The long-running Italian cartoon about a group of best-friend fairies, Winx Club, is one of the few explicitly girl-focused shows to make the transition to a darker, edgier live-action. Fate: The Winx Saga by Netflix casts the same spell on the bright, visually vibrant cartoon that Chilling Adventures of Sabrina and Riverdale did on their family-friendly Archie Comics counterparts. It has a surprisingly nuanced plot that delves into the consequences of war across generations — but it comes at a cost, both for the characters and for that familiar sense of friendship and mutual support. In the first episode, we see Bloom (Abigail Cowen) moving into Alfea, a boarding school for fairies and specialists (male fairies) in the Otherworld. The first person she speaks with is a specialist named Sky (Danny Griffin), who discovers that Bloom is from the "realm" of California and that she had no idea she was a fairy three months ago. She meets her roommates, including Stella (Hannah...
The Cruel Prince follows Jude Duarte, a human who lives in the Faerie realm. Jude's parents were murdered when she was seven years old, and she and her two sisters were brought to life in the terrifying High Court of Faerie. Jude, although human, wants nothing more than to belong with the animals who took her from her home after ten years. However, most fey loathes humans, particularly the King of Elfhame's youngest son. To be admitted to the Court, she must disobey him and the mortality she has battled so hard to stay in Faerie. As a result, she becomes enmeshed in the High Court's intrigues and deceptions, finding her ability for violence and bloodshed. The Cruel Prince is a thrilling and engrossing read. The book's style is characteristic, and its dark political intrigue disconcerted me. The world of Faerie has a whimsical and wild vibe to it, but the actual design of the world is a little more mysterious and mystical. The book's principal places have a strong ...