Name: Once Upon A... What?
ISBN: 9780648432715

Katherine Henshaw

Self-sufficient, snarky artist Tabitha and her delightfully crass best friend Scott, are transported into a magical realm by a dusty relic. They have to seek oracles and face down a dragon while trying to evade an immortal asshole to find a way home, or else be trapped there, undying, for all eternity.

Once Upon A... What?

Nicole Lambert

** spoiler alert **
           NOTE: A special thanks to Nine Tales Publishing for providing me with a free copy of this book for review! All opinions are my own.

Where to start with this book? I suppose I should start by saying that it has been a long time since I have read a book that truly captivated me from beginning to end. Even though I had other obligations in life that demanded attention, such as work and now school, I found myself going back to this book and wishing that I could binge-read it, since the story was utterly fascinating. That also does not account for the witty humor that this book contains, though I suppose I have to put this out there. Due to the fact that the humor is largely sexual in nature, I would not recommend this book to anyone under the age of eighteen. With that being said, the humor was still tastefully done, and I also appreciated how even though the book had undertones full of humor, it still managed to pull off a serious tone when the story demanded one. I especially loved how there was a little bit of diversity within the book, especially with how the main character's best friend was homosexual.

So then, you may be asking yourselves, why did I rate this book four stars instead of five?

Though the book was for the most part extremely enjoyable, there were a few parts that I found kind of unnatural and brought questions to my mind. The first is the sudden change in Theodore's character. Within the first half of the book, the reader is led to believe that such a character is unruly, pervy, and would not take no for an answer and as a consequence cannot be trusted. Then later on, his character does a complete one-eighty, and suddenly, he sheds his pervy and unruly nature as if he was a completely different person all along. The two sides of Theodore honestly did not add up to me, especially when he and Tabby develop a relationship further along in the book. Next, there was a part towards the end of the book that tried to convey a political message, and no offense to the author, but it read as if the author was trying way too hard to make her characters seem tolerant of differences and to showcase how diverse her world is. In my opinion, such a message would have been better if it was gradually implemented into the novel rather than suddenly thrown in there, especially since James' declaration of being trans all along seemingly came out of nowhere. Lastly, I would have appreciated a little bit more of an ending instead of just one word: "Fuck." However, the last thing is very minuscule, and I can see how that ending can work for some people with the kind of novel that this is.

Overall, I absolutely loved this book, and I am highly anticipating its sequel.

Jo Buchanan

Wow. All I can say is wow. This book was not what I thought it was going to be going into it. The details and descriptions were magnificent. I felt like I was in the story myself. I love the dynamics between the characters. The vision of the worlds created was amazing and I didn’t have any questions wondering what something looked like or felt like. I absolutely can’t wait for the next in this series.

Paige Green

Disclaimer: I received this book from Ninetales Publishing. Thanks! All opinions are my own.



Rating: 4/5



Publication Date: January 29, 2019



Genre: YA Fantasy



Recommended Age: 16+ (fantasy elements and mystery abound!)



Publisher: Ninetales Publishing



Pages: 274



Amazon Link


Synopsis: Summerview Manor was a house with secrets. The disappearance of the original owner Theodore Phillips the Third was basically town legend. But Tabitha and her best friend Scott didn’t care. They’d wanted a place they could call home for as long as they could remember.

When they finally save up enough money to buy the old Victorian house, they thought the worst they’d have to deal with was roaches and sagging floorboards.

They couldn’t have been more wrong.

When a dusty gramophone turns a hard night of drinking into a quick slide through a portal into another realm, Tabitha thinks she might have solved the mystery of what happened to Theodore Phillips III. But will she and Scott be able to find their way home, or will their disappearance just become one more mystery for Summerview Manor?

Once Upon a...What? is a wild adventure through a magical world where the creatures are fantastical and shenanigans ensue.



Review: I thought this was a really quick and fun read! The characters were charming and the story was fun! The pacing was a bit fast, but it fit with the writing and story. The plot was sound and I really had fun reading this book!



However, I do think that the backstories could have been expanded on further in the book. I felt that the book didn't do so good at developing the characters as much as I would like and that the world might need a bit more development.



Verdict: A fun and fast read!

Imzy

ARC received for an honest review.


I received this ARC by accident when applying for a different ARC. I didn't want to read it because I thought it wasn't my kind of book but after seeing all the positive reviews and recommendations I decided to give it a try. However, unfortunately, I was correct in assuming that I wouldn't like it.

It's almost like a second-grade adult version of Narnia. It's got the same concept. Tabitha and Scott find themselves transported into another world after a night of getting drunk and listening to old music at a new Manor they bought, then they try to find their way back home.

For a novel that is meant to be fantastical and adventurous there's barely any adventure. I would have expected more setting development and epic action. And also for the few fantasy elements in the book, I would have liked some good descriptive imagery. There was none of that.

Following on from there, I think the only thing I've taken away from this book is how many ways someone can make a sexual joke. Sexual humour a very big part of the book. And by big I mean big. Being in Tabitha's POV, all that's in her head is finding a sexual connection between everything she sees/hears.

The characters are also a problem. Scott and Tabitha are so similar the only difference between them would be their gender. There is no character development. And it seemed like their only goal was eyeing out the next person they could hook-up with. Not very memorable or charming in any way.

The writing also seemed very choppy. It went from completely humorous to very serious in a short amount of time. I'm not against some funny dialogue between intense scenes but it would have been better if there was some transition. I couldn't feel the suspense or emotion in any scene because the mood just jumped so quickly.

There was alot of diversity in the book which is a good thing. However, promoting some cultures and then shunning others just doesn't feel right. There was a whole part in the book that opposed Christian beliefs and religion and eventhough I'm not a Christian I can see how that could have been very offensive.

In conclusion, I don't really recommend this book unless you're into sexual humour and an extremely light read. I will not be reading any future books in this series.

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Once Upon A... What?

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