Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Wonderful dark Beauty, November 30, 2008
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 absolutely 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 sexual objects instead of actual lovemaking to get them. "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 abide 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.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Delightful Thriller, January 6, 2009
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.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
LOVED this! Dark, captivating and erotic short-story collection..., February 20, 2009
I read Enchanted: Erotic Fairy Tales for Women long before Spice reprinted it. Even though I loved the aforementioned book, I didn't pick up its new version of it. But now that I've read its follow-up, Enchanted Again, I am compelled to read the first book again.
Enchanted Again: More Erotic Bedtime Stories for Women is not a continuation of Enchanted. It is a completely standalone book with stories based on popular nursery rhymes. The stories and their characters are well developed and wonderfully written, and the tone is much darker than the stories found in the first book. They are also contemporary, with no fanciful language in them, though some do have paranormal elements. Erotica abounds in these tales, some stories sexier than others, and it blends well with the plot. All stories focus on the main female characters and the many intricacies of the female psyche -- insecurity, sexuality, uncertainty, etc. -- and how these work out in their relationships with men. Madore does a wonderful job digging into the complexity of relationships, and how men and women see things. "Georgie Porgy" tells us that while a man's conquest is limited to physical gratification, a woman's is centered on emotions. "Curly Locks" is a unique story about envy, "Little Miss Muffet" has a woman in love with the wrong man, and "Peter, Peter Pumpkin Eater" is centered on mind games. I love the aforementioned stories, as well as "Birds of a Feather" and "Hot Cross Buns" because they contain some fairly mild but enticing D/s scenes. All of these stories share a few common themes, none of which is for the faint of heart. So, if you're looking to read an almost exact replica of Enchanted, or are in the bargain for a vanilla erotic romance novel, or want some "literary porn" that is light on plot but heavy with explicit sex, then this is not the book for you.
I LOVE this book. I wish I still owned a copy of the first book, but whether or not you've read it, this follow-up is a getter and a keeper. I think I'll be giving The Twelve Dancing Princesses a whirl soon. Here's hoping it is as wonderful as this one.
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