Welcome to the blog tour for Midnight's Curse, book two in the Beyond the Tales series by Tricia Mingerink. Beyond the Tales is a series of fairy tale retellings with hints of allegorical elements set in a world based on the Appalachian Mountains.
Don't miss the giveaway at the end of this blog post nor the invite to the Facebook party for more giveaways!
About the Book
The glass slippers might be her dreams come true...or her worst nightmare.
High King Alexander rules the Seven Kingdoms of Tallahatchia—a divided nation on the brink of yet another war. When an invitation arrives from the king of Pohatomie, Alex knows it must be a trap, but could it also be his opportunity to unite the kingdoms?
Daemyn Rand has lived a hundred years, served an arrogant prince, fallen in love with a princess, and lost himself somewhere along the way. He has already died for his loyalty. Will standing at the high king’s side cost him his last chance to truly live?
Elara Ashen is a lowly, miserable servant. All she wants is to spend even one night in a fancy dress dancing with the high king. When she is offered a pair of glass slippers, it seems that all her dreams have come true.
But dreams have a price, and gifts can be curses in disguise. What will it cost to stop this curse from tearing Tallahatchia apart yet again?
Fairy tales meet the Appalachian Mountains in this adventurous fantasy retelling of the classic Cinderella story.
My Review
Probable spoilery, sorry, I'm too emotional about this book to keep it all in.
This book wins the prize of the first book to genuinely make me cry. Plenty of books have made me tear up, especially ones I read when I'm hormonal, but this one genuinely made me cry! Nobody died either, that I can remember. Alex was just so lonely! It was awful. This whole mess could have been avoided if anybody around him had reached out and been his friend. For Pete's sake, he's just slept through a hundred years and lost almost everyone he ever knew, not to mention he's just had his heart broken by a women that wasn't good enough for him (yeah, that was technically a hundred years ago, but still). Surely somebody should have realized how much he was hurting, but no, the only person in his life in a real position to see his pain, Daemyn, was too afraid of what their relationship used to be like to be the bigger person and reach out to Alex. Poor Alex suffered because of it.
Daemyn has grown on me from the first book when I didn't like him because he destroyed my ship, but gosh. Why did it take him an entire book for him to realize he needed to be a friend to Alex? The poor guy's never actually had a friend before. What makes Daemyn think Alex is going to know how to reach out in friendship to the people around him? And Zeke certainly didn't help with his "Feels just like old times. Well, almost," as they all sat around the campfire, then his pointed look at Alex. Way to make a guy feel welcome.
I can really see the Merlin parallels. Alex and Daemyn's relationship is like Arthur and Merlin in season one, if Merlin had ever accepted the quiet servant role instead of constantly mouthing off to Arthur. Merlin certainly never struggled with his role quite like Daemyn does. And Alex, poor Alex reminds me so much of Arthur, especially with his seeming propensity to be enchanted. The scene with the fountain was definitely something that could have happened in Merlin. Daemyn and Rosanna is like if the Merthian (Merlin/Mithian) ship had ever sailed. We just need to find a nice servant girl for Alex.
I admit, I did ship the wrong ship a little bit again, but in the end, I'm glad. Alex deserves a better girl than Elara. Sheesh. It shouldn't be that hard of a decision not to curse someone forever.
Even though Alex's loneliness drove me to tears, it did lead him to learn an important lesson that relieves me a lot. And the people around him finally realized he needed friends and didn't know how to get them. So there's a happy ending, at least. And now I want the next book, provided it has Alex in it. I ship Alex/happiness, after all. Dude needs a happy ending. After all, he's the Once and Future King of Native American fantasy Albion. He needs his Guinevere, now that he's got his Merlin to keep him on the straight and narrow.
About the Author
Tricia Mingerink is a twenty-something, book-loving, horse-riding country girl. She lives in Michigan with her family and their pack of pets. When she isn't writing, she can be found pursuing backwoods adventures across the country.
You can connect with Tricia on her blog, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Facebook Party!
Giveaway!
Blog Tour Schedule
Monday – August 5- The Florid Sword – Author Interview & Book Review
- Scribeheart – Author Interview
- The Music of a Story – Book Review
- Jaye L. Knight – Author Interview
- Perfectly Quirky in Every Way – Book Review
- Liv K. Fisher – Author Interview
- Blooming with Books – Author Interview & Book Review
- TJ’s Musing – Book Review
- Imperial Scribis – Author Interview
- Dream Write Now – Author Interview & Book Review
- Morgan Huneke – Author Interview
- The Page Dreamer – Book Spotlight
- Elizabeth Koetsier – Book Spotlight
- Brie Donning – Book Review
- Facebook Party 8-10PM EST
- Novels, Dragons, and Wardrobe Doors – Book Review
- M.H. Elrich – Book Review
YES! I felt so bad for Alex too! He's basically on his own, it's no wonder he falls into trouble. At best, people tolerate him, but no one takes him under their wing. I understood Daemyn's point of view too, but I do think Alex needed a break. I loved where he ended up though! <3
ReplyDeleteYeah, me too! I just wish the others around him would see him as a person and not just as their king.
DeleteFavorite Cinderella retelling (following the prompt)....probably Ever After (movie-wise).
ReplyDeleteI felt so bad for Alex in this book too, especially since no one wanted to be his friend! I'm glad it all worked out in the end.
ReplyDeleteYes, thankfully it all worked out, though it took a lonely road to get there.
DeleteThanks so much for posting and reviewing, Addy!
ReplyDeleteIt was my pleasure!
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