Glamour: Contemporary Fairytale Retellings is a box set with eight exclusive novellas by different authors:
1. KNOT by Lili St. Germain
A Rapunzel story
2. RED HOT PURSUIT by A.L. Jackson
A Little Red Riding Hood story
3. RIPPLES by Aleatha Romig
A Prince and the Pauper story
4. IN A STRANGER'S BED by Sophie Jordan
A Goldilocks story
5. BEDTIME STORY by Skye Warren
A Sleeping Beauty story
6. ROYAL MATTRESS by Nicola Rendell
A Princess and the Pea story
7. MUSIC BOX GIRL by Sierra Simone
A Twelve Dancing Princesses story
8. BROKEN HARP by Nora Flite
A Jack and the Beanstalk story
What the great thing about box set like this is that you can get a taste of new authors that you haven't tried before. Or a quick read by a favorite author. I know for me Ms. Jordan is a favorite so I quickly read that book first. Another thing I have always said about novella box set is that they are great for a quick read while waiting for an appointment or a story before bed.
Loved this set and would recommend it.
"My honest review is for a special copy I voluntarily read."
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**An ARC of this book was provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.**

(First Netgalley ARC approval!! And in only 2 days of being a member! Granted this is only a little over a week from publication, but still. Excuse me while I revel in awe and wonder.)

As far as I can recall, for all my love of fairytale retellings, I'd never before read a re-telling of The Brave Tailor. I don't think there's that many out there, to be honest, but in any case, I was excited to read Valiant. I wasn't hooked immediately, and it did take me until probably near page 50, or whenever Saville took Will in, to be really invested in Saville and her story. Of course, not long after, the giants show up, not to mention a certain fine-coated young man appears once again, and things get really interesting. (That whole scene though, all I could imagine was Mickey Mouse wringing water from cheese. Anyone else remember the Disney version of The Brave Tailor?) From then on out, it was really a lot of fun. The characters are vivid and written so believably. The relationships, all of them, are on point. The friendships and the romance are wonderfully written and had me internally cheering for quite a few of them.

My one complaint would be that I thought maybe the villain could have been a little more fleshed out, but it's a pretty minor quibble.

I'm hoping McGuire is planning on writing more books - maybe more fairytale retellings?

Cress has restored my faith in the Lunar Chronicles. After Scarlet, I was very disappointed but this was an excellent addition to the series.

So, in order to be good, a novel must have amazing characters. And Cress has some great ones. Although Cinder will always be my favorite heroine, I actually liked Cress. She's really a sweet girl and perhaps a tad naive, but nonetheless very likable. She also balances out Cinder. Cinder is a badass and tough girl, but Cress is more sweet and gentle. Both characters are awesome. And holy crap, I ship Thorne and Cress so much. Do they have a ship name? TELL ME IF THEY DO. Well, in any case, I love their relationship and definitely no insta-love here! In fact...I think Cress and Thorne are the only two characters I actually really like as a couple.

The action is back! TBH, I was super bored when reading Scarlet, because the main action in that book was focusing on Scarlet finding her grandmother. But now, the focus is back on defeating Queen Levana. There was never a dull moment reading this. The plot was well paced and I never lost interest.

Overall, I am super happy with how Cress turned out. I need Winter. But it's not being published until November! NOOOOOOOO!!!!

Hmmm....
I honestly don't know what to think. All I know is I feel vaguely disappointed.
I was expected Cruel Beauty to be amazing. And I didn't think it was.

Firstly, I have mixed feelings about Nyx. I'm glad she wasn't helpless and could fend for herself, but I was hoping she'd be a little more badass. The romance...I was hoping it would be less instalovey. Nyx falls for Ignifex, and he for her, far too quickly.  Also, considering he's a demon, Ignifex doesn't seem too evil. I do like him- he was quite funny and sarcastic and I love me some sarcasm. But for being The Beast of this story, he just isn't twisted enough.

But whatever, those minor things, while slightly affecting my enjoyment, are not what ruined it for me.

The main issue I had was that the ending was terribly confusing. I'm still unsure what happened. At least there was a HEA, but I'm not sure how it happened. I'm really just so lost. WHAT JUST HAPPENED?!?

So, that's it. The best thing about Cruel Beauty was the beautiful writing and the way the author combined Greek mythology and the fairy tale Beauty and the Beast.