Fable (Unfortunate Fairy Tales book 3) by Chanda Hahn

I've read the first 2 books in this series and forgot that I had bought this one on my Kindle a while ago. I finally went through my books and was excited to see it.

What's Happened:
In the first two book Mina finds out she is a descendant of the Grimm brothers. She has powers that enable her to live the fairy tales that the Grimm's wrote all those years ago. She is put into situations that put her life at risk and she is forced to use her Grimoire to save her life and/or the other's life. The Grimoire is a book that changes into what Mina needs at the moment- a sword, a bow and arrow, etc. The one thing that makes this tool even more interesting is that there's a cute boy attached to it- her guardian. Jared. He's her protector and helper. He is there to help her figure out what she's supposed to do and help her successfully complete the tales. There's also the bad guy, Teague- Jared's twin. Jared and Teague are both fae so they have some magic going on.
Mina is in high school so of course there are all those teenager-y things going on as well. She has a best friend and a crush. Who get entangled into one of the tales and Mina must save them.
This is a very vague description- just go read them.

Book 3- Where We Are:
We find Mina trying hard not to give in to any fairy tale quests. She has been ignoring Jared for the whole Summer and he has been doing the same. The book opens up with Mina's apartment bursting into flames and her brother, Charlie, dying (or so you think). After his funeral, Mina goes back to school and she has Jared back. He's a mess that he wasn't there for her and she's a lump of sadness for losing her brother. She blames herself since she was the one home with him and supposed to protect him.
Then appears Temple, a descendant of Rumplestilkstin. He has a bargain for Mina, steal the book from the Prince and give it to him and she can have her brother back! Boom! Charlie's alive. She has to do it, right? To save her brother. Jared tries to tell her not to and that he can't go back to the Fae world but she goes alone. She goes over to the Fae world alone with nothing and no one to protect her. She has a run in with a sea witch or two. She keeps a level head though and she eventually does win her brother back from Temple. Then Teague tells her to help him and she does (for some dumb reason) but before she realizes what's happening, she has joined the Prince with his twin, Jared, making them one again. She finds out that Jared was the good half of Teague that was separated from him for his own good and then they were bound to the books. What has Mina done?

My Feelings
I really like this series! Mina can be a tad whiny at times, but she's in high school and cursed. I would be like that too. She's a fierce girl though. She always ends up on top and helps those in need. Even before herself. She has a good heart and when she needs to she can kick some ass.
I like her and Jared together. I was so disappointed when we was joined back with Teague. I really hoped Mina and Jared would end up together (I love me some romance). Teague is pure evil- which is good since that's his main role in the books.
I'm not a fan of Mina's best friend Nan and the crush Brody. They are so forced- both their relationship in the book and as characters. I could do without them.
I love the background of the story though. Mina being a relative of the Grimm brothers and being cursed. The curse is the reason why she must play out the different fairy tales. It's a very interesting and creative take on the Grimm brothers. I really enjoy it and it's very interesting how Hahn depicts the fairy tales in a modern way for Mina.

I'm ready for the 4th book!
4.5 out of 5 stars!
 

Far Far Away by Tom McNeal

I was so excited about this book! It is Grimm brother-esque in its origins and telling. Why do I say that? Probably because this tale is told from the perspective of the ghost of Jacob Grimm. The story is about a young boy, Jeremy, his ghost Jacob and a girl, Ginger. It did start a little slow for me but it picked up quick and I read it in a day.
Jacob tells the story of Jeremy and his friendship with Ginger, a pretty and popular girl in his class. It revolves around a bakery where every now and then green smoke comes out of the chimney signaling to the town that Prince cakes are ready. Delectable little pastries that have green icing on them and that sell in a matter of minutes. (Let me stop and mention that Jeremy can hear the ghost, Jacob and often talks to him). The story really picks up when Ginger and her girlfriends come to Jeremy's window and gets him to accompany them on a mission. The mission is sneaking into the baker's house and putting pop rocks into his cereal, which he eats every night. It's all going well until the milk is poured and the baker goes crazy. He calls the Sheriff and they end up pinning everything on Jeremy. However, the Baker sees that Jeremy is remorseful and drops the charges.
This act leads puts all the other things in the book into motion. Jeremy and Ginger working for the Baker, them becoming great friends, and then going out in the middle of no where with the Baker. I don't want to give away the ending but it all turns out 'happily ever after' and they do go to a place the Baker calls Far Far Away.
Kidnapping, drugging, poisoning, being held captive...all pull this tale together. It is definitely a tale that I think would have been written by the Grimm's. It has everything they usually put into a tale and then some..like the ghost of Jacob who is looking for the 'light'.

If you like Grimm this a great tale and very well written book.

5 out of 5 stars!

I also want to mention that I 'borrowed' this book thru my Kindle Fire via PG County Library System.