Once Upon a Time Challenge Wrap Up

I always enjoy reading Carl's blog and have participated in his R.I.P. (Readers Imbibing Peril) Challenge twice, however this is the first time I participated in his Once Upon a Time Challenge and I'm so glad I did. I haven't read fantastical literature for a while and participating in this challenge has once again reminds me how much I missed reading them.

Knowing my reading progress is slow, I had chosen to read one book for this challenge and that book is Mermaid: A Twist on the Classic Tale by Carolyn Turgeon (my review here). I enjoyed the book very much; and what I liked is it featured two narratives aside from the mermaid princess, in which I find refreshing and also that it is great to know the other point of view from the human princess who is the other protagonist.

That said, I want to thank Carl for hosting this challenge and before finishing off this post, I'm very glad to read from Carl's blog that he will be hosting the R.I.P. (Readers Imbibing Peril) Challenge VI on September 1st so do make a note on your calendar should you decide to join.

Mermaid: A Twist on the Classic Tale by Carolyn Turgeon

ISBN-13: 9780307589972
Publisher: Crown Publishing Group
Published: March 2011
256 pgs
Source: Personal Library

After reading Carolyn Turgeon's Godmother: The Secret Cinderella Story in April last year (my review here) and was mesmerised by her wonderful storytelling skill, I know I wouldn't want to miss reading Mermaid after knowing that she would be writing this new release based on Hans Christian Andersen's original tale.

I am sure many of you have read or heard of the original tale, but what makes this book a little different from Andersen's is it features two narratives - the mermaid princess, Lenia, and Princess Margrethe, who is the daughter of a northern king.

On Lenia's eighteenth birthday, she was given the chance to swim ashore to the upper world. She had wanted to do so ever since she had heard wonderful stories from her elder sisters as they shared with her the tales of the curiosities and wonders that lay above. But what made her trip so different and special from her sisters is that she witnessed a shipwreck and she had fell in love with a handsome man while saving him.

On the other end, Princess Margrethe, who is daughter of the northern king, is hiding in a convent when news broke that the northern and southern kingdom might go to war. While wandering around one day, she found a mermaid with an injured man in her arms. Both women are struck by the sight of each other, but circumstances called so Lenia delivers the man to Princess Margrethe as she thinks she could save him. Meanwhile, Princess Margrethe thinks it must be fate that brings her and this man together. As luck would have it, the man whom they rescued, is the son of the southern king but none of them knew each other's identity.

What unveils this story is the love triangle and aside from the original tale where Lenia requested for a magic potion in exchange for her voice so as to have her tail be split into human legs, Carolyn Turgeon has gone a step further into making this beloved classic more intriguing by adding Princess Margrethe's point of view besides Lenia's though the story is told in the third person throughout the whole book. Turgeon also pushed this story to a climax through Princess Margrethe's dilemma between love and saving her kingdom, and the stakes she and Lenia have to take should they decide on any choice they have to make. What would be the ending? Would there ever be a happy ending this time around? I'm not telling, but I have to say I was once again mesmerised by Turgeon's writing, and felt myself entranced by The Little Mermaid all over again. I don't think I would ever get tired of reading this poignant yet beautiful story over and over again, be it the original or any retelling tales.

As of writing this, I also learnt that Carolyn Turgeon will have a new book out in August titled The Next Full Moon; and I knew it would be another magical, compelling story after reading the synopsis. I can't wait.

Once Upon a Time Challenge

So I mentioned before that I would not be participating in any more reading challenges, after all I haven't been reading many books for the challenges I had signed up, plus my reading progress has been slow lately. However, I have to make an exception for this particular challenge - Carl V's Once Upon a Time Challenge (OUAT) since I have not participated in this before, plus Carl is a great host and I always have fun with his R.I.P Challenge (which I'm always looking forward to it). And then of course there is always this opportunity to explore new authors and get to know new fellow bookbloggers.

Anyway, OUAT runs from March 21st through June 20th and you have a few options to choose from for this participation. Given my slow reading progress, I decided to sign up for The Journey which I will read at least one book out of the four categories (fantasy, fairy tales, folklore and mythology). As of writing this, I have no idea which title to read but I do have a few in mind:

• Mermaid: A Twist on the Classic Tale by Carolyn Turgeon
• A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness
• Sisters Red by Jackson Pierce
• When Rose Wakes by Christopher Golden

However, the reading list might change as I can be fickle minded when it comes to my reading, thus we shall see how. If you are new to this reading challenge, I hope you would join in the fun; and if you are not then what are you waiting for?

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Note: There won't be a Teaser Tuesdays post today as I'm still reading The Matchmaker of Kenmare by Frank Delaney. Aside from my snail pace reading progress, I also find that the story is a bit slow in my opinion and that it doesn't engage me as much (although I have to say Frank's writing style is lyrical and beautiful!). This book is the sequel to Venetia Kelly's Traveling Show and since I haven't read that book yet, I wonder if this is part of the reason why it affects my experience of reading The Matchmaker of Kenmare. That said, I wouldn't want to call it a DNF at this stage so I shall read a few chapters and see how it goes.

Hope you all have a Happy Tuesday!