Half Upon a Time

Half Upon a Time is James Riley's first book in his series Half Upon a Time.

The main character in this book is Jack, son of Jack the Giantkiller and grandson of Jack whose title I forget, or maybe he never had one. Anyways, our current Jack is of the story of Jack and Jill, although we don't figure that out until the next book.

In this book, Jack meets a girl named May. Well, meet is sort of a polite word, considering she drops out of a portal in the sky and nearly splits Jack's head open when he tries to kiss her awake. According to her strange outfit, May is a princess from Punk, although she fervently denies any connection to royalty.

Everyone knows Jack is not the best man for the job of rescuing May's grandmother, Snow White, who has been captured by the Huntsman. Jack completely failed his class on princess rescuing, after all.

But although everyone, even Jack, seems to believe otherwise, Jack is a lot smarter than he seems. Even when they run across Philip, a much more traditional Prince Charming and hero, May and Jack stick together as if their lives depended on it, despite the number of mishaps that Jack always seems to get blamed for.

This story has so many twists and turns that it can be a bit difficult to follow at times, but stick to it. I really liked this book and the next, but the third book made every single bit of confusion worthwhile. Stick with me over the next few days, and maybe I'll find a way to tell you why without giving away too many spoilers.