When I saw the cover and synopsis for this book if really caught my attention. It reminded me of a few books I read as a child. Paul Jennings’ short story collections (such as Uncovered) and also ‘There’s A Wolf In My Pudding’ by David Henry Wilson. I imagined those two books, but with a gothic, Tim Burton-esque twist too it, which sounds amazing to me so I was happy when I was approved to review this.
The book definitely lives up to the vibe that it creates. The short stories about the fairy tale creatures are positively creepy. Each story’s twist is great fun, I think the ones about Rapunzel, Cinderella and Beauty were fantastic, especially Cinderella, but the stand out story for me was Thumbeana, the twist at the end was definitely the most creepy and vivid for me. Loved it!
Interwoven with these stories is the story of them all meeting at the asylum, which is written in such incredible detail. I really felt how imposing and sinister the place, the staff and some of the inhabitants were. While beautifully gothic, you’d never visit out of choice.
This book was so creepy and delightfully twisted, I cannot wait to see what dark delights Sebastian has for us next.
Published by: Carina
Gratefully received from the Publisher for review.