The Silver Rings by Samuel Valentino

I saw this book from NetGalley and requested/got approved for it. Unfortunately, I didn't think to download it until after it was archived. Sigh.

Good thing I'm in Singapore and managed to get a copy from the library. Now I'm wondering if I should do a disclaimer at the end.

The Silver Rings follows two beautiful twin sisters, Celia and Alice. After their fairy godmother makes them part, the two of them get into different adventures, reliving various classic fairytales, but with a twist. I think I've read a fairy-tale that involves silver rings and siblings, but I can't quite remember its name. Anyhow, apart from that, the book references The Frog Prince, Puss in Boots, All Kinds of Fur, and a host of other fairy tales.

What I liked about this book, apart from the various ways fairytales were worked into one story, would be the unconventional way in which the characters behave. For example, no matter how awful the wicked stepmother is, Alice and Celia remain cheerful. When Prince Randall first sees Alice, he instantly falls in love with her, but Alice does her best not to marry him. In fact, the courtship of Alice and Randall was one of my favourite episodes as it was really amusing to read.

Although the twin sisters are the titular characters, I found that my favourite character was Rant, the fox. He's a talking fox who has a magic hankerchief that can open up and provide whatever food you want (much like that magic table in "Table-Be-Set, Gold-Donkey, and Cudgel-out-of-the-Sack"). His true talent is to spin any story into an outrages one, and his penchant for grandoise tales makes him my favourite character.

All in all, this was a really enjoyable book. Children will like it because it's funny and humorous, and the adults reading it to them will enjoy it when they catch all the different references to traditional fairy-tales.

Disclaimer: I heard about this book from NetGalley. However, the copy I read was from the Singapore National Library. The review here is my honest opinion.