*Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC. All opinions expressed are my own.*

Lena held her breath as she slipped beneath a door that was easily one hundred feet tall and caught sight of the giant, snoring loudly in the kitchen as a fire flickered in the dim light.
- first line

Verdict: I loved this book as much as the original Half Upon a Time series. It’s clever, fast paced and twisty. I can’t wait to read book 2 and hopefully find out more of the truth about the Golden King and the Last Knight. With Riley, good and evil are never as clear-cut as you might think.

The story alternates between Lena and Jin’s POV. At five and half feet tall, 12-year-old Lena is short for a giant. She has to hide her secret from the giant community because they might not accept her. Lena tries to be herself, but when her secret is revealed, she escapes to her friends in the Cursed City. The Cursed City is filled with characters from other fairy tales that readers will find familiar. Jin is a genie who is bound to the Golden King. Jin doesn’t have access to his full powers until he does something selfless and learns humility. Jin is frustrated by the restraints placed on him and feels he is entitled to his full powers. Jin hates the Golden King and longs for him to use his second and third wishes. It won’t be hard for readers to figure out who the Golden King is (if they know fairy tales).

My favorite character is Luna’s cat, Rufus who is a fraidy cat who tries very hard to be brave. Overall I enjoyed this book and highly recommend it to fans of fractured fairy tales and readers who enjoy books by Chris Colfer and Liesl Shurtliff.

This was a fun and fast-paced story about a girl trying to prove herself and a genie trying to escape his bonds. There were nods to several famous fairy tale and nursery rhyme characters sprinkled throughout. Full of humor, adventure, peril and heartwarming moments, this will appeal to many readers. I had not read any of the books in Riley's previous series. While I think there is probably some overlap, it is not absolutely necessary to read the others to enjoy the first in this new series.

Lena knows that she's a giant at heart, but at only 6 feet tall, she's one of the smallest giants who's ever lived. Jin, on the other hand, is meant to be an all-powerful genie, but until he can prove himself to be humble and selfless, the rules won't let him access his ultimate powers. Due to a certain greedy king, the two of them find themselves on the opposite sides of a complicated battle. Since all sorts of fairy tale characters are involved, it's no wonder things get chaotic. If these characters can find their true selves and solve the mysteries of the magical objects they find, perhaps it won't be too late to save everyone they care about from certain destruction.

This is a humorous and past-paced story full of familiar characters. There's a bit of nonsense and chaos sprinkled in for good measure. I was disconcerted by how much evil and hopelessness there is in this story, despite being a funny tale full of quirky magic. I was about 10 pages from the end, wishing that there were a simple answer but knowing that there was no way everything could be resolved in time. It's not a true cliffhanger (thank goodness!) but the ending didn't make all that much sense and left me with more questions than answers. I liked the story, but it was so fast-paced that I didn't get much chance to get to know the characters. This is fine for a book in this style, but it doesn't suit my personal tastes. I hope it finds its way into the hands of kids who like a quick silly adventure full of mysterious shadows, nonsensical riots, unexplained powers, and surprising magical objects.

Thank you to NetGalley and Aladdin books for this ARC. All opinions are my own.

Good characters and story. Held my interest. Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book