Anne

The Magic Mirror and the Seventh Dwarf by Tia Nevitt

Posted on by Dirty Girl Anne

The Magic Mirror and the Seventh Dwarf (Accidental Enchantments, #2)

Grade – B+
Hotness Level – Ember
Kink Level – None
Genre – Fairytale
Series – Accidental Enchantments #2
Reviewed by Anne

I have a fondness for fairytale retellings, especially in the romance genre.  I’ve always got an eye out for them. I remember reading The Sevenfold Spell in 2011. (Kate’s review of us just went up yesterday.)  It was a Sleeping Beauty retelling from a different point of view, and I enjoyed it.  So, when I saw Tea Nevitt had written a new story with her twist on Snow White, I was really looking forward to reading it.  I wasn’t disappointed!

In this story, we see how the Snow White events unfold as told primarily through the eyes of Richard, the man magically bound to the Evil Stepmother Queen’s mirror, and Gretchen, the seventh dwarf.  Richard must answer three questions from the Queen each sunrise and sunset when she calls on him through the mirror.  He must answer these questions truthfully.  He has taken to wandering through the countryside and staying away from people in order to avoid having knowledge that may get those people in trouble.  He hopes to someday find and destroy the mirror enslaving him.

Gretchen is the only dwarf in her small town.  Though much loved by her family, she feels like a social outcast.  When a traveling minstrel tells the tale of a farm run by dwarves, Gretchen decides she will go there and see if she might have a better life living on the farm.  She’s also curious to see if anyone else in the world truly looks like her. 

Richard and Gretchen’s storylines run in parallel, only overlapping toward the end of the book.  Richard finally finds his way to the city that houses the Queen and the mirror.  There he meets Snow White and falls in love, not with her legendary beauty, but the wonderful person she is.

Gretchen meanwhile is very much enjoying life on the farm with the other dwarves and has decided to choose a husband from the four available men.  She also becomes friends with Angelika (Snow White).

I really enjoyed the way their stories unfolded and finally intertwined.  It’s a really clever retelling of the Snow White story.  My favorite part of the book was the way a princess really wakes up from a magically induced sleeping spell.  (Hint: it’s not with a stretch and a smile.)  The Queen’s handling of Richard was deliciously evil.  She would never put him in a prison.  She knows he’s most miserable and of most use to her wandering her kingdom.

There were a couple negatives in the story for me.  The way Angelika’s aunt and uncle treat her didn’t seem to have a place in the story.  I wanted a better (more vengeful, perhaps?) ending for the Queen.  I didn’t like Rudolf, one of the dwarves, and felt like the story would have been better without him.

Overall, though, I really enjoyed this twist on Snow White, the two romances in it, the look at inner and outer beauty, and the cleverness of thinking about the enchanted mirror from a different point of view.  I enjoyed it enough that I can’t even complain about the lack of on page sex. (There was none!  But I’m not complaining, just mentioning.)  I recommend this book.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Posted on by Dirty Girl Anne

Pinned Image

This one is from etsy.

 Pinned Image

Pinned Image

 The previous two (and many more like them) come from geeksugar.
Adorkable Greeting Card, Valentine, funny, robot love, geek love, dork love, anniversary, birthday
Another cool one from etsy.

Happy Valentines from the Dirty Girls, Anne, Kay, & Kate.  If you’re looking for more Valentines that lean toward the nerdy side check out the Dirty Girls’ Good Books Valentine’s Day Pinterest page.

Painted Faces by L.H. Cosway

Posted on by Dirty Girl Anne

Painted Faces

Grade – A-
Hotness Level – Blaze
Kink Level – No Kink
Genre – Contemporary
Reviewed by Anne
 
Freda, aka Fred, is an abrasive 25 year old woman living in Dublin.  She bakes cupcakes and works at a charity shop.  She has good friends, including her roommate, but she tends to speak her mind without filtering out things first.
 
Nicholas is Fred’s new neighbor.  Not only is he gorgeous but she’s instantly drawn to him.

Even within this short conversation, I’ve noticed something sort of electric about his personality, something addictive.  His eyes pull me in, like they hold secrets that could make my boring old life so much more exciting.  You don’t come across men this alluring very often.
 

When Nicholas invites Fred to come see his show, she’s surprised and then delighted to learn that he sings and dresses in female clothes.  He’s very, very good and Fred is even more intrigued by her new neighbor.
 
However attracted Fred may be to Nicholas, but there’s no way she’d act on it. She knows he’s way out of her league and any kind of romantic relationship is bound to leave her with a broken heart.  Too bad for Fred, because Nicholas is very attracted to her and he’s ready to act on it.  Fred is cautious with her heart, though, so they fall into a friendship with some incredible sexual tension. 
 
As I’ve mentioned before, I’m a huge fan of romance without external conflict, and that’s exactly what this one is.  This whole story is about how Fred and Nicholas work through their issues and and it’s delightful, funny, and painful to read.  This story is told entirely from Fred’s point of view, and I really enjoyed her voice and the way she looked at the world.  Another bonus is that the story is set in Dublin and it’s not Americanized.  I enjoy reading slang I don’t know and I’m smart enough to figure out what phrases mean if it’s not one I’ve seen before.
 
It’s not a perfect read.  There were some things that bothered me.  Throughout the book, Fred says “No” to Nicholas’ advances, while wishing in his head he’d ignore her and continue to pursue her anyway.  Often he does ignore her “No.”  Fred is OK with this, because she’s secretly hoping he really does like her enough to keep trying.  However, Nicholas had no way of really knowing that, so I found it annoying.  There were a couple plot lines that never went anywhere.
 
Still, it was overall a big winner for me. I didn’t want to put this down while reading it, which made my real life quite inconvenient. 
 
A couple points I want to be clear on:
  • This story does include references to Nicholas’ sexual abuse as a teenager.  This is important to the story, not superfluous.  It is not discussed in graphic detail.
  • While he enjoys dressing up as a woman, Nicholas’ sexual orientation is straight, and Nicholas and Fred’s relationship is a man/woman relationship.  These characters would have been interesting to read about regardless of sexual orientation, but I include this in my review in case you’re looking for a specific kind of story.
 
I’d love to read more L.H. Cosway.  Goodreads shows that she’s got two series, one looks to be vampire/paranormal, and the other a YA/paranormal.  I’m going to cross my fingers and hope she does some more contemporary romance.