Nancy MadoreCritiques

Having read this book before, the excitement and shock of each story wasn’t there this time. My first read was 4.5. But because I’ve read it before, each story basically became the same story with different characters. I will say, for the first time read- you’ll never see fairy tails the same again. Solid 3.5

Las doce princesas poseen riqueza, belleza, poder y dignidad, pero a pesar de sus vidas de ensueño y de los hombres apuestos que las desean, se sienten vacías y frustradas. Anhelan algo más... Con la ayuda de una hechicera poderosa, todas ellas descubren formas creativas y traviesas de satisfacer sus deseos apasionados y desesperadas necesidades.

It tried so hard to be sexy that it was hilarious.

I want to say I liked "Mrs. Fox" best, but I suspect a girl's favorite story might reveal which particular fantasy scenario appeals to her most. :)

I quite liked the opening of Mirror On the Wall though:

Once upon a time, in a kingdom known far and wide for its beautiful women, there lived a sorcerer who fell in love with one of the maidens who dwelt there. This maiden was untrue to the sorcerer, however, and shortly afterward, he died of a broken heart. With his last breath he cast a spell upon the entire kingdom and, for all I know, it remains there to this day.

Under the spell of the broken-hearted sorcerer, all the women of this kingdom suddenly appeared unfamiliar and disagreeable to their male counterparts and even to themselves. They immediately began a campaign to become the exact opposite of what nature intended them to be. First, they starved themselves almost to death, because this emaciated condition was thought to be more appealing than the normal womanly appearance that came from being healthy. Those who could not withstand this deprivation submitted to other humiliating methods of ridding themselves of the unwanted flesh. Next, their breasts had to be altered from their natural shape to a larger, stiffer prototype, which, though causing much pain and many health problems, had a more desirable effect for everyone. Aging was the most detestable of all the natural manifestations in women, and it was to be avoided at all costs. Women did everything in their power to prevent it, finally succumbing to dangerous medical procedures when all else failed.

Although such an existence may seem far-fetched and improbable to many a reader, I can assure you, it is quite true. One could not expound too earnestly on the lengths to which these poor creatures were willing to go in their efforts to be anything besides that which they were. [...]

In short, an intense misery came over the female inhabitants of this accursed land.

Pu that way, it sounds crazy, but it's true.

This has been sitting on my bookshelf for quite a while and I finally decided to read it. I was pleasantly surprised by how much I got into it. I can relate to the plight of the poor princesses who often suffer in silence while hoping to somehow find physical satisfaction from their husbands. Having a powerful wizardess around certainly helps to get things going. Of course, this also has a particularly nice bonus for the wizardess herself. I used to read these types of books when I was in my early 20s, but now that I am in my early 30s I feel that I can appreciate them even more. I can't wait to check out the other books from this author.

This certainly was an interesting story, delving into historical myths. The initial concept is intriguing and held my attention. Still, I couldn't quite get into this book. Truthfully, I think it's my fault. I'm just not that into urban fantasy, especially the idea of angels and demons. Nadia's character is relatable, but the sections involving her interrogation tend to be rather, well... boring.

This author has much potential and I'm interested to see what the sequels have in store once I get to them. This is well worth reading. I'm grateful for being requested to read and review.

This book has it all, sex, lies, corruption and lots of laughs. Its as disturbing as it is hilarious. I don't know which is crazier, the judge or the oblivious court system. It just goes to show how broken things are. I am most impressed by this author. It takes a lot of talent to make this funny and that is just what she did.

Allow yourself to be drawn into a fantasy world like no other . . . where a beautiful princess is seduced into a love triangle with a handsome prince and her winsome maid . . . where a mysterious gentleman's young bride is deliciously disciplined for her unchecked curiosity . . . where a naive daughter is married off to a beast of a man whose carnal appetites awaken her budding desire . . . With a unique and decidedly adult twist on thirteen classic fairy tales, Nancy Madore intrigues and arouses with her titillating, sizzling anthology of erotic stories guaranteed to keep you up late into the night. You'll never look at fairy tales the same way again.

This book is just plain fun to read. I don't even know how to describe it. It claims to be a true story but it's pretty incredible. True or not, it's pure entertainment from start to finish. There are a few things that would have really bothered me if not for Madore's writing style, which kept me turning the pages even when I wanted to scream. The first thing was that there is just too much to absorb. We get it. The judge breaks ever rule in the rule book and even some that haven't been thought of yet. Point taken. The world is corrupt. We know. But like I said, Madore's humor forces you to suffer through it with her. The second bothersome thing was the ending. Even though Madore had me laughing right up to the end, I was left feeling empty inside. Now I have to stalk this woman to find out what happens. praying for a sequel.

This book was a riot. I liked the author's sense of humor. It's a good thing too, because I don't think I would've made it to the end of this book if I wasn't enjoying the writing so much. The "true" story is so unbelievable that it has the feel of a marvel comic. The bad guy is really that bad. The only problem is that he never gets the satisfactory butt kicking that he would have get if this actually were a marvel comic. I didn't do any checking up on this guy like the other readers whose reviews I read, so I can't say whether the book is really true or not. It certainly did offer some interesting eye openers about our judicial system. Funny and educational. You can't get any better than that.

The first thing that got me was the writing. Madore's writing style is captivating. I literally couldn't put the book down. I kept thinking, one more chapter. I liked her straight forward, conversational manner as she's telling this incredible story.

The story itself is hard to swallow. My first instinct was to reject it. In fact, this troubled me so much that I actually started digging through the 'court documents' Madore posted online. For any other doubters out there, I recommend the deposition of Robert Nadeau marked DEPO3. This document, all by itself, proves Madore's case, which is why I included the link to it above.

While Madore is telling her story, she seems to be analyzing her own part in it. "It’s amazing how even the shortest reprieve from hopelessness can bring about the most incredible joy," she writes about her own attempt to 'escape from the pain' of the situation she found herself in. Her insights on human behavior were dead on. I found myself looking for her next epiphany.

She writes: "I once read that we are all insane to one degree or another. The psychologist who wrote this theorized that a person’s sanity could actually be measured by their level of commitment to the truth. In that psychologist’s opinion, people who strive after truth are less crazy than those who are perfectly content to base their existence on lies. I don’t know if this is true or not. Truth often brings incredible pain and I’ve noticed that denial can be a very comforting thing. But my experience, as a person who has a deep regard for the truth, is that once you get through that pain, a myriad of new doors will open. And these doors can lead to real joy for those who dare to venture through them." Madore's life, as she describes it in this book, seems to attest to this. She has a great attitude that seems to get better as the book progresses.

I can see how some readers might find this a difficult story to get through. Judge Nadeau's behavior defies belief. I kept asking myself, how is this guy still allowed in court? It makes the whole legal profession look bad. And Madore spares no one. She tells it like it is. She claims she is looking for accountability. I, for one, hope she gets it.

This book got me so worked up! One minute I couldn't put it down. The next minute I was throwing it across the room. I HATE this guy!!!

What I want to know is what happened to Maryann? Why isn't anybody talking about her? Yes, she was foolish to go back to this judge but she was desperate! I know many women who have been in the same position. Betrayal at the hands of someone you love is bad enough but she trusted this man as her personal attorney. What he did to her is unforgiveable.

This is a great story that kept me on the edge of my seat. I couldn't help being impressed with the way these two women kept their sense of humor through all this. Madore keeps the laughs going right up to the end.

The one disappointment I had with the book was that Nancy Madore never got back in touch with Maryann. What Maryann needs most right now is a good friend! We all do things we regret but I think these two women have a deep bond. It is rare to find the kind of sense of humor that these two women have. It would be a tragedy to let this terrible man ruin that friendship forever.

"This book is my attempt to beat back the corruption I have witnessed in my little corner of the world, by using the 'power of the pen‘ to hold one judge—and the system he operates within— accountable. I hope my story inspires others to do the same."
That quote comes directly from the author Nancy Madore and I think she has accomplished what she set out to do. But this story is about a lot more than just the corrupt Judge Nadeau. It's also about friendship. At least thats the part of the story I related to best. I could see myself in both women (mostly Maryann). I have been where Maryann was and I could understand the hopelessness she felt. I think they were unfortunate to get mixed up with this judge. I give Nancy Madore kudos for having the courage to write about it.
This was an easy read from start to finish. Although the content is serious, it is presented with humor, making it a very enjoyable reading experience. Five stars!

This was hilarious and depressing at the same time. It had a nice flow to it that made it a quick read. I think they should videotape the trial. I liked the author's lawyer. I kept thinking Maryann and the judge would end up getting back together. They are both crazy.

I live in Maine so I know of this judge. I remember hearing something about some trouble he was in a few years ago but I had no idea that all this was going on. Why isn't anyone doing anything about it? This is an outrage. I admire the courage of this woman for writing about it. She has a wonderful attitude and a good sense of humor. I like the way she put the court documents right on her website for the whole world to see. It sounds like she has quite a battle ahead of her. I wish her the best. I will certainly not be voting for this buffoon in the coming election!

I'd rate this somewhere between "It's OK" and "I like it", so I'm rounding up to three stars.

The story was nice, but I could've done with a character to identify with. And without Helene's life story. I didn't feel that it contributed anything to the story. The ancient storyline at least set up some characters. I would even say I liked the Mesopotamian storyline the best. The other thing I liked is how the author takes a bunch of mythology and ties them all together in a neat bundle.

I received this book from the author with the request for a review. The series was new to me, so I had to start with The Hidden Ones, before moving on to Power of Gods.

To be honest, when I started reading I didn't expect much. My experience with books that cover religious history isn't too god, so you could say I was prejudiced.

Now that I have read both books I freely admit that I was positively surprised.

The author just uses all the religious folklore and ties it into a bundle with some hints at a deeper sci-fi background. All in all the result is quite entertaining.

But let's move on to Power of Gods. And please note that I am not going into any details, in order to avoid spoilers.

The second book in the Watchers series is more entertaining than the first one. Like in The Hidden Ones we follow three narrative strings, with Nadia and the Raphaelites being the central one that ties it all together.

This time only one narrative is in the past, the other two happen in parallel. The third one is again the origin story of a djinn. The fact that we don't have another Helene alone makes this book better than the first one. I really didn't care for that story.

The dynamic between the main characters was also better, especially towards the end. I like how the relationship between Nadia and Will developed.

I am not a huge fan of the main characters, as it is difficult for me to identify with any of them. I hope they gain some more depth in the next book.

The story felt better developed and paced. In The Hidden Ones everything just happens suddenly at the end. In this book the danger is more or less clear from the beginning.

The ending surprised me and I hope we get some insights into the ramifications of what happened.

Overall I enjoyed this book.

I was on a quest to get a couple of erotica books a few years ago. This was one of the ones I picked up that looked interesting. Unfortunately, this was pretty much an awful book. I was expecting a series of erotic stories based on fairy tales, this was really not that at all.

Each story starts with a nursery rhyme and that is supposedly what the story is based off of (which is a bit...uh...weird). There is absolutely no element of fantasy in these stories (there is a bit of magical realism in one of them I guess). These are supposed to be "erotic bedtime stories for women" but in the majority of the stories the women in them are abused, subjecated, and manipulated by the men in them.

The characters are deceitful and manipulative; which makes them hard to engage with or care about. I do understand this is supposed to be erotica which is maybe less about emotion than a romance, but it still helps to have characters that are engaging and interesting.

However, given the above I at least expect the sex scenes throughout to actually be good...which they really weren't. Basically the majority of sex scenes consisted of the man going down on the woman and then having vigorous sex with her, rinse and repeat for scene after scene. Soooo boring. Even the description of the scenes is a bit awkward at times and could have flowed much better and been written with much more engaging descriptions.

The first story of the book did have some interesting and creative sex scenes, although they were also very violent, disturbing, and demeaning to the woman in them.

My favorite story of the book was one called Hot Cross Buns, which did a really nice job of showing a functional and loving submissive/dominant relationship between a man and a woman. This was hands down the best story of the bunch (although again, why did the woman have to be the submissive one?).

I don't read a ton of of erotica, maybe a book or two a year. So I am definitely not all that knowledgeable about it...however this was just a poorly written book in a number of ways.

Overall this was just a bad book plain and simple. Most of the stories in this book just left me feeling mildly disgusted; both with the writing quality and the content. I did read Taboo by Jess Michaels last year and enjoyed that book, so I would recommend that book over this one if you are looking for an engaging erotica.½

In some ways Enchanted isn’t too different from The Bloody Chamber by Angela Carter – reworked fairy tales with an adult and somewhat feminist twist with a background commentary on gender roles (i.e. wife, career woman, princess, maid etc).

If I had stopped reading at the end of Mrs Fox I would have given Enchanted four stars due to the simply written and tastefully woven tales with clever and sometimes amusing twists. Lessons learned were truly learned rather than lectured on as they were in the second half of the book. For example the Queen in Mirror on the Wall learned that cosmetic enhancements did not automatically make you beautiful but in the Ugly Duckling (the last story) the lesson that beauty alone does not bring you happiness was practically shoved in your face. The same goes for Cinderella and The Sheep in Wolves’ Clothing. Both were about reigniting the love in their marriages but Cinderella was more subtle whereas the other story contained lengthy explanations on the subject.

The enjoyable highlights for me were Beauty and the Beast with Beauty missing her beast when he turns into the prince, Cat and Mouse about a male and female - equals jockeying (and negotiating) for position neither wanting to play the submissive slave, Mirror on the Wall for a mixture of old and new (old being the story and new being the cosmetic surgery theme), Mrs Fox with the lesson being that the grass isn’t always greener on the other side but it is a pleasant change every now and then, and finally Goldilocks and the Three Barons – I loved seeing her as a nosey busy body reporter who reports rumour, half-truths and absolute lies - an amusing comparison to the original story.

'Mind-altering drugs were used in the making of this book' -that's the disclaimer that should be printed on the very first page of Enchanted Dreams.

***SPOILERS BELOW***

The first story Enchanted Forest especially says "psychedelic" because no sane person would use a tree root as a dildo. Or plants. Or flowers. Or let butterflies lick *ahem* down there. I suppose you could say she’s making love to nature. The end gives a possible explanation –is it her afterlife? Her heaven? Not what I was expecting when the title reads 'Tales of the Supernatural'. Far out, man. **peace sign** ---1 star.

Disenchantment - Cannibalism. Not Sexy. And I never want to meet anyone who thinks it is. Ever watched that Preying Mantis episode of Buffy? Well, this was that but with an added discussion on why relationships are so dysfunctional and the gender dynamics and behaviours at work which was interesting. I enjoyed it right up until the eating of human flesh. ---4 stars.

Dying For It -One of the more “normal” stories with a voyeuristic terminally ill human stalking the predatory vampire. Her teeth though, I could never imagine doing that to myself, I consider it self-mutilation. ---3 stars.

Expecting -Aliens, abortion and mental illness. Kind of depressing but maybe because I choose to believe it wasn’t real, it was all in her mind. It was too weird and she was too paranoid for me to think otherwise. ---1 star.

Flowers For Angela -Creeped. Me. Out. I’d rather keep my free will than let myself be brainwashed and turned into a slave by my husband and psychotherapist. The violation of trust is staggering. Also, the eating of dog food was nauseating. Overall, just plain disturbing. ---2 stars

Jimmy -I really thought she’d run off with Jimmy the incubus at first but he wasn’t very considerate, which is exactly what I accused Ray of being. I was wrong. He was amazing once she confided in him. ---2 stars

The Incentive Program -Wow, after multiple WTF weird moments reading this book I never expected to find such a gem at the end. I’m with Georgia, get me into the future so I can join this programme just like Cassie did and meet my very own Craig, Steve and Peter. I LOL'd when Peter started reading Madore’s first [b:Enchanted|682933|Enchanted Erotic Bedtime Stories For Women|Nancy Madore|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1177119873s/682933.jpg|669322] book to Cassie. I loved the Beauty and the Beast story he read. So sweet. ---5 stars.

For erotica I didn’t find it terribly erotic. Many times I felt like a child pointing and laughing at the strange goings on in this book. Even when I was beginning to enjoy it, I had to pull myself back after a few stories when I learned that liking a character could mean their death or being turned into the villain of the piece. I’ll admit the canabalism threw me. At that point I checked this book was actually listed as erotica because it made me think more of horror = erotic horror.

The main theme running through the stories other than the supernatural (or in this case crazy drugged-out hallucinogenic tales) was domination, control and the issue of consent. The predator and the prey. The dominant and the submissive. The victim and the villain. It wasn't always clear which characters were in which roles. And it didn't matter whether they were male or female. The aggressor could be either.

I'm always very aware of gender roles when I read Madore's books (she comes across as a feminist but not bra-burning, man-hating one) and I find her ideas on them intriguing so even though I don't always rate her highly I'm always interested in her work.

For the genre this was pretty dark and depressing. I know nursery rhymes (which these stories are based on) usually have a dark twist to them but I didn’t expect them to be translated in to odd and sometimes downright creepy stories with unhappy endings. I really only enjoyed two: Curly Locks and Hot Cross Buns – the two with happy endings. The others just left me feeling uncomfortable.

A slightly disappointing sequel to the refreshing book Enchanted.

Imaginative tales cleverly written but too dark and intense for me.

The research that must have gone into the making of this book were what made it an exceptional read. The story is a good one and I could really imagine this happening. It's a surprisingly forward thinking novel considering it takes you back thousands of years in history. The characters were riviting. The writing is excellent. I am definitely reading all three books in this series.

For my review see the author's [The hidden ones]. I reviewed the whole trilogy there. I abandoned it; it's not really of my interest. I appreciate the author's efforts and the fact others may like the trilogy but it's just not for me.

The author sent this to me in exchange for an honest review.

The whole Watchers trilogy was a mixture of science fiction/fantasy/romance set mainly in contemporary times; I couldn't pigeonhole it into one definite genre. Any historical fiction/fantasy was based on the Lilith/Nephilim legends; they attracted me in the first place. Nadia, the heroine, CEO of a charitable nonprofit, BEACON, is kidnapped one day and taken to Saudi Arabia where she tells her kidnappers, members of a group called the Raphaelians, of her grandmother's stories and the legend of Lilith, who is trying to bring catastrophe on the world. They try to prevent it: a pandemic. We are taken back and forth from present time; to when her grandmother--the unwilling wife of a Saudi--was living; and back to the ancient days in Mesopotamia for the story of the djinn Lilith, one of the Nephilim as mentioned in the Old Testament, and her race. I did like reading about some of the Muslim culture but I fear much was negatively stereotypical. I appreciate the author's efforts and from so many positive comments I see on the reviews, I am sure there are many others who would like her trilogy, but it is not really of my interest. I had no complaints about the writing style: a yeoman effort with minimal proofing errors. I couldn't connect with any of the characters. The love interest subplot was strange. I could only read Book 2 partway then abandoned it. I understand Vol. 2 will take readers to the time of King Solomon and ancient Israel. I never even tried Book 3. I'm not interested enough to find out how the story finishes.

She had been following the advice of charlatans, who had the impertinence to speak for their own creator.