Thursday, November 5, 2009

Can He Bake A Cherry Pie? by Laurell K. Hamilton

Can He Bake A Cherry Pie?
by Laurell K. Hamilton

part of:
Never After (anthology)
by: Laurell K. Hamilton
Yasmine Galenorn
Marjorie M. Liu
Sharon Shinn

Published: 2009
Genre: Fairy Tales, Paranormal, Romance
Paperback: 400 pages
Rating for story: 4
Overall rating for book: 4

Description from the amazon:
The bonds of love...
The bonds of matrimony...
The bonds between husband and wife...
Let's face it—some bonds are made to be broken.
Here, for the first time ever, are four stories from today's most provocative authors that take the classic idea of the "faerie tale wedding" and give it a swift kick in the bustle.

Description of story from book:
A princess decides to take her own destiny in hand and rescue a pampered Prince Charming from an evil sorceress.

My thoughts:
In-a-word(s): sweet or tart?

First off, if you're familiar with Laurell's Anita Blake vampire hunter series, you'll be in for a sweet surprise.

I've read the first two of the series which I liked, but haven't had the chance to go back to read the rest. I also read the graphic novel volume one which rocks!

Your basic fairy tale of hero goes out on a quest to save someone is present. However, this one has a couple twists.

The hero is a heroine. The heroine is not a weapon wielding or martial arts expert. Instead, she faces the foes with a calm demeanor.

An ogre with a club is her first challenge which she does not run from. She stands her ground (eyes closed). The ogre stops his attack and has a civil conversation with the heroine. Then decides to let her pass and go onto the next challenge.

The prize is to marry a prince who has been imprisoned by a (not evil) sorceress. Turns out the prince has been imprisoned due to his extreme arrogance.

The story takes another twist when the heroine questions whether or not the prize is worth it.

The fun title of this tale comes into play when there is a bake-off between the heroine and the prince.

This is really a fun fairy tale and told in a light-hearted manner. No gore or graphic scenes like in the Anita books.

And best of all, the heroine in this story comes out on top!

Reviews for other stories:
Can He Bake A Cherry Pie? by Laurell K. Hamilton
The Shadow of Mist by Yasmine Galenorn
The Tangleroot Palace by Marjorie M. Liu
The Wrong Bridegroom by Sharon Shinn

~*~

*source of cherry pie

*source of ogre

*part of my Once Upon a Week

 
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