It’s Golden Braids release week! *cheering*
The Golden Braids are a collaborative release of five Rapunzel retellings by five different authors. Each book is very different, and I’m here to review one of them today (and I’ll be back tomorrow to review another one)!
You can enter a US giveaway for paperbacks of three of the books, and find the full tour schedule, HERE!
Today I’m reviewing Molly Storm, a Rapunzel short story by Annie Louise Twitchell!
First, a bit about the tale and the author . . .
About the Book
A witch, a pirate, a lighthouse, and… seaweed? Molly Storm is a short story inspired by the tale of Rapunzel.
“You and I, lass, we’re both sides of the same coin. We’re both the heart of the ocean, but you’re more the kindness and goodness. I’m the storms that crush ships. Don’t cross me, Molly. I’ll crush all the sweetness out of you.”
Find the book: Goodreads || Amazon
About the Author
Annie Louise Twitchell is a homeschool graduate who is obsessed with dragons and fairy tales. She enjoys reading, writing, poetry, and many forms of art. When she’s not writing, she can often be found reading out loud to her cat, rabbit, and houseplants, or wandering barefoot in the area around her Western Maine home.
Find her online: Blogspot || Facebook || Instagram || Twitter || Author site
Title: Molly Storm
Author: Annie Louise Twitchell
- Date read: July 27, 2019
- Rating: 4 stars
- Genre: Fantasy / Short Story
- Year pub: 2019
- Pages: 35 (ebook)
- Source: I received a free e-ARC of this story for the blog tour and all opinions are my own.
(I love this cover!)
This was such a unique, fascinating take on Rapunzel, set in a lighthouse — which is perfect! I loved that it was such a quick and easy read, since it’s a short story, but still manages to really grab hold of you and keep you thinking about it. It’s a little bit haunting and super atmospheric and feels totally like a cloudy day above a rocky coast, which I loved!
It could also get a little dark here and there, and there were one or two things I didn’t care for, but on the whole I really enjoyed it. 🙂 I think I expected something a bit different, and almost can’t decide if I was disappointed some of the things I wanted to happen didn’t happen, or that it’s awesome because I couldn’t predict it. XD But what I did get was a very intriguing and different story, populated with memorable characters.
They were sooo interesting — and it was especially unique how it was told from the point of view of the witch from Rapunzel, the titular Molly Storm (love that name!), which made it so different. The pirate captain was so well written and chilling and I kind of loved reading his dialog even while I was shivering. XD The Rapunzel character was sweet, and I really liked Matteo, even if I wanted him to be in it more. XD
The stormy sea-side “feel” was my favorite part and I liked how well-knit-together it was, how several years was depicted so well in such a short space. If you want a short, slightly dark but with some hope, fantasy tale in a lighthouse by the sea with scary pirates and an unexpected twist or two, with more of a mother-daughter feel, this Rapunzel story is for you. 🙂
The Page Dreamer (Deborah O'Carroll) 
Oh, good, I’m not the only one who wished for more Matteo!
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Yessss! I so wanted a whole story about him!! XD
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That would have been awesome.
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This sounds like such a fun, unique take on Rapunzel. I mean, Rapunzel in a lighthouse? BRILLIANT. And, ya know, you can never go wrong with pirates. ;D
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Yes! There should be more lighthouse Rapunzels! 😀 Yesss, pirates! Even scary ones. XD
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Oh, I love the sound of this!
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It’s so unique!
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