An Unnatural Beanstalk: A Retelling of Jack and the Beanstalk by Brittany Fichter

Fantasy. 200 Pages. 4 Stars

Synopsis:

Some fairies ruin everything. 

Eva never doubted her place in her happy little world. Born second to a former woodcutters-turned-wealthy merchants’ family, all she ever wanted was to care for her siblings and to play the harp. Unfortunately, when her fairy godfather’s gift-giving goes awry, Eva receives an unusual talent that gets her abducted and betrothed to a loathsome duke with giant plans for the kingdom. 

Jack never ventured far from his mother’s farm. But when Eva’s fairy godfather, in an attempt to fix his goddaughter’s plight, forces Jack to take some magic beans and responsibility for saving Eva, Jack finds himself in as much danger as the girl he came to save. 

In this retelling of Jack and the Beanstalk, follow Jack and Eva as they attempt to outsmart the duke, save the kingdom, and just possibly find their own happily ever after as well. 

An Unnatural Beanstalk is a romantic fairy tale novella. It can be read on its own but is more fun when read as a part of the Entwined Tales, a series of interconnected fairy tales by six different authors. Each story follows the adventures of one of seven children from the same family as they seek out their own happily ever afters in spite of their reluctant fairy-godfather.

My Review:

This is the second book in the Entwined Tales series of six books by six different authors. 

I’ve never been a die-hard Jack and the Beanstalk fanatic, but I really enjoyed this! It was longer than the first book in the series (A Goose Girl: A Retelling of The Goose Girl), so I didn’t feel like the story got cut out from under me before it was done. I really, really liked Jack. He was quick on his feet, comical, and genuine. I loved the internal struggles of both Jack and Eva. I felt like they were well-matched. They were easy-going and easy to relate to. I love how Jack buoyed Eva. Call me a sucker, but it made my heart melt the way he approached her and supported her. I was especially a fan of the chapters from his perspective. Jack was a true hero. Eva was kind, and braver and stronger than she believed, but she never felt fake to me. I really connected with their care for children and their siblings too. I loved the characters; can you tell? The allusions to the original were clever and refreshing! I adore what Fichter did with the harp in reference to the original story! The plot was well-paced with a few surprise entrances from the fairy godfather that I also really liked. I loved the relationships in this the most, I think. I did spot one of the two loopholes Fichter built into her plot, but I didn’t enjoy it any less. I did, however, feel like the Golden Goose was never fully explained…That aside, I liked her writing style and I’d certainly be interested in reading more of her work. A great read!

No foul language, clean romance, and no graphic violence.

More: 

Book 1 in the Entwined Tales is A Goose Girl: A Retelling of The Goose Girl by K. M. Shea (4 Stars)

Book 3 is A Bear’s Bride by Shari L. Tapscott (4 Stars)

Book 4 is A Beautiful Curse: A Retelling of The Frog Bride by Kenley Davidson (5 Stars)

Book 5 is A Little Mermaid: A Retelling of the Little Mermaid by Aya Ling (4 Stars)

Book 6 is An Inconvenient Princess: A Retelling of Rapunzel by Melanie Cellier (5 Stars)

I have rated and reviewed each of the above on Goodreads. Check out the links for more information. 

The books are best read in order, though I guess technically they can each stand on their own. 

On GraceBought:

If you missed it, be sure to check out the previous review in the series here on GraceBought! And stay tuned for the reviews to come in the following weeks!

A Goose Girl