Fierce Fairytales Hardcover

Beautifully written collection of fairytale retellings and poems. The cover is beautiful too, but what captured me are the retellings and the poems. They are breathtaking, full of imagery and magic. They are empowering, mostly for women and young girls, but also, sometimes, for men and even monsters.Strong women are celebrated, encouraged, empowered through Nikita Gill’s words. From the dedication, “For you, who has never forgotten the magic. It wants you to know it remembers you too,” to the last poem, aptly Called “Happily Ever After,” every tale and every poem turn the patriarchy upside down, reversing it back to the oldest form of humanity, the matriarchy, in which the playing field was level and women and men stood side by side in equality and celebration of beauty in strength.Many times I whispered, “Wow” as I finished a tale in which the dragons were allies, the princesses rescued themselves, the witch was a healer persecuted by cruel townspeople and their children, the monster was only defending itself, and step-mothers were type-cast and victimized by spoiled princesses used to getting their way.If you love fairytales, if you like reading stories featuring strong women, magic, and karma settling debts, you will love this book. My only criticism is that I wish it were longer.

I am not sure if I just need to let Nikita's books sit with me--- but they are soooooo depressing. Not really for me. I heard the author on NPR... thought it would be interesting,,, but not. Not for me. Will pass it on.

Gorgeous book! The cover is outstanding in design, the illustrations are a nice addition. Nikita has put out a stunner! She has re-written old tales with a positive twist to support young females, to bolster their confidence in themselves. Putting a positive affirmation out for young women. Adding her own fierce tales to the mix. Very well done, a must for your daughters!

OH. MY. GOSH. I am in love. She took my love of Fairytales, and my love of poetry, and somehow made the perfect love child. If you're tired of always being seen as the damsel in distress then I definitely recommend this. It'll make you feel like the warrior you know you are.

I've never been into poetry but this collection is full of works that speak to me. There are short stories (or a sort) mixed in with more traditional poetry which I found made it easier for my to read (being a poetry novice). The progression of themes was really nice as well. If you like Nikita's Instagram and are on the fence about the book, I say go for it.

I thoroughly enjoy it. It’s fierce, powerful, and I wish I had a book like this when I was younger. I will be reading parts of this book to my hypothetical future daughter.

magic upon magic, light upon light, nikita gill has breathed new life into tales as old as time. each fairytale has a new beginning, a new ending, a new perspective. each story has a lesson and a new way of seeing things. (belladonna deserved better), think once upon a time but poetry, prose, and short stories. as usual gill has brought her own brand of magic to each story and each word has been carefully picked. i adore this work, i adore all of gill's work. it is all so magnificent.

Nikita is the type of author than can stir your bones and make you feel like you can do anything! This collection was unique, empowering and a must-read for womxn. You can re-write your story. Not everyone wants to be awakened with a kiss by a prince. I love how she turns traditional fairytales on their head and give them a modern and brilliant twist.

This is described as a collection of short stories, but it's not. It's an anthology of poetry with some flash fiction. Not that I dislike poetry but I expected short stories. I'd have appreciated knowing before I bought it. To be honest, the poetry isn't that great. bit unoriginal.

I love Nikita Gill. My partner bought me Wild Embers for my Christmas which led me to looking for more. These books help explain and heal emotions we feel. I read pages and think “Yes! That’s exactly it”. But also, there’s story-telling from the feisty woman angle which is much needed to present a different take on the tired old cliches.

Poetry is intuitive and personal. As such, I am hesitant to give poetry a less-than-five-star-rating.I was blown away by Fierce Fairytales. This powerful, empowering, fierce book, reimagines our favourite fairytales; often from the feminist perspective of the ‘villain.’Not only is the writing gorgeously emotive, the book also contains gorgeous illustrations! Those that especially caught my eye included the image preceding A Tale Of Two Sisters, and the image relating to The Looking Glass.Whilst reading, I made a list of my favourite poems. This list got very out of control, very quickly. Therefore, the following is by no means exhaustive... My favourite poems from the collection were Trapped, Scheherazade The Clever, Wonderland Villain, The Dragon Witch’s Daughter, Baba Yaga and In Absentia: A Common Curse.

Despite having fallen out of love with poetry years ago, I had such a good feeling about this book when I first picked it up. This is filled with poetic retellings and short stories of fairy tales, as well as a few original tales. This book struck so many chords with me that I never expected going in, and as cliche as it sounds, I found things I never realised I was looking for within these pages. This was a short but powerful read, and I highly recommend you check this out!

Nikita Gill's writing evokes strength, empowerment and courage with a magical twist and a dash of nostalgia. Love this book!