Disney Aladdin: Four Tales of Agrabah (comic) - Paul's REVIEW

*I received this book as an eARC from Dark Horse Books via Edelweiss. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.*

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Title: Disney Aladdin: Four Tales of Agrabah
Author: Corinna Bechko
Illustrators:  Pablo Andes, Diego Galindo & Lalit Kumar Sharma
Release Date: May 7, 2019


Synopsis: A graphic novel anthology expanding on the live-action movie directed by Guy Ritchie, Disney's Aladdin.

Travel through the vibrant city of Agrabah in four interconnected tales connected to Disney's live-action film. Follow a day in the lives of Aladdin, Jasmine, and Genie, and discover what friends Abu, Raja, and Magic Carpet are up to.

Writer Corinna Bechko (Angel Season 11, Once Upon a Time), brings the individuality and spirit of Aladdin and friends to the forefront in this fun-filled anthology.

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Review: This graphic novel compiles four different tales featuring characters from the live-action remake of Disney's Aladdin. Honestly, I did not like this book. The artwork imitates the film's look, but is very poor quality. The details in the images are not great. The stories told are unnecessary. They're very basic and don't have much depth. Aladdin helps out a kid on the streets and shows him how people help each other in the city. Jasmine and Raja run from palace guards and then talk about books versus experiences. 

The characters just interact, talking about their themes from the film. This story does not add anything new or different. These tie-ins or ancillary material should strengthen the original content, but this is just boring. 

I give this book a 2/5. And that's probably generous. I don't often find books like this that seem to be just rushed out to meet demand. The stories are not good and the artwork is lacking.  


--PAUL

A Whole New World by Liz Braswell - Paul's Review

*I received this book as an eARC from Disney Book Group via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

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Title: A Whole New World (Twisted Tales #1)
Author: Liz Braswell
Recent Release Date: September 1, 2015

Synopsis: Welcome to a new YA series that reimagines classic Disney stories in surprising new ways. Each book asks the question: What if one key moment from a familiar Disney film was changed? This dark and daring version of Aladdin twists the original story with the question: What if Jafar was the first one to summon the Genie? 

When Jafar steals the Genie’s lamp, he uses his first two wishes to become sultan and the most powerful sorcerer in the world. Agrabah lives in fear, waiting for his third and final wish.To stop the power-mad ruler, Aladdin and the deposed Princess Jasmine must unite the people of Agrabah in rebellion. But soon their fight for freedom threatens to tear the kingdom apart in a costly civil war.

What happens next? A Street Rat becomes a leader. A princess becomes a revolutionary. And readers will never look at the story of Aladdin in the same way again. 

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Review: Aladdin was one of my favorite movies as a child. I had the toys and everything. I love when an Aladdin song comes on Pandora. This young adult novel reimagines the story of Disney's Aladdin. Jafar gets his hand on the lamp before Aladdin has a chance to make any wishes. Since the medium this story is being told within has an older audience, the subject matter is aged up as well. There are some pretty brutal things that go down. There is death. There is violence. There's also the concept of gray morality.

You can tell this book was published in 2015. And that is a wonderful thing. The 90's Disney films were magical, but they did have their problems. I liked how much Jasmine was featured. She truly takes a stand for herself. 

Every character has added depth, which is inherent when there's a whole book to explore a character instead of an hour and a half movie. I liked how Aladdin's morality was shown. I now see how he was deserving of entrance to the Cave of Wonders. More of his backstory is also revealed. 

The beginning of the book, until the twist in the story, is for the most part the same as the movie. There is added context but the dialogue is all there. This may push some people away, but you'll be rewarded for sticking to it. 

I overall enjoyed this book. It was a slow read for me, but there was enough interesting bits to keep me going. I really liked imagining the scenes either in the style of the animated film or done in live-action with the same aesthetic. The next book in this series of altered Disney classics is Once Upon A Dream, in which Aurora doesn't wake up and somehow has an adventure inside her own head. I am intrigued and confused.  

I give this book a 3.5/5. If you are a Disney fan or a 90's kid, you'll enjoy the nostalgic elements of this book. 


--PAUL

A Whole New World by Liz Braswell - Paul's Pre-Reading

*I received this book as an eARC from Disney Book Group via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

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Title: A Whole New World (Twisted Tales #1)
Author: Liz Braswell
Recent Release Date: September 1, 2015

Synopsis: Welcome to a new YA series that reimagines classic Disney stories in surprising new ways. Each book asks the question: What if one key moment from a familiar Disney film was changed? This dark and daring version of Aladdin twists the original story with the question: What if Jafar was the first one to summon the Genie? 

When Jafar steals the Genie’s lamp, he uses his first two wishes to become sultan and the most powerful sorcerer in the world. Agrabah lives in fear, waiting for his third and final wish.To stop the power-mad ruler, Aladdin and the deposed Princess Jasmine must unite the people of Agrabah in rebellion. But soon their fight for freedom threatens to tear the kingdom apart in a costly civil war.

What happens next? A Street Rat becomes a leader. A princess becomes a revolutionary. And readers will never look at the story of Aladdin in the same way again. 

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Why?: I am a big fan of Disney, especially the movies from my childhood. Aladdin was definitely one of my favorites. This book takes the Disney version of the Aladdin tale and takes it on an alternate route. 

Expectations: I'm interested so see how the animated film translates to a YA book format. I'm interested to see how close to the film the book sticks. Are we going to get Genie pop culture references and a talking parrot?  

Judging a book by its cover: This cover is pretty cool. It seems to take Jasmine and make her look less cartoony. The city of Agrabah also looks more realistic. I'm intrigued how the cartoony feel of the film will translate into a semi-realistic (I'm assuming) Ya fantasy novel. 


--PAUL

Vampire Secrets (Blood & Snow Season 2, Vol 2) by RaShelle Workman - Ashley's Review

*I received an eARC of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review*

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Title: Vampire Secrets (Blood & Snow Season 2, Vol 2)
Author: RaShelle Workman
Publication Date: September 14, 2014

My Vampire Lies Review
My Blood & Snow Vol. 1 Review
My A Beauty So Beastly Review

Synopsis: A dream is a wish your heart makes...

It's been a month since Jasmine agreed to the wish that would keep Laeddin safe. By all accounts she should be happy. She's attending high school, hanging out with friends, and spending time with Laeddin. But she isn't. Ever since the sorceress ripped away a part of her, she hasn't felt like herself.

To make matters worse, the man with red eyes, the one that haunted her dreams, is appearing in real life. And demonic creatures keep showing up in Salem. The question on both counts is why?

Jasmine must figure out who the man is and what the creatures want. Thankfully, she isn't alone. Laeddin, Peter, Zoe, and some friends from the mansion next door will help.

And then there's the sorceress. she's using what she took from Jasmine to inflict havoc on the human realm as well as other realms.

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Review: Ok, first of all, I absolutely love this cover. I think it's my favorite of the Blood and Snow books. I just love how Jasmine's dress is white and there are black feathers everywhere, especially after the loss of her wings. I also really like all of the small details, like the genie lamp in the title. I cannot wait to have this gorgeous book on my shelves. 

Although this book picks up a month after the end of Vampire Lies, it doesn't feel like that much time has passed... and yet, it also feels like an eternity. Jasmine has moved on, but everything is so different. Jasmine is no longer dependent on blood, her wings are gone, and she's miserable despite having everything she wished for. I really felt for her, and I really just kept hoping that things were going to pick up. Oh, she's also got these crazy visions and a creepy visitor. 

I really enjoyed seeing Troy again in this book. I first met him in A Beauty So Beastly, but it's interesting to see how these stories all run parallel to each other and affect characters across the country. He's still upset over the events in A Beauty So Beastly, and I thought it was really nice that he and Jasmine can find comfort for their individual problems in each other. I enjoyed watching their friendship blossom and grow in to something more, and I was so happy for Jasmine that she had finally found a healthy relationship. 

I do wish we had seen more of Laeddin, Zoe, and Peter - they're around, but they pop off to go take care of things in other realms and it's a little frustrating to not know what's going on. I mean, we get the basics, but I wanted to know more! Hopefully there will be more in later books, and although it didn't lessen my enjoyment of Jasmine's story, I found myself with more questions than answers. 

Vampire Secrets is, overall, a really fantastic continuation of the Blood and Snow world. We get to meet new characters, see familiar ones, and witness the consequences of Jasmine's wish. And then there's that ending! I cannot wait to find out what the consequences will be, although I'm pretty sure I'm going to not really like the outcome.... especially since the consequences have not been favorable so far. I will definitely be on the look-out for the next book, and would definitely recommend this book to anyone who has read Vampire Lies. Also, I would recommend the series to any fans of fractured fairy tales! 4/5!

--Ashley

Vampire Lies (Blood & Snow Season 2, Vol 1) by RaShelle Workman - Ashley's Review

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Title: Vampire Lies (Blood & Snow Season 2, Volume 1)
Author: RaShelle Workman
Publication Date: April 14, 2014

My Blood & Snow Volume 1 Review
My A Beauty So Beastly Review

Synopsis: Eyes like violet sapphires. Wings of smoldering fire. Consume your true love's blood. Become the Eternal Vampire.

Once upon a time there lived a vampire with wings and the genie who loved her...

Born of the seven magics, Jasmine is different in every way, including the obnoxious wings on her back courtesy of the original Vampires. She wants to be normal, to be a regular teenaged girl.

When a gorgeous dark-haired boy named Laeddin shows up and promises to sneak her away from all her problems and hide her in the human world, she agrees. 

But an evil lurks in her nightmares, a man with red eyes. It doesn’t take long for Jasmine to realize that no matter how far she tries to run from who she is, he’s only a dream away. He wants her. He needs her. He acts as though he loves her. 

It’s becoming harder and harder to tell the difference between the path that’ll lead to her happily ever after, and the path that’ll lead to her destruction as well as all magic.

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Review: I honestly don't think I've ever seen or heard of or read any retelling of Aladdin in which Jasmine is a vampire and the daughter of Snow White, and Aladdin (Laeddin) is a genie. So when I read the synopsis for this book, I knew I had to read it! And I can't believe I waited so long - this book was absolutely fantastic. 

Although I definitely should have read all of season 1 first before I started reading season 2... I think it would have been really interesting to see all of the similarities and all of the background and characters from the previous season all woven into Jasmine's story and making appearances. I mean, don't get me wrong, you could totally read this as a standalone series. There's enough background information to know what's going on and who is who and the major details of what happened in the past. It's just always nice to be in on the secrets! Also, there are some minor spoilers for season 1, so if you plan on reading it and hate spoilers, definitely don't read this book first.

I had this really frustrating love-hate relationship with Jasmine for most of this book. I can totally understand how Jasmine would want to be a normal teenager, and I loved the parallel to the original/the Disney film, but there were times when she just complains SO much and I wanted to slap her. I think it really kept her from being too stagnant though, because at least she had a little bit of personality and began to see the error of her ways. 

The plot moves along pretty quickly in this book, and I was surprised when I flipped the page on my Kindle and... it was over! I was definitely more wrapped up in this story that I thought, and RaShelle's fantastic writing left me wanting more. I enjoyed meeting all of the kids at Jasmine's high school, and seeing familiar faces from A Beauty So Beastly. I also thought it was interesting how Jasmine's wish had such dire consequences. Nothing is ever as easy as making a wish, and I'm interested to see how that will play out with her remaining wishes.

I also really enjoy how RaShelle incorporates all of the fairy tales in to one series. You've got Beauty & the Beast hanging out over in A Beauty So Beastly, Snow White, Jasmine & Aladdin, and even Maleficent! I love how everyone exists in the same world with their own stories. I'm really looking forward to reading more of the books in this world, and especially reading the next book, Vampire Secrets. If you're looking for a series that takes every fairy tale you know and spins it on its head, you should definitely read these books! 4/5.


--Ashley