The Fairy-tale Survey

Mel at The Daily Prophecy created this fun fairy-tale themed bookish survey which of course I just had to participate in!  I love how these surveys are a quick way to highlight great books (and sometimes not-great books) which lets me put some book recommendations out there for other bloggers! (If you get anything  from this survey it's Go ahead and pick up some Melina Marchetta!)

PART 1. CLASSIC PRINCESSES.

Pinocchio – The boy whose nose grows when he lies.

Is there a book you lie about, because you feel ashamed for liking it?

Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer.  I know, it's a crazy book.  My jaw dropped so many times reading that book.  But I liked it!  Everybody got their happy ending, it made sense to me, and it was a satisfying read.  Full circle and happy.  I'm a sucker for happy endings.  Although I don't really lie about liking it, I just don't say anything about it. :)

Beauty and the Beast – The girl who fell in love with personality.

Which book do you love that has a hideous cover?

Well I wouldn't say "hideous" but The Lumatere Chronicles by Melina Marchetta.  Actually the more I see it, the more I'm upset that such a wonderful, beautiful book has such a mediocre cover.  The cover blending looks a bit amateurish (especially for the last book - Quintana of Charyn) and the books are just so much more than the cover indicates.  In fact if I was more talented at photoshop I would try to do a re-cover for the whole series.



Snow White – Hunted down for her beauty.

Do you ever buy a book based on the cover alone and if so, what is the last one?

Not really - I mean I pick up books based on the cover and then evaluate from the synopsis if I would like to read it.  The last book I bought because of it's eye-catching cover was Unspoken by Sarah Rees Brennan.  Mostly because the publishers changed the cover and I don't like the new one, so I wanted to own the original cover before they stopped selling it.



Sleeping beauty – Cursed to sleep, awakened by true loves kiss.

Who is your favorite book couple?

Oh well of course my number one favorite would have to be Jane and Rochester from Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë.  My perfect romance, and it's a wonderful love story based on mutual respect and the characters getting to know each other through conversations.



Little Mermaid – Gave up on her old life for love.

Do you ever branch out to new genres or do you like to stick with the ones you know and love? If you try new things out, what is the latest book?

Sadly I don't really branch out, mostly because I know what I like and I'm usually disappointed if I try something new.  But I think the last book I read in a genre I don't normally read is Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta which was... well disappointing.  But I think it's mostly because contemporary is really not my thing.



Cinderella – Who lost her shoe after midnight.

What is the last book that made you stay up all night?

Cress by Marissa Meyer.  I just had to finish it!  (And it's a fitting book for this survey!)  Towards the end everything just started getting more and more nerve-wracking, I could hardly take the stress of the suspense!  But it was such a good book!



Rapunzel – Locked up in a tower.

What is the worst book you’ve read last month?

Although it wasn't that bad, my lowest rated book from last month was The Vanishing by Wendy Webb.  It was very atmospheric and creepy but ultimately I was disappointed by the characters and the resolution.

PART 2. MIX-MATCH.

Aladdin – The poor boy who found a genie.

What is the latest book treasure/gem you found?

One of my recent reads - Stolen Songbird by Danielle Jensen was just fantastic!  I loved the fantasy and the romance, and it was so engrossing - probably the second book will be my most anticipated read of the next year!



Alice in Wonderland – The girl who fell through a rabbit’s hole.

Which book made you really feel like you landed in another world?

One of my favorite fantasy series The Sword of Truth by Terry Goodkind features some incredible worldbuilding.  It's a long series, and the characters journey pretty much all throughout the land so we see a lot of how people in the different lands live and how that has shaped them.  It's a wonderful series with fantastic characters and lots of action, drama and romance.



East of the Sun and West of the Moon – Where a girl embarks on a journey to save her love.

Who is one of your favorite kick-ass heroines?

Again from a more recent series - Celaena Sardothien from the Throne of Glass series by Sarah J. Maas.  She's an assassin so kick-ass comes with the territory but she's also confident, smart and loves cake, so really I would love to be her!



The Frog Prince – Where an enchanted prince becomes human again.

What is a book you thought you would hate, but end up loving?

I usually don't pick up a book I think I'll hate, but for a book that I really loved despite it not being one of my preferred genres is Saving Francesca by Melina Marchetta.  Another contemporary read which according to my experience with Jellicoe Road I probably shouldn't have liked, but I absolutely loved it, and it almost made me want to pick up more contemporary books.  Almost.




Hansel and Gretel – Left alone in the woods and captured by a witch.

Which duo (sister/sister, brother/sister) is your favorite and why?

Elsa and Anna from Frozen?  No, doesn't count?  It was hard to come up with an answer for this actually, I can't remember many books where both siblings really stood out.  The first one I thought of was Alex and Conner from Chris Colfer's The Land of Stories series.  They are sort of like Hansel and Gretel anyway, and wind up in fairy tale land.  They are typical siblings though and fight, but they work together and through their trials they become closer so it was a great character arc for the both of them.




Little Red Riding Hood – Almost eaten by a wolf dressed as her grandmother.

What book disappointed you after falling in love with the cover and blurb?

Dangerous by Shannon Hale.  I was so unbelievably excited by this book.  I love Hale's writing and the blurb sounded amazing.  It was just okay though - the characters and the plot were mediocre.  As I was reading I kept re-evaluating my feelings to try and find something to really love about it, but it didn't really happen.  I'll still read anything by Shannon Hale though!



Rumpelstilskin – Nobody knows his name.

Which book do you love that doesn’t get enough attention?

I don't know if this is really a series that doesn't get enough attention, but I hadn't heard of it at all for the longest time, and I don't know too many people who have read it, so I'm going to say The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner.  The main character is FANTASTIC, and the twists and turns in the story are incredible. I just adore this whole series!