Title: Once Upon a Summer Day
Author: Dennis L. McKiernan
Pages: 267
Finished: January 1, 2018
First Sentence: There is a place in Faery where eternal summer lies upon the land; it is a region of forests and fields, of vales and clearings, of streams and rivers and other such 'scapes, where soft summer breezes flow across the weald, though occasionally towering thunderstorms fill the afternoon skies and rain sweeps o'er all.
Summary: Borel, Prince of the Winterwood dreams of a fair maid trapped in a tower. Soon, he realizes he's sharing a dream with an actual maiden trapped in a tower, and only he can save her! Thus, Borel sets out through the land of Faery to find the lovely Michelle and save her from an eternal sleep.
Thoughts: This is basically the exact same story as the one before, except instead of the girl saving the boy, it's flipped. I was a little disappointed as it's supposed to be a retelling of Sleeping Beauty, but we really learn little of her.
I liked that Prince Borel is a man who believes in enthusiastic consent. Otherwise, the book is... formulaic and a little obnoxious. I don't really understand what McKiernan is trying to do with his writing style. I think it's supposed to be similar to that of a bard telling a story, but it just reads as stilted sometimes. There's a lot of repetition and unnecessary summary. Also, while I do like a strong woman character, there seems little difference between Chelle and Camille. And the main characters are all so smart in some ways and incredibly dumb in others. Lastly, I keep getting confused. They're in the land of Faery, but very few people are actually Fey. Apparently the season wood lords and ladies are human? I don't know. I haven't decided if I'll finish the series or not.
I liked that Prince Borel is a man who believes in enthusiastic consent. Otherwise, the book is... formulaic and a little obnoxious. I don't really understand what McKiernan is trying to do with his writing style. I think it's supposed to be similar to that of a bard telling a story, but it just reads as stilted sometimes. There's a lot of repetition and unnecessary summary. Also, while I do like a strong woman character, there seems little difference between Chelle and Camille. And the main characters are all so smart in some ways and incredibly dumb in others. Lastly, I keep getting confused. They're in the land of Faery, but very few people are actually Fey. Apparently the season wood lords and ladies are human? I don't know. I haven't decided if I'll finish the series or not.
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