious prince

Escape hungry alligators

Make it back home

There’s no time to snooze—may the best princess win!

Praise for the series

“Uproariously funny . . . non-stop action . . . will enchant readers from the first page.” —Kirkus Reviews

“A wonderful reading adventure.” —Meg Cabot, #1 New York Times–bestselling author of The Princess Diaries

“Hilarious . . . unexpected plot twists and plenty of girl power.” —Booklist

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Bargain Ebook: Frogkisser! by Garth Nix for $2.99

Frogkisser! by Garth Nix is on sale for $2.99 in ebook format.

Book description from the publisher:

The last thing she needs is a prince. The first thing she needs is some magic. . . . “An uproarious adventure” from the New York Times–bestselling author! (Publishers Weekly)

Poor Princess Anya. Stuck living with her evil stepmother’s new husband, her evil step-stepfather. Plagued with an unfortunate ability to break curses with a magic-assisted kiss. And forced to go on the run when her step-stepfather decides to make the kingdom entirely his own.

Aided by a loyal talking dog, a boy thief trapped in the body of a newt, and some extraordinarily mischievous wizards, Anya sets off on a Quest that, if she plays it right, will ultimately free her land—and teach her a thing or two about the use of power, the effectiveness of a well-placed pucker, and the finding of friends in places both high and low.

With Frogkisser!, acclaimed author Garth Nix has conjured a fantastical tale for all ages, full of laughs and danger, surprises and delights, and an immense population of frogs. It’s 50% fairy tale, 50% fantasy, and 100% pure enjoyment from start to finish.

“Delightful . . . wonderfully inventive creatures . . . a captivating story.” —School Library Journal (starred review)

“The characters are so enjoyable readers are sure to miss them when the quest (and book) ends . . . Great fun with heart.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“A delightful adventure stuffed with absurdity, magic, and a spirited young heroine. Beneath these entertaining trappings lies a heartfelt message of justice.” —Booklist

“A rollicking comic fantasy . . . Well-developed characters, an unfailing sense of humor, and polished prose . . . a pleasure to read.” —Publishers Weekly

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Bargain Ebook: The Book of Gothel by Mary McMyne for $2.99

The Book of Gothel by Mary McMyne is on sale for $2.99 in ebook format. This one is Rapunzel inspired, of course. It is also well-reviewed by both critics and readers.

Book description from the publisher:

Everyone knows the story of Rapunzel in her tower, but do you know the story of the witch who put her there? Mary McMyne's spellbinding debut, rich with historical detail and forbidden magic, reveals the truth behind the fairy tales—the truth only a witch could tell.

"Smart, swift, sure-footed and fleet-winged, The Book of Gothel launches its magic from a most reliable source: the troubled heart. Mary McMyne is a magician."—Gregory Maguire, NYT bestselling author of Wicked

Germany, 1156. With her strange black eyes and even stranger fainting spells, young Haelewise has never quite fit in. Shunned by her village, her only solace lies in the stories her mother tells of child-stealing witches, of princes in wolf-skins, and of an ancient tower cloaked in mist, where women will find shelter if they are brave enough to seek it.

When her mother dies, Haelewise is left unmoored. With nothing left for her in her village, she sets out to find the legendary tower her mother spoke of—a place called Gothel, where she meets a wise woman willing to take Haelewise under her wing. There, she discovers that magic is found not only in the realm of fairy tales.

But Haelewise is not the only woman to seek refuge at Gothel. It's also a haven for a girl named Rika, who carries with her a secret the church strives to keep hidden. A secret that reveals a dark world of ancient spells and murderous nobles, behind the world Haelewise has always known.

Praise for The Book of Gothel:

"A sprawling epic, full of magic, love, and heartbreak." —Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"A luscious origin story." —Booklist (starred review)

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Bargain Ebook: A Curse Dark as Gold by Elizabeth C. Bunce

A Curse Dark as Gold by Elizabeth C. Bunce is on sale for $1.99 in ebook format. Yes, it's inspired by Rumpelstiltskin.

Book description from the publisher:

The gold thread promises Charlotte Miller a chance to save her family’s beloved woolen mill. It promises a future for her sister, jobs for her townsfolk, security against her grasping uncle—maybe even true love. To get the thread, Charlotte must strike a bargain with its maker, the mysterious Jack Spinner. But the gleam of gold conjures a shadowy past—secrets ensnaring generations of Millers. And Charlotte’s mill, her family, her love—what do those matter to a stranger who can spin straw into gold? This is an award-winning and wholly original retelling of “Rumplestiltskin.”

“Set in a rural valley in the late 1700s, this reworking of the ‘Rumplestiltskin’ story includes ghosts, witchcraft, elements of Georgian society, and much earlier folk magic in the guise of a novel of manners.” —School Library Journal

“A Curse Dark as Gold beats the hell out of any fantasy novel I’ve read this year. Her heroine/narrator is immensely appealing; the atmosphere of a world on the cusp of the Industrial Revolution is completely believable; and the suspense of the story builds so craftily that I started taking notes on just how she does it.” —Peter S. Beagle, World Fantasy Award-winning author

“An intelligent, original, and interesting new take on an old fairy tale, and a marvelous debut novel.” —Teen Book Review

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Bargain Ebook: The Wild Girl by Kate Forsyth

 

The Wild Girl: A Novel by Kate Forsyth is on sale for $2.99. This is a novel inspired by one of the women, Dortchen Wild, who was the source for several of the Grimms' fairy tales. 

Book description from 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.

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Bargain Ebook: Thorn (Dauntless Path Book 1) by Intisar Khanani for $1.99

 

Thorn (Dauntless Path Book 1) by Intisar Khanani in ebook format is on sale for $1.99. It's a Goose Girl retelling.

Book description from the publisher:

Princess Alyrra has always longed to escape the confines of her royal life, but when her mother betroths her to a powerful prince in a distant kingdom, she has little hope for a better future.

Until Alyrra arrives at her new kingdom, where a mysterious sorceress robs her of both her identity and her role as princess—and Alyrra seizes on the opportunity to start a new life for herself as a goose girl.

But as Alyrra uncovers dangerous secrets about her new world, including a threat to the prince himself, she knows she can’t remain silent forever. With the fate of the kingdom at stake, Alyrra is caught between two worlds, and ultimately must decide who she is and what she stands for.

This edition features an additional short story set in-world, The Bone Knife.

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