A. G. Marshall

Having styled himself His Excellency the Grand Feline Supreme, a magnanimous cat is out to improve his fortune by lending an elevating paw to the helpless human at his side in The Cat and His Servant by author A.G. Marshall.

This ninth fairy tale retelling in the Once Upon a Short Story series is the eighth I've read. For me, it's one of the best.

Granted, I'd forgotten much of the Puss in Boots story it's based on. But I say the best retellings are those that can stand on their own as clear show more and satisfying stories, even for readers approaching them with blank slates.

Then I started to remember as I got further into this tale, and it may actually improve upon the original. I became further convinced of this after I read the Author's Note at the end, but even before that, I found reading this story from the perspective of His Excellency (heh heh) to be refreshing, clever, and laugh-worthy.

A thoroughly enjoyable read. show less

On the run from an abusive father and the trap he means to force her into, Rachel is in desperate need of sanctuary in the...church she finds on a stormy night. But something seems off in this church, including the tower of mattresses Rachel has to sleep on, and she soon fears she's being led into another trap in The Bruised Princess by author A.G. Marshall.

Can't say as I read many fairy tale retellings, and I wasn't expecting a whole lot when I jumped into this short reimagining of The show more Princess and the Pea.

But, my, what a well-spun story this romantic read is. It wonderfully brings the believable into the fantastical and adds substance beyond simple fairy-tale developments.

And what I like most is that, yes, although Rachel is a victim, this is more than a story of a damsel in distress getting saved. Rachel has more to offer to play a purposeful, active part in the course of her life—and the course of another's.

It's a thrill when stories I stumble upon far exceed my expectations. show less

After reading all six of the stories, my two favorite tales in this collection of retellings are the first and the third.

The first one took me into an area of fantasy I've never entered on purpose before, and I likely never will, but the twist is a great one for a rather poignant story.

And the third—my, what a well-spun, romantic read. It wonderfully brings the believable into the fantastical and adds substance beyond simple fairy-tale developments.

There's an enormous cottage-industry in fairy-tale retellings, and it's hard to stand out from that crowd. This one does, I think. Each fairy tale has a tweak so it's still identifiable, but comes out quite differently. They're pretty short, too, which is good: just long enough to be a story, but short enough that the twist doesn't pall over time. You can buy each of them individually, but you might as well get the whole collection.

I read some of the stories to my girls (6 and 9) and they show more liked it, particularly the Snow White one where the good and bad characters are flipped. (I didn't read them the one about the abused daughter, for obvious reasons, but I thought that was an excellent story too.) My favorite happens to be the Cinderella retelling where there's no fairy godmother, but someone else who makes the dress and has an agenda of their own. show less