... a master storyteller and her characters never fail to delight. This re working of SHREW was fun
353562
Anne Tyler is a master storyteller and her characters never fail to delight. This re working of SHREW was fun, funny, insightful and a quick and delicious read.
2686881
Johanna is a great storyteller she never ceases to disappoint.  She writes great characters who are interesting. Good read. Enjoyed
1851438
I have always loved a good retelling. There is just something slightly magical about someone else putting a spin on an old childhood favorite and Robin Hood has always been one of my favorites. I think there is something so fun about the underdog succeeding and of course the good always triumphing over evil.

When I saw the synopsis for No Good Deed and saw that not only was it a retelling of a classic story we all know and love but with a slight twist to it, I was all over it. What better time to go stomping through Sherwood Forest than in the summer time right?

I loved the twist the author did with this not only because I have family members who are huge in archery but because, hello a girl narrator! It was just so much fun and I couldn't help but love all the characters.

A flamboyant Will, a softy John, and a fun eager sidekick Much not to mention a knight in shining armor and even one of the bad guys that you couldn't help but love and other bad guys you wanted to reach through the pages and give a good spanking too.

Seriously, so much fun! I loved every minute of this and the whole time travel aspect was super easy to understand and didn't get into the way of the rest of the story, instead it was just a fun side element to the story that felt completely a natural part of it.

Truly a fun read for any fans of the story or anyone just looking for something fun for summer that you will thoroughly enjoy and be entertained by. I just couldn't put this one down.
4699297
I have long been a fan of time travel tales and stories where the past is the key to resolving the present. In Once Again Deborah Heal gives us another fun story where the Beautiful Houses computer program allows her characters to "surf" the past. She weaves fascinating historical tidbits and cultural details of 18th century Illinois life into a story that investigates questions of nature vs nurture and how we let events shape our attitudes toward others. Jame Kyle and Benjamin are best friends in early Illinois, but when tragedy strikes, one chooses vengeance and the other forgiveness. Their choices reverberate through the generations.

Heal has done her research. I have participated in an archaeological dig, and there is a restored fort near us. I remember taking my kids to see it when they were doing exactly what Heal describes in the opening chapters of excavating for Fort Piggot.

She also does a nice job of portraying the inner thoughts of a former fat girl who can't imagine that anyone thinks she's pretty and who wants to be liked for her inner self not her looks.

Often when novelists include poetry, it is their own. Novelists are not poets, and it doesn't always work. Heal uses the poetry of Laura Merleau-McGrady and Ruth E. Bell to beautifully capture the sentiments of her characters.

The story is full of romantic tension, but it looks like we have to wait for next instalment to see how it works out. I for one am looking forward to it.
3012439
Noble Smith's, Stolen From Gypsies, reads like a Shakespearean comedy, but it's got a twist.  All the Playwright's elements and plot devices are present from female characters disguised as male characters to long lost  twins finding each other at last to letters accidentally crossed.  Even the  ending is typically theatrical with all the characters joining together on  the stage as the author brings together the missing threads of the  story.
But the ancient Playwright would probably bounce his ancient  coffin right out of the ground with laughter could he read this piece of  finely crafted wit.  For though the structure of the story reads like a  play, such Elizabethan bawdiness and humor as is found in Gypies has not  been heard since Black Adder and Monty Python and the Holy Grail.  Smith  doesn't skip a page without leaving one shocked with mirth over his  Elizabethan "codpiece" humor or rolling with laughter over his  descriptions of life in Carthusalem or the bawdy antics of his characters.  A young man stolen from gypsies as a baby, a flatulent homunculus, and a  she-devil out to get the protagonist's soul are just some of the characters  which bound across and through this brilliantly fashioned plot.
But one  must not neglect to mention the narrator -- an infirm man whose frequent  "beet-juice enemas", doctor's visits and stool sample checks have  left him with little joy in life.  And it is he who is documenting the tale  originally told to him by the gypsy.  He reads the story to his lackey -- a  crude but delightful little man whose own story of the  "clock-sniffer" leaves the reader prostrate with laughter.  Together they take us through the comical scenes of the gypsy's tale, made  even more hilarious by their constant witty banter.  And finally, after the  story is told, our narrator -- like his own protagonist -- discovers life  anew and overcomes his own infirmities.
In short, if you love the antics  of Monty Python, the wit of Black Adder or the well crafted plots of the  Shakespearean comedies -- or if you just love a good bawdy story with  Elizabethan flare (and I dare say smell!) -- then you'll be delighted with  this highly intelligent, hilariously bawdy, well told tale.
62434
I am a professional storyteller, and always on the look out for something to add to my repertore.  This is a delightful tale, which lends itself to a storytelling concert.

When I am done learning the story, I will pass the book to my two great grandaughters, who boast some Scottish and Irish ancestry.
2838951
Really wonderful retelling of the tale, with the characters fleshed out and the human puppets bought to life.
1635400
If you enjoy creative retellings of classic fairy tales and youve yet to read a Jennifer Blackstream novel, then you don't know what you are missing.  Shes already taken on more typical tales like Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast, and Rapunzel and now shes spreading out to stories you don't typically see reimagined.  In the case of her latest novel, The Archer, she does a wonderful take on Robin Hood.  In this one, Robin is a fae who is captivated by Lady Marian.  He was told by a witch to find her and he knows Marian has a secret that he must discover.  Being virtually immortal is boring, you see, so he makes a game of trying to get Marian to expose her secret.  Unfortunately his game inadvertently results in Marian committing a serious crime.  Shes caught by the Sheriff, who demands either her lands or a handsome sum of money.  In his haste to help Marian Robin makes things worse, exposing to the Sheriff that Marian is more than she appears.  The Sheriff hates all supernatural, especially Robin Hood, so he makes it his mission to capture them both.  A cat and mouse game is on, and what a ride it is.  The climactic scene is great, and there is a very satisfying epilogue that lets you know what happens to one of the main characters of the story.

Blackstreams stories in this series are intertwined and Id suggest that you read them from the beginning.  Its would be no hardship as they are all really great reads.  That said, you could read this as a standalone and still enjoy it immensely.  I truly enjoy all of her works, and get excited every time a new one comes out.  As with her other novels, I recommend this one highly.

A free ARC of this book was received with the request for an honest review.
2013156
I have been looking forward to reading this book since the first announcement of its publish date. It does not disappoint. The author, Alexandra Silber, has played the role of Tevye's second daughter, Hodel, in London and Tevye's eldest, Tzeitel, in the recent revival of Fiddler on Broadway. In this book, she weaves the backstories she created for her characters into a narrative, based on history, of what fate awaited Hodel when she united with her beloved Perchik in Siberia. Her gift for story telling breathes new life into the characters, and creates a compelling tale. I hope she continues to write.
390903
Richard Russo is an amazing storyteller, Everybody's Fool is every bit as entertaining as Nobody's Fool. It's like revisiting old friends in Bath, the reader is drawn into the town, the characters and their antics.
3306338
Delightful re-telling full of fun and charming characters!  I love the family dynamics in this story. It is a great story of family coming together to protect their own.  This will make you fall in love with faerie tales all over again!
3559328
What a superb storyteller Pearl Buck is. And again she doesn't disappoint in bringing to life the Mother in this tale.
This is the story of a poor family in early China.
3360714
I enjoy retellings of fantasy! I love how she gives life to the Big Five villains of my favorite stories. She gives you page turning (or in my case, screen sliding) enjoyment. I honestly don't know which story was my favorite!
2608292
I am always surprised that each book by Catherine Ryan Hyde that I read engrosses me a bit more than the last one.  She is a magnificent storyteller, always describing "little lives" in unusual settings with so much feeling and human interest.  I cannot wait for the next one, which I usually intersperse with other interesting authors so as to diversify subjects.
2742985
Joan wolf's historical fiction is always so much fun to read.  Her women characters are strong (I wish her male characters were as nuanced.  that is the only reason it is four stars)
1590048
I love the story within a story.  It's so shakespearean with a contemporary setting.  The characters were well developed and made for an enjoyable read.
3740658
In this masterful retelling of Medea's story, Greenwood rescues the reputation of a woman and mother. Media is a talented priestess of the ancient and dread goddess, Hecate. She is also a powerful healer and a woman who yearns to be more free than her society allows. In thrall to her love for Jason, she helps him steal the golden fleece and makes him a king; only to be dishonored by him. From here her story takes a different direction than that told in Euripides' famous play. I truly enjoyed this book and intend to read the other two stories in Greenwood's Delphic Women series.