Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.12 AVERAGE
3.12 AVERAGE
I enjoyed this book but it surprised me in many ways. It was partially what I expected and then also different from what I expected.
The story goes back and forth between Lil, the fairy godmother that was supposed to get Cinderella to the ball, and Lil, the punished fairy who must live as a human for her failure to do so. As the story progresses you hear the Cinderella story in a quite a different manner than it normally is told. Lil fell in love with Cinderella's prince and did not get her to the ball, instead taking her place. Because of this, she was sent to live in the human world. Lil is trying to put together another romance that will make up for her failure as Cinderella's fairy godmother and allow her to return to being a fairy. When she meets Veronica, she knows she is perfect for her boss and friend George and sets them up for a society ball.
However, as the story progresses, it seems that Lil is living more and more in a fantasy world and the end is quite surprising and left me with many questions. The book was definitely interesting and involving.
The story goes back and forth between Lil, the fairy godmother that was supposed to get Cinderella to the ball, and Lil, the punished fairy who must live as a human for her failure to do so. As the story progresses you hear the Cinderella story in a quite a different manner than it normally is told. Lil fell in love with Cinderella's prince and did not get her to the ball, instead taking her place. Because of this, she was sent to live in the human world. Lil is trying to put together another romance that will make up for her failure as Cinderella's fairy godmother and allow her to return to being a fairy. When she meets Veronica, she knows she is perfect for her boss and friend George and sets them up for a society ball.
However, as the story progresses, it seems that Lil is living more and more in a fantasy world and the end is quite surprising and left me with many questions. The book was definitely interesting and involving.
This is a nice twist on the Cinderella story, well written, my only complaint is that you can see the ending coming too soon in the book. This book would make an excellent "Choose your own adventure" type of story, where you can make decisions at different points on how the story will proceed and how the story should end. This would work for adults as well as children.
Torn over the rating on this one, maybe 3.5 rather than the full 4 stars but this is closest. Loved this book even though it wasn't the cheeriest retelling of a fairy tale I've ever read!
I wanted to like this bookclub book... and then it went in an unexpected direction, which I didn't feel had been set up. Meh.
I won a copy of this novel from a GoodReads giveaway. Finally got around to reading it, and I'm not quite sure what to think.
The story is about Lil, an elderly woman working in a bookstore in the present-day New York City, who is secretly the Godmother from the classic Cinderella tale. Banished to the human world after not getting Cinderella to the ball, and for falling in love with the Prince herself - Lil lives a dull and meaningless existence, until an opportunity to redeem herself suddenly appears and gives a new meaning to her life.
The novel started off a little slow, then I quickly became sucked in as the story flashed back between Lil's past and present. The story intertwined well, with the seemingly parallel characters/situations. I was completely hooked by the story of redemption, and intrigued at how dark the tale became. The ending was a bit of a shock to me, and I'm amused at how disappointed I was at that. I was really hoping for the fairytale ending after all!
The story is about Lil, an elderly woman working in a bookstore in the present-day New York City, who is secretly the Godmother from the classic Cinderella tale. Banished to the human world after not getting Cinderella to the ball, and for falling in love with the Prince herself - Lil lives a dull and meaningless existence, until an opportunity to redeem herself suddenly appears and gives a new meaning to her life.
The novel started off a little slow, then I quickly became sucked in as the story flashed back between Lil's past and present. The story intertwined well, with the seemingly parallel characters/situations. I was completely hooked by the story of redemption, and intrigued at how dark the tale became. The ending was a bit of a shock to me, and I'm amused at how disappointed I was at that. I was really hoping for the fairytale ending after all!
I chose this as a palate cleanser after my last read, and it didn't quite end up as I expected.
This starts out as sort of a retelling of Cinderella, except something has gone terribly wrong. Lil, Cinderella's fairy godmother, fell in love with the Prince instead of Cinderella, and for her troubles she is banished from the fairy kingdom, doomed to live her days in New York City. When she happens upon the opportunity to set up her boss with a young lady she met, she believes setting true love right will be her key back to the kingdom.
The story goes back and forth between present day Lil and fairy Lil, preparing to get Cinderella to the ball. I actually found the fairy parts less interesting, and ended up skimming pieces that didn't seem important to the story. I enjoyed the present day story more, even if Lil did a bit of wandering and acted inconsistently at times. One silly thing that bothered me was that one minute she would be doing something that required money, and the next she would be talking about how she couldn't even afford to buy herself a full meal at the diner.
I will give the author credit -- I didn't see the twist coming until it was practically there. Things got very dark, very quickly, and it was unexpected! In hindsight, I maybe should have seen it, but my ability to suspend disbelief is strong.
Overall, this wasn't bad, but it wasn't what I expected. So if you're expecting a happy love story, you might want to look somewhere else....
This starts out as sort of a retelling of Cinderella, except something has gone terribly wrong. Lil, Cinderella's fairy godmother, fell in love with the Prince instead of Cinderella, and for her troubles she is banished from the fairy kingdom, doomed to live her days in New York City. When she happens upon the opportunity to set up her boss with a young lady she met, she believes setting true love right will be her key back to the kingdom.
The story goes back and forth between present day Lil and fairy Lil, preparing to get Cinderella to the ball. I actually found the fairy parts less interesting, and ended up skimming pieces that didn't seem important to the story. I enjoyed the present day story more, even if Lil did a bit of wandering and acted inconsistently at times. One silly thing that bothered me was that one minute she would be doing something that required money, and the next she would be talking about how she couldn't even afford to buy herself a full meal at the diner.
I will give the author credit -- I didn't see the twist coming until it was practically there. Things got very dark, very quickly, and it was unexpected! In hindsight, I maybe should have seen it, but my ability to suspend disbelief is strong.
Overall, this wasn't bad, but it wasn't what I expected. So if you're expecting a happy love story, you might want to look somewhere else....
OK...it's official. This book is now credited with causing the longest reading slump of 2013. I initially wanted to blame other things, but when I finally finished the book last night, I realized that no, the book was to blame.
That's not to say I did not enjoy the book in some ways. I had heard the book was rather dark, and it was, which was not a problem, because I like dark. I also have really started enjoying fairy-tale retellings and having read another Turgeon book, thought this was a good choice. However, I just couldn't get into the characters. I didn't really like Lil. Maybe I wasn't supposed to. I liked V a lot more and wish more of the book was about her story. And Cinderella...please, don't get me started.
In wrapping, I would actually give this book 2.5 stars, but since I can't, it is relegated to only 2 because I can't make myself give it a 3. I do believe this is a book that I will come to appreciate as time goes on - hopefully. This morning, I find myself still contemplating the ending which has to be a good sign of something good. Or else, just a sign of confusion. Who knows.
That's not to say I did not enjoy the book in some ways. I had heard the book was rather dark, and it was, which was not a problem, because I like dark. I also have really started enjoying fairy-tale retellings and having read another Turgeon book, thought this was a good choice. However, I just couldn't get into the characters. I didn't really like Lil. Maybe I wasn't supposed to. I liked V a lot more and wish more of the book was about her story. And Cinderella...please, don't get me started.
In wrapping, I would actually give this book 2.5 stars, but since I can't, it is relegated to only 2 because I can't make myself give it a 3. I do believe this is a book that I will come to appreciate as time goes on - hopefully. This morning, I find myself still contemplating the ending which has to be a good sign of something good. Or else, just a sign of confusion. Who knows.
Aside from the "insta-love" which was a very minor plot point, I found this to be a bittersweet, beautifully written take on Cinderella. Or maybe it just uses the Cinderella story as a springboard for something else entirely.
I loved this book--she had me at the smell of old books and the bits and pieces of life you find in them, to be honest. The fairy tale flashbacks broke my heart from the beginning, and the end--I can't make up my mind on the end. I'm not sure I feel like it was foreshadowed enough, but after sleeping on it for a night, it makes more sense. I DON'T KNOW. I have to think about it some more. I feel like there's support in the text for two different ways to read the ending. I need someone else to read this and then talk to me about it! Get on that, folks. :D