Customer Reviews

Enchanted Again

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

Nancy Madore has made a name for herself with her beautifully written and clever exploration of human nature through retold fairytales and, now, nursery rhymes. This new book, a sequel to "Enchanted", has darker corners and often unapologetically harsh turns. Based in modern times, it takes a no-holds-barred journey into the human heart.

The first tale, "Birds of a Feather" is the perfect example of emotion-exploring and Madore's talent with it. The "heroine", Pansy, is married to a nasty police officer and having an erotic affair with a dominating bad boy, who her husband later tells her is dangerous. Stuck between two apparently bad men, Pansy may seem like your average push-over victim, but she's not. When the stakes are raised and the pressure increased, Pansy proves to have a heart that is possibly just as hard and cold as her two mens'. I can't say anything else, but let's just say that if you pay close attention to the story's meaning, you'll be running the nursery rhyme at the beginning over in your mind, with brand new meaning..

The next tale, "Curly Locks", was one of the most disturbing tales I've ever read with an ending that I hated. It does have some fascinating character study and brilliant explorations, but one of the female characters was so rotten, selfish and heartless that I literally burned to rip every hair from her head! I won't go into all the details, but since I'm essentially warning you against the ending, I'll go ahead and tell you that a woman supernaturally steals another woman's life, identity, and body; once this is completed, the nasty b*tch parades around heartlessly in her stolen life, while the poor woman she stole it from is committed to a mental home. Yeah, not a comfortable tale; the character exploration had to do with the question of what a woman really wants and how badly she'll try to get it, especially if she's been hiding behind the mask of dominant feminist for too long. Still, I can't abide evil getting away unpunished.

Aside from "Curly Locks", there were only two other stories that didn't jive well with me, though these other two didn't purely because of sexual content. "Desperate Dan" was about a desperate sort of pervert who desired every woman in town and used objects instead of actual lovemaking to get them (GROSS). "Hot Cross Buns" was a story of male dominance and punishment spanking, both of which I hate. It was, however, more tasteful and a LOT more honest about such a relationship than all the male-spanker stories I've seen before; I just can't tolerate men like that. I will say, though, that there was a little turn of power near the end which I liked very much.

"Peter, Peter" was a brilliant tale of duality between a jealous husband and a wife who slowly learns that her husband's obsessiveness may serve her well. "Little Miss Muppet" was a wonderful story of relationship tangles with a chilling twist, and "Humpty" was a look at a woman's struggle to "fix" a man with bad committment issues who just refused to be fixed. "Georgie Peorgie" had a similar theme to "Humpty", but with a heroine who already realized she couldn't fix a run-around Joe and had a little revenge in mind. All in all, I found this book to be a brilliant and intriguing exploration of relationships and human desires. Madore has a unique talent for both retelling fairytales and expressing human nature, and the combination of them is irresistible! If you're open-minded, I highly recommend this book, as well as Madore's other work. You may want to skip certain graphic scenes, though.

This is classified as an "erotic novel", but it's anything but! The small sex scenes were unimaginative, and the story lines quite boring. Her first book, "Enchanted", took fairy tale stories and gave them an erotic, arousing twist. "Enchanted Again" takes nursery rhyme stories and builds boring plots with quick sex scenes. I cannot imagine how this was allowed to be called sensual. It may not have been so disappointing if it wasn't followed by the first set of erotic fairy-tale stories. As it is, the whole concept to this sequel was extremely disappointing.

Enchanted Again is moving, clever, thought provoking, etc., etc. The characters are deep and full of surprises. The women in her stories are more in depth than the men. It is about women, how they love and how it makes them feel. I thought some of the stories were brilliant. Madore takes an idea out of a child's nursery rhyme and brings it to life. I thought Peter the pumpkin eater was fantastic. As was Curly Locks, Hot Cross Buns, Desperate Dan, Birds of a Feather, Georgie Porgie and so forth. This is erotica at its very best. The stories are exciting enough to take your breath away but you really get emotionally involved with them too. Best of all, each of the sexy stories are written in a way that doesn't insult your intelligence.

I haven't read a book quite like this in my lifetime. I believe the closest was "Fear of Flying" years ago! Fresh and witty, Nancy Madore takes us deep into the woods and lets the fantasy fly! Erotic and Sexy, fun and flirty it's a great gift to give at a bridal shower (for some naughty bedtime stories for the newlyweds!) It is also a novel to dip into when you feel like taking a bubble bath and treating yourself. "Little Miss Muffet" was my personal favorite.
Love the cover art and inside drawings as well.

I love love LOVE the way Nancy Madore takes these little fairy stories and turns them into exotics tale that leaves you surprised and thoroughly entertained. The twists and turns she takes are brilliant. She takes stories like GEORGIE PORGIE PUDDING AND PIE, KISSED THE GIRLS AND MADE THEM CRY and turns them into a erotic psychological mind bender that makes you go wow! There was an ample supply of sex in Enchanted Again, but there was a lot more too. You get a little of everything in the mix. There's a little magic, a little mystery, a little tragedy and a lot of surprises. Happy endings? Well, not always. Madore heaps a good dose of reality into her love and lust, which let's face it, can be tragic. Dating in Nancy Madore's world is a lot like dating in the real world, but her characters do the things we only wish we could. I like short stories because I can finish them in one sitting, and these were no exception even though they were longer than usual. But when I finished one I was dying to see what she did with the next one. BIRDS OF A FEATHER FLOCK TOGETHER, SO DO PIGS AND SWINE. How could you not be curious what happens in that one? Or DESPERATE DAN, THE DIRTY OLD MAN, WASHED HIS FACE IN A FRYING PAN. I couldn't hold back my curiosity and had to read that one first. By the way, it is excellent! Some of them you can guess what will happen, like in HOT CROSS BUNS, HOT CROSS BUNS, ONE WALLOP TWO WALLOP, HOT CROSS BUNS. I liked all of the stories equally. I enjoy the way this author writes. But I wish she would have done something with my old favorites like RUB A DUB DUB, THREE MEN IN A TUB. Or JACK AND JILL WENT UP THE HILL TO CATCH A PAIL OF WATER. Maybe she's saving those for a follow up. I hope so.

Enchanted Again takes erotica to the next level. Mixed in with the sex you get intricate plots and multi dimensional characters. I couldn't put it down. It seemed so real I felt like I was eavesdropping on real life women in relationships. But I can see why it might hit too close to home for some women. It isn't sugar coated. There are real life issues here, such as one woman who finds a very creative way to keep her hubby on his toes (Peter Peter Pumpkin Eater). Another is obsessed with getting a commitment to her own peril (Little Miss Muffit). Still another woman just loves the chase (Georgie Porgie). And so on. Most of the stories have a frightening edge to them that reminded me a little of Alfred Hitchcock. It is a real page turner that hooks you in but beware. There is a haunting quality to the stories that will have you thinking about them for a long time after.

Enchanted was so wonderful, and this was much darker. While I don't mind dark stories, I find it difficult to get into dark erotica. I was hard pressed to find a story without angst, adultery, or violence. If that's what you like, then you'll love this. But after the fun, playful, intense, sexy Enchanted, I was greatly disappointed.

Don't buy it. I bought this together with Enchanted. I was mildly entertained by Enchanted, but this book is completely different and just icky. The stories are not fanciful or beautiful "fairy-tale" like stories in any way. These ladies are definitely NOT princesses and there are no princes that I want to envision here. The tales are sordid, dark, dirty, and even frightening. Ladies looking for romantic and sexy energy - stay away from this mess!

...... Well, no, not really, if truth be told.

With this new collection of short stories, Nancy Madore reinterprets eight popular nursery rhymes in her distinctive style, each offering a witty, clever and titillating variation on old favorites like Humpty Dumpty and Georgie Porgie.

Written with the modern woman in mind, the collection includes stories about women who have loved, women who have lost, and women who perhaps would have been better off if they hadn't bothered in the first place. You'll need to read it to determine which is which.

Starting off with "Birds of a Feather", Madore tells the tale of a bored housewife looking for a different sort of stimulation, and things take a very strange turn when she finds what she thinks she's looking for.

Next comes "Curly Locks", which goes in a completely unexpected direction, followed by "Desperate Dan", "Georgie Porgie", "Hot Cross Buns", "Little Miss Muffet", "Peter, Peter Pumpkin Eater" and "Humpty Dumpty".

They're all page turners, but the ones I'd pick as stand-outs would be "Desperate Dan", "Little Miss Muffet" and "Peter, Peter Pumpkin Eater".

Although each story has its fair share of the juicy stuff, this collection is much more than just erotica, with its well developed and unique characters and situations, and lots of sneaky twists thrown in for good measure.

Recommended for fans of intelligent, thought-provoking short stories and steamy literary encounters.




Amanda Richards, November 4, 2008

Being a huge fan of the first Enchanted, I had to read this one as soon as I heard it was out. Boy is it ever different from Goldilocks and Snow White! These are not fairy tales at all, but they are very intriguing and sometimes chilling stories about the fine line between love and hate. Being a huge fan of horror and mystery I absolutely loved the tone of this erotica. The sex was unique and exciting. The stories won't let you put them down until you're through. I think Madore is adept at more than rewriting fairy stories. This was a cross between Alfred Hitchcock and Ann Rice. There were a couple happy endings here and there but overall prepare yourself to be shocked.