After recently (and randomly) grabbing Princess of Thorn’s off the library shelf, I was introduced to the written world of Stacey Jay.
Stacey Jay has reimagined fairy tales, and smashed them together to make amazing novels, I couldn’t put her books down!
Princess of Thorns
An interesting mix of two fairy tales (The Swan Princess, and Sleeping Beauty) with a dash of ogres. The book is from the three character perspectives, and I actually really enjoy books like that. I find it rounds out the characters in such a nice way.
The story revolves around Aurora, or Ror, as she journeys on her quest to save her twin brother from the clutches of the ogres who have taken over their kingdom. She’s hiding a secret that could save the world or destroy it. Along her journey, she meets Niklaas, the Prince from another country with his own secrets. Neither of them trust each other enough to tell their secrets, but the clock is ticking for both of them.
I enjoyed reading from both of their perspectives, and this book definitely brought a tear to my eye while reading it. Niklaas is such a great character, and you can’t help but fall in love just a little bit with him. Ror is such a kick-ass heroine, blessed by her mother’s fairy gifts. And, I’m always a sucker for a good gender-bender story!
Juliet Immortal / Romeo Redeemed
Such a fascinating adaptation of Romeo and Juliet! What if they hadn’t died, and were fighting each other in a battle between good and evil? Juliet is fighting for the Ambassadors, to save true love. Romeo is on the side of the Mercenaries, and destroying it. They’ve been fighting each other for the centuries since they first fell in love, and Juliet is not ready to forgive and forget. Romeo thinks that he doesn’t deserve forgiveness for betraying her, and hopes that he can gain her love again to save themselves.
I enjoyed Juliet Immortal, and loved the way it ended. I enjoyed what she needed to do to save herself, and everyone she loved. Surprisingly, I think that I enjoyed Romeo Redeemed more than Juliet. It was a little confusing at first, because it didn’t directly flow with how Juliet Immortal ended, and it worked because it toyed with the ideas of multiple realities and timelines. And how he’s just been put in a different timeline, so it would make sense that Juliet also had a different ending in this story. These are pretty easy reads, flipping between perspectives more in Romeo Redeemed than in Juliet Immortal, but I finished these within a day. You also find out more about the Ambassadors and Mercenaries in the second novel as well.
Of Beauty and Beast
Beauty and the Beast is such a classic fairy tale, and has been rewritten countless times. This was such a fresh look at it – a look at the world if we had landed on “Earth” from space and the planet’s magic mutated us to better adapt to the world. The world is split into two factions, Smooth Skinned and Monstrous. The Smooth Skinned were able to block themselves off from the change that the Monstrous underwent when they first landed.
There are some twists, but it’s not really about that because you find out most of the information in the beginning when looking back on the history of the world. Isra is a blind Smooth Skinned, and captures Gem (a Monstrous) when he breaks into the Dome to steal the roses to save his tribe. From there, the story evolves, and you get both perspectives of the story, as well as a couple other people. As she begins to realize the truth about everything she’s learned and been brought up to know, she questions everything and makes the ultimate sacrifice.
Stacey Jay didn’t stray too far from the original story so it’s a “predictable” end, but there are still twists and turns that I didn’t see coming and made the story extremely enjoyable! Definitely worth the read.
As I wrote this, I realized that since last year she has since retired from writing YA due to a Kickstarter controversy. She does have more books – the Dead High series, Megan Berry Zombie Settler series; so I might try those out as well. I’m sad that there won’t be anymore to her fairy tale novels, or a sequel to Princess of Thorns.
Will you be picking up any of these books?
