Title: Eight Princesses and a Magic Mirror

Author: Natasha Farrant

Duration: 3 hours 4 minutes

Publisher: W.F. Howes, Ltd.

Listen in Storytel

“Mirror, mirror on the wall . . . what makes a princess excellent?” When an enchantress flings her magic mirror into our universe, its reflection reveals princesses who refuse to be just pretty, polite, and obedient. These are girls determined to do the rescuing themselves. Princess Leila of the desert protects her people from the king with the black-and-gold banner; Princess Tica takes a crocodile for a pet; Princess Ellen explores the high seas; Princess Abayome puts empathy and kindness above being royal; and in a tower block, Princess saves her community’s beloved garden from the hands of urban developers.

Connecting these stories is the magic mirror, which reveals itself when each girl needs it most, illuminating how a princess’s power comes not from her title or beauty, but from her own inner strength. These beautifully imagined stories, complemented by vibrant and inviting artwork, offer the pleasure and familiarity of traditional tales with refreshingly modern themes.

***

Eight Princesses and a Magic Mirror is a fairytale anthology retelling about the journey of the magic mirror in search of the excellent princess. I discovered this book through my Storytel recommendations, and I was also looking for an audiobook to listen to.

The Story

"Mirror, mirror on the wall... What makes a princess excellent?"

The enchantress was assigned to be a fairt godmother for the soon to be newborn princess. About one month before the born, the enchantress began to wonder, what's make a princess excellent? Should it be a pretty face? Polite and obedient attitude? Or is there anything else?

When the enchantress tried to ask the magic mirror, the mirror couldn't provide an answer. Therefore, the enchantress sent the magic mirror across time and universe to learn about the eight Princesses. 

My thoughts

I should give a disclaimer because I listen this book as an audiobook. So, there must be a lot of parts that i couldn't catch😉

At the beginning, I'm interested because of the cover. Well, even though everyone told us not to judge a book by its cover, I just couldn't help it. The cover of this book is very pretty. Then, the blurb is also interesting. Therefore, I decided to read it.

As the title said, this book is about the journey of the magic mirror meets the eight princesses. I love how every story have their different vibes. Even though I couldn't catch all of the story, I love how Farrant decided to choose a diverse princess story to be told.

Some people said that the beginning of the story could be omitted, but I think, that prolog gave us the context and tie all of the eight stories. 

The conclusion itself is interesting. The magic mirror said that an excellent princess should be brave and fierce. They also realized that the real strength of all is in their inner self. Empowerment and self love at all cost.

Conclusion

As an anthology of fairytales, this books is interesting to read. Too bad I couldn't enjoy the illustration. 

3.5 stars for the idea and the cover~

Sincerely,

Ra

23.01.08

Image: Amazon, edited by me

Title: The Cheat Sheet
Author: Sarah Adams
Narrator: Renee Dorian and Teddy Hamilton
Publisher: Dreamscape Media, LLC.
Date of publication: December 14th 2021
Duration: 8 hours, 57 minutes

Listening on Storytel

Is it ever too late to leave the friend-zone?

Hi, my name is Bree Camden, and I’m hopelessly in love with my best friend and star quarterback Nathan Donelson (so is half of America, judging by the tabloids and how much the guy dates). The first step is admitting, right? Except, I can never admit it to him because he clearly doesn’t see me that way, and the last thing I want is for things to get weird between us.

Nothing but good old-fashioned, no-touching-the-sexiest-man-alive, platonic friendship for us! Everything is exactly how I like it! Yes. Good. (I’m not crying, I’m just peeling an onion.)

Our friendship is going swimmingly until I accidentally spill my beans to a reporter over too much tequila, and now the world seems to think me and Nathan belong together. Oh, and did I mention we have to date publicly for three weeks until after the Super Bowl because we signed a contract with...oops, forgot I can’t tell anyone about that!

Bottom line is, now my best friend is smudging all the lines and acting very un-platonic, and I’m just trying to keep my body from bursting into flames every time he touches me.

How am I going to make it through three weeks of fake dating Nathan without anything changing between us? Especially when it almost-sort-a-kinda seems like he’s fighting for a completely different outcome?

Send help.
XO Bree

***

So, in order to finish this book, I tried to listen to it on Storytel. Well, at first, it's hard to catch the story, but the more I think about it, it's fun to listen to an audiobook.

The Friendzone

Bree is hopelessly in love with her best friend, Nathan Donelson. Nathan is a star quarterback and very popular. However close are they, Bree never got a chance to admit her feeling. Well, to be exact, she didn't want to admit it because she believe that Nathan doesn't feel the same and that confession will ruin their friendship.

On the other hand, in fact, Nathan has the same feeling as Bree. He also has the same fear. He doesn't wanna losing Bree if he confessed to her. So, just like that. Bree and Nathan are avoiding to confess to each other because they don't think the other party has the same feeling as theirs and, their friendship is more important than anything else.

One day, Bree accidentally spills something personal about her and Nathan to a reporter because she is too much drunk. It's inevitable. The world finally knows what's happening. As Nathan is practically a celebrity, his agent offers an opportunity for Nathan, but it will involve Bree. So, after that, the journey of a fake relationship between Nathan and Bree is begun.

Just be honest

After all this time, I believe being honest with each other is very important. Even though I ain't into that level, I understand sometimes we just don't wanna ruin our friendship if we are trapped in a friendzone. I believe, it will be better if we can be honest first. Whether it will be a good thing or end up being awkward. Confessing with someone, moreover to your friend, will be hard. But, doing nothing and keeping silent won't bring any good, too.

Just like Bree and Nathan. Since this novel uses two POVs, it feels so frustrating when they actually like each other but still overthink about the others. I mean, sometimes it annoyed me. Assuming about everything won't give a clear answer and it just makes you feel stupid, or more, like a fool.

What I like

Not much that I like about this novel. Neither from Bree's character nor Nathan's. But if I have to choose, I appreciate how Nathan tried to pay Bree's bill without saying anything. He also knows what's the important thing for Bree. Start from Bree's dream to make an affordable ballet dance class for any girl who is interested in it.

Other than that, I don't think I have another favourite scene.

Conclusion

I really like using audiobooks for now. At least, I can do my chores or else while listening to it. So, it definitely won't be my last attempt to use Storytel. 

For The Cheat Sheet, I think this is just an okay contemporary romance. Not really much happening and the story is not that engaging for me. 

So, let's give 3 stars for it for now :)

Sincerely,

Ra