Roberta: The Faerie Tales

Roberta: The Faerie Tales
Ladyclare Padua
SynergEbooks
ISBN: 0-7443-0967-0
Fiction, Fantasy
Reviewed by Qetesh

Quinn sits in college lecture class, listening intently to Professor Novak as he discusses the validity of fairytales. He never imagines that this class will start him on the adventure of a lifetime. A classmate produces an unusual bottle and says that he received it from an old woman named Mrs. Lovelace. She claims that all the fairy tales throughout history are real stories that happened to her ancestors. Intrigued, Quinn takes the bottle and has it analyzed. The residue from the bottle makes one of the lab mice fall into a deep slumber from which it cannot be awakened. This spurs Quinn to seek an audience with the old woman. Little does he know that from the first meeting, everything that he has believed was real, would be challenged.
The author has created a modern fairy tale based loosely upon common elements taken from the fairy tale Snow White. She has magically woven together elements of love, hate, jealousy, intrigue, and deception to keep the reader enticed to turn the next page. I read this book with a mixture of feelings. I admire the complexity of the plot and how well the author mixed ancient fantasy with modern reality. I had a little difficulty at times reading the author’s writing style. The work would flow beautifully and I would be completely caught up in the story, and then suddenly the flow would stop and I would be jolted back into reality. The majority of the characters were well written and believable. I definitely recommend this title to anyone who loves to read about fairies, goblins, magic, and true love.