Untouched (Kristel Book 1)

This novel tells the parallel stories of a glassblower in Venice, , and his descendant centuries later, a young woman who dreams of being a glassblowing artiste herself. This lush historical novel set in 18th century Siena is a fabulous read, with a perfect blend of action, mystery and love. I love this book so much that I named my daughter Eleanor after the writer, with her pet name being Ella after the heroine. The Glass Slipper is full of wit and charm and whimsy and word play, the prose dancing like poetry. Years later, I found it in a second-hand shop and fell upon it with squeals of excitement.

Cold Iron is a small book, but packed to the brim with personality. Sophie Masson writes with a light, deft touch, lavishing attention on her minor characters and on the scenery, so that the book gleams like a little jewel. The primary protagonists are Mari and her little brother Jakob, and the land they have been taken to is a place of wild magic, fearsome beasts, and an ancient curse than must be broken if they are ever to escape. The writing is beautiful, and the story itself gripping and suspenseful.

Even though Jessica Day George has done a classic retelling here, in a fantasy otherworld very much like Europe, and with the plot line adhering closely to the original tale, she has done it with a light touch, a sense of humour, and just enough twists and turns to keep the reader turning the pages. A captivating fairytale retelling. As always, though, the book is much better than the movie, being filled with humour and surprise and intelligence.

At birth, Ella is given the gift of obedience by a well-meaning but air-brained fairy called Lucinda. The gift is more of a curse for poor Ella, and so she sets out to find Lucinda and undo the spell. She has all sorts of adventures along the way, some of which include a prince, a pumpkin coach and a glass slipper, but Gail Carson Levine takes great delight in twisting the known elements of this most popular of tales to give it new life.

Ani, a crown princess, can talk with birds and animals, but her talents are not appreciated in the royal family. When Ani is sent off to marry the prince of a neighbouring kingdom, her treacherous maid-in-waiting schemes to take her place. Barely escaping with her life, Ani disguises herself as a goose girl while she tries to find a way to reclaim her rightful palace. With some surprising twists and a satisfying ending, this is a lovely romantic retelling, suitable for children or adults.

Rose was born into the world facing north, and as a north child, superstition says that she will be a wanderer, travelling far from home. This prophecy is fulfilled when she rides away on the back of a white bear to a mysterious castle, where a silent stranger appears to her night after night. When her curiosity overcomes her, she loses her one true love, and must journey to a land east of the sun and west of the moon to save him. A Curse As Dark as Gold was one of my favourite reads last year — a beautiful, romantic retelling of the well-known Rumpelstiltskin fairytale, set in a British wool town during the Industrial Revolution.

Untouched by Tony Kyprianou

It also has a really charismatic and surprising villain, which helped add suspense and surprise to this well-known tale. Till We Have Faces: A Myth Retold by C. I had adored C. The first line reads: It is, however, still one of my all-time favourite retellings. In some versions of the tale, the princess manages to outwit and escape her lustful father, before hiding herself in the skin of a wild beast and working in the kitchen of the king of a neighbouring country.

In time, the second king comes to recognise the princess hidden beneath the filthy furs, and marries her. It is set long, long ago, in Ireland, and begins when Sorcha, the seventh child of the family and the only girl, is only a child. The whole atmosphere of the book is filled with romance, enchantment, beauty and danger, making it one of the best retellings ever written in my humble opinion.

New Zealand writer Helen Lowe reimagines the Sleeping Beauty story from the point of view of the prince in this beautiful, romantic fantasy for young adults. Prince Sigismund has grown up in a castle whose gardens and parklands are surrounded by a deep, tangled forest.

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He is kept locked away from the world, and so longs for adventures like the ones in the stories he loves so much — fantastical tales of knights-errant and heroic quests, faie enchantments and shape-shifting dragons. One day a beautiful and mysterious lady in a fine carriage speaks to him through the castle gates, and Sigismund's world begins to change.

He dreams of a raggedy girl trapped in thorns, and a castle that lies sleeping … soon he is caught up in an adventure as perilous and strange as that of any story he had ever heard …. What a wonderful, amazing, magical book! A retelling of the Russian fairytale, the Snow Child, set in Alaska at the turn of the 19th century, it seems far too accomplished to be by a debut novelist I can only look forward hopefully to many more books by Eowyn Ivey. It is so filled with violence and despair, it is almost unreadable in parts.

Yet somehow it haunts the imagination afterwards, giving new depths to the well-known story of Snow-White, and taking it very far away from Disney territory. The last few months have been insanely busy for me, with all sorts of deadlines whizzing past my ears as a consequence of having four books with three different publishers coming out this year, as well as a hectic touring schedule. As a result, my usual rate of reading has been much slowed as I spent most evenings writing instead.

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About Me Review Policy. Sleeping Beauty Monday, April 18, In this tale, a disgruntled deity places a curse on the young Princess Zellandine that causes her to go into a deep slumber. Many years later, Prince Troylus happens upon the princess and rapes her in her sleep. As a result, she has a child.

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In , the same story appears in print for the first time, in Paris, in a book of romances called Perceforest. This also included the earliest known versions of Cinderella and Rapunzel. Basile's story is not as pretty as the tale we know. It features the rape of the sleeping beauty, attempted infanticide, forced cannibalism and the threat of being burned alive. Here is a brief outline of Basile's tale: Her father orders that all flax be removed from the kingdom. When she is grown, Talia manages to find the only piece of flax in the entire kingdom, gets a splinter of it stuck beneath her fingernail, and falls into a deathlike sleep.

Her father, beside himself with grief, orders the palace and surrounding countryside be abandoned so he can put the event out of his mind.

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Eventually, another king stumbles upon the abandoned kingdom, and finds Talia sleeping alone. Unable to wake her, he decides to have sex with her while she sleeps. Talia falls pregnant and, without waking, eventually gives birth to twins. While the babies try to suckle, one sucks on her finger and the flax splinter is loosened. Talia wakes up, and is overjoyed to find herself the mother of twins, which she names Sun and Moon. The king returns and finds Talia awake and his twin childrenborn. A relationship develops between them.

She gives them to the cook, and tells him to slaughter and roast them and serve them to the king. The cook, unable to kill the babies, hides the twins and serves up two baby lambs instead. The queen watches gleefully as the king devours the meal.

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She then sends for Talia, and demands she be burned alive. The King hears Talia screaming, and rescues her just in time. The awful queen is thrown in the fire instead, and roasts to death. The cook then produces the twins, alive and well, and they all live happily ever after. In one 14th century version of the tale, the sleeping princess tells off the king and points out her lack of consent before deciding to give him another chance. One fairy was not invited because she was so old and no-one had seen her for so long.

One of the other fairies saves her by changing the curse of death to the curse of sleeping for years. At the age of 15 or 16, the princess pricks her finger on a spindle and falls into an enchanted sleep. The fairy puts the whole castle to sleep as well. A prince hears the story of the sleeping princess and goes to find her — the wood that hides the castle shows him the path.

He finds the princess and kneels before her. The princess wakes up NB: Perrault's story does not end here. The tale is different to Perrault's in the following ways: She feared being wed to a coward, so was allowed to sleep on a mountaintop surrounded by a ring of fire until there was a man brave enough to ride through it and wake her.

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Maria Tatar has written: Joseph Campbell notes that fairy tales are often about girls who resist growing up. At the crisis of the threshold crossing, she baulks. So she goes to sleep until the prince comes through all the barriers. Contrary to most feminist readings of the tale as being a bout a passive princess, many scholars have seen the Sleeping Beauty tale as containing remnants of matriarchal myth. But if the children were Sun and Moon, or Day and Dawn, as in other versions, you are [. The flowering of the hedge of roses and the awakening of the sleeping maiden suggest the earth in lifeless repose which, touched by spring, begins to live anew and blossom as young and beautiful as ever.

It suggests also the awakening of sleeping nature at the first glimmering of a new day. Luthi finds it significant that Sleeping Beauty is fifteen when she touches the spindle and falls into her enchanted sleep: One instinctively conceives of the princess as an image for the human spirit: Luthi also examines the idea that the twelve good fair ies in the Grimm version of the tale may reflect "the twelve months of the year which bestow their manifold gifts of the earth and on nature.

In the same line of thought, 'the years She is rescued by James and he protects her from the various forces chasing her. Their love grows but could they end forever apart. This is the first book in a trilogy. The second book is Undreamed http: Read more Read less. Enabled Similar books to Untouched Kristel Book 1. Kindle Cloud Reader Read instantly in your browser. Product details File Size: September 14, Sold by: Share your thoughts with other customers. Write a customer review. Showing of 8 reviews.

Top Reviews Most recent Top Reviews. There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later. Kindle Edition Verified Purchase. The teen protagonist, Kristel, finds herself transported into a frightening dark netherworld where escape is improbable and a menacing malevolent danger is constant. The narrative is compelling and well-paced. Consequently, as I progressed through the book I wanted to know more and more about the universe that Tony Kyprianou has woven together; sublimely blending the vividly presented environment with the novel's diverse characters.

What a lovely read: Very enjoyable and the interactions between the teenagers are realistic. Having read other books in this genre this book is refreshing and a welcome change, some of the others I have read have not been flash!! Looking forward to the follow up book: One person found this helpful. Haunted by their love for each other, they can only see each other in mirrors. Not only that, the forces against her in the Grey Lands want her back.

This is the first book in a trilogy. The scond book is Undreamed and the third book is Unbroken. Kindle Edition , pages. To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up. To ask other readers questions about Untouched , please sign up. Lists with This Book. Heather rated it really liked it May 04, Joanna rated it really liked it Jul 30, Elizabeth rated it it was amazing Dec 26, Ikee Hampton rated it liked it Jan 24, Savannah Mckenzie rated it it was amazing May 22, Mel J rated it really liked it Feb 20, Clarke added it Dec 06, Carrie Book Fairy Fort marked it as to-read Dec 07, Jessica marked it as to-read Dec 08, LaStephanie marked it as to-read Dec 11, Jasmyn marked it as to-read Dec 12, Samantha marked it as to-read Dec 14, Stacy marked it as to-read Dec 15,