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4.21 AVERAGE
4.21 AVERAGE
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I loved this book.
Before I go on, I'm supposed to say that I won a free copy of this book in a giveaway thru Goodreads.
And man, I'm so glad I did! This was a fun, funny, heart-warming, heart-breaking, beautiful story!
In the beginning, I kind of hated and loved Theo - the step-sister of Bea, aka Cinderella.
The story explores not only the way the steps treated Bea, but the way Theo was treated by Bea and her father before his passing.
Theo comes to terms with the gaslighting and emotional abuse of her home life.
Theo finds true and honest friendships, some of which come about through music.
The characters are cunning, witty, and at times, a bit deceptive.
Theo changes and grows and figures out who she really is and who she wants to be.
Theo faces a lot of challenges along the way, too.
There's so much packed into this book. It was incredible. And I genuinely, excitedly look forward to the next book in the series!
Before I go on, I'm supposed to say that I won a free copy of this book in a giveaway thru Goodreads.
And man, I'm so glad I did! This was a fun, funny, heart-warming, heart-breaking, beautiful story!
In the beginning, I kind of hated and loved Theo - the step-sister of Bea, aka Cinderella.
The story explores not only the way the steps treated Bea, but the way Theo was treated by Bea and her father before his passing.
Theo comes to terms with the gaslighting and emotional abuse of her home life.
Theo finds true and honest friendships, some of which come about through music.
The characters are cunning, witty, and at times, a bit deceptive.
Theo changes and grows and figures out who she really is and who she wants to be.
Theo faces a lot of challenges along the way, too.
There's so much packed into this book. It was incredible. And I genuinely, excitedly look forward to the next book in the series!
I really liked this. I enjoyed my time reading it. I have this love-hate relationship with retellings and I either hate them or love them. This one falls under love category. There is a part towards the end that I didn’t enjoy but that’s my personal preference. ( Kaz and Lock ) but other than that this was enjoyable and I had a lot of fun. I think it ends on a really good note, but if there were to be more books to this, I feel there is so much more to explore. So either way. I would totally read from this author again and I would totally read if more books came to this world.
I really enjoyed this: the plot moves at a nice clip, the characters are distinct and fun, and the family dynamics are intense but still comprehensible. Theo is unlikeable at first, but I found myself becoming very protective of her by the end, and I am now going to set up alerts for the second book in the series, which I almost never do. This world that Mayo has created from a well-known story is one I'd like to see more of.
That said, other reviews describe this as "cute", "cozy", and/or "humorous", and I think the first two are hilariously off-base and the third is mostly true. Please don't open this book expecting cozy fireplace vibes with "green flag" characters (GOD how I hate how popular that descriptor has become). There are moments of real danger and pathos, and some truly heart-wrenching exchanges. What happened to Buckle broke my heart, and I'd challenge anyone to find that recounting cute or cozy.
If I had a minor nitpick, it would be that the last 15% or so became very monologue-heavy, which I found understandable due to the number and magnitude of the reveals. This did not deter me from loving this story and looking forward to future installments.
That said, other reviews describe this as "cute", "cozy", and/or "humorous", and I think the first two are hilariously off-base and the third is mostly true. Please don't open this book expecting cozy fireplace vibes with "green flag" characters (GOD how I hate how popular that descriptor has become). There are moments of real danger and pathos, and some truly heart-wrenching exchanges. What happened to Buckle broke my heart, and I'd challenge anyone to find that recounting cute or cozy.
If I had a minor nitpick, it would be that the last 15% or so became very monologue-heavy, which I found understandable due to the number and magnitude of the reveals. This did not deter me from loving this story and looking forward to future installments.
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
A weird tension in this one. I liked it, enjoyed it, but simultaneously couldn't stand it. Predictable plot, whiny entitled main, tropey.. why did I look forward to when I could read? So strange
It had a pretty slow start and it just didn’t grab my attention very well. It seems like it’s fun- just not for me!
adventurous
emotional
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
adventurous
funny
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
funny
hopeful
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
What a fun and original retelling of Cinderella! Told from the perspective of Theo, one of the "ugly" stepsisters, we get to know her and why she is the way she is. At its heart, this is a story about breaking cycles of abuse and anger within families, especially within women, and growing to be your best self.
This story has great pacing and writing, and the audiobook has incredible narration! It does a great job of presenting us with an incredibly unlikeable narrator but making us feel empathy for her and excitement for her personal growth. There are hints of romance and a love triangle, but this book mostly focuses on her growth and uncovering the truth about Beatrice's (Cinderella in this world) true story.
Altogether incredibly sweet and interesting!
This story has great pacing and writing, and the audiobook has incredible narration! It does a great job of presenting us with an incredibly unlikeable narrator but making us feel empathy for her and excitement for her personal growth. There are hints of romance and a love triangle, but this book mostly focuses on her growth and uncovering the truth about Beatrice's (Cinderella in this world) true story.
Altogether incredibly sweet and interesting!
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
After some more thinking this was a 4.25 for me.
First thank you NetGalley, Orbit, and the author for allowing me to read this ARC! I was very excited to read this!
I am honestly very impressed with this book since it is a debut novel! I went into this not really knowing exactly what this was about, I just wanted to get the vibes that the fairy godmother on the cover were giving, which I do think I was able to get. Instead of Cinderella we’re following one of the two step sisters which I was very excited for as soon as I figured that out. I will say one thing that brought the star rating down was the beginning for me. Although I think it was still entertaining, it was still kind of the beginning of Cinderella or I should say a fast recap of the story of Cinderella. Once through that I was having such a good time and I was completely sucked into the story and the stepsister, Theos, character.
I absolutely loved the story that was told about Theo, her interacting with the fae, and being in the fae realm. I loved how the fae were depicted and I love watching Theo grow and change but still be Theo through this story. Which hopefully makes sense. I didn’t honestly put together the ending until probably right when the author wanted you to. I liked the ending but also I CANNOT wait for the sequel. As the ending, although still wrapped up, I feel like there was more I was hoping for, for the main character, although I have no idea if we’ll still be seeing Theo after.
Honestly, this was such a fun time and after getting through the beginning I ate this story up and was completely invested in Theo and what she was doing with the Fae. This has also made it on the list of ARCs I’ve read this year that I’d like to own the physical copy of as soon as it officially releases. Not only because of that stunning cover and Cecily (our fairy godmother) but because of the enjoyment I had while reading this one.
First thank you NetGalley, Orbit, and the author for allowing me to read this ARC! I was very excited to read this!
I am honestly very impressed with this book since it is a debut novel! I went into this not really knowing exactly what this was about, I just wanted to get the vibes that the fairy godmother on the cover were giving, which I do think I was able to get. Instead of Cinderella we’re following one of the two step sisters which I was very excited for as soon as I figured that out. I will say one thing that brought the star rating down was the beginning for me. Although I think it was still entertaining, it was still kind of the beginning of Cinderella or I should say a fast recap of the story of Cinderella. Once through that I was having such a good time and I was completely sucked into the story and the stepsister, Theos, character.
I absolutely loved the story that was told about Theo, her interacting with the fae, and being in the fae realm. I loved how the fae were depicted and I love watching Theo grow and change but still be Theo through this story. Which hopefully makes sense. I didn’t honestly put together the ending until probably right when the author wanted you to. I liked the ending but also I CANNOT wait for the sequel. As the ending, although still wrapped up, I feel like there was more I was hoping for, for the main character, although I have no idea if we’ll still be seeing Theo after.
Honestly, this was such a fun time and after getting through the beginning I ate this story up and was completely invested in Theo and what she was doing with the Fae. This has also made it on the list of ARCs I’ve read this year that I’d like to own the physical copy of as soon as it officially releases. Not only because of that stunning cover and Cecily (our fairy godmother) but because of the enjoyment I had while reading this one.