I've got to admit, I wasn't that impressed with "Goblin Quest" - it felt too much like a D&D campaign, but I thoroughly enjoyed "The Stepsister Scheme". What's special about this book? Hines takes the traditional Disney princesses we all know and vomit over, but bases their histories on the original fairy tales (very few of which end well), and then turns them into "Charlie's Angels" with more trolls and magic.

Hines keeps the plot moving with plenty of action, and not a lot of reflection. I was disappointed they didn't go into the character's back stories more. Most of us don't know the real fairy tales, and I know that Hines did his research. The character's histories only come out in snippets - Sleeping Beauty reveals her heartless nature comes from her victimization, Snow White's flirty nature with the Woodsman who died for her, and Cinderella's story continues after the prince puts the glass slipper on.

The only other problem I had was that the male types were A) missing for the majority of the story (being kidnapped) or B) drunken gnomes, evil trolls, suggestion-susceptible goblins, or the like. This is a common complaint about a lot of feminist literature, and it surprised me coming from a book written by a man. I understand the desire to make a story female-centric, but that doesn't mean men don't exist or all evil. I don't want a Bosley, and I don't want a "Sailor Moon" Tuxedo Man. I'm not sure what I want, but I know what I don't want. I guess it's one of the trappings of the genre.

But the characters are damn fun, and the story is damn fun.