Loved itIt's also just incredibly charming and witty, and I love our protagonist as well as her little cat companion, because you've got to have a magical cat in a book for children, don't you?
Review 1 of 2
Hedge Witch
Others: Positive Lists: …
Similar books
1 of 6
Women of the Fairy Tale Resistance
Jane Harrington
2025 · 240 pages · 1 review
Others: PositiveLong before The Brothers Grimm, there was a sisterhood of writers who defied the patriarchy and launched a literary craze with their feminist fairy tales—these are their stories. In 17th century Paris, a group of women who called themselves conteuses (female storytellers) came together to weave the very first fairy tales. One of them, Marie-Catherine d’Aulnoy, coined the term ‘fairy tale,’ and some of these stories contain many familiar elements that appear in tales like Rapunzel and Beauty and the Beast. Unfortunately, these women and their tales have mostly been forgotten to history.Women of the Fairytale Resistance uncovers seven of these writer’s biographies—which are just as compelling as their fairy tales—and retells 12 of their original stories. The women were mostly young noblewomen who were forced into undesirable marriages and did not have the freedom to give their opinions, travel, or choose who they wanted to love. They used their stories as a way of subtly complaining about their husbands and critiquing the oppressive reign of King Louis XIV. The female-empowering, gender-bending tales combine themes like romance, fantasy, escapism, and their protagonists control of their own destiny—something the writers deeply desired in their own lives. Enchantingly designed with stunning full color illustrations throughout, this unique and entertaining book will have you rethink everything you know about traditional fairy tales.
Why?
What made the match, strongest first
On the same reading list93%Jean's Thoughts loved bothPersonalize your recommendations7%The mabinogion
Charlotte Guest
1997 · 166 pages · 1 review
Others: PositiveThe Mabinogion (Welsh pronunciation: mabɪˈnɔɡjɔn) is a collection of 11 prose stories collated from medieval Welsh manuscripts. The tales draw on pre-Christian Celtic mythology, international folktale motifs and early medieval historical traditions. While some details may hark back to older Iron Age traditions, each of the tales is the product of a developed medieval Welsh narrative tradition, both oral and written. Lady Charlotte Guest in the mid 19th century was the first to publish English translations of the collection, popularising the name "Mabinogion". The stories appear in either or both of two medieval Welsh manuscripts, the White Book of Rhydderch or Llyfr Gwyn Rhydderch, written c.1350, and the Red Book of Hergest or Llyfr Coch Hergest, written c.1382 – 1410, though texts or fragments of some of the tales have been preserved in earlier 13th century and later mss. Scholars agree that the tales are older than the existing mss, but disagree over just how much older. The different texts originated at different times. Debate has focused on the dating of the Four Branches of the Mabinogi. Sir Ifor Williams offered a date prior to 1100, based on linguistic and historical arguments, while later Saunders Lewis set forth a number of arguments for a date between 1170 and 1190; Thomas M. Charles-Edwards, in a paper published in 1970, discussed both viewpoints, and while critical of the arguments of both scholars, noted that the language of the stories fits the 11th century. More recently, Patrick Sims-Williams argued for a plausible range of about 1060 to 1200, the current scholarly consensus.
Why?
What made the match, strongest first
On the same reading list87%Jean's Thoughts loved bothPersonalize your recommendations13%Beauty And The Werewolf
Mercedes Lackey
2011 · 384 pages · 1 review
Others: PositiveThe eldest daughter is often doomed in fairy tales. But Bella—Isabella Beauchamps, daughter of a wealthy merchant—vows to escape the usual pitfalls. Anxious to avoid the traditional path, Bella dons a red cloak and ventures into the forbidden forest to consult with "Granny," the local wisewoman. But on the way home she's attacked by a wolf—who turns out to be a cursed nobleman. Secluded in his castle, Bella is torn between her family and this strange man who creates marvelous inventions and makes her laugh—when he isn't howling at the moon. Bella knows all too well that breaking spells is never easy. But a determined beauty, a wizard (after all, he's only an occasional werewolf) and a little Godmotherly interference might just be able to bring about a happy ending. From Goodreads
Why?
What made the match, strongest first
On the same reading list81%Jean's Thoughts loved bothPersonalize your recommendations19%The queen of sorrow
Sarah Beth Durst
2018 · 442 pages · 2 reviews
Others: MixedQueen Dalenia believes she can bring about peace with the powerful Queen Naelin by her side, but Naelin's children are captured by spirits and things start to fall apart. Queen Daleina's dreams of bringing peace and prosperity to her forest home seemed doomed when neighboring forces invaded Aratay. Now, ruling alongside Queen Naelin, those dreams seem closer... even in a land plagued by malevolent nature spirits who thirst for the end of human life. When Naelin's children are kidnapped by spirits, Naelin blames Queen Merecot of Semo for the kidnapping. But taking the children is merely one step in a plot to change the future of all Renthia, either by ending the threat of spirits once and for all-- or plunging the world into chaos. -- adapted from jacket
Why?
What made the match, strongest first
On the same reading listPersonalize your recommendations100%Witch and the Tsar
Olesya Salnikova Gilmore
2022 · 4 reviews
Others: PositiveIn this stunning debut novel, the maligned and immortal witch of legend known as Baba Yaga will risk all to save her country and her people from Tsar Ivan the Terrible—and the dangerous gods who seek to drive the twisted hearts of men. As a half-goddess possessing magic, Yaga is used to living on her own, her prior entanglements with mortals having led to heartbreak. She mostly keeps to her hut in the woods, where those in need of healing seek her out, even as they spread rumors about her supposed cruelty and wicked spells. But when her old friend Anastasia—now the wife of the tsar, and suffering from a mysterious illness—arrives in her forest desperate for her protection, Yaga realizes the fate of all of Russia is tied to Anastasia’s. Yaga must step out of the shadows to protect the land she loves. As she travels to Moscow, Yaga witnesses a sixteenth century Russia on the brink of chaos. Tsar Ivan—soon to become Ivan the Terrible—grows more volatile and tyrannical by the day, and Yaga believes the tsaritsa is being poisoned by an unknown enemy. But what Yaga cannot know is that Ivan is being manipulated by powers far older and more fearsome than anyone can imagine. Olesya Salnikova Gilmore weaves a rich tapestry of mythology and Russian history, reclaiming and reinventing the infamous Baba Yaga, and bringing to life a vibrant and tumultuous Russia, where old gods and new tyrants vie for power. This fierce and compelling novel draws from the timeless lore to create a heroine for the modern day, fighting to save her country and those she loves from oppression while also finding her true purpose as a goddess, a witch, and a woman.
Why?
What made the match, strongest first
On the same reading listPersonalize your recommendations100%Summers at Castle Auburn
Sharon Shinn
2001 · 355 pages · 1 review
Others: PositiveAs a child, Coriel Halsing spent many glorious summers at Castle Auburn with her half-sister-and fell in love with a handsome prince who could never be hers. But now that she is a young woman, she begins to see the dark side of this magical place.
Why?
What made the match, strongest first
On the same reading list78%Jean's Thoughts loved bothPersonalize your recommendations22%
Loved it