I thought this would be the perfect poetry collection for me but Gill’s interpretations of fairytales/folklore and creative choices as a whole didn’t connect with me at all. The idea is good, the illustrations gorgeous; but the last 1/3 of the collection is just a big giant bash against men with no real fairytale link at all.

I know it might sound a bit deranged, but I would make sure that I would read some of the poems and stories in this book to my children to make them understand that stories, even though beautiful and magical, can be told in so many different ways. Und doch bleibt Nikita einem Aspekt der Märchen treu, das Happy End spendet Trost, Klarheit und Mut. Eine Welt, in welcher Prinzessinnen bestens in der Lage sind, sich selbst zu retten und in welcher die Grenzen von Schurken und Helden verschwimmen.Remind each and every girl out there that youth and beauty are not her shackles, nor her only currency. Some tales make us angry, some evoke powerful emotions and some soothe and heal us - this collection has something for every kind of reader.

There is a large mix of poems and stories, so there is bound to be something that every reader will enjoy. Encased in a stunning hardcover, Nikita Gill's book of enchanting fairy tales reignites the wonder behind the stories we all know and love. Nikita Gill puts an adult, mostly feminist spin on common fairytales and legends in her collection, titled Fierce Fairytales: Poems and Stories to Stir Your Soul.I loved how the two pieces went together for each poem and story as it gave a new level to my reading experience. 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. In these short stories and poems you’ll find well known fairytales with insights into characters, backstories and different endings.

Before I even talk about the content in this book, I just want to express just how much I love the cover.

Gill needed an editor or publisher that spoke up about how any boy/man that picks up her book is likely to be put off by the end. The poems and stories are cleverly written, imagining "what if" the princesses in the stories knew they could rely on themselves instead of waiting to be rescued. What if I told you, that the prince charming was asked to 'man up' at every stage, be strong and unfaltering all of which led to repressed emotions with dangerous consequences ?

Even if this turns out to be my token poetry book for the year, I’m so glad to have made the choice. Imagine fairytales where the line between heroes and villains are blurred, where there is violence in supposed Prince Charming’s, and where the girl is independent, brave and smart- and can fight her own battles against monsters. This is one reason I highly recommend the print over the audio, unless you do both, as you miss the drawings in the audio version. Bringing the old into the new, this modernised take is sure to captivate lovers of these timeless tales. Those that especially caught my eye included the image preceding A Tale Of Two Sisters, and the image relating to The Looking Glass.

Through her gorgeous reimagining of fairytale classics and spellbinding original tales, she dismantles the old-fashioned tropes that have been ingrained in our minds. But I felt like I was constantly getting beaten over the head with The Feminist Stick © Which is an okay stick - don't get me wrong - but it hurt.