Review: I Didn't Expect To Like This
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 10 26, 2010
at least not after I first started reading it.  While I tend to enjoy fairy tale adaptations, I make an exception for those that make the unexpurgated originals look like Disney versions in comparison, and this novel contains as gory a version of the Persinette/Rapunzel fairy tale as anything that turned my stomach inPeter & Max: A Fables Novel.  However, to her credit, Ms. Walker avoids giving in to the temptation Mr. Willingham did give into of just "wallowing" in the horror.  Though the monstrous events of the fairy tale loom large over the characters in this story, they all happened in the past, and after 300 years all of the characters have begun to realize the need to "get over it".  (Compared to this the demon hunting, another story element that has little appeal to my tastes, seems almost tame by comparison.)  Few things are more offputting to me than characters (or real people for that matter) who spend all of their time feeling sorry for themselves, and Ms. Walker's deeply wounded hero and heroine spend very little time doing that.  In fact their determined struggles against their deep emotional scars won me over, and I ended up caring deeply for them, hoping their love would make it, despite having little interest in (or understanding of) the series' overarching premise.  (I hate when that happens!)The author claimed that despite being book 4 of the Grimm's Circle series, this novel could stand alone, and after reading it, my response is yes AND no.  Yes, you don't need to have read any of the other books in order to follow and understand the love story, but if this is your first Grimm's Circle book, you will likely be left like me with only the vaguest grasp of the big picture.  Still, if you must start in the middle, this is the one to start with because books 2, 2.5, and 3 constitute a single story with each new book tying up the loose ends of the previous book:Candy Houses: Grimm's Circle, Book 1,No Prince Charming: Grimm's Circle, Book 2, (these first two are reprinted together inThe First Book of Grimm (Grimm's Circle)),I Thought It Was You: Grimm's Circle, Book 2.5, andCrazed Hearts: Grimm's Circle, Book 3.  Presumably, if "The First Book of Grimm" is successful, it will be followed by further paperback collections of ebooks 2.5 (Sheesh!) through 3, etc.OK, have I FINALLY got that straight?  Ms. Walker, are you TRYING to be confusing?One other thing worthy of comment is that of all the stories I've read involving supernatural healing, none have portrayed it as excruciatingly or as heartrendingly as in this story.  Grimms can heal almost any physical wound with virtually no physical scarring, but emotional scars remain and can fester, and it is agonizing for the healer as well.  Methinks the author's day job as a nurse is the source of this insight.Note: Another recent reimagining of the Rapunzel fairy tale is available inRapunzel's RevengeandCalamity Jack.Note: For full disclosure I received an ecopy of this book from the author in return for promising to review it promptly.