I was given an e-Advanced Reader Copy from Netgalley in exchange for a fair review.

Fierce Fairytales: Poems and Stories to Stir Your Soul by Nikita Gill is a collection of poems relating to fairy tales, some well known and others not as much. However, these poems rarely talk about what happened during the fairy tale but what happened before or after it occured. For example: one poem talks about what made Gaston become a villain, making a point in saying that children are not born wicked, they become wicked due to the circumstances of their youth. This moral is repeated several different times using characters that are considered villains of their respective fairy tale.
I enjoyed reading this book of poetry considerably. Each poem, even the ones that were only a few lines, had something to take away from it. One of the big ones being the circumstances that cause someone to become a villain. I appreciated this being talked about as I have always found villains to be more interesting. Their history is rarely talked about and leads me to ponder what made them become the way that they are. Gill offers takes on this from child abuse to a broken heart. Each one leading to a sympathetic outlook on the character. And like fairy tales are meant to teach, the moral for these poems is that everyone has a story that is worth telling, if you are just willing to listen.
Gill also take a huge stance on female empowerment, something that is often lacking in traditional fairy tales. Making a point to note that women are strong on their own and don't need a Prince Charming, or a Knight in Shining Armor. All they need is themselves, anyone else is just an extension of them, not a piece to the puzzle. She picks Sleeping Beauty to showcase this. The Princess, after learning of her fate, studies all that she can about the spell. In doing so she finds a way to undo the spell . She, after falling into her one hundred year slumber, fights her own personal demons until the ninety-ninth year when she wakes because she loves herself for who she is. Using this love of herself to replace a true love's first kiss.
Gill’s usage of language makes for beautifully written poems, creating stories that are worth reading. However, if you don't like retellings of classic fairy tales I would caution a reader’s decision in picking this up. These poems are all retellings in some way either from changes to the actual story to talking about events that happened either before or after a fairy tale takes place. I usually enjoy retellings and this is what made me what to pick the book up and read.
The illustrations in this poetry book are beautiful. I love that the style is sketch like but still feels like a complete piece. The variety of the sizing also makes them more interesting. Some of them cover a whole page while others take up less than a quarter. This draws the eye to them and allows the reader to see them as well as the poem/story that it is associated with.
All and all, this book made for a fun read while also being thought provoking. It’s good for people who enjoy fairy tales and those who like to read poetry, especially more contemporary poems. It’s definitely a book I would consider buying a hard copy of.

Thank you to NetGalley for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review!

This collections of poems uses fairytale and fairytale characters to discuss issues of sexism, intolerance and abusive relationships. While there were several poems that had a strong idea, all of the poems were executed poorly.

There were a few that could have worked, but they read more like brief outlines or ideas for longer works of fiction, such as Lost Boy, which reimagined Peter Pan in an interesting way. I actually connected with the characters in this poem, I just wish the writing had been stronger. The one that reimagined treacherous woods from Little Red Riding Hood, as modern0day city streets, was also a promising idea, but the execution was flat and repetitive.
The only poem that I noted that had moments of good writing was the Miller's Daughter, which contained some interesting imagery (drowning mermaids, giants falling without a sound), but the concept was weak.

The most disappointing thing about this work though, was that it was not fierce at all. It was preachy, repetitive, and syrupy sweet. The poems were about kindness and loving humanity, self-love, etc. While these are all great, of course, it wasn't the gritty, ruthless honestly I was looking for. It wasn't original, and the pieces that contained social commentary didn't offer anything new.

There were couple zingers in here, like "Just look at what the word 'ugly' did to Cinderella's two stepsisters", but ultimately, this collection of poetry was a let down.

Personally, I could not find myself relating to this collection at all. I think the way fairytales are incorporated is very unique, which is why I gave it a 3 as opposed to a 2. As for the actual content, I did not find it that appealing, which is so upsetting to me. I tried so hard to get myself to like it, but I was just finding myself bored throughout most of it. It was hard to keep reading for me because I wasn't feeling very engaged in the writing. There were a few poems that I enjoyed, but not nearly enough to like the collection as a whole.

I'm a little disappointed by this, but I'm sure others would love this collection if this idea of fairytales intrigues them.

I requested this ARC on NetGalley from Hachette Books mostly because I am a fairytale addict and the cover strongly reminded me of the cover for the Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them screenplay. Despite looking forward to reading it, I was completely nervous when I picked up this ARC. First, I have not read much poetry since graduating from college and what I read then was pretty dense. Second, I was afraid that my favorite fairytales from when I was a little girl were about to be completely shredded the way I have seen other writers handle them when going for a modern makeover.

This fear was completely banished as I began to wade my way through the stories and poems. As I was reading the first fifty pages I had a nagging feeling that there was something familiar about what I was reading. Slowly it began to dawn on me. This modern makeover was reminding me of the Fables comic series from Bill Willingham. Instantly my worries were gone and I was excited to see the reimaginings and twists that the tales would take.

Rather than altering the bulk of the tale, there were twists taken on the beginnings and the endings of my favorite stories or small details added or looks into the minds of the characters that we all know so well. I was smiling, laughing, and even tearing up while reading this book.

And there was a good mix of tales from different cultures and mythology. I recognized a lot of the characters I saw but there were a few that I had not heard before that I enjoyed. It didn't feel stale in any way. And even though not every short story or every poem was my favorite, the collection as a whole really resonated with me.

I do not often give books as gifts. Most people I am close to are not avid readers. But, this book was the first time in a long time I wanted to gift one to someone. The stories have something for everyone and I would have loved to receive this and read it as a preteen or teenager even. It has everything that people really deal with from feeling small, to abuse, to eating disorders, to neglectful parents, to lost loved ones, to the pain of first heartbreak. And what I loved was it never felt like this book was preaching something at me, making me want to turn away. Instead it felt like it cared about you. Like reading a friend.

This was an amazing collection that I can't wait to add to my physical library in the near future. It is a work that I think will become incredibly important in so many people's lives.
Link to review: https://obsessivereadingreviews.blogspot.com/2018/09/fierce-fairytales-poems-and-stories-to.html

I was hoping to enjoy this collection, but the author's style turned out not to really be my thing. I'm sure the book would appeal to other readers though!

I was very excited when I got approved for this book. It has all my favorite things in the title: feminism (yay!) and fairytales (yay!). And that cover? Swoon-worthy. The reading experience, however, was more… meh. The concept is good, it’s just not executed as well as it should be. The themes are repetitive, and nothing is structured or cohesive. This is supposed to be about fairytales, but then we take a turn into reality, dealing with eating disorders (that particular poem hit a little close to home) and then we jump back into fairytales. Some of it works, most of it doesn’t, at least for me.

The word choices are also a little bizarre. For example, in ‘Why the Sun Rises and Sets’ she speaks about 'cinnamon people' and that just made me uncomfortable. There’s this entire debate that people of color’s skin shouldn’t be described with food because it fetishizes and dehumanizes them. Another word like “amber,” for example could've been used here instead.

I also struggled a lot in particular with the short stories. The “lesson” behind each is anything but subtle, it hits you over the head with its message over and over again. You see this clearly in ‘Two Misunderstood Sisters.’ She creates backstories for some Disney villains (like Gaston and Ursula and Lady Tremaine) and again, I think this is poorly executed. She plays with the theme that no one is born evil, that evil is learned because of untreated trauma or wounds, and I kinda get it, but it also seems like she’s excusing their behavior? This is particularly displayed in ‘How a hero becomes a villain’ which is Gaston’s poem.

Not everything is bad, though. I enjoyed ‘An Older and Wiser Little Mermaid Speaks.’ This poem is what expected this book to be like. It’s powerful, and it’s evocative, in a way that the rest of the material wasn’t for me.

What a beautiful, empowering book. Nikita Gill masterfully reworks well-known fairytales with new perspectives and commentary on the key issues of the world.

10 out of 10 would recommend.


I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Prior to reading Fierce Fairytales, I had not read any of Nikita Gill's work. I fell in love with her words and aesthetic. I raced through the first half of the book so quickly that I had to go back and appreciate the words that had me vigorously nodding along. I particularly loved the musings on Peter Pan and Alice in Wonderland. The way the stories were stripped to their bones and reimagined were awesome.
I was very happily surprised by how much I enjoyed the poetry.
Fierce Fairytales: Pems and Stories to Stir Your Soul was a lovely book to devour and then go back to savor.

Poetry is very hit-or-miss for me and while I definitely didn't hate this collection, it didn't speak to me as much as I had hoped it would either. I think the main problem for me here was just the sheer volume of the work and the fact that many many short poems basically means the author is rehashing the same ideas / themes over and over and over again so it all kind of blurs together after awhile until it mostly loses all meaning. There were a few parts that stood out to me - like the above quote - but I found a lot of the poems to be pretty cliched. I guess that's to be expected with so many fairy tale retellings and feminist poetry collections coming out these days and I definitely think that's a great thing, but if there's one thing I'm not into it's reading something I feel like I've already read before and that's how I felt here. Still, it had some good ideas and I like the concept in general so I feel like 3 stars is a fair rating.

This is my second Nikita Gill book and she just keeps giving me what I’m looking for when it comes to poetry.
I love reimagined fairytales and was really looking forward to reading this collection and I didn’t feel disappointed at all. It’s a fairly fast read, I finished it in a short flight coming back from vacation. There is a modern context given to the poems and feminism throughout. There is a thin line between hero and villain and I adored the different point of views explored in various fairytales. This reads for the women who don’t want to wear their crowns completely straight but with a jaunty tilt and a smirk on their lips. Beautiful collection.

I generally don't love poetry, but I quite enjoyed this book. I thought the poems and stories were beautifully written and the author did a good job of making them accessible but not juvenile, which can sometimes be a hard balance in fairytale retellings.

I LOVED this book! It was such a beautiful and easy read, that really made you think. It a powerful book that you will want to read over and over again.

I was so excited to get an advance reader copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for a review. I really like Nikita Gill's poetry and I loved this collection so much! It was a quick and easy read that I couldn't put down. I loved the entire book. It was filled with both magic and truth and fire. Each piece is a poem or short story that is somehow related to a fairy tale but also reality. I highly recommend this book if you like poetry about strong women, pain, betrayal, and the spirit of a survivor. I could see myself reading this book over and over again.

One of my favorite quotes:

"She wears strength and darkness equally well, the girl has always been half goddess, half hell."

Omg, y'all, I loved this book so much!! I love when I come out of something feeling empowered. And that's exactly what this book did.

Before I was even done with this book, I went over onto my ebook library and requested they buy Wild Embers.

I really enjoy Nikitta Gill's poetry and I love retellings. So when i saw this i knew i needed to read it. I really, really enjoyed this! I would definitely purchase this book for friends.

Her words are wrought in magic and sometimes Nikita Gill doesn’t even feel like she’s from earth. Reinventing fairytales is a trend but this is trendsetting. I have not loved a collection of poems in the fairytale realm as much as I have this one since Transformations by Anne Sexton.

'Fierce Fairytales' by Nikita Gill is a collection of reinvented fairy tale poems and prose for the those of us who wear our crowns slightly askew, for those of us who live our lives asleep like sleeping beauty, and for those of us who lock ourselves up in our towers, waiting for Prince Charming. What appealed to me about this book was the idea that perhaps Gill would be the new Grimm, that perhaps her stories would enchant, inspire, and ignite a sense of adventure and self-empowerment for the now age. Thankfully, this work did not disappoint. The consistent theme throughout is that princesses and fairytales are not exclusive to dusty old books and Disney films- we slay dragons everyday, we dream our own dreams, and only we can be our own knights in shining armour.

Gill has taken the morals of the classic fairytales and have injected them with a much needed modern day context. Some poems are dark, going deep into the woods to confront society’s demons such as eating disorders, absent fathers, the patriarchy etc. This was needed and speaks to the issue about the romanticism of fairytales. For those looking for stories about glamorous balls, glass slippers, and talking fauna, this is not the collection for you. There’s a reason this book is called 'Fierce Fairytales,' the stories are meant to uplift you by first deconstructing the harsher lessons of classic tales. It becomes evident that “once upon a time” is our time.

While I did enjoy some of the poems, I felt the themes were redundant. This book could have been cut down in size by half and it would have been a lot more effective. I did enjoy many of the poems- particularly ‘Why the Leaves Change Colour’, ‘The Woods Reincarnated,’ ‘Somewhere Across the Universe, This Intergalactic Fairytale Is Being Told,’ and ‘The Healing,’ just to name a few.

If fairytales exist for the purpose of teaching and instilling morals and values into the people, then 'Fierce Fairytales' will motivate you to get out of your cold dark cellar and rescue your self-love that you have put into the hands of wolves, villains, and enchanted mirrors.

The idea of re-imagining or re-contextualizing fairy tales in order to make a statement isn't necessarily fresh-- I personally have read dozens of books that do the same-- but this collection stands out as one of the best examples of that idea. Gill is a skilled poet, who presents interesting ideas and pulls ideas out of worn-out fairy tales, like Cinderella, as well as less-common ones for American audiences, such as Scheherazade or Baba Yaga. Even some familiar ones, like, the Little Mermaid, come back with siren's teeth.

Wow... this is basically everything I love when someone says “reimagined fairytales.” This collection of poems reads like magic spells and hope and healing. There is some that read a little too heteronormative and amanormative for me, but I still loved this so much. Boy Lost is probably my favorite and several of the others made me cry a little. This is just so powerful and amazing and...wow....

This collection of poems, short stories and other writings by Nikita Gill was a unique look at the fairy tales a lot of us grew up with. Some of the perspectives were reversed, told instead from the villain's side in an attempt to humanize them and to convey the message that there can be more going on than it may at first appear.

The writing itself wasn't very strong, and some of the points/messages got a bit repetitive. However, the addition of doodles and sketches was a really nice touch!