Mirror, Mirror

by J. D. Robb, Mary Blayney, Elaine Fox, Mary Kay McComas, Ruth Ryan Langan

Overview

Five twists on classic fairy tales from five mesmerizing authors—including "Taken in Death," a Lieutenant Eve Dallas story from #1 New York Times bestselling author J. D. Robb.
 
Once upon a time, in a world far removed from the days when fairy tales were new, five bestselling authors spin versions that take the classic stories into a new dimension. You’ll recognize Hansel and Gretel, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, and other enduring characters, but they’ll exist in realms beyond your imagination, where the familiar is transformed into the extraordinary and otherworldly. 

Find happily ever after with...

MIRROR, MIRROR

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780515154078
Publisher:	Penguin Publishing Group
Publication date:	09/24/2013
Pages:	416
Sales rank:	182,833
Product dimensions:	4.10(w) x 6.70(h) x 1.30(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

J. D. Robb is the pseudonym for a #1 New York Times bestselling author of more than 200 novels, including the bestselling In Death series. There are more than 500 million copies of her books in print.

Hometown:

Keedysville, Maryland

Date of Birth:

1950

Place of Birth:

Silver Spring, Maryland

Website:

http://www.noraroberts.com/

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

Find happily ever after with…
 
#1 New York Times Bestselling Author J. D. Robb
“A virtuoso.”—Seattle Post-Intelligencer
 
Mary Blayney
“Simply superb.”—Booklist
 
Elaine Fox
“A vibrant new voice in romance.”—Patricia Gaffney
 
Mary Kay McComas
“Inventive.”—Publishers Weekly
 
R. C. Ryan
“Delivers it all—with page-turning romance.”—Nora Roberts

Editorial Reviews

08/19/2013
Returning novella contributors Robb, Blayney, McComas, and Ryan (The Unquiet) are joined by newcomer Fox in this interesting collection of fairy-tale–inspired stories of romance and intrigue. Robb’s Eve Dallas must track down a pair of missing twins in a Hansel and Gretel police procedural, “Taken in Death.” Blayney’s wish-granting coin entwines a pair of lonely adventure seekers in romance beyond their lives as a servant and a sergeant in her charming 1816 fantasy, “If Wishes Were Horses,” which gives a nod to Goldilocks and the Three Bears. Fox introduces a charming ghostly television reporter to the woman who buys his haunted house in “Beauty, Sleeping,” a clever, turned-on-its-head version of Sleeping Beauty. McComas’s phenomenal modern retelling of “The Little Match Girl” gives a too-generous activist and the cop who thinks he’s too old for her a chance at love in “The Christmas Comet.” In Ryan’s Cinderella tale, “Stroke of Midnight,” a teacher travels to her father’s hometown in Ireland, falls in love, and nearly lets her wicked stepmother ruin everything before an improbable conclusion. Though varying dramatically in approaches to the theme, each novella successfully captures the spirit of magic and happy endings. (Oct.)

Publishers Weekly

Fairy tales are the inspiration for this year’s splendid edition of the annual anthology from this most talented quintet. Once again the tales range from historical to futuristic, with each delivering an engaging story brushed with a touch of magic or otherworldliness.”—RT Book Reviews

Praise for the In Death series

“Robb is a virtuoso.”—Seattle Post-Intelligencer

“It’s Law & Order: SVU—in the future.”—Entertainment Weekly

From the Publisher

2013-10-01
Five new romantic takes on classic fairy-tale themes by five romance authors. A short Eve Dallas & Roarke romantic suspense fashioned with Hansel & Gretel elements but with typical Robb intensity leads off this quirky, fun collection of stories. In "Taken In Death," Eve Dallas must save two frightened but clever twins who use an electronic toy to help rescue them from a truly evil witch. In "If Wishes Were Horses," Blayney's inventive take on "Goldilocks," a series of misunderstandings nearly keeps two souls destined for each other apart, in spite of the best efforts of a magic wishing coin. In "Beauty, Sleeping," Fox spins the fairy tale on its head and updates it in a winning way with a modern-day prince bewitched into a ghostly existence by a scorned fairy and the woman who must bring him back to life to save him. McComas fetchingly combines elements from the tragic "Little Matchstick Girl" with a virtually unknown Brothers Grimm fable, "The Star Money," and updates them to a contemporary fairy tale that has readers simultaneously wanting to strangle and celebrate the heroine-with-a-heart of gold, Natalie, and feeling very grateful for her vigilant, love-struck guardian cop, Miles, in "The Christmas Comet." Finally, in "Stroke of Midnight," Ryan pens a modern-day Cinderella story that uses engaging facets of the traditional and Disney versions of the classic and turns them inside out for a completely novel take on the tale. The stories are smoothly written and refreshingly original, with likable characters and magical aspects that will keep the romance audience invested. Modern readers may perhaps be a little annoyed with Sydney, who seems to be too much under the thumb of a stepmother whom she should be well rid of yet is too easily swayed by, even though she herself knows the woman is wretched; and also with Natalie, who is generous to a major fault. Yet, the stories are enchanting, and since it all works out in the end, in sigh-worthy ways, readers will be quick to forgive flaws. Clever, winsome and fun fairy-tale fare.

Kirkus Reviews