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nbartkiw's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
akookieforyou's review against another edition
3.0
*2.75*
As someone who is a huge fan of the movie adaptation starring Anne Hathaway and Hugh Dancy, and has been told that the book is so much better, obviously this had a lot to live up to. Sadly, it just couldn't.
Honestly I seriously wanted to DNF this in the first half. The writing style was not to my preferences (seriously no hate towards Gail, it's just my own tastes), the characters were meh, and the story felt really all over the place and meandering. I kept feeling like there was no real aim or goal (again, in the first half), it just felt like stuff that was happening to Ella, not significant things that had major importance.
However, the second half (i.e. the part that's actually a proper retelling of Cinderella) was really good and entertaining. Ella and Char's relationship was beautiful, sweet and romantic. My heart was breaking for all of their pain and suffering, especially Ella's. Imagine being literally magically forced to obey awful commands, like burning your hands. That's where this book truly shined in my opinion, and why my rating is as high as it is.
I know my feelings aren't popular, but I want to share them for the people that didn't fall in love with the story as much as they wanted to.
As someone who is a huge fan of the movie adaptation starring Anne Hathaway and Hugh Dancy, and has been told that the book is so much better, obviously this had a lot to live up to. Sadly, it just couldn't.
Honestly I seriously wanted to DNF this in the first half. The writing style was not to my preferences (seriously no hate towards Gail, it's just my own tastes), the characters were meh, and the story felt really all over the place and meandering. I kept feeling like there was no real aim or goal (again, in the first half), it just felt like stuff that was happening to Ella, not significant things that had major importance.
However, the second half (i.e. the part that's actually a proper retelling of Cinderella) was really good and entertaining. Ella and Char's relationship was beautiful, sweet and romantic. My heart was breaking for all of their pain and suffering, especially Ella's. Imagine being literally magically forced to obey awful commands, like burning your hands. That's where this book truly shined in my opinion, and why my rating is as high as it is.
I know my feelings aren't popular, but I want to share them for the people that didn't fall in love with the story as much as they wanted to.
sophiehannahh's review against another edition
4.0
i looove a fairytale. i had read like 25/30% of this a few months ago so it was quick to finish. a completely diff world than the movie. v lovely.
issianne's review against another edition
5.0
So stinking cute. Different from the movie but still so much fun. I definitely saw the parallel of Cinderella and Ella Enchanted (literally just realized they have the same name…) more in the book than the movie. Also, the romance between Ella and Char was adorable and so sweet. Glad I finally got around to picking this up!
pupcake's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
hannahm88's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
This is one of the rare occasions where the movie was in fact better than the book. You just can’t beat perfection and that’s what the movie was and honestly the book and the movie are so incredibly different from the other.
lisaisaann444's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
leeleerose93's review against another edition
5.0
ALL I CAN SAY IS WOWWWWW
People have told me how this is completely different than the movie but it was literally like reading two different stories. They’re not the same at all! I’ll always love the movie, but as a separate thing on its own. What a bummer, though. A movie actually representing what happened in the book would’ve been so amazing too.
People have told me how this is completely different than the movie but it was literally like reading two different stories. They’re not the same at all! I’ll always love the movie, but as a separate thing on its own. What a bummer, though. A movie actually representing what happened in the book would’ve been so amazing too.
fantasynovel's review
5.0
I don't even know how many times I've read this book. SJM, take notes: THIS is how you write a good romance. And there aren't even a million unnecessary R-rated pages that do nothing to further the plot and come out of nowhere to surprise innocent 11 year olds reading your books! Ahem. Ella Enchanted is just as amazing as it was the first time I read it, except this time I can criticize the world building (why is there a tale about King Midas??? Does Greece exist in this world?????). But I let those things go bc there are other things like the most entertaining evil stepsisters in Western fairytale canon and masked balls. There are ogres with mind-control abilities and little baby gnomes that get lost and a giant couple that gets cursed to never part. The main character is a linguist who can talk to all these animals and even mind-control ogres right back. It's maybe the most entertaining book I've ever read. Pages are literally falling out of my copy, that's how much I love it. Also, NBD, there's a really sweet prince who respects Ella's boundaries and also writes really sweet letters. Like, really sweet letters. brb gotta go cry about those letters.