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A review by annettebooksofhopeanddreams
The Stepsister and the Slipper by Nina Clare
4.0
A few days ago my patience got thrown out of the window. I was gonna buy a few paperbacks of this series here and there. I was gonna wait until another self pub book would be published and I would need a few extra books to justify the shipping costs. But I was having way too much fun with this series and these books. I wanted the rest too! So, I decided to do something crazy and I ordered all the ones I missed. My issue this morning? Which one to read first!
I've read quite a few Cinderella retellings already, but this one was very original! Mostly because we were reading the entire story through the eyes of the Evil Stepsister. Also because the author captured the core of the story, but changed a few of the details. There is only one stepsister in this story, for example and although this Cinderella does the work of the servants, she is not purposely treated as such by her stepmother and stepsister.
What I enjoyed most is that this story gave the evil stepsister her happy ending (I assume that not's a spoiler considering the title of the series), but didn't make her less evil. We understand what happens and why she hurts her stepsister. We understand why she wants and needs that prince so badly. We understand her frustration and desperation, but it doesn't make her kinder. She's still mean and crossing lines she really shouldn't cross.
The one thing I would have loved to see more of, was the ending. A lot of focus is on the story we already know, although we live it through different eyes, but the happy ending of the stepsister gets less attention. I understand that most of it can be solved within the few pages is lasts and yet I feel like our heroine deserved more, more focus on her own journey and the last steps towards her own happily ever after.
I've read quite a few Cinderella retellings already, but this one was very original! Mostly because we were reading the entire story through the eyes of the Evil Stepsister. Also because the author captured the core of the story, but changed a few of the details. There is only one stepsister in this story, for example and although this Cinderella does the work of the servants, she is not purposely treated as such by her stepmother and stepsister.
What I enjoyed most is that this story gave the evil stepsister her happy ending (I assume that not's a spoiler considering the title of the series), but didn't make her less evil. We understand what happens and why she hurts her stepsister. We understand why she wants and needs that prince so badly. We understand her frustration and desperation, but it doesn't make her kinder. She's still mean and crossing lines she really shouldn't cross.
The one thing I would have loved to see more of, was the ending. A lot of focus is on the story we already know, although we live it through different eyes, but the happy ending of the stepsister gets less attention. I understand that most of it can be solved within the few pages is lasts and yet I feel like our heroine deserved more, more focus on her own journey and the last steps towards her own happily ever after.