A disclaimer - I would not normally select this type of novel. I purchased it at a book signing because I like to support enterprising young authors. That said, I did not make it past the first few chapters. I am certain we will hear more from this author. J. A. has a quirky sense of humor and enjoyale writing style. ( )

***Originally posted on BunnyCates.com***

My Thoughts:
In this story, the main character RJ has been put on leave by the evil Villain Union and cursed to “do good”.  Which as you can guess, for a villain, is torture.   When Asia, Cinderella’s stepsister, shows up and mistakes RJ for the famous inspector Sherlock; his curse renders him unable to deny her request for help.  She is there seeking the famous inspector to help her find Cinderella’s murderer.  All hilariousness ensues.
I loved the plot, there was a hella lotta comedy and just enough mystery to keep you guessing.  I loved the characters, ALL OF THEM.  I loved the story arc.   So entertaining, build build build and payoff at just the right time.
In Conclusion:
I loved this.  As in read it in a day, LOVED.  It was in the like the “raw” humor that Shrek or MegaMind was, only for grown ups.  You know… Snarky and a little naughty.  LOL!  This book is a mystery, a comedy, and a fairytale all rolled into one and I LOVED IT.  I definitely say pick it up, especially if you are looking for some light reading and a lot of laughing.  Hilarious.
Mom Notes: *Not for kids. Contains cussing, etc.

Series ALERT: *Froggy Style will be out March 2013*

ahahahah! 
Now available for PREORDER!!!!

**This review is of an ARC** ( )

Take a darkly comic romp through the land of Mother Goose inside the skull of a lecherous villain who has been forced to play nice by magical restraining order. While the characters are all familiar, this is definitely not the fairy tale land you remember from preschool. ( )

Soo...despite my prolonged absence from GR, I'm not dead. And to celebrate that fact, this is my first review in awhile. I wish it could have been a slightly more positive review, but one takes the cards one's been dealt, I guess.

I picked this book because I'm a big fan of authors Jasper Fforde and (at times) Christopher Moore. I include them in the same list because their books tend to have very irreverent attitudes, yet somehow manage to wallop you with actual plot and character developments at the end, and I'd hoped that Kazimer might be a fledgling version of Fforde or Moore. Unfortunately...no, not really.

First, a good thing: the humor in this big is present in a big way. For the first third of the book, I found myself laughing out loud. Our protagonist, R.J., was once an evil villain, but has since been removed from the villainous union and is cursed to be nice until he can get his life back on track. Asia is his love interest, who, naturally, is the smoking-hot "ugly" step-sister of Cinderella.

Was her killer lurking somewhere? I smiled at the thought, remembering the joy of lurking. Ah, the good old villainous days.

The problem, though, is that the same old jokes keep getting repeated. R.J. is emasculated, Asia is kind of evil but R.J. thinks it's hot, Pamela Hans Christian Anderson, yadda yadda yadda. About halfway through, I stopped laughing out loud and started waiting for the plot to start up. And that's the kicker about this book: unlike Fforde or even Moore, the humor is the main event. The plot's certainly not going to keep you there, since it's basically a series of events tied very loosely together that don't make a lot of sense. And God knows the characters aren't enough to keep you invested, since they're all about as deep as a drinking fountain.

This is definitely not a book for people who are easily offended by cheap jokes or lazy writing, since it has both. I like to think I went into this book with a fairly open mind (after all, it's clearly labeled as F**ked Up Fairytales) but this book's portrayal of women set my teeth on edge a couple of times. The reader is constantly reminded that Asia is fat, but R.J. still finds her hot. How selfless of him. (At one point, we're told Asia weighs 150 lbs. Apparently, it's a miracle I'm able to get out of bed in the morning, since I think I weigh more than that.) Asia is probably the closest thing to a "positive" female role model the book's got, but considering that she's constantly agonizing over her weight for the entire book, I'm using the term loosely.

Basically, to sum things up: this book can be good for a distraction, but not unlike the sun, if you look at it too long your head will explode. Or something. ( )

RJ is a fairy tale villain. Except the Union has cursed him for a screw up and now everything he does is not villainous at all. Oh, no. Everything he does, no matter how villainous he tries to be, turns out to be nice. It’s enough to make a bad villain cry.

RJ has been cursed for six days and it’s driving him crazy. He wants to get back to villainy, but the Union thinks he needs a little more time, maybe even a vacation. Then he comes home to find a pretty, sexy and ravenous woman in his favorite chair. She inhales his dinner and asks him to help her solve what she believes is the murder of her stepsister, Cindy. As in Cinderella. Yep. Cindy was pushed in front of a bus and Asia wants to know who did it. Because of the curse, RJ can’t say ‘No.’ and besides he’s hoping to score with the pretty, sexy woman, so off they go to the Kingdom of Maledetto to find themselves a murderer.

Amusing and irreverent this is not a story you want to read to the kiddies. No, no, no. This is for grown ups. The fun I had reading it is probably only slight compared to the fun I imagine was had in the writing of it. Perverting fairy tales. Why didn’t I think of that?! I look forward to reading Book 2!

*The publisher provided a copy of this book for me to review. Please see disclaimer page on my blog. ( )