Friday Friyay: 'The Scarlet Circus' by Jane Yolen

Happy Friday! Today I'm super excited to share some quotes from The Scarlet Circus, a fairy tale collection by Jane Yolen, with you. As some of you know, I am a massive fan of fairy tales of all sorts, so of course I enjoyed Yolen's collection once again. I will share my review on publication day, the 14th of February, but for today I want to draw your attention to a poem Jane Yolen wrote for A Universe in Words about love and stories and poetry. It is called 'Substitute' and I adore it!

The Scarlet Circus, the fourth volume in Yolen’s award-winning short fiction series brings you passionate treasures and unexpected transformations. This bewitching assemblage, with an original introduction from Brandon Sanderson, is an ideal read for anyone who appreciates witty, compelling, and classic romantic fantasy.

A rakish fairy meets the real Juliet behind Shakespeare’s famous tragedy. A jewelry artist travels to the past to meet a successful silver-smith. The addled crew of a ship at sea discovers a mysterious merman. More than one ignored princess finds her match in the most unlikely men.

From ecstasy to tragedy, with love blossoming shyly, love at first sight, and even love borne of practical necessity—beloved fantasist Jane Yolen’s newest collection celebrates romance in all its glory.

Book Beginnings is at home on Rose City Reader, hosted by Gilion Dumas, and Friday 56 at Freda's Voice, hosted by Freda. I'll also be joining the Book Blogger Hop, hosted by Billy over at Ramblings of a Coffee Addicted Writer.

All quotes are taken from the ARC kindly provided to me by Tachyon. 

BB:

'From Sans Soleil

'There once was a Prince called Sans Soleil, which it to say, Sunless. It had been prophesied at his birth that he would grow so handsome, his beauty would outshine the sun.' 10% (first story)

One of the things I adore about Jane Yolen's fairy tales is that they always play with your expectations of the genre. You're expecting a cursed princess? Sike, it's a cursed prince! And he's so pretty, you won't believe it! But of course the twists and turns run much deeper than just the opening line.

F56:

'From The Sword and the Stone

Merlinnus sat down at the foot of the tree and rubbed his back against the bark, easing an itch that had been there since breakfast. He tucked the skirt of his woolen robe between his legs and stared at his feet.' 56%

Another think I like about Yolen's writing is how simple it seems at a first glance. It is super accessible and all her characters feel really human, even if in this case we're talking about Merlin and King Arthur and the whole Round Table mythology. It is actually super hard making writing seem this easy, trust me, I've tried!

BBH:

This week's question comes from Billy himself:

Do you enjoy reading romance novels? If so, which romance trope is your favourite?

I appreciate this question is very much timed to Valentine's Day, but it actually fits The Scarlet Circus so well! Because in her Introduction Jane Yolen says she never considered herself a romance writer, and that yet romance naturally plays a role in many of her works. Similarly, I would not really consider myself a romance reader, as I tend to not actively pick them out or want romance to be the main plot. But then I love romance elements in my other reads. (Except maybe in Thrillers, I'm always like 'You in danger girl, RUN!') So when I get a nice enemies to lovers-back to enemies-back to lovers in my Fantasy, I love that. When I get stubborn refusals to fall in love, followed by pining, in my historical fiction, I'm here for it! When there is only one bed *shock* and they have to share *horror* and have to admit their feelings *gasp*, I'm squealing. A really fun recent example has been G.A. Aiken's The Scarred Earth Saga, which is just a joy of fantasy mania, with some not-so-respectful staring and lusting after each other added in.

So I guess the answer is a somewhere in between. I don't tend to read "full-on" romance novels really, but I love romance elements and tropes when they're woven in properly into the other genre-fiction I read.

That's it for me this week. Pop over to read Jane Yolen's poem' Substitute' if you like, and have a lovely weekend!