Crowned: Magical Folk and Fairy Tales from the Diaspora

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None of these stories have a sense of Eucatastrophe or it's poorly executed cousin Deus ex Machina. They feel more sanitized than Disney in many places, and disjointed because they are trying to blend several elements from different cultures together but without fully paying attention to the original cultural contexts or coding in the stories. For example, Hansel and Gretel is quite baffling to me because its origin is most likely in blood libel cases against Jewish midwives during the medieval period who were attempting to use ovens as a proto incubator to help premature babies survive, and this was misunderstood even though sleeping on or near the stove in winter to keep warm was a common practice. A more interesting retelling would have been to remove the witch as a villain and go with misunderstood character rather than have the Big Bad Wolf one be about that. It is exactly right…” replies the elder woman, drawing on all the experience of her 43 years as Queen. “To do nothing is the hardest job of all, and it will take every ounce of energy that you have. To be impartial is not natural, not human. People will always want you to smile or agree or frown, and the moment you do, you will have declared a position, a point of view — and that is the one thing as Sovereign that you are not entitled to do. The less you do, the less you say, or agree, or smile…” I don't want to write this review. Because when it's done, when I press Save, a huge and important chapter of my life will be over. I am one of those readers who get emotional pretty frequently, but the feelings this series have evoked are more powerful than a storm. Not all of them were pleasant, but they were real, and devastating, and I wouldn't trade them with anything in this world.

The book does an excellent job of portraying Winston Churchill and the relationship he had with Queen Elizabeth II, including the fact that, of necessity, she relied on him tremendously.

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Have you seen the Netflix show The Crown? They have done a stunning job bringing to life the beginning of Queen Elizabeth II's reign. If you, like me, have watched the show and wondered where they blurred the lines between fact and fiction, this is a book you'll be wanting to read. Written by royal biographer and show historian Robert Lacey, this official companion feels authoritative and thorough as it digs into each episode and the history behind it. I am the father of four children, and the poem “One Week” about Xau managing to find one week to enjoy his three year-old son stops me cold every time I read it. I am no king, but all parents are trying to run the business of their personal kingdom, with all the confusions and demands of a country. The poem nails the miracle of navigating all that and still finding time to be a parent. Red Riding Hood: hammers home that rumors may not be true, but completely misses the point of the original fairy tale being about being cautious because not all adults have honest intentions towards children and other vulnerable people. It turns it into not judging a book by its cover in an attempt to rehabilitate wolves. Look I love wolves, and don't think they always need to be the villain. But this felt like a bait and switch and I don't see why this one's moral had to be changed. After spending almost a month rereading this books, I can officially admit to myself that this is, 100% without doubt, my absolute favorite series in the entire world.

Lee says in her author's note that she's "been warned repeatedly that Xau is too perfect." It's a fair cop, although I'd say instead that the most forgettable poems are the ones that try to demonstrate how good a king he is by having him do something polite by modern standards and having everyone else be amazed. The more interesting - and more poetic - sections are the descriptions of the world's small details, such as "Wedding Gifts," a sly list of both practical and showy presents that accompany a treaty-securing wedding. It's a surprisingly poignant illustration of the anxiety and relief of a ceremony with an uncertain outcome.In Crystal Crowned as with the previous books, Vhalla’s character growth is astounding. She is the future empress, and as we all know Vhalla adapts and that’s what she did. I’ll confess that at times I did question the intensity of Aldrik’s love for Vhalla because he was one moment aloof and the next moment kneeling at her feet telling her how much he cherished her and I’m so glad that he maintained and even proved that his love for Vhalla will never fade. I urge you NOT to imagine that this is a novel in verse. Or an epic poem. Both of those imply a single verse style, and a long-running narration of events. These poems are high points and snapshots, with great gaps of time between them, and written in a variety of styles. They are the essence of the story only, in tightly realized scenes, with iconic gestures and verbal exchanges that imply much that is not told. JUST READ THESE BOOKS, I SWEAR YOU WILL NOT REGRET IT (well, except for those parts in which EVERYTHING HURTS, other than that everything else is just wonderful lol) Despite the book’s attractiveness, I’ll admit that when it arrived I kind of thought — hmmmm, yet another book about the Queen? But I really enjoyed this one. Yes, there’s the basic storyline, but the book covers several kind of niche topics that I didn’t know a lot about. For instance, there’s a feature on Cecil Beaton, who photographed Elizabeth and Philip’s wedding. There’s a chapter with a lot about the education of Elizabeth and her sister Margaret. Did you know that their parents weren’t all that interested in them learning a lot of academics? They were more concerned with manners and the like. I really wish that I could have read this series at a slower pace just so I could enjoy it a little longer, but this is the kind of series that you just can't stop reading.