TW: Abuse, Mutilation

Thoughts: I enjoyed Scarlett’s MMOG, but I think so far Lore and Samara are my fav couple from her fairy tale re-imaginings. They are oblivious to the other’s feelings and it is absolutely adorable. Also thought that this book balanced spice and plot in a way that I really enjoyed with one not overpowering the other. Finally, I enjoyed the word play in this book as it perfectly evoked fae lore in my mind.

If you enjoy dark fairytales or want to read something short and spicy then I recommend picking this book up. Take a look at the TW though

I loved how Scarlett managed to create a whimsical story while also including some dark elements. This book really reads like a dark Brothers Grimm fairytale with some spicy scenes added to it (add a little bit of spice🌶️).
Throughout the story I recognised several influences of fairytales I know but at the same time it felt like a brand new story. It's a perfect fall read with a cup of tea and a blanket.

Apples Dipped In Gold is somehow both tender and brutal at the same time. I loved the push and pull tension between the MMC and Samara- slow burn like red hot coals crackling into the early hours of the morning. Thoroughly enjoyed each delicious moment of it. Also the FOX! He can come hang out with me anytime! All for cute animal friends, especially if they are full of mischief!

As a member of the SCC street team, I was so excited to read the second book in the Fairytale Retelling series! I love series where you get a glimpse into other characters from the previous books and you will get that and more from this book. If you are a fan of snow white/cinderella you will definetly enjoy this one!

A short, beautifully written fairytale with a great atmosphere and aesthetic. I loved reading the authors note and seeing all of the different references to classic fairytales. There were several twists and turns in the story that kept me reading and I loved learning more about the characters and the seeing their development. I love this series and can’t wait to see how it continues.

*chef’s kiss* every. single. moment. I have been so excited about Samara and Lore’s story and it was even better than I could have imagined. As a fairytale fanatic, I loved picking out references and pieces while also falling in love with these characters and their journey together. Samara is such a strong character despite the pain of loss and abuse she’s faced. Lore is such a cinnamon roll and I couldn’t help but want to shake him for being a big dumb dude while simulated want f to give the man a hug. And Fox? He really stole the show. Another excellent addition to my Scarlett St. Clair shelf. I can’t wait for the next!

Talk about a story you can absolutely devour and consume! From the moment you start reading you will easily get lost in Samara & Lore’s story - not wanting to ever return to the real world.

The angst, the banter, the ✨swoon✨ - all perfectly executed (as usual with Scarlett’s amazing attention to detail and magical way with story telling).

𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗳𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗳𝗮𝗻𝘀 𝗼𝗳
➵dark fairytale
➵ forced proximity
➵ romantasy
➵ v!rg!n FMC
➵ fated love
➵ man obsessed
➵ touch her & ☠️
➵ soft for her
➵ he falls first
➵ slow burn

𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗹𝗹 5/5⭐️ | 𝘀𝗽𝗶𝗰𝘆 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁 2/5🌶️ | 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝘁 𝗳𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿 3/5🔥

I gave this a 5/5 stars on good reads. Absolutely devoured it. You can clearly see the research that was put into this book as well as the attention to detail for both the plot and character development. I personally feel it is difficult to make a novella cohesive in such a short amount of pages, but SSC really nailed it. There was a clear flow of the introduction to Samara’s life, with challenges. Then intro to love interest, Lore. Then the journey where truth becomes revealed then a climatic conclusion. Well done and looking forward to another book in SSC’s fairy tale retelling series

When Scarlett writes a book, she puts her whole heart into it. I knew, going into this book, my heart would go through it as well.

This is book two in the Fairy Tale Retelling series. This series follows seven princes, and each prince will have their own book.

This book, follows our wicked Prince Lore of Nightshade, and our sweet and innocent Samara.

Orphaned at a young age, Samara is left under the care of her three brothers. They are… horrible to her. I mean… if you have triggers… be careful going into this book. Because the way she is treated… breaks your heart.

One day when Samara wanders off… to hopefully find peace… a handsome prince offers for her hand in marriage. Her brothers agree in exchange for a large dowery.

On her way to her new kingdom… the Prince of Nightshade ambushes her carriage. Samara believes that the fae prince has snatched her away to punish her for a crime she committed long ago…

What the Prince actually needs help with… is to break his curse… and what Samara doesn’t realize… is the curse he has… is one put on him by Samara herself…

If you love The Cruel Prince, Labyrinth, The Magical Legend Of The Leprechauns, Snow White, A Curse For True Love, Cinderella, fairytales, dark… fairytales, fairytales with spice…you will greedily consume… Apples Dipped In Gold.

Samara reminds me of Cinderella, especially the quote “Have courage, and be kind.”

She has gone through so much, and yet her ability to be kind to others is one of her most admirable qualities. She inspires me to keep my head high and always pick the path of courage and kindness, even when hope feels miles away.

I don’t know how Scarlett does it, because while this book is thoughtful, emotional, and sometimes downright sad. It’s also laugh out loud funny, swoon worthy, scary, whimsical, and epic.

Lore’s nickname for Samara is “Wild One” HELP.
There’s a moment where Samara claims to Lore that she is worthless, and he says “You do not get to determine your worth to me.” And I cried. For a solid minute.

Nobody is perfect in this book, and that’s part of what makes it so enduring. Except for Fox… I love Fox. He’s perfect. Adorable. I love him.

I love this book with my whole heart. This is one of my favorite series of all time. And if you haven’t read the first book, Mountains Made Of Glass, please go read that, and then start Apples Dipped in Gold immediately after.

“You are a gift, you are my dream come true and my greatest wish.”

✨ARC Review✨

“𝘽𝙚 𝙥𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙚𝙣𝙩, 𝙗𝙚𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙙,” 𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙖𝙞𝙙. 𝙏𝙞𝙡𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙢𝙮 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙙 𝙗𝙖𝙘𝙠, 𝙝𝙚 𝙗𝙧𝙪𝙨𝙝𝙚𝙙 𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙪𝙢𝙗 𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙘𝙪𝙧𝙫𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙢𝙮 𝙨𝙬𝙤𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙣 𝙡𝙞𝙥𝙨. “𝙄 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙥𝙡𝙖𝙣𝙨 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙮𝙤𝙪.”

“𝘋𝘰 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘢𝘧𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘥,” 𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥.
“𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘩𝘰𝘸,” 𝘐 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥.
“𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘰 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘩𝘰𝘸?” 𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥.
“𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘧𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘥,” 𝘐 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥.

✨ 𝙰𝚟𝚊𝚒𝚕𝚊𝚋𝚕𝚎 𝚒𝚗 𝚎𝚋𝚘𝚘𝚔 𝚘𝚗 𝙹𝚞𝚕𝚢 𝟷𝟼, 𝚊𝚟𝚊𝚒𝚕𝚊𝚋𝚕𝚎 𝚒𝚗 𝚙𝚊𝚙𝚎𝚛𝚋𝚊𝚌𝚔 𝙾𝚌𝚝𝚘𝚋𝚎𝚛 𝟸𝟿 (𝚙𝚑𝚢𝚜𝚒𝚌𝚊𝚕 𝚌𝚘𝚙𝚢 𝚍𝚎𝚕𝚊𝚢𝚜 𝚝𝚘 𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚘𝚠 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚏𝚘𝚛𝚖𝚊𝚝𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚝𝚞𝚗𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊𝚛𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝’𝚜 𝚒𝚗𝚜𝚒𝚍𝚎!)

Apples Dipped in Gold was an immersive fairytale retelling that was impossible to put down! The environment was so immersive and I loved how it had a classic fairytale setting with lush forests, creepy witch’s houses, and whimsical creatures.

I loved our main characters, Samara and Lore. Samara has been horribly abused by her three brothers, and she finally finds a chance at a new life when a charming prince whisks her a way. Through twists and turns, she crosses paths with Lore, an Elven Prince who needs to break the curse he is under.

I really enjoyed how caring and compassionate Lore was towards Samara as their relationship unfolds. There are also loveable side characters - especially Fox the fox (😂😂) and Cardic, one of Lore’s brothers. The banter between everyone, but especially the brothers, had me cackling.

Thank you to Scarlett St. Clair and Bloom Books for the advanced reader copy, thoughts and review is my own.

I devoured this book in under 24 hours and it has immediately taken the top spot of my favourite Scarlett St. Clair book!
The relationship between Samara and Lore was just gorgeous. Fox as a character was incredible. The banter between characters was perfect. I loved everything about it.

Okay so Scarlett St Clair is doing something I'm really loving with this series of interconnected standalones. They're more fairytale remixes than retellings; they're like jigsaw puzzles of so many different details from so many different fairytales that you really don't see very often. If you were a fairytale/mythology kid like I was, you'll know what I mean when I say this is simultaneously comforting, familiar, and completely unique. The closest full fairytale most people would recognize as a comp for this book would probably be Snow White, except the actual story is completely different!

Don't go in looking for a one-to-one retelling. I'd say go in looking for a quick read that feels familiar, but be ready to be completely unprepared for the journey. Go in like you're face blind at your high school reunion, except this is a better time.

Okay, I feel like we've dialed in the vibes, so Samara. Scarlett writes such strong FMCs, and I personally adore the way she plays with different kinds of strength. In the last book, Gesela was fighting grief and persisting through sheer will. In this one, Samara displays emotional strength as her special interest, and it was SO refreshing to read an FMC who's going to look at a man and tell him he's beautiful...and also stupid! I really enjoyed her as a character; her kindness through abuse, her unbreakable spirit, it all adds up to a heroine I was rooting for.

Lore is dumb, and I love him. I really and truly can't say more. I'll always be here for the himbo energy and Lore is BRINGING that energy.

But wait; there's more! Fox is a sneaky favorite. It doesn't hurt that foxes are one of my favorite animals, but he's also snarky and kind, and he really deserves a raise for all the babysitting he does in this book!

Now I'll just be waiting for the next installment. Suuuuuper patiently...

🌶️🌶️
🍏 This story was captivatingly beautiful. I don't usually read stories like this, I've never been a fan of Grimm Brother stories, but somehow, Scarlett just knows how to write in this style so beautifully with this perfect mixture of gritty details, the weird, the beautiful, and the romantic.
🍏 I loved seeing this romance blossom between our two main characters. Both felt unworthy of love and the love that grows between them is beautiful!
🍏 I also love the humor that Scarlett weaves through the story. It's the perfect way to keep a story set in such a dark setting, still light. Fox was definitely my favorite.
🍏 I'm so looking forward to seeing the romance that happens in the next one!

Scarlett has done it again with Apples Dipped in Gold. I loved our main characters Samara and Lore. And of course Fox was a favorite as well! They were well-developed characters and I loved seeing them interact with each other.
Our main character Samara has been under the neglectful and abusive care of her three brothers after being orphaned at a young age. She’s been through a lot. One day a prince asks for her hand in marriage and the brothers agree after negotiating a a large dowry in their favor. Samara’s carriage is attacked and she is rescued by the fae prince Lore of Nightshade.
Prince Lore has been in love/obsessed with Samara for years but believes that she has betrayed him and he wants to get rid of his feelings of love. Can this Prince of poisons and this human girl overcome their differences to find each other again?

5 ⭐ 2 🌶

Another fantastic addition to the Fairy Tale Retellings from Scarlett. I loved Lore and Samara and all they went through, Fox too!

I really enjoyed Samara's journey. She has a dark present and watching her turn it into her past and get away from her brothers was so great. And watching her and Lore fall in love was amazing, especially as they both came at it from different angles.

Don't forget to read the author's note where Scarlett talks about the fairy tales she was inspired by. It absolutely amazes me that she's able to take so many elements from different tales and turn it into one cohesive story.

There are so many facets to St. Clair's original fairy tale I don't even know where to begin! This book follows Samara, a woman seriously abused and neglected by her brothers who sees no way out of her bad situation. She is also traumatized because she killed the guy she was in love with right from the beginning, so girly is feeling lonely. This story takes inspiration from a variety of stories and fairy tales, and I really enjoyed the diversity in the interactions with mythological things the characters had on their journey.

First, this was so bloodthirsy, and I loved it 😅 Right from the beginning someone is being stabbed, and the stabbings just keep happening over and over again. If you are looking for a little violence, please pick this up 🙃

This book was also really hard and emotional to read in some parts. There are some really tough themes such as domestic abuse, neglect, and suicide. While both main characters have a lot of emotional baggage to deal with, I found it so much harder to be in Samara's head because of all of the on-page trauma she experiences but this was because of how accurate and realistic St. Clair was in her portrayal.

I can't say much more without going into spoilers for this book but I will say that if you like men who simp after their women like a lost puppy, this book is for you 🙃😇

I think everyone needs to read the author notes in this to see how brilliant and talented Scarlett is when she writes these retellings. I’ve been so vocal about how obsessed with how well she created the atod world and using so many myths - but if you understood what went into these fairytales - * pure love for her writing * you can see that Scarlett’s literary knowledge and understanding is perfection.

it’s safe to say that you can see a couple of more “popular” fairytale vibes in this, but there’s so many more that I’m sure people just don’t know! Especially if their fairytale background is mostly Disney - which is not a bad thing - but it truly only dabbles in what’s really out there. Especially when you look at what a lot of these fairytales looked like to start.

This whole book had me hooked from the very beginning to the end. There’s so much adventure, twists and character development that you never feel anything drag out. Samara’s character is real and relatable even in a world of talking creatures, glass mountains, golden apples and irresistible elven princes. Lore is just the right amount of broody and charm with just enough longing that I quickly adored. I loved Cas in book one, but it’s safe to say Lore just took number one. Though… I’m def interested in seeing what the others brothers have in store.

There’s a little bit of uncertainty and mystery throughout the whole book that has you guessing and trying to figure out the riddles.

The spice was spicy ans the tension was even better.

This series continues to have me hooked and obsessed. I will be continuing on FOR sure!

♾️✨

This is my absolute favorite series by SSC. And I have read them ALL. Her fairy tale retellings are just dark enough that it hooks you instantly. They are so well researched and filled with nuggets of stories we know that I wonder and google the entire time. They are mesmerizing and beautiful and I am going to read them always and over and over.

Samara and Lore meet years before her fiance is killed and he rescues her. He knows their connection and can't tell her. But needs her to break his curse. So they journey to find the golden apples that will help her break it. Their journey is not easy and the proximity only allows them to fall in love even more. It's short and fast and so addicting. I will be reading again sooner than later.

Apples Dipped in Gold is a continuation of the dark fairytales I adore so much. Yes they have romance, but not before ripping you apart a little. If you’re a fan of the original fairytales that haunted you with blood and creepy themes, this story is the perfect continuation from MMoG.

A quick read that you can squeeze into a day, that will fill your heart with ache and gore and hope and love. Ugh. I love this series. Pick it up. It’s rough, but in a good way.

Samara and Lore are probably my favourite couple Scarlett has written. I just loved everything about them from beginning to end. Lore calling her ‘Beloved’ made my heart melt. It was so sweet. I can’t wait for future books within this world. I’ve adored both so far!