The Friday Face-Off: A Fairytale Retold

        

Welcome to The Friday Face-Off, a weekly meme at Books by Proxy. Join us every Friday as we pit cover against cover, and publisher against publisher, to find the best artwork in our literary universe.  You can find a list of upcoming topics at Lynn's Books.

This week's topic is:

A Fairytale Retold

My first thought for this was one of my favorite retellings ever, Heartless, but then I realized I already did that one last year, so I had to do a bit more searching. I decided to share two books, both of which only have a small handful of covers, and those two are Malice by Heather Walter and All the Ever Afters by Danielle Teller. I really enjoyed both of these books when I read them, and Malice will probably end up on a best of list this year...

Malice by Heather Walter

   

2021 Del Rey | 2021 UK Del Rey

All the Ever Afters: The Untold Story of Cinderella's Stepmother by Danielle Teller

   

2018 US | 2018 Hungarian

   

2020 French | 2019 Dutch

My choice(s):

I absolutely love the US edition of Malice, and I really love both the US and Hungarian editions of All the Ever Afters. Even the French one is pretty! 

What cover(s) do you like the most?

Waiting on Wednesday: The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang & All The Ever Afters by Danielle Teller

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine that spotlights exciting upcoming releases that we can't wait to be released!

This week's upcoming book spotlight is:

The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang
Publication Date: May 4th, 2018

Harper Voyager
544 pages
Pre-order: Amazon | Book Depository 

From Goodreads:

"When Rin aced the Keju—the Empire-wide test to find the most talented youth to learn at the Academies—it was a shock to everyone: to the test officials, who couldn’t believe a war orphan from Rooster Province could pass without cheating; to Rin’s guardians, who believed they’d finally be able to marry her off and further their criminal enterprise; and to Rin herself, who realized she was finally free of the servitude and despair that had made up her daily existence. That she got into Sinegard—the most elite military school in Nikan—was even more surprising.

But surprises aren’t always good. 

Because being a dark-skinned peasant girl from the south is not an easy thing at Sinegard. Targeted from the outset by rival classmates for her color, poverty, and gender, Rin discovers she possesses a lethal, unearthly power—an aptitude for the nearly-mythical art of shamanism. Exploring the depths of her gift with the help of a seemingly insane teacher and psychoactive substances, Rin learns that gods long thought dead are very much alive—and that mastering control over those powers could mean more than just surviving school. 

For while the Nikara Empire is at peace, the Federation of Mugen still lurks across a narrow sea. The militarily advanced Federation occupied Nikan for decades after the First Poppy War, and only barely lost the continent in the Second. And while most of the people are complacent to go about their lives, a few are aware that a Third Poppy War is just a spark away . . . 

Rin’s shamanic powers may be the only way to save her people. But as she finds out more about the god that has chosen her, the vengeful Phoenix, she fears that winning the war may cost her humanity . . . and that it may already be too late."

I just heard about this one the other week and I am so interested in this premise! The advanced reviews for it are incredibly promising as well, so I have hopes and hope to have a chance to pick it up!

and...

All the Ever Afters: The Untold Story of Cinderella's Stepmother by Danielle Teller
Publication Date: May 22nd, 2018

William Morrow
384 pages
Pre-order: Amazon | Book Depository 

From Goodreads:

In the vein of Wicked, The Woodcutter, and Boy, Snow, Bird, a luminous reimagining of a classic tale, told from the perspective of Agnes, Cinderella’s “evil” stepmother. 

We all know the story of Cinderella. Or do we? 

As rumors about the cruel upbringing of beautiful newlywed Princess Cinderella roil the kingdom, her stepmother, Agnes, who knows all too well about hardship, privately records the true story. . . . 

A peasant born into serfdom, Agnes is separated from her family and forced into servitude as a laundress’s apprentice when she is only ten years old. Using her wits and ingenuity, she escapes her tyrannical matron and makes her way toward a hopeful future. When teenaged Agnes is seduced by an older man and becomes pregnant, she is transformed by love for her child. Once again left penniless, Agnes has no choice but to return to servitude at the manor she thought she had left behind. Her new position is nursemaid to Ella, an otherworldly infant. She struggles to love the child who in time becomes her stepdaughter and, eventually, the celebrated princess who embodies everyone’s unattainable fantasies. The story of their relationship reveals that nothing is what it seems, that beauty is not always desirable, and that love can take on many guises. 

Lyrically told, emotionally evocative, and brilliantly perceptive, All the Ever Afters explores the hidden complexities that lie beneath classic tales of good and evil, all the while showing us that how we confront adversity reveals a more profound, and ultimately more important, truth than the ideal of “happily ever after.”

I've had my eye on this one for what feels like ages and I cannot wait for the chance to read it. I am a shameless retellings fan and I just love the sound of this one.

What do you think about this upcoming release? What are your anticipated upcoming releases?

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