This month for the Trope Tuesday Link-Up I am going to do things a little differently. I am going to do a review of a book that I think fits the trope. This week’s trope is fairy tale retelling, and I will be reviewing the Heart of the Fae by Emma Hamm.
As a reminder each week there will be a trope for you to use as inspiration, find the trope list here. All post types are welcome: lists, book reviews, anything really, feel free to make it your own. Please link back to All the Books and Chocolate in your own post so that others know where to find more information. You can find the link-up link at the bottom of the page.
Fairy Tale Retelling
The Fairy Tale Retelling trope is pretty self-explanatory trope. An author takes a fairy tale and reworks it. I find that usually, this happens more in Fantasy books or Science Fiction books. In fact, I think some of the best fantasy books are fairy tale retellings. One of the most popular fairy tales to retell is Beauty and the Beast, which just so happens to be what the Heart of the Fae is a retelling of.
Heart of the Fae by Emma Hamm Review
Fantasy, Fairy Tale Retelling, Romance
Rating:
Synopsis
A plague sweeps across the emerald hills of Uí Néill, leaving a young midwife’s father with months to live. To save her people, Sorcha makes a deal with a dangerous Fae. She must travel across the sea, through merrow and kelpie lands, to find a forgotten king on a crumbling throne.
Born king of the Seelie Fae, Eamonn fought battles unnumbered to uphold honor, duty, and freedom… until his twin brother sank a blade between his shoulders. Crystals grew from the wound, splitting open skin and bone. His people banished him to a cursed isle for his disfigurement, now king of criminals and fools.
With the help of brownies, pixies, and will-o’-the-wisps, Sorcha battles to break through his crystalline shell and persuade him to take back his stolen throne.
This determined beauty could come dangerously close to stealing his beastly heart.
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Review
I saw Heart of the Fae a quite a bit on bookstagram, about a year or so ago. I quickly added it to my TBR. And just as quickly it got lost in the black hole that is my to be read list. Since it had been on my reading list for so long, I made it one of my 20 books to read in 2020. Of course, now I am mad at myself for waiting so long to read it.
This is a beauty and the beast retelling, hence why I am reviewing it for the retelling Trope Tuesday. I knew this going in so I was prepared for the feisty heroine who doesn’t take any crap, and the disfigured prince. Both of these are present in the Heart of the Fae, but even though it doesn’t stray too much from the bones of the original story there are other elements that add to it.
The world building is great. There are so many Fae creatures in this book, and I really liked learning about all of them. I also loved the Irish myth and folklore that was woven in. While the beginning of the story is a little slow, I enjoyed it once it got going. Sorcha was a fun character. She was brave, feisty and kind just like I like my heroines. Eamonn was of course dark and brooding, he is the beast after all. But he definitely grows on you.
Heart of the Fae is the first book in a series and it does not finish Sorcha and Eamonn’s story. The first two books in the series are their story, and the rest of the books in the Otherworld series tell the stories of other characters.
If you love a good Beauty and the Beast retelling like I do, then pick up Heart of the Fae you won’t be disappointed.
Purchase Links
Available on Kindle Unlimited
Linkup
OMG I’m totally adding this to my TBR!