This does take some time and effort to read (it’s not an easy read) but it is completely worth it. I would recommend to those who enjoy magical storytelling and amazing adventures. Overall this is my favorite Valente book yet! I can’t wait to read the second book. Valente is truly one of the most talented authors at weaving magical, creative stories. You can tell a lot of thought and care when into crafting this tale and the way it is woven together is just spectacular.

However, the way everything comes together is so amazingly well done I loved it. Sometimes you end up nested in stories four or five layers deep and as you emerge from the layers it takes a bit of thought and effort to remember where/who you started with. The whole thing is beautifully written and crafted and I really enjoyed reading it. The book is broken into two main stories and within each story many other stories are nested. When he finally meets her she offers to tell him the stories that are twined in the black mask on her face and about her history. The story starts with a young prince who ventures out to talk to the strange girl with the black mask on her skin who lives in the palace gardens. This was hands down my favorite Valente book yet! This was beautifully written, full of amazing imagery and I really loved it. This is the first book in The Orphan’s Tale duology and was amazing! I loved the storytelling and how the stories were nested inside each other. And just when you think you’ve come to the end, you realize the adventure has only begun….” Adorned with illustrations by the legendary Michael Kaluta, Valente’s enchanting lyrical fantasy offers a breathtaking reinvention of the untold myths and dark fairy tales that shape our dreams.

From ill-tempered “mermaid” to fastidious Beast, nothing is ever quite what it seems in these ever-shifting tales–even, and especially, their teller. And what tales she tells! Tales of shape-shifting witches and wild horsewomen, heron kings and beast princesses, snake gods, dog monks, and living stars–each story more strange and fantastic than the one that came before. Inked on her eyelids, each twisting, tattooed tale is a piece in the puzzle of the girl’s own hidden history. “Secreted away in a garden, a lonely girl spins stories to warm a curious prince: peculiar feats and unspeakable fates that loop through each other and back again to meet in the tapestry of her voice. Stand Alone or Series: 1st book in the Orphan’s Tales series

Orphan's tales in the night garden