Member Reviews

Just a sampler, but of some of my favorites from a few years ago. Little Thieves was one of my favorite reads of 2021!

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A Clash of Steel: A Treasure Island Remix by C.B. Lee
-- This book honestly sounds like a crazy amount of fun and I definitely felt a temptation to continue reading after the sample ended. I'm honestly also here for just about any treasure island retelling since it's a thoroughly fascinating and fun story. I'll say this one definitely has a lot of differences, but I'm excited to see where they take me.

Bad Girls Never Say Die by Jennifer Mathieu
-- Though this one is another retelling, I don't think it's really up my alley. I've never been one who cares much for mystery and murder-focused stories and the sample really didn't pull me in all that much.

Daughters of a Dead Empire by Carolyn T. O’Neil
-- I'm honestly torn on this one. And I feel like the sample only continued that feeling. There are certain pieces of this book that I find really interesting and am incredibly tempted to read. But then, it's also a historical fiction novel that I'm very concerned about getting bored with. And I got a little bit of both in the sample. Not entirely sure if I"ll seek out the finished book or not.

Lakesedge by Lyndall Clipstone
-- Ah, I wanted to read this one the second I saw the cover (it's gorgeous)! Unfortunately, the story was not as intriguing as the cover and synopsis led me to think it would be.

Little Thieves by Margaret Owen
-- I ended up reading this book as a whole a while back because of a review on youtube. I think when looking at this sampler, it definitely leads you to be intrigued. But I ended up not liking the book regardless.

So Many Beginnings: A Little Women Remix by Bethany C. Morrow
-- I was never a Little Women fan, so this book has that against it from the start, I think. All of that said, I think this is a brilliant way to retell this story and I can definitely see a lot of worth in a book like this. I think I might pick it up and finish it, but it definitely won't be too high on my list, since these aren't really the kind of books I seek out regularly.

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I love these samplers! They give me a taste of a group of books which is so helpful for purchasing for the library. I really enjoyed Little Thieves in this grouping. The Little Women remix was fun and a wonderful update for a classic. Lakesedge is strange for sure and I will not be buying it.

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I am so excited for the Little Women retelling and Bad Girls Never Say Die. This was a great sneak peek with a little something for everyone.

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This sampler was fantastic. It gave me a glimpse into many of the new books that were coming out in the fall. It allowed me to determine if I wanted to read each of them in full or not.

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This is a good sampler. It's got a couple of chapters of all the books. I got the book to read "So Many Beginnings" and am glad I got it.

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This is a good sampler. It's got a couple of chapters of all the books. I got the book to read "So Many Beginnings" and am glad I got it.

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I love every time Fierce Reads releases a sampler series. These are great for getting a peek at what titles are coming in the upcoming season. It's not enough to see a pretty cover and read an interesting premise but to actually sample the books before buying them helps to (hopefully) cut down on that ever growing TBR and preorder list.

It's also a great way to sample titles you might had thought you wouldn't be interested in only to find out you are! These get me so hyped for the upcoming season!

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5/5 stars!!
Another great sampler! Before reading, I was not sure what to expect from some of these titles as they are not my typical book; however, the excerpts were breathtaking! Bestsellers, for sure! I will be purchasing all after they release!

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All of these were so dang good. Since reading the sample I have acquired and finished Lakesedge, even made it a bookclub pick for my Instagram bookclub. It was amazing and I have no doubt I will love at least 3 other books from this sample.

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I know what books I will be picking up very soon now that I have read this.

I will be reading
Little Thieves by Margaret Owen
So Many Beginnings: A Little Women Remix by Bethany C. Morrow
Daughters of a Dead Empire by Carolyn T. O’Neil

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This selection of books are themed retelling of popular stories. I love reading retelling with twists, so this collection is particularly exciting for me. All were good, but the ones I'm excited to finish are: Bad girls never say die, daughters of a dead empire, and so many beginnings.

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I'm really excited about a lot of them and can't wait to finish reading the full stories as they are released.

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A good look at some books, not ones I was practically interested in but could definitely be helpful for people trying to figure out what to add to their TBR piles.

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For some reason, I've avoided samplers until now, but having read this one I'll be on the lookout for more. I've had my eye on three of the six books, and reading the preview excerpts has only made me more excited to get ahold of final copies. The Lakesedge chapters in particular seemed to have extra information beyond the posted book synopsis, and I might already love Margaret Owen's Vanja even more than her other characters.

The three books that were new to me all happened to be retellings - of Little Women, the Outsiders, and Treasure Island. I'm always down for pirate adventure, but the other two didn't leave me wanting more.

Overall, a great fall lineup!

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This is an excellent, varied collection of books, nearly all of which I have been highly anticipating. It was great to see small tastes of each book, and I can’t wait to read the rest of them!

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I've never read a sampler including several books before, so this was a first for me haha. I found all of the samples to be promising and everything was formatted very well! Thank you NetGalley and Fierce Reads for allowing me to get a sneak peek and some of your Fall 2021 books. My favorite was Lakesedge, which is one that I've already had on my tbr because I'm a huge fan of the gothic genre. It seems perfect for spooky season! I thought that the samples of the other books were also interesting, with Little Thieves and So Many Beginnings standing out to me. I will be sure to check out these books and I recommend them based on the first couple of chapters!

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Love reading samplers like this! Lets me get a glimpse at several upcoming books (and usually adding them to my already staggeringly long TBR list)! Lakesedge was already on my radar, but I'm more excited for it now that i've read the sampler!

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This was a good retelling (remix) sampler! I thought it gave enough from each book for me to see whether or not I'd want to continue.
A Clash of Steel - No. I have no interest in Treasure Island and the sample didn't change my mind.
Bad Girls Never Say Die - No. There were a lot of names thrown out at once and I just didn't have any interest.
Daughters of a Dead Empire - Maybe. I like Romanov retellings and I thought the interactions between Anna and the girl with the wagon were interesting.
Lakesedge - Yes. That one started off with a bang. I need to know more.
Little Thieves - Yes. This one held me the whole time. I know nothing about the Goose Girl, but I was totally into this.
So Many Beginnings: A Little Women Remix - Yes. I will say that the chapter sampler didn't particularly grip me, but I think that's because it was setting some groundwork. I find the premise interesting enough that I'd give it a full try.

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I always jump at a chance to read these samplers and prepare for future releases/make final decisions about what I'm going to preorder. This is the first year that I went in and already had a few of the books on my radar, which made me even more excited.

Individual ratings for each sample:
A Clash of Steel: 3 stars
Bad Girls Never Say Die: 4.5 Stars
Daughters of a Dead Empire: 3 stars
Lakesedge: 5 Stars
Little Thieves: 3 stars
So Many Beginnings: 2 stars

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