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berodatheelf's review
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This was both kinda what I was expecting and what I wasn't expecting and I really liked that for the book. Part retelling, part literary, part viewing society under a feminist scope, at times you didn't know where you were with this book. I found it whimsical and kept the feeling of fairytales well, something many modern retellings fail to capture. It felt like it's own fairytale.
I really enjoyed the references to all of the fairytales including lesser known ones like the 12 dancing princesses and Bluebeard (I would seriously recommend playing fairytale bingo during this read). At times, it was a little confusing mixing between the fairytale and modern life but the ending explained my struggles. What made the book for me were the bits about the descendants of Brie and Nibbles, the loyal mice of the princess. Each generation got weirder and weirder and I loved it. There was drama, there was politics, there was prophecy seeing mice. It really made the book click for me and I was eager to find out what happened next to the mice. Genuinely my favourite bit of the book, I loved the creativity of it.
I really enjoyed the references to all of the fairytales including lesser known ones like the 12 dancing princesses and Bluebeard (I would seriously recommend playing fairytale bingo during this read). At times, it was a little confusing mixing between the fairytale and modern life but the ending explained my struggles. What made the book for me were the bits about the descendants of Brie and Nibbles, the loyal mice of the princess. Each generation got weirder and weirder and I loved it. There was drama, there was politics, there was prophecy seeing mice. It really made the book click for me and I was eager to find out what happened next to the mice. Genuinely my favourite bit of the book, I loved the creativity of it.
Content Warnings
Minor: Death of parent, Alcoholism, Confinement, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Stalking, Mental illness, Rape, Self harm, Abandonment, Alcohol, Animal death, and Pregnancy
javafenn's review against another edition
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
I hated this book. At about halfway I would rate this a 3 but it just went downhill. The mix after the middle of modern day and fairy tale was confusing and nonsensical. The characters were annoying and I hate that I wasted my time on this. I read it fast to get it over with.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Toxic relationship, Abandonment, Classism, Sexual content, Gaslighting, Infidelity, Pregnancy, Suicidal thoughts, Animal death, Body shaming, Bullying, Confinement, Death, and Emotional abuse
bookdragonkm's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fatphobia and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Infidelity, Drug use, Sexual content, Racial slurs, and Emotional abuse
rachel_here's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Infidelity, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Drug use, Fatphobia, and Alcohol
printzgirl's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
The Charmed Wife is written as an epilogue to the classic Cinderella story—what happens after Cinderella marries her prince and lives happily ever after? In Grushin’s telling of it, Cinderella and her prince drift further and further apart, until Cinderella is compelled to seek out a witch and ask for the prince to be killed so that she can be freed of her misery. But that’s just the beginning of the story. To find true happiness, Cinderella must look deep inside herself and understand what she’s really been looking for all these years.
I heard about The Charmed Wife through a Dominic Noble YouTube video, where he and his friend debate whether The Charmed Wife is a sad story or a hopeful one. In my opinion, it’s both. Cinderella certainly goes through some heart-wrenching events and gets kicked down multiple times throughout the book. Yet she keeps going on, and I’d say the ending leans more hopeful than sad.
This book did a great job of re-telling the Cinderella story with truly original touches. The mice that Cinderella befriends have an entire sub-plot, unbeknownst to her. Many other fairy tales are woven into Cinderella’s story, each with their own unique twists. And Grushin deftly weaves together flashbacks with the present day, which keeps the plot at a rapid pace.
Grushin also uses language beautifully. Her words are fitting for a fairy tale, and I couldn’t get enough of them.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Drug abuse and Infidelity
rosienreads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
13 and a half years after Cinderella’s happily ever after, we find her standing at a crossroads, making a deal with a witch to kill Prince Charming. Throughout this book we explore the years leading up to that pivotal moment and the aftermath, complete with asides about the lives and drama of her pet mice and their descendants.
This book held so much promise and the first third upheld it. The crossroad scenes established strong characters and blended dark and stormy nights with a touch of humour, and I was so intrigued as to how the story would play out. I kept wanting to come back to it. Then it started to go downhill.
Cinderella proved to be a character with little substance, despite the promise at the start. She was incredibly passive with little personality and while it was intentional within the context of the plot, it was incredibly frustrating to read and I stopped caring about her very quickly. Her story with Prince Charming was also predictable and his character was very one dimensional as well. These were both such a shame as the author proved she could write engaging and multi-faceted characters through the various side characters and, by the end, I was far more interested in them than the main story.
The story itself does a beautiful job of exploring fairytales, playing with the magic and structure as well as taking a look at them through a feminist lens, and I did really enjoy this aspect of the novel. However, avoiding spoilers as best I can, there was a twist towards the end that completely detached me from the story and I could not get back into it again.
The Charmed Wife has some really strong elements, but ultimately these were too few in comparison to the rest of the book. It says a lot that I was far more invested in the mice side-plot than the main story. I don’t particularly enjoy reading books about miserable people, and the book was not quite what I was expecting from the summary, even if I did thoroughly enjoy the first part of it. While others may appreciate the nuances of this book a lot more, The Charmed Wife was not for me.
I received an ecopy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I received an ecopy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Mental illness
rubybooks's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Thank you to the publisher for sending me a copy of this book for review via NetGalley. This is an adult fantasy retelling of Cinderella where she has grown to hate her husband. Thirteen years after they married, she is considering killing her husband. At the beginning of the book, we don't know why she feels this way, but throughout the reader gets to piece together the story through flashbacks.
The Charmed Wife is bursting with fairytales that all intertwine in refreshing and modern ways - Cinderella struggles when she realises that happily ever afters aren't as simple as they seem. This book was honestly a lot stranger than I expected and it had a lot of twists and turns. It definitely felt like Cinderella was an unreliable narrator at times, which made it very interesting to read, as the reader finds out a lot of information through her eyes. It's a dark twist on the fairytale, and I also enjoyed the takes on the characters of the fairy godmother and the witch. A lot of other fairytales also appear, such as the twelve dancing princesses and sleeping beauty.
I loved the concept of this book, but I didn't enjoy the execution as much as I thought it would - it was quite confusing for me. It all seemed like a big jumble and I wasn't sure how everything fit together - I found myself having to reread parts. There were also some asides that I didn't really care about - at first I thought the parts about Brie and Nibbles were cool spins on the fairytale, but the sections got too long for my liking and I became uninterested after the first few. I did read it quickly because it's a short book, but the plot did drag for me. Cinderella was the only character I was really interested in so I didn't become fully invested in the story.
So I was grateful to receive a copy of this book, but unfortunately, I just didn't click with this book. I have no doubt that some people would enjoy this book, but it wasn't for me. I could see where Cinderella was coming from in her feelings, but in general, I didn't care much about the characters. However, this book was short so I got through it pretty quickly! Content warnings for discussion of murder, violence, infidelity, sexism, drug use, and mentions of fatphobia.
2.5/5 stars
The Charmed Wife is bursting with fairytales that all intertwine in refreshing and modern ways - Cinderella struggles when she realises that happily ever afters aren't as simple as they seem. This book was honestly a lot stranger than I expected and it had a lot of twists and turns. It definitely felt like Cinderella was an unreliable narrator at times, which made it very interesting to read, as the reader finds out a lot of information through her eyes. It's a dark twist on the fairytale, and I also enjoyed the takes on the characters of the fairy godmother and the witch. A lot of other fairytales also appear, such as the twelve dancing princesses and sleeping beauty.
I loved the concept of this book, but I didn't enjoy the execution as much as I thought it would - it was quite confusing for me. It all seemed like a big jumble and I wasn't sure how everything fit together - I found myself having to reread parts. There were also some asides that I didn't really care about - at first I thought the parts about Brie and Nibbles were cool spins on the fairytale, but the sections got too long for my liking and I became uninterested after the first few. I did read it quickly because it's a short book, but the plot did drag for me. Cinderella was the only character I was really interested in so I didn't become fully invested in the story.
So I was grateful to receive a copy of this book, but unfortunately, I just didn't click with this book. I have no doubt that some people would enjoy this book, but it wasn't for me. I could see where Cinderella was coming from in her feelings, but in general, I didn't care much about the characters. However, this book was short so I got through it pretty quickly! Content warnings for discussion of murder, violence, infidelity, sexism, drug use, and mentions of fatphobia.
2.5/5 stars
Content Warnings
Moderate: Infidelity, Drug use, Violence, Death, and Sexual content
Minor: Fatphobia
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