Mini-Reviews: The Sleeper and The Spindle by Neil Gaiman/Tinder by Sally Gardner Mini-Review: The Sleeper and The Spindle by Neil Gaiman Title - The Sleeper and The Spindle Author - Neil Gaiman Pages - 69 Pages Synopsis - A thrillingly reimagined fairy tale from the truly magical combination of author Neil Gaiman and illustrator Chris Riddell – weaving together a sort-of Snow White and an almost Sleeping Beauty with a thread of dark magic, which will hold readers spellbound from start to finish. On the eve of her wedding, a young queen sets out to rescue a princess from an enchantment. She casts aside her fine wedding clothes, takes her chain mail and her sword and follows her brave dwarf retainers into the tunnels under the mountain towards the sleeping kingdom. This queen will decide her own future – and the princess who needs rescuing is not quite what she seems. Twisting together the familiar and the new, this perfectly delicious, captivating and darkly funny tale shows its creators at the peak of their talents. Lavishly produced, packed with glorious Chris Riddell illustrations enhanced with metallic ink, this is a spectacular and magical gift. I've wanted to read this for ages and I went to my local library the other day and saw it there and I just couldn't help myself so obviously I borrowed it out. I know Neil Gaiman is quite a popular author as he's written a lot of different things, but I personally had never read anything by him, apart from the book I'm currently reading, which is M is For Magic, which is a collection of short stories. Therefore, this was my first proper experience with Neil Gaiman's writing. I enjoyed the writing style but I couldn't help but get confused at parts and quite lost in the text. I'm still slightly confused but I think I got the main gist of the story. Having the (brilliant!) illustrations also helped fix my confusion. The illustrations were so amazing and I really loved them. I'll insert some pictures below. Overall, I liked the plot of the story and the characters but didn't feel as if it lived up to my expectations. Rate - 3/5 GR - https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23301545-the-sleeper-and-the-spindle?from_new_nav=true&ac=1&from_search=true BD - http://www.bookdepository.com/The-Sleeper-and-the-Spindle/9781408859643 Mini-Review: Tinder by Sally Gardner Title - Tinder Author - Sally Gardner Pages - 265 Pages Synopsis - A young soldier, a captive princess, witches, wolves and Death walk hand in hand in COSTA AWARD winner Sally Gardner's exquisitely written new novel inspired by the Hans Christian Anderson fairy tale, THE TINDERBOX, illustrated by David Roberts. Otto Hundebiss is tired of war, but when he defies Death he walks a dangerous path. A half beast half man gives him shoes and dice which will lead him deep into a web of dark magic and mystery. He meets the beautiful Safire - pure of heart and spirit, the scheming Mistress Jabber and the terrifying Lady of the Nail. He learns the powers of the tinderbox and the wolves whose master he becomes. But will all the riches in the world bring him the thing he most desires? Fairy tales are often the cruellest stories of all; in this exquisite novel Sally Gardner writes about great love and great loss. Just like with The Sleeper and The Spindle, I'd wanted to read this for ages so when I saw it in my local library, I just couldn't resist! Before going into this, I didn't really know anything about what it was about apart from that I'd heard quite mixed things about it. While reading it I couldn't really tell whether I liked it or not and at times, I really didn't feel like reading it but I managed to push through. I liked the storyline and found it to be quite different to things I've read recently and that in a way was refreshing but it felt like there was something lacking but I don't know what exactly. There was something missing and I think that changed my overall opinion on the book. Just like The Sleeper and The Spindle, this one is also illustrated but with smaller and more impactful (I think so anyway) illustrations. These were more creepy and really enhanced the underlined spooky feel. Overall, I enjoyed this but just like The Sleeper and The Spindle, this didn't reach my expectations. Rate - 3/5 GR - https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18113422-tinder?from_new_nav=true&ac=1&from_search=true BD - http://www.bookdepository.com/Tinder/9781780621494 BYE!
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AuthorHello and welcome to Books With Beth! I'm Beth and on this blog I share a mix of all my bookish thoughts through reviews, book tours and hauls. Have fun! Categories
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