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- Autumn Book Roundup
Autumn has arrived in the Northern Hemisphere, and with it comes The Fairy Tale Magazine’s list of spooky tales and forest reads to keep you warm as the temperatures begin to fall. Rake up our recommendations while you can! It’s always fun to begin spooky season with a classic tale, and Washington Irving’s The Legend of Sleepy Hollow definitely fits the bill! Ichabod Crane, the new school teacher in Tarry Town, is haunted by the legend of a headless horseman, and readers will be haunted by Irving’s rich detail and luscious prose. The Haunting of Hill House is another classic story best read when the nights darken early. Written by Shirley Jackson, this novel, which features an odd collection of people who gather together to collect ghostly phenomena, is the ultimate haunted house tale. It even inspired a Netflix show filled with well-placed jump scares to get your heart beating! The Curse of Penryth Hall by Jess Armstrong is set at a haunted estate in the Cornish countryside. This is the first installment in the adventures of bookseller Ruby Vaughn and folk healer Ruan Kivell, and it will delight fans of folklore and murder mystery. You can read my review here . The sequel, The Secret of the Three Fates is fabulous too! Ghosts can haunt more than houses in The Ghosts of Beatrice Bird by Lousia Morgan; they can also haunt people. This book presents ghosts as manifestations of the past and looks at how trauma can influence a person’s life. You can read my review here . In The Warm Hands of Ghosts , Katherine Arden takes readers back to World War I. The legend of a fiddler who haunts soldiers in a strange hotel speaks to the juxtaposition of beauty and horror, life and death. You can read my review here . Juliet Marillier’s Heart’s Blood is a Gothic retelling of Beauty and the Beast with spooky autumn vibes. Whistling Tor is a place full of secrets, and Marillier captures the complex emotions of her characters in this stunning novel. If spooky Fairy Tales and Folklore are your vibe, check out Leanbh Pearson’s collection Three Curses and Other Dark Tales . Stories of vengeful goddesses, shadowy travelers, and uncanny folk will keep you up at night, and while you lay awake, you can read another volume of frightening tales edited by Pearson, Cursed Shards: Tales of Dark Folklore . Just be careful what you wish for! The autumn woods are on display in Kathryn Purdie’s fairy tale novel The Forest Grimm . After 66 people disappear in the forest, a hero is chosen to search for them each year. Filled with red capes, rampion, wolves, stone towers, castles, and spinning wheels, this is a novel for fairy tale fans! You can read my review here . Into the Woods , by Loraine Murphy, is another forest themed novel for fairy tale fans. This book has a true crime feel, and though it is set in contemporary times, it is full of fairy tale references. You can read my review here . Walking the Celtic Wheel , by Julie Armstrong is a book that will help readers celebrate autumn and all the seasons of the year. This bewitching memoir explores the equinoxes, solstices, and fire festivals that connect us to the spirit of nature, helping readers revel in whatever gifts the seasons have to offer. Although After the Forest by Kell Woods doesn’t take place in the autumn, the rich gingerbread baked by the protagonist, Greta, gives the book an autumnal feel. If you have ever wondered what happened after Hansel and Gretel defeat the witch in the woods and grow up, then After the Forest is for you! And, if you are interested in the “after” of traditional fairy tales, then add Lissa Sloan’s novel, Glass and Feathers to your reading list today! This book looks at Cinderella’s life after she marries the prince and learns her glass slipper no longer fits. Cinderella is the most autumnal of tales, and Sloan’s Cinderella character spends plenty of time in the forest. Happy reading! Kelly Jarvis is the Contributing Writer for The Fairy Tale Magazine. Her work has also been featured in A Moon of One’s Own, Baseball Bard , Blue Heron Review , Corvid Queen, Eternal Haunted Summer, Forget Me Not Press, Mermaids Monthly , The Chamber Magazine , The Magic of Us, and the World Weaver Press Anthology Mothers of Enchantment: New Tales of Fairy Godmothers . Her first novella, Selkie Moon , comes out in 2025. You can connect with her on Facebook (Kelly Jarvis, Author) or Instagram (@kellyjarviswriter) or find her at https://kellyjarviswriter.com/ Cover Image by Pixabay
- Cinderella’s Hearth: Frugality From an Expert, By Kate Wolford
Note: I’m a frugality tourist. I like to cut corners when I want to buy, say, a roll of imported wallpaper to back our bookcases, which is what I’m researching these days. Back in 2018, when I was on a serious frugality kick, which lasted about a month, I bought The Complete Tightward Gazette . It was a delightful, useful read, and even though some of the references are dated, it’s still worth it. This column was previously published in September 2018, and I think it still holds up. I hope you’ll agree! KW *** I’m on a frugality kick. No doubt it will pass any day now. I’m from a long line of people who do love to shop, although we do save money well. I don’t think I’ll change my ways too much at 56. But it’s awfully fun to read up on tips. I purchased an old copy of The Complete Tightwad Gazette recently, and while author Amy Dacyczyn, a.k.a. The Frugal Zealot, stopped writing about 20 years ago, she remains the mother of the current frugality movement. The book is over 900 pages and is packed with a dizzying amount of useful advice and ideas about living the frugal life. Dacyczyn (pronunced “decision”), freely admits that her book is filled with tips that not everyone will want to do. In fact, she doesn’t do a lot of the strategies in the book, because many of them came from readers of her popular ‘90s newsletter The Frugal Gazette . The complete book, which I’m currently reading, it’s actually three books in one. Each book was enormously popular, as is the complete one, to this day. Enough background. Here are some tips: Do you have a good top sheet with no fitted sheet? Tie knots in the four corners and make sure the knots are tucked under the mattress. Voila! A fitted sheet. Here’s a wild one: If you don’t have a salad spinner, rinse your lettuce, shake off the excess water, put a tea towel at the bottom of a plastic grocery bag and add the lettuce. Whirl it around for 10 rotations and you’ve got ready greens. This is a really great Christmas gift for a friend or family member who aspires to frugality: Develop a list of prices and other tips—putting it in a small notebook would be a great idea. Then the gift recipient can start off the year on a frugal foot. While we’re on Christmas, which is in less than three months, Dacyczyn suggests making homemade gifts. I totally agree. She notes that some people think they are inferior, but I would much, much rather have something made with love and attention than another tchotchke cluttering up my house. Our daughter makes chocolate candy and crystallized orange peel, and jams and jellies and sends it to family for Christmas. They love it! They all agree they have too much stuff and would rather have homemade goodies. Many people I know have the same attitude. Olive oil is a very cheap and effective face and body moisturizer. You could keep a discount brand in the bathroom and your skin will be smooth as silk. Do use it on an inconspicuous spot on your skin the first time you try it, just in case you are allergic, which you probably aren’t. Also, be aware that olive oil can cause acne for some people. I love this one: The basics of a casserole consist of one cup of your main ingredient, like shredded chicken or diced ham; another cup of a main ingredient, often a vegetable like mushrooms or corn or peas; a cup or two of starchy food like cooked rice or noodles; and a binder like canned soup or sour cream. If you’d like, add something “fun “ like olives or water chestnuts, maybe a half cup or so. Mix it all together, then check to see if it’s too dry. If so, add a little water or milk or broth. Place in a greased casserole dish and top with cheese or buttered cornflake crumbs or crushed potato chips. Bake at 350 degrees and start checking for doneness at 35 minutes. Let it rest at room temperature for at least 15 minutes before serving. Dacyczyn gave up her newsletter and book writing in the late ‘90s, so there are some pretty dated references in the book. I admire her for giving it all up. It’s a rare person who has the sense to quit while he or she is ahead. Despite the vintage feel of the book’s ideas, it is inspirational and highly enjoyable glimpse into a way of life that continues to flourish despite our insanely consumerist society. If you’ve never read it, give it a try. It’s great fun to read, and you might even save money. Kate Wolford was the publisher and editor of The Fairy Tale Magazine for many years. She’s now enjoying being Resident Fairy Godmother.
- Review by Kelly Jarvis: The Magic All Around by Jennifer Moorman
The Magic All Around is an enchanting book about a family living in a magical Victorian house built from trees grown in the Appalachian Mountains and felled during the full moon. Although the Russell women have always maintained the homestead which bends to their desires by playing tunes they love to hear and magically stocking its pantries with all the ingredients needed for their recipes, Lilith Russell was the exception, raising her daughter Mattie on the road and dropping her off at the family home in Ivy Ridge, Georgia only during the summers to spend time with Lilith’s sister Penelope. When Lilith passes away, she leaves Maddie instructions to complete a scavenger hunt through her hometown, and as Maddie completes the tasks she learns about herself, her family, and the depths of love. Moorman’s novel shines with magical realism, and her focus on a family homestead may remind readers of books like Practical Magic . The book has a simple, cozy feel that offers readers a light escape while exploring topics like art, friendship, the relationship between mothers and daughters, and the discovery of an authentic self. Told through the alternating perspectives of several characters, the book presents different romances and relationships that will entertain readers looking for a heartwarming tale. I especially loved the character of the old Victorian house which lends the novel a sense of place and makes readers contemplate the comforts of home. This is a fun book for those looking for a sweet story about life and love. You can find the book here . Thank you to NetGalley for a free copy of the book in exchange for a fair review. Kelly Jarvis is the Contributing Writer for The Fairy Tale Magazine. Her work has also been featured in A Moon of One’s Own, Baseball Bard , Blue Heron Review , Corvid Queen, Eternal Haunted Summer, Forget Me Not Press, Mermaids Monthly , The Chamber Magazine , The Magic of Us, and the World Weaver Press Anthology Mothers of Enchantment: New Tales of Fairy Godmothers . Her first novella, Selkie Moon , comes out in 2025. You can connect with her on Facebook (Kelly Jarvis, Author) or Instagram (@kellyjarviswriter) or find her at https://kellyjarviswriter.com/
- Cinderella's Hearth: Harvest Festivals by Kelly Jarvis
It is a story as old as time itself; a prince meets a maiden and falls head over glass slipper in love. We all love to read about fairy tale romance, but we are often so focused on the prince’s wealth and the maiden’s beauty that we forget the social context which brings the young couple together. In most variants of the fairy tale known as ATU 510A, Cinderella and her prince meet at a harvest festival, an event that is a long-standing tradition in agricultural communities around the world. Harvest festivals are annual celebrations occurring around the time of a harvest, and they are ancient in their origins. Celtic pagans marked the wheel of the year with three harvest festivals (Lammas, Mabon, and Samhain), and in China, the place from which we collect one of the earliest variants of Cinderella , Yeh-Shen , people have long celebrated a Mid-Autumn Festival with moon cakes, dragon dances, and floating sky lanterns. Harvest fairs and festivals are featured in literary texts as well, serving as places where characters gather with their communities. In E.B. White’s novel Charlotte’s Web , it is at an autumn harvest festival that the main characters in the story, both human and animal, come of age. “They’ve got to grow up some time,” Mr. Arable, the father of the protagonist says as he watches his children run off on their own to enjoy the festivities, “and a fair is a good place to start.” Harvest festivals are not a celebration of spring’s first blooms, but a recognition of the growth we have made across the ripening seasons of our lives. Apple Tree , Pixabay In my corner of the earth, a place once visited by the legendary Johnny Appleseed , our autumn celebration is known as The Apple Harvest Festival. My town has celebrated the Apple Harvest since the middle of the twentieth century. Residents come together on our town green and its adjacent fields in the last week of September and the first week of October to mark the ripening of the apples grown in our Connecticut valley: Gala, Honeycrisp, McIntosh, Macoun, Cortland, and my favorite, Empire. Our festival features a traveling carnival, an annual parade, fried fair food, and homemade craft booths, but it is most famous for its Apple Fritters, a delicacy of battered apples deep fried in oil and rolled in cinnamon and sugar. The secret recipe for my town’s Apple Fritters, which are only made and sold during the two weeks of the Apple Harvest Festival, is safeguarded by the Zion Lutheran Church, and the treat is so popular that customers stand in line for hours, waiting to trade their coins for a taste of our town’s enchanted confection. Although our Apple Harvest Festival is not sponsored by a royal family like the harvest festivals of Cinderella stories, up until last year, it featured a ball complete with the crowning of a Harvest Queen, a ritual that dates back to early European harvest processions. In traditional festivals, a young woman was crowned with a wreath of wheat, fruit, and flowers as a way of expressing gratitude for earth’s plentiful harvest. I wasn’t wearing glass slippers on the night I attended the Apple Harvest Ball during my senior year of high school, and I wasn’t crowned with wheat or fruit when I was chosen to be the Apple Harvest Queen, but I did marry the man who danced the night away with me, and we are still living happily-ever-after in the home town where we were both born. We still visit the Apple Harvest Festival with our three sons each year, waiting in long lines for a paper bag filled with precious Apple Fritters, grateful that the social context of a harvest festival played a role in the fairy tale of our lives. A Very Old Newspaper Photo circa 20th Century In contemporary times, when we can easily purchase exotic summer fruits in the dead of winter, it is easy to forget the importance of the harvest, but without a harvest ball, Cinderella might never have left the hearth and met her prince. Harvest festivals, and the fairy tales that feature them, help us to appreciate the foods, communities, and relationships that sustain us, reminding us that we are never truly alone. Kelly Jarvis is the Contributing Writer for The Fairy Tale Magazine. Her work has also been featured in A Moon of One’s Own, Baseball Bard , Blue Heron Review , Corvid Queen, Eternal Haunted Summer, Forget Me Not Press, Mermaids Monthly , The Chamber Magazine , The Magic of Us, and the World Weaver Press Anthology Mothers of Enchantment: New Tales of Fairy Godmothers . Her first novella, Selkie Moon , comes out in 2025. You can connect with her on Facebook (Kelly Jarvis, Author) or Instagram (@kellyjarviswriter) or find her at https://kellyjarviswriter.com/ Work Cited: White, E. B. Charlotte's Web , Harper & Brothers, 1952
- Review by Kelly Jarvis: A Circle of Uncommon Witches by Paige Crutcher
In A Circle of Uncommon Witches , Paige Crutcher takes readers on a magical journey through Scotland and the realms beyond. The novel begins with the rebellious Doreen MacKinnon, a 13th generation witch seeking to break a curse cast upon her family. Three hundred years ago, Ambrose MacDonald, a powerful witch from a rival line, fell in love with Lenora MacKinnon, and when he was forbidden from seeing her, he cast a curse upon the entire MacKinnon clan, dooming them to choose loveless marriages or perish by the age of thirty. When Doreen realizes Ambrose has been held captive by the MacKinnons, she sets out to free him so he can help her end the curse. Together, they face epic trials that bring them face to face with their greatest fears. While navigating foreign landscapes, dark magic, and vengeful ghosts, Doreen and Ambrose notice sparks of love beginning to fly between them. Their witty banter and sensual attraction to one another will keep readers interested in the outcome of the trials which can break the curse, allowing the MacKinnon women to both fall in love and be loved by others. The book moves beyond romance, fully exploring the bonds of women and presenting rounded characters with positive and negative personality traits. The relationship between Doreen and her cousin Margot is of particular interest, informing the plot and themes of the book from the beginning to the end. In addition to providing readers with an engaging plot, Crutcher builds a world of magic, explaining how the families use oak trees to travel across space and time and relaying how they seal their spells with maple syrup. If you enjoy witchy stories filled will full-fledged magic like Paige Crutcher’s What Became of Magic , pick up A Circle of Uncommon Witches . This is atmospheric and entertaining read is perfect for spooky season! You can find it here . Thank you to NetGalley for a free copy of the book in exchange for a fair review. Kelly Jarvis works as the Contributing Writer for The Fairy Tale Magazine. Her work has also been featured in A Moon of One’s Own, Baseball Bard , Blue Heron Review , Corvid Queen, Eternal Haunted Summer, Forget Me Not Press, Mermaids Monthly , The Chamber Magazine , The Magic of Us, and the World Weaver Press Anthology Mothers of Enchantment: New Tales of Fairy Godmothers . Selkie Moon is her debut novella. You can connect with her on Facebook (Kelly Jarvis, Author), Instagram (@kellyjarviswriter) or visit her at https://kellyjarviswriter.com/
- Cinderella’s Hearth: Just 10 Minutes, by Kate Wolford
Note: I have a cold today, but it’s not Covid, which I’ve never had. Anyway, I thought I’d recycle an old newspaper column that still applies today. Enjoy! KW Just the other day, I was debating whether or not I had the time to clean out the refrigerator. Todd was coming home soon with lots of groceries for company, but I wasn’t sure I could get the job done. So I gave myself 10 minutes to do it, because that’s how much time I had. The fridge was clean in eight. So that got me thinking about what else I could do in 10 minutes. It could be any task. Here’s the list: Ten minutes of exercise—I know we are supposed to get 30 minutes a day, but you have to start somewhere. And 10 sure beats nothing. You can write, address, stamp and mail a thank you card in 10. That’s especially true if you keep your materials, like a pen, the card and stamp together. Putting the materials together is also a job that can be done in less than 10 minutes. Obviously, you can start a load of laundry in way less than 10 minutes. Add cleaning the lint trap and pulling clothes out of the dryer to that 10 as well. You might even have time left to fold and put away, Provided they don’t have lots of knick knacks on them, you can dust bookshelves in less than 10 minutes. Heck, depending on the size, you might be able to do a whole room in that time. You can prepare and chop a bowlful of fresh veggies in 10 minutes. Ditto fruit. You’ll still have time to grab a dip to go along, for a healthy snack. You can start a pot of soup in that time, or get started on fresh biscuits in 10 minutes. You can water a whole lot of garden plants in 10 minutes. You can read a chapter in a book aloud to a child in 10 minutes. It’s a great chance to entertain your child in a wonderful way and spend quality time with him or her. You can take 10 to talk to your husband or wife, which, if you have work, kids and housework to do, might not always happen. It’s certainly worth the effort, though, to keep those important connections to one another alive. As for connections, in 10 minutes, you can send an email or text catching up with a friend or relative in 10. You can pay bills and check your bank account for any strange charges in under 10 minutes. Same with checking on all of your bank and retirement accounts, provided you have online accounts—and we do. Had a bad night’s rest? Change those bedsheets in less than 10 minutes. Fresh linens always help you sleep better. There you are. A lot of tasks that can be done in 10 minutes. Why 10? Because we can cheerfully do almost anything when we know it’ll only take that amount of time. It’s a classic case of a few minutes of effort yielding surprisingly great results. Little efforts really do mean a lot. Your house and life will look a lot better if you can just take 10 now and then. Kate Wolford was the publisher and editor of The Fairy Tale Magazine for many years. She’s now enjoying being Resident Fairy Godmother.
- Review by Kelly Jarvis: The Love Elixir of Augusta Stern by Lynda Cohen Loigman
This heartwarming novel opens as Augusta Stern, on the cusp of turning eighty, relocates from New York City to a retirement community in Florida where she reconnects with old friends including Irving Rivkin, the boy who broke her heart. Told in chapters that alternate between 1920’s Brooklyn and 1980’s Florida, The Love Elixir of Augusta Stern captures the full scope of its protagonist’s life story. After losing their mother to diabetes shortly before the discovery of insulin, Augusta and her sister are raised by their pharmacist father who teaches them the importance of his work. When Augusta’s Great Aunt Esther comes to New York to help raise the girls, she brings her old world healing knowledge with her, and soon her soups and tinctures are rivaling the pharmacy’s medicines and pills. Aunt Esther never had the chance to go to college and study pharmacy, so she learned her craft from folktales, comparing herself to Baba Yaga, the witch of the woods who concocts spells and remedies with her mortar and pestle. Esther is able to help customers when modern medicine can’t, curing influenza and infertility with her magic words and potions. She teaches Augusta all she knows, cautioning her about the limits of the craft and explaining that it can provide comfort even when it cannot cure. Augusta’s world is turned upside down when she tries to use Aunt Esther’s love elixir to help her boyfriend Irving see and feel more clearly which leads to a terrible breakup. When the two meet again in the retirement community and old sparks fly, Augusta is faced with the temptation of using the “not love potion” once again to reveal the path their romance should take. I loved this sweet novel which perfectly captures the soda counters of 1920’s Brooklyn and the retirement community of 1980’s Florida. The octogenarians are fully drawn characters with rich pasts and dramatic futures, and Loigman artfully weaves their backstories into the movement of the plot. By placing senior citizens at the heart of a romance novel, the author transforms the way we understand age, showing that when we are in our eighties, we also retain some sense of who we were at twelve, fourteen, and eighteen years old. In addition to being a romance, The Love Elixir of Augusta Stern is also a book about navigating the inevitable changes of life, overcoming loss and grief, and understanding the enduring love of family. Pick up a copy of this hopeful story; you won’t regret it! You can find it here . Thank you to NetGalley for a free copy of the book in exchange for a fair review. Kelly Jarvis is the Contributing Writer for The Fairy Tale Magazine. Her work has also been featured in A Moon of One’s Own, Baseball Bard , Blue Heron Review , Corvid Queen, Eternal Haunted Summer, Forget Me Not Press, Mermaids Monthly , The Chamber Magazine , The Magic of Us, and the World Weaver Press Anthology Mothers of Enchantment: New Tales of Fairy Godmothers . Her first novella, Selkie Moon , comes out in 2025. You can connect with her on Facebook (Kelly Jarvis, Author) or Instagram (@kellyjarviswriter) or find her at https://kellyjarviswriter.com/
- Cinderella’s Hearth: Beating the Splotches and Patches
I think we can safely assume that Cinderella aged well. Think of all the skin creams she probably had to develop for those vain stepsisters of hers. Plus, once she got to the castle she probably had apothecaries and wise women available 24/7. Me? My skin has been after me since I was five and had my first bout of guttate psoriasis . Then came cystic acne, and when that was over, rosacea arrived like a bad fairy. Oh, I had good years from about 30 to 60, where I’d only get a few psoriasis patches on inconspicuous places on my face and a very occasional pimple, and the rosacea was usually just the flush that comes after a glass or wine or too much chocolate—but I feared my skin wasn’t done torturing me, and I was right. Sadly, about two months ago, my face started itching extravagantly in the way only a psoriasis flare can. Before too long, the leathery, tiny red, scaly patches had arrived again. Then, three weeks ago, my cheeks suddenly exploded in rosacea that made me look like W.C. Fields. ⬇️ So, to the Google Machine I went, which is now just an AI machine that is prone to misinformation and hallucinations. After some extensive digging, I found information suggesting a gentle face wash and moisturizer from a company called Vanicream could be the answer for me. Apparently a lot of dermatologists recommend both products. So I bought the Vanicream Liquid Cleanser for Sensitive Skin , and the moisturizer for sensitive skin. Both come in pump bottles and you only need one quick pump from each bottle to do the job. Even better, the cleanser is about $10 (8 ounces) and the moisturizer is about $15 (16 ounces). Both will last for months. I had only used the products twice before the rosacea was 90 percent gone and the psoriasis patches had shrunken considerably. Facial psoriasis is especially hard to treat, so I’m delighted with the results. On top of that, my skin tone was less blotchy and looked smoother. I only use a very light tinted moisturizer and mascara for makeup, and my skin has a more polished look now. I use the products daily before bedtime because mature women are not supposed to scrub their faces twice a day—unless you are lucky enough to have some oil left in your skin. And people with sensitive skin like I have definitely only want to do it once a day. (A lot of trouble with faces, including acne, is caused by over washing highly sensitive skin.) I’m recommending both the cleanser and moisturizer with no reservations, so I hope you’ll investigate them if you’re in the market for some new skincare. Kate Wolford was the publisher and editor of The Fairy Tale Magazine for many years. She’s now enjoying being Resident Fairy Godmother. Image from the National Rosacea Society.
- Review by Kelly Jarvis: The Sirens by Emilia Hart
The Sirens by Emilia Hart is a heart wrenching tale of the bond between women and the affection forged by sisterhood. Told through the narratives of Lucy, a university student fleeing a bad relationship, her sister Jess’ teenage diary, and the story of twin sisters Mary and Eliza who have been forced from Ireland onto a convict ship headed toward Australia, Hart’s novel is an epic adventure of both body and soul. The mysteries of femininity and the sea haunt The Sirens . Lucy and her sister have been diagnosed with rare skin conditions causing painful scaling, and although their relationship has become distant, Lucy travels to her sister’s home in her time of need. She finds Jess’ cottage on Comber Bay deserted, and, using her journalistic skills, she delves into an historic series of true crime disappearances as she pieces together the secrets of her sister’s life and her own. Although the contemporary story is fascinating, I especially loved the chapters devoted to Mary and Eliza’s relationship. Born in Ireland in the late 1700’s, the twins are devoted to one another with Mary narrating the visual world for her blind sister Eliza. Their bond as sisters helps them survive a harrowing ordeal at sea and provides context for the mystery at the heart of Jess and Lucy’s modern lives. Emilia Hart’s prose sings throughout the whole of the novel. She oscillates between third-person storytelling in both past and present tense and first-person accounts from diary entries, holding the readers’ interests as the plot of her novel unfolds. Beneath the story of sisterhood and the deep bonds of trauma forged between women is an empowering message of strength and resilience, and, like the sirens of mythology, the characters learn to harness the power of their collective voice to bring justice to an unjust world. The text drips with the watery images of the salt-laced sea, and those drawn to the ocean will delight in Hart’s rich descriptions. Hart, the author of Weyward , is an expert at weaving together generations of narratives to create engaging and cohesive tales, and The Sirens is the perfect choice for a meaningful and atmospheric summer read. You can find it here . Thank you to NetGalley for a free copy of the book in exchange for a fair review. Kelly Jarvis works as the Contributing Writer for The Fairy Tale Magazine. Her work has also been featured in A Moon of One’s Own, Baseball Bard , Blue Heron Review , Corvid Queen, Eternal Haunted Summer, Forget Me Not Press, Mermaids Monthly , The Chamber Magazine , The Magic of Us, and the World Weaver Press Anthology Mothers of Enchantment: New Tales of Fairy Godmothers . Selkie Moon is her debut novella. You can connect with her on Facebook (Kelly Jarvis, Author), Instagram (@kellyjarviswriter) or visit her at https://kellyjarviswriter.com/
- Cinderella’s Hearth: Essential Cleaning, by Kate Wolford
I’ve been writing about home keeping for many years, and if there’s one thing I’ve learned to enjoy, it’s cleaning with essential oils. I’ve written about them a lot, and this post is adapted from a previously published work. Anyway, I thought sharing two of my all-time favorite, super-easy cleaning recipes would be useful for readers. But first, some caveats: I am a fan of natural cleaning, but I believe that when a home has sick people in it, then strong cleaners, like bleach, are in order (diluted, of course). I recognize that all readers won't agree with me, but we'll have to leave it at that. I won't budge on this one. Essential oils come from nature, but that doesn't mean they can't do harm. They should be kept far away from children and pets. Essential oils can stain. Keep that in mind when using them (even diluted) around fabric. Also, remember that they are actual oils, so they may leave streaks on shiny surfaces, like glass. Essential oils do not last forever. Store them in a cool, dry place. If a bottle begins to lose its scent, toss it. Below is my favorite, easy, general cleaning recipe. You can use it in the kitchen, bathroom, playroom--you name it. Lavender, Mint, and Lemon Cleaner 5 drops of lavender oil 5 drops of peppermint oil 5 drops of lemon oil a small squirt of gentle cleaner, like Dr. Bronners or Dawn 32 ounces of warm water Squirt the soap into the bottle, then add the essential oils, all of which have antiseptic properties. Slowing add the water. If you can use filtered water, that's even better. Shake before using. The following is great for floors, and can even double for an all-purpose cleaner, in a pinch. Sweet-Smelling Floor Cleaner 1/4 cup of white vinegar 5 drops of pine or rosemary or cinnamon or lavender or thyme or lemon oil Quart of warm water Mix all ingredients together, in order, and start cleaning. Remember to swish the mop in the water to recombine the ingredients from time to time. (You may use the oils in any combination, if you'd like.) There you go. You can clean most of your house with these two recipes, and your home will smell divine! Kate Wolford was the publisher and editor of The Fairy Tale Magazine for many years. She’s now enjoying being Resident Fairy Godmother. Image from Pixabay.
- Review by Kelly Jarvis: Smoke, Steel, and Ivy by Amy Trent
Smoke, Steel, & Ivy is the first book in Amy Trent’s Enchantment Retold Collection , and it will transport you to the space of Once Upon a Time. The novel opens with Ivy, the eldest daughter of a newly-remarried King Rupert, telling her little sister a fairy tale. Ivy is one of twelve sisters, known in traditional fairy tales as The Twelve Dancing Princesses, and she has a lot of responsibility on her shoulders. When King Rupert arranges a contest to choose an heir to marry one of his daughters, Ivy is put under even more pressure because she has already fallen in love with a common soldier named Major Collin. In order to protect her sisters from bad marriages and find her happily-ever-after with the man she loves, Ivy must depend on both the magic she encounters in the world and the magic she stores in her heart. Trent’s Enchantment Retold Collection is much more than a series of fairy tale retellings. Trent examines lesser known tales in her work, following her Twelve Dancing Princesses inspired novel with retellings of Kate Crackernuts in Clever, Cursed, and Storied and tales of kind and unkind girls in Curses, Diamonds, and Toads . Trent’s characters are engaging and her narratives will keep readers turning the page, but she excels at her examination of the power of storytelling itself. In Smoke, Steel, & Ivy , Trent has created a contemporary heroine struggling with traditional restrictions, and she sweeps readers into her fairy tale world with a sweet romance that will leave them wanting to know more about the enchanted landscape she has created. Smoke, Steel & Ivy will steal your heart, and when you finish it, the second and third installments in Amy Trent’s series will be waiting for you. I loved this book! You can find it here . And you can read my review of Clever, Cursed, and Storied here . Kelly Jarvis is the Contributing Writer for The Fairy Tale Magazine. Her work has also been featured in A Moon of One’s Own, Baseball Bard , Blue Heron Review , Corvid Queen, Eternal Haunted Summer, Forget Me Not Press, Mermaids Monthly , The Chamber Magazine , The Magic of Us, and the World Weaver Press Anthology Mothers of Enchantment: New Tales of Fairy Godmothers . Her first novella, Selkie Moon , comes out in 2025. You can connect with her on Facebook (Kelly Jarvis, Author) or Instagram (@kellyjarviswriter) or find her at https://kellyjarviswriter.com/