Gilded In Ice Review {Frosted Roses Blog Tour}

Hello, my friends! Welcome to the Frosted Roses blog tour, where you can find six amazing retellings of one of my favorite fairytales, Snow White and Rose Red! 

I, for one, am super excited. The tour has already begun, and you can check out all the posts right here to join in on the fun! There's also a giveaway where you can win four of the books in paperback! Yay!

I'm so excited to be one of the bloggers this year, and I'll have two reviews coming your way this week! (Who's hyped? I'm hyped!)

First up, one of my most anticipated releases of the year, the sequel to The Midnight Dance (which I reviewed in last year's tour!) Who doesn't need a mystery that's Snow White and Rose Red meets East of the Sun, West of the Moon? (everyone needs it, that's who.)

Gilded In Ice

Author: Sarah Pennington

Genre: Fantasy mystery

Content: Alcohol use, one character gets drunk

Main Characters: Bastian, Kona, and Roselle Dennel

Synopsis:

Bastian has two new missing persons cases. One is cold. The other is his own sister.

Since his success solving the Midnight Show disappearances, Bastian Dennel is sitting pretty. And with the new high-profile cold case that just got dropped in his lap, he's pretty sure things will stay that way for a while. But when he finds out his sister has gone missing without a trace, he's determined to find her and bring whoever's responsible to justice - even if his only lead is a stray cat with a knack for vanishing unexpectedly.

Kona Dennel's plans have already been upended, so when the talking cat she'd befriended asked her for help breaking an enchantment, she didn't see any reason not to say yes. She didn't expect to be trapped in a frozen mansion or to be drawn into conflict with a mysterious lady of the fair folk. Even the cat is hiding more secrets than she realized. It'll take a skilled detective to untangle this web... but since Bastian isn't here, Kona will just have to do it herself.

Secrets abound, and the one creature who knows the truth isn't talking. Can Bastian and Kona outwit a fae who's been at this for centuries? Or will thawing out the long-frozen truth drop them in over their heads?

Add Gilded in Ice on Goodreads ~ Purchase on Amazon

What I Thought:

Mystery has quickly become one of my favorite genres in the past couple of years, and being that this series is mysteries but also fairytale retellings? It's the best thing ever! 

I fell in love with The Midnight Show last year, but I loved this one even more! Sibling relationships, mysterious mansions, and talking cats can only make stories better, tbh. The vibes are everything here, man. It's a noir detective story meets magical adventure, so it's full of jazz and speakeasies, but also ice queens and angry dwarfs. 

The relationships between the Dennel siblings made me so soft, I just love them! I honestly don't know that I could pick a favorite of the three. They're all so clever and daring and it's fantastic. Of course Bastian's sisters would be just as cool as he is. I also enjoyed the character of the cat a lot!

I loved seeing the references to and familiar faces from Midnight Show, but was fully invested in this new adventure instantly! The ending was the best! I started tearing up (happy tears), it was just so wholesome and made my heart so full! I already want to read it again, lol!

In the end, I am hoping so desperately that there will be more books in this series. I need more adventures with these characters, Sarah, please!

Overall Rating: 5 magic mirrors out of 5

About the Author:

Sarah Pennington has been writing stories since before she actually knew how to write, and she has no intention of stopping anytime soon. She is perpetually in the middle of writing at least one or two novels, most of which are in the fantasy and fairy tale retelling genres. Sarah’s first published work, Blood in the Snow, received a perfect score and Special Unicorn status in Rooglewood Press’s Five Poisoned Apples contest. When she isn’t writing, she enjoys knitting, photography, and trying to conquer her massive to-be-read list.

Connect with Sarah: Her website ~ Her blog ~ Her second blog ~ Facebook ~ Goodreads

Like I mentioned at the start of this post, the Frosted Roses blog tour will be going on all week, so make sure you follow along by clicking this link right here! 

Have you read a Snow White and Rose Red retelling before? What's your favorite? Let me know in the comments! 

~ Abby

The Midnight Show Review {Tattered Slippers Blog Tour}

Hello again, my friends! Welcome back to the Tattered Slippers Blog Tour! Today I've got a review for you, and I'm pretty jazzed about it.  (sorry... I couldn't resist)

As always, make sure you check out all the other amazing posts from the tour so far, and the new ones from today by clicking this link right here!  There's also information there to do with the giveaway where you can win 3 of the releases in paperback!  How cool is that?? 

Okay, let's jump on in to the review! 


The Midnight Show



Author: Sarah Pennington
Genre: Urban fantasy mystery
Content: Alcohol consumption
Main Characters: Dayo Temitrope and Bastian Dennell

Synopsis:
This mystery is the case of his dreams - and her nightmares.
By day, Dayo Temitrope is a swinging singer, an up-and-coming star with a shining career ahead of her. By night, she’s . . . well, she’s not sure, but whatever she does leaves her every morning with sore feet and worn-out shoes. And after six months, she’s had enough.
Enter Bastian Dennell, a private investigator just trying to get by. When Dayo hires him to find out where she goes at night, he’s sure it’s his big break: his chance to establish himself and get the funds to pay off his family’s debt. Plus, he gets to work with his favorite singer, even if she isn’t exactly what he expected. What could be better?
But first he has to solve the case — which means navigating a tangled web of strange dreams, fair folk schemes, and show business. It will take all Bastian’s wits, along with the shining talents of Dayo herself, to figure out the truth before the curtains close for good on Dayo’s career.
A jazz-age-inspired twist on the Twelve Dancing Princesses from the author of "Blood in the Snow".

Add on Goodreads ~ Purchase on Amazon

What I Thought: 

This was so much fun!  It felt very much like an old black-and-white detective movie, complete with trench coats, jazz music, and shadowy figures.  But at the same time, it was full-on fantasy novel, which made it even more intriguing. 

The world was so rich, and I just wish I'd gotten more of a chance to explore it.  Obviously, Dayo and Bastian's plot was the focus, so there wasn't much that we get to see outside of their sphere, but I would definitely be interested in seeing more stories set in this city at least, if not outside of it.  There seems to be so much depth there that I just wanted to dig into, you know?

The characters were great, honestly.  I loved Bastian from the first moment he stepped onto the page (what can I say, I'm a sucker for a man in a fedora), and Dayo fascinated me.  There basically isn't any romantic subplot between them, which I thought was neat. There's a bit of attraction, and I would absolutely read a sequel to see if it goes anywhere, because I'd be here for this relationship, lol! 

The actual mystery was SO intriguing, and kept me glued to the page the whole time.  Maybe my favorite thing about this whole Tattered Slippers blog tour has been seeing how each author weaves different elements of the fairytale into their stories, and the choices made for this book were so unique and perfect!   

Basically, this was just delightful, and I'm so glad I picked it up.

Overall Rating: 4.5 swinging jazz tunes out of 5

About the Author: 
Sarah Pennington has been writing stories since before she actually knew how to write, and she has no intention of stopping anytime soon. She is perpetually in the middle of writing at least one or two novels, most of which are in the fantasy and fairy tale retelling genres. Sarah’s first published work, Blood in the Snow, received a perfect score and Special Unicorn status in Rooglewood Press’s Five Poisoned Apples contest. When she isn’t writing, she enjoys knitting, photography, and trying to conquer her massive to-be-read list.

Connect with Sarah: Her website ~ Her blog ~ Her second blog ~ Facebook ~ Goodreads

Make sure you check out all the other posts from the blog tour - there have been some really fun ones! Oh, and make sure you enter the giveaway! Click this link for more info!  

And there you have it! What fairytale would you set in the jazz age? 

~ Abby