Dead Upon a Time :)

Title: Dead Upon a Time by Elizabeth Paulson
Pages: 139

Summary: Kate's grandmother went missing. She and Jack decided to search for her along with the other missing people from their village.

Rating: 3.5/5

I decided to read this book because it's a fairy tale retelling and it's so short. I read this within a day and I quite enjoyed it. The mashup of the characters from different fairy tales - Jack and the Beanstalk, Little Red Riding Hood, Cinderella, Rapunzel, Hansel and Gretel, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty - was really unique. The different nightmares in which they were stuck in was quite on point with their characters although Rapunzel's was kind of vain.

Elizabeth Paulson's writing was alright. The story she created was fun and the plot twists were interesting. There were some that I did not see coming and some that I saw. It's just too bad that the story felt too rushed due to how short it is. There are some questions that are left unanswered like: What happened with the Queen and her daughters after they got back? Why did Katie's parents left her? (It wasn't really explained properly). And a what if: What if Cecilia decided to help and free her mother?

BEWARE: The following will kind of include spoilers.

Another reason why I enjoyed the book was because of the characters.

• I like the development and friendship between Jack & Katie - the two outcasts. They're kind of cute together. Their interactions and conversations were really interesting to read. 

He had described the two of them as disposable orphans. But they'd become irreplaceable to each other. At least, she could not replace him.

• I like that Jack's sassy and sarcastic. He's a fun character to read and you would really pity him for how the village treated him in the beginning. I get that it's his fault, but he tried to make it right. He was just desperate.

"Your friends?" Sterling snorted. "The ranks of your friends must have thinned a bit after you taunted a maleficent giant until he all but destroyed your home village." 

"Really? Is that why no one came to my birthday party this year? And I thought it was the lack of proper refreshments."

•  I like how Katie's so confident with her self even though she was kind of bullied in her village. They treated her as an outcast because they were afraid of her grandmother and blamed her for the disasters that happened in their village. I like how she would have sacrificed herself for the people who were kidnapped and gave Caterina mercy.
• I like Katie's grandmother she was badass near the end even though she just used a needle. 

Plus, the ending was really fun to read. They got along with each other and became friends and Jack finally named the horse.