Grimm Tidings by Shiloh Walker

SWalker-Grimm TidingsI can always count on Shiloh Walker to keep me completely enraptured in whatever story she is telling. This is no less true with the seventh (or sixth depending on how you count them) Grimm Circle novel, Grimm Tidings.

In his mortal life, the only thing Jacob liked better than money was a good brawl—until he stuck his fist into the wrong fight, and a demon sent him spinning into a new life as a Grimm.

Now, a hundred years later, he’s been called to protect someone too much like himself. A woman who could let the chains of her past drag her down unless she learns to let go. A woman who fights like there’s no tomorrow, because she clearly doesn’t want a tomorrow.

Celeste thought her second chance at life would be an opportunity to fix some of her worst mistakes, to set things straight. She couldn’t have been more wrong. She’s trapped by the past and her regrets, and nothing—not even her darkly sexy new trainer, Jacob—has a blade sharp enough to cut her loose.

Chains are Jacob’s specialty, but his help comes with a price. To her, the cost is her heart. To Jacob…something much more.

I love fairy tales. I love how they have morales and so many different interpretations to so many people. I also love this trend of bastardizing fairy tales into a fabulous urban fantasy / paranormal romance; but my favorite of them all is Walker’s Grimm Circle series.  There are so many fairy tales, and stories you wouldn’t think of as fairy tales, that people tend to gloss over, but not Walker. And you never know which story she swiped a character from until the end. Although, I do have to admit I wasn’t as surprised about the source as I have been with previous novels.  I wouldn’t say it was obvious which story Jacob was influenced by, but there were enough hints that the big reveal wasn’t that big.

However, regardless of all that, Grimm Tidings was utterly fabulous. I had such a hard time putting it down, that I’m fairly certain I let a lot of things slide today (you noticed the newsletter isn’t up yet, right? Blame Walker. *grin*). This time around there wasn’t a big bad ugly to contend with; just a bunch of emotional trauma that both Celine and Jacob needed to get past. Because of that, their whole relationship was so intense that it literally made it hard to turn away from the pages. Whenever I had to put the story down, I kept thinking What is Celine thinking? Why doesn’t Jacob just do this?.  It was constantly on my mind and I love a story that keeps my mind moving.

I’m starting to notice that all of the Grimm Circle stories have had a kind of formula to them, but the way they are executed is different and interesting enough that it doesn’t matter.  We have two tortured souls; there’s a conflict that prevents them from easing into a relationship; there’s this massive battle where who knows if the other is going to come out of it; and then the big make-up scene. That’s pretty much the story in a nutshell, but that really doesn’t give any kind of justice to the emotional trauma that we see these characters go through. They’re not given an easy time and what they need to do to get past that point in their lives is never the same.

However, I think knowing that the outline would be familiar, it made it easier to get more invested into the characters. Having an idea of what the characters were going to end up doing allowed me to watch Jacob and Celine a little more and see how they reacted. The complexity of their personalities meant that you never knew what was really going to happen.  There were still surprises. Just because I had the idea, I still didn’t know the story and I was able to explore so much.

Overall, Grimm Tidings is another fabulous story by Shiloh Walker and is a great addition to the Grimm Circle series. The fairy tale this time around, or a classic if will, was a story I’m familiar with and has been told in various forms, but I really loved seeing this other side. I’m not going to tell you want the story is because honestly that’s half the fun.  I love trying to figure out which story was used and I can’t wait to see what Walker has in store for us with the eighth novel, Blind Destiny.  If you haven’t read Grimm Tidings or any Grimm Circle novel, you really should.

While Grimm Tidings is the sixth/seventh book in a series, you do not need to read the previous novels in order to enjoy it. However that does not stop me from telling you to go out and get the previous books because they are just as fantastic as Grimm Tidings. What I’m saying is, pretend you have to read them because you won’t regret it. *grin*

Read Order:
Candy Houses
No Prince Charming
I Thought It Was You
Crazed Hearts
Tarnished Knight
Locked in Silence
Grimm Tidings
Blind Destiny (October 1, 2012)
The First Book of Grimm (contains Candy Houses and No Prince Charming)
The Second Book of Grimm (contains Crazed Hearts and Tarnished Knight)

About Jackie 3282 Articles
I am a 30-something SAHM with two adorable boys and a supportive husband who is very tolerant of my reading addiction. I love to read and easily go through about a dozen books a month – well I did before I had kids. Now, not so much. After my first son was born, I began to take my hobby of reviewing a little more serious and started Literary Escapism to help with my sanity. I love to discuss the fabulous novels I’ve read and meeting all the wonderful people in the book blogging community has been amazing.

1 Comment

  1. Been meaning to get these books for a while now as I kept stumbling across them. This has given me the kick up the rear I needed to go get them and sneak them near the top of my growing TBR pile. ;-D

Comments are closed.