The Once Upon a Time challenge is upon us once more! And this year I am not just going to talk about participating. I am going to really do it! And I mean — look at how pretty the button is (as always).
So I want to do Quest the Second, in which I will read one book apiece in each of the challenge’s categories: fantasy, folklore, fairy tales, and mythology. Here’s my plan.
Fantasy: I am already reading Caroline Stevermer’s A Scholar of Magics, so that’s going to be my fantasy read. It is about an Oxford-like college at which people do magic. There is a lady from another magical college in it, and an American sharpshooter who has been hired to demonstrate his talent for reasons that remain mysterious. I’m totally into it so far. I shall also reread Seraphina in advance of reading its new sequel, Shadow Scale.
Folklore: Maybe I’ll give the Elizabeth Wein retellings of the King Arthur story another try. But if you have other suggestions, please share them in the comments!
Fairy tale: Thanks to a recommendation from Bride of the Book God, I’m going to try out Sarah Pinborough! She’s got a book called Poison that’s a retelling of Snow White. And if that doesn’t work out, I want to try Rebecca Hahn’s A Creature of Moonlight, which if not a straight retelling of a specific fairy tale, is at least very fairy-tale-like.
Mythology: The Just City! It’s got some philosophical business in it as well, but it also has Daphne and Apollo, so I say it counts.
Looking forward to it! What will y’all be reading?