Prince Charming Must Die! (The Grimm Chronicles, Book 1) [Kindle Edition]

Isabella Fontaine (Author), Ken Brosky (Author), Chris Smith (Illustrator)

Book Description

On the eve of her 18th birthday, high school junior Alice Goodenough feels on top of the world. Classes are almost finished. She's about to start her summer job at the local library, where she'll be surrounded by all of her favorite books. And she has a wonderful boyfriend.

Then the rabbit shows up. The giant talking rabbit. He has a message:
200 years ago, the Brothers Grimm unleashed their stories upon the world.
Literally.

With the help of a magic pen and paper, Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm brought all of their characters to life. The world was a more magical place ... for a time. Cinderella found her prince. Briar Rose's spell was broken. The dancing princesses spent their nights hidden away in a secret underground city. The old miller's boy found true love.

Then, slowly, the Grimms' characters began to change for the worse. They became Corrupted. Evil. They didn't belong in our world, but it was too late for the Brothers Grimm to destroy them.

Only a hero can save the day. Every generation for the past 200 years, a hero has been chosen to fight the Corrupted and rid the world of the Grimms' fairy tales. To her horror, Alice has been chosen as the next hero. As her 18th birthday nears, she begins to realize life is never going back to normal. School will never be the same.

As for her boyfriend, Edward ... well, he might be hiding a terrible secret.


This book also contains the following original Brothers Grimm fairy tales:
- Snow White
- The White Snake
- The Poor Miller's Boy and the Cat
- The Godfather

What people are saying about The Grimm Chronicles:

"A
major plus about these stories is that Alice is a smart, strong, and
resilient protagonist who does not just extract herself from sticky
situations through sheer brute force, but by also using her brain. I
think it was a rollicking good read, which drew me in and kept my
interest until the end of the book. I am looking forward to following
Alice through the rest of her story in the chronicles to come."
-- La Revenant, The Book Tart

"Don't get me wrong, it's very intense and sometimes I was a bit scared (cough) but I just
absolutely love fairytales- and it was extremely fun reading about the original
Grimm ones instead of the happy ending ones we know today! Alice was a great
protagonist and I found myself getting very attached to her. She was
strong and independent and a serious kick-ass kind of girl!"
-- Cheerful Book Reviews

"I highly recommend these lovely and inspiring
stories."
--Mallory Heart Reviews

"Looking for a good book with a strong,
positive heroine? Love the Brothers Grimm and want a new take on their
characters? Just want to read a good fantasy novel? Then look no further, this
is the book for you."
-- Sharing Links and Wisdom

"These stories may be longer than the average
fairy tales we're used to, but they are a good mix of fun, humor, adventure and
exciting coming of age."
-- Literature Young Adult Fiction

"Alice is sassy, smart and strong and I loved her
character. Briar is kind and comical and makes the perfect sidekick and helper
for Alice. The first three volumes in this book move quickly and there's not a
lot of fluff or wasted words ... I'm very excited to see the next volumes of this
story and I can't wait to see what comes next!!"
--Jenn's Review Blog

"I really enjoyed the main character, Alice
Goodenough (not a big fan of the name - reminded me of the ballet dancer
Alexander Godenov).  She is strong, witty, and more than a little obsessed
with clothes (but so was I at that age) ..."
-- Window on the World


"This has got to be one of my favorite Grimm
interpretations until now! The book is amazing, and it reminded me so much of
'Grimm' the series, but in a great way."
-- Mademoiselle le Sphinx

"A very entertaining book!"
-- Mug of Moxie

"I highly recommend this story and hope you
check it out"
-- Danasquare


"Recommended for those who enjoy fairy tales
with a dark twist and a feisty heroine."
-- Geo Librarian

Editorial Reviews

Review

"I really enjoy reading books that borrow inspiration from fairy tales and I really like it when they can do it in an original way. This book was definitely original. Alice is a strong female lead. I have been reading plenty of YA books with whiny female leads and this was a nice change. She was written with realistic emotions. I liked the sub characters and the detail with which they were told as well. Very unique characters that I will definitely remember." ~ Cuzinlogic Book Reviews

"The writing is clear and to the point, without over-simplifying the story, and I hold a particular fondness for the talking rabbit (I want one of my own!) ... Prince Charming Must Die is the first part of a series focusing on different fairy-tales and I'm really looking forward to the next installment, and seeing Alice develop along the way!" ~The Aussie Book Zombie

"This was a really good book! It was easy to read, and hard to put down ... Can't wait for the next book in the series!" ~The Bookworm

"Quite honestly, I can't wait for the next instalment in the series. I think you'd enjoy this book if you like fantasy YA in general, too, and that you'd really love it if you like fairy tales and folklore at all. Why not give it a shot?" ~Stories of My Life

From the Author

The Grimm Chronicles is intended for Young Adults aged 13 and up. The goal is to provide Young Adult readers with a strong, charismatic young woman in the role of the hero and provide readers with a positive protagonist who uses her brain to overcome obstacles life throws in her way. Like Buffy the Vampire Slayer or Katniss Everdeen, we like our female heroes tough and smart.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• File Size: 300 KB
• Print Length: 117 pages
• Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
• Publisher: Brew City Press (April 16, 2012)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B007V4JAO0
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• X-Ray: Not Enabled
• Lending: Enabled
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #72,543 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Beginning of a Potentially Intriguing Series April 30, 2012

By Wading Through Electronic Ink

Format:Kindle Edition

(cross-posted from the blog Wading Through Electronic Ink)

The Plot
Alice was looking forward to a relaxing summer volunteering at the library. Until one day she goes down to the basement and finds a note written to her. With a magic fountain pen. That can kill snakes. And may or may not be related to the talking brown rabbit in a suit who says that it is her destiny to kill corrupted characters from Grimms' Fairy Tales. Now she only has to decide if she is hallucinating or in possession of a very strange new skill set. But she had better decide fast, because if the rabbit is telling the truth, then Alice's boyfriend Edward is probably not as charming as he seems...

The Good

I was really excited when I got the e-mail asking me to review Prince Charming Must Die! Fantasy related to fairy tales is one of my favorite genres, and The Grimm Chronicles is sufficiently original to capture my attention. Plus, a new installment of the series is going to be released every two months, which is especially appealing to people like me who devour young adult fantasy novels at a rapacious pace. (And how badly does it date me to say that it brings me back to the days when I was YA age-appropriate and had a new Sweet Valley High book out every month?)

The story is based around Grimms' Fairy Tales, which are included at the end of the book for people who want to be reminded that the original stories are far more gruesome than their more familiar Disney counterparts. But we also get imagery from other stories as well. Alice going through magic doors and meeting with a talking rabbit is certainly reminiscent of Lewis Carroll's stories, and the rabbit himself is from the traditional southern tales of Br'er Rabbit. Presumably the magic pen that created these creatures has passed through many hands in the last hundred years or so, and we can anticipate that we may see characters from any number of other stories as well.

The Bad

One thing about retellings of fairy tales - you pretty much know what the ending is going to be long before you get there. Apparently that can also be true when you're dealing with stories about having to kill fairy tale creatures. If you think you know from the title and the first line of the story what the ending is going to be, then, well, you are absolutely right. Sure, there are a few times where it might be implied that the ending is going in a new and novel direction. But mostly that's just trying to make it even remotely believable that Alice is forestalling the ending. I know that no one wants to accept that her boyfriend is evil, but, seriously, better to just stab him
early on than to wait until he decides to suck out your soul. After all, if he ISN'T evil, stabbing him with a fountain pen will just make him say "wtf?" So, really, foolproof experiment.

The Romance

Alice does not have much in the way of successful romance. I mean, sure, for most of the book, she has "perfect" boyfriend, but we know pretty early on that the relationship is going nowhere good. Like, from the first line. And the title. But I have already harped on the predictability of the story. Regardless, we can hope that Alice meets a better love interest in future stories. Because right now the only other being in the know is Br'er Rabbit, and I'm pretty sure he's not a love interest. At least, I sincerely hope not. Cuz, yeah, that would be disturbing.

Will I read more?

I was disappointed by the lack of twists and turns in this first story, but that might at least partially be due to the difficulties of introducing a mythology. So I will probably tune in for a few more episodes to see whether it goes somewhere interesting. I'd like to learn more about who has had the pen over the years, and how other fairy tale creatures are hiding in the real world.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Imaginative April 25, 2012

By goldmj

Format:Kindle Edition

This is a very imaginative use of the backstory of Grimm's Fairy Tales to weave an entirely new and modern adventure. I love that the protagonist is a young woman who must find the hero inside herself and save the day.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Quick, easy read April 25, 2012

By T Joyner

Format:Kindle Edition

This was a really good book! It was easy to read, and hard to put down. The book is about a teenager who gets caught in the land of fairy tales. I don't want to give to much away, because it would ruin the element of surprise. If you enjoy fairy tales, this is a great book. Can't wait for the next book in the series!

More About the Author

I received my MFA in fiction writing from the University of Nebraska-Omaha. I've had over a dozen short stories published.

In addition to regularly contributing literary fiction to various journals and magazines, my current project is a Young Adult series called The Grimm Chronicles. Maybe you've heard of it? No? Really? Well ...

My co-author Isabella Fontaine and I devised 3 "rules" for this Young Adult series. They're important to us.

1. There are no love triangles. We've set this as an explicit rule. Our main character might find love, but she won't be hounded by topless boys and she certainly will never spend her time deciding who to spend the rest of her life with.

2. Our hero, Alice, must use her brain to overcome her obstacles. That doesn't mean she can't kick some butt (she definitely can!), but she does have to rely on her knowledge to win the day.

3. Alice will never commit an act of violence against another human being without there being consequences. Sure, she can do battle with evil monsters ... but violence against human beings has real consequences. Too often our heroes of today cause physical pain to people around them in order to achieve victory. Alice is different. Alice respects nonviolence to solve real-world problems, and only uses violence to rid the world of the evil Corrupted.