Heat Level – Ember

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.

Easy by Tammara Weber

Posted on by Dirty Girl Anne

Easy
Grade-B-
Hotness Level-Ember
Kink Level-None
Genre-New Adult
Reviewed by Kay

Jacqueline is a sophomore in college that followed her boyfriend to school. In her second year here, said boyfriend decides he wants to sow his wild oats and breaks up with her. She is heart broken and distraught. She skips classes while in mourning and gets behind, which causes her to need a tutor. She also attends a frat party where she walks back to her truck alone at night, in a dimly lit parking lot. She is attacked and almost raped by a guy in her ex-boyfriend’s fraternity but she’s saved by a guy named Lucas.

Lucas gets her home safe and sound after beating her attacker senseless. Lucas is a senior in college and different in every way from Kennedy, her ex. He’s quiet but fiercely protective of her. They begin a relationship this consists of attraction and friendship. Jacqueline also has a sort of relationship with her tutor, Landon. They haven’t had a face to face but converse through e-mails. Most of their conversations are school related but some personal information is also shared.

A lot goes on in this story, Lucas is Landon, which gets explained, her attacker goes after her repeatedly until the authorities are called in, her ex wants her back and she learns that first love doesn’t always last. This was a sweet book about real love and forgiveness of one’s self for mistakes made both in and beyond your control. I’m not a fan of the young adult and new adult genre, I like my romance spicy, but this was a good book.

Another Woman’s Son by Anna Adams

Posted on by Dirty Girl Anne

Another Woman's Son
Grade – C+
Hotness Level – ember
Kink Level – None
Genre-Contemporary, Harlequin
Reviewed by Kate

Okay, get your pens and papers ready. Take notes — there’ll be a quiz at the end (okay, not really, but you still might want to take notes).

Best friends Will and Ben married sisters Isabel and Faith. Will and Isabel. Ben and Faith. Got that? Keeping up? Good. One more person to add to the mix. Tony is Ben and Faith’s toddler son.

When Isabel presses Will to have a baby, he admits he already has a son with — wait for it — Faith. That’s right, little Tony is really Will’s son, not Ben’s. Isabel leaves Will. She decides not to tell Ben about Tony’s true parentage.

Three months later (where the story starts), Will and Faith have decided to run away with Tony. They are in an accident with Tony being the only survivor. Faith had left a note for Ben, so he now knows Tony is not his biological son.

Ben is terrified Isabel will tell her parents that Tony is really Will’s son and they will want to take custody away from Ben. He decides the best course of action is to keep Isabel close to him, so he invites Isabel to stay with him while she is cleaning out Will’s house — the one she hasn’t lived in for 3 months.

Isabel is a great big ball of internal conflict. She feels guilty for not telling Ben about Will and Faith’s affair. She knows the best home for Tony is with Ben, but worries Ben might refuse to let her family visit Tony. She doesn’t like lying to her parents, but doesn’t want to ruin her parents’ memories of Faith with the truth of Faith’s infidelity.
This story has a fast timeline. Four months from start to finish. Ben and Isabel’s feelings for each other started within a few days of the funerals. I can usually overlook a quick sprint to being in love, but this felt a little off. To top it all off, the epilogue was a bit too hunky-dory for me. It was an okay read, but I don’t think I’ll be rereading this one.