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Tag

Hair Pulling Frustrating

    FairytaleFantasyMagic/ParanormalNew AdultReviews

    Bitterburn by Ann Aguire

    written by Dísir
    Bitterburn by Ann AguireBitterburn by Ann Aguirre
    Series: Gothic Fairytales #1
    Published by Independently Published on 31st October 2020
    Pages: 210
    Buy on Amazon
    Goodreads
    three-stars

    Amarrah Brewer is desperate and grief-stricken.For ages, the town of Bitterburn has sent tribute to the Keep at the End of the World, but a harsh winter leaves them unable to pay the toll that keeps the Beast at bay. Amarrah volunteers to brave what no one has before—to end the threat or die trying.

    The Beast of Bitterburn has lost all hope.One way or another, Njål has been a prisoner for his entire life. Monstrous evil has left him trapped and lonely, and he believes that will never change. There is only darkness in his endless exile, never light. Never warmth. Until she arrives.

    It's a tale as old as time... where Beauty goes to confront the Beast and falls in love instead.

    ‘Bitterburn’ is an interesting take that flips the Beauty and the Beast fairytale into something that puts Beauty into a proactive stance, and the Beast in need of saving…not quite out of true love, but through the lady’s own smarts. In that, Ann Aguire inserts a little feminist take on it, though not so much as to make Amarrah Brewer a brash bra-burning sort but a protagonist who certainly takes the lead in every way.

    Beauty and Beast here are victims in their own right, snarled by some kind of magic and evil that has spread out to the land, holding them captive. The archetype has Beauty freeing the Beast, but Aguire takes a little bit of a twist getting there as Amarrah charges through her new life at the keep while discovering more and more of her own witchy abilities.

    And while I loved the rich world-building and Aguire’s take on curses, I don’t think I finished the book with any proper or deep understanding of Njål’s personal history or the exact circumstances under which he came to Bitterburn or the very interesting (but ultimately under-explored) back tale of the evil spirits that laid siege so long ago. The narrative is grounded only through Amarrah’s POV and her perceptions, and the singular focus on her and what she uncovers are what the reader’s own revelations are limited to, making Njål almost like a side-show in a tale where he’s more seen as the passive but secretive victim than a cursed, bad-tempered beast whose state is of his own making.

    Clarity remained frustratingly out of reach for me by the end—many things were couched in seductive, poetic language or dream sequences that keep in line with the style of fantasy storytelling but did nothing much to tease out several dangling loose ends that were simply left unexplained— and I ended up with questions that were eschewed in favour of having Njål and Amarrah slowly making their way into their post-curse new world.

    three-stars
    Bitterburn by Ann Aguire was last modified: November 7th, 2020 by Dísir
    29th November 2020 0 comment
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  • Action/AdventureAdvanced Reader CopyContemporary RomanceMilitary/ParamilitaryReviewsRomantic Suspense

    The Troubleshooter by Anna Hackett

    by Dísir 5th November 2020

    The Troubleshooter by Anna Hackett Series: Norcross #2 Published by Amazon Digital Services, Amazon Publishing, Anna Hackett on October 20th 2020 Pages: 168 Buy on Amazon Goodreads Never, ever fall…

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  • Contemporary RomanceNew AdultReviews

    Muses and Melodies by Rebecca Yarros

    by Dísir 1st November 2020

    Muses & Melodies by Rebecca Yarros Series: Hush Note, #3 Published by Yarros Ink, LLC on 6th October 2020 Pages: 307 Buy on Amazon Goodreads If I can keep Hush…

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  • Advanced Reader CopyContemporary RomanceFairytaleFantasyNetgalleyNew AdultReviewsYoung Adult

    A Love Across Time by Genevieve Jane

    by Dísir 15th October 2020

    A Love Across Time by Genevieve Jane Published by Zenith Publishing on November 1st 2020 Pages: 396 Buy on Amazon Goodreads “The curse will hold true until love has truly…

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  • Chick LitContemporary RomanceNew AdultReviewsSports

    Only When It’s Us by Chloe Liese

    by Dísir 29th September 2020

    Only When It’s Us by Chloe Liese Series: Bergman Brothers, #1 Published by Amazon Digital Services, Amazon Publishing on 1st April 2020 Pages: 380 Buy on Amazon Goodreads Ryder Ever…

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  • Advanced Reader CopyChick LitContemporary RomanceNetgalleyReviews

    Crazy Stupid Bromance by Lyssa Kay Adams

    by Dísir 28th August 2020

    Crazy Stupid Bromance by Lyssa Kay Adams Series: Bromance Book Club, #3 Published by Berkley on 27th October 2020 Pages: 352 Buy on Amazon Goodreads Alexis Carlisle and her cat…

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  • Contemporary RomanceMagic/ParanormalNew AdultReviewsSpeculative FictionYoung Adult

    Beyond the Sea by L.H. Cosway

    by Dísir 4th August 2020

    Beyond the Sea by L.H. Cosway Published by L.H. Cosway on 9th June 2020 Pages: 396 Buy on Amazon Goodreads On a lonely cliff beside the vast blue sea there…

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