Almost There-A Twisted Tale

Product Information

ARC provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own. One of the highlights of Go the Distance is that so much of the book is centered around female friendships. Megara is assisted by Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite; Megara is sent on a quest to rescue Katerina from the Underworld; the Underworld has a new (and exciting!) goddess on the scene; Megara faces the grief of losing her mother as a child. Female characters are the central force that propels the story forward. I loved that Calonita ensured that Megara’s decision to pursue becoming a goddess wasn’t solely bound to her desire to be with Hercules, but because she was worthy of becoming a goddess by her own merits. Braswell, Liz (September 1, 2020). Unbirthday: A Twisted Tale. Disney-Hyperion. ISBN 9781484781319.

Overall, I think this is a fun addition to this series. If you are a Megara fan, as I am, you should definitely give this one a shot! All she has to do is complete a mysterious quest in 10-days. Unfortunately, the quest involves saving her ex-boyfriend's, new wife's soul from the Underworld. This book was so easy and fluent to read, it really surprised me. Even though I have never seen the movie, I didn't really needed the knowledge. I flew through the chapters and I really think the shorter chapters make this book really easy to digest. But on the other hand, her feelings for Naveen are as strong as ever. Making it worse, he and Charlotte, Tiana’s best friend, have become good friends so he is constantly around. Tiana wishes things could be different but she doesn’t see a way out so she keeps holding up her end of the deal. Soon Tiana finds herself in a new reality where all her deepest desires are realized: she finally gets her restaurant, her friends are safe and sound, and most miraculous of all, her beloved father is still alive. She's got everything she's ever wanted. . . .Thank you so much to the publisher, Disney Books and Disney Audio, for providing me copies to read and review. Besides her, we got see everyone from the movie - which YAY! I loved seeing Hades being in love because it was both adorable and hilarious at the same time. Then there's Phil and him being great with a baby was all kinds of cute. I can't forget Pegasus one bit either. I enjoyed him and Meg getting closer because of how he acted when she was with Hercules. Also, the quests! Ah - so insane! The romance stuff between Tiana and Naveen felt very childish and overly complicated. I get why the stories throws roadbloks in their way, but after a while it became a bit redundant. Also, it got a bit in the way of the rest of the story and therefore took the score a bit down for me.

Go the Distance” sets Meg off on a quest to prove herself worthy of becoming a god when Zeus refuses to allow Hercules to remain on Earth by her side but the path to paradise is not without some obstacles and a little soul searching might hold the key to surviving it all. I loved the fact that she stayed close to the Disney story. The characters felt the same as they did in the Hercules movie, even though the story was completely different. I also loved following Meg as our protagonist. I always thought her potential was fully exploited in Hercules, so I was glad to read a story from her perspective. Braswell, Liz (September 7, 2021). What Once Was Mine: A Twisted Tale. Disney-Hyperion. ISBN 9781761200205.

I'm so in love with the way the author wrote this story, especially the descriptions of the cooking and magic. It's a fast, easy read, and it's perfect for younger audiences, and for those who enjoyed The Princess & The Frog and wants a little bit more of Tiana, her passion for cooking and the relationships with her friends and family. All of the scenes with her Mom and Dad seriously tugged on my heartstrings, and a few of them left me in tears. Another thing that I loved was that this is written in third person, and there's more than Tiana's point of view. I love this concept of taking some of the stories I grew up with and twisting them into something just a little new and I did enjoy this one for the most part. My biggest issues were that it read more like a middle grade novel, which is normally fine by me, but I was expecting it to be more YA. My other problem, might have been something that is simply unavoidable when someone different is writing a character, but at times, Meg just didn't seem like the Meg I fell in love with in the movie. I know that sounds trivial, but it was hard for me to separate the book from the movie in this scenario. Of course in the end - heroine wins and villain fails spectacularly. What can be taken away from the story are four items: