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A review by thebiasedbibliophile
Cinders: Necessary Evil by Belle Manuel, Sky Sommers, Shreeya Nanda
4.0
This review is a long time coming because I’ve had this book for over a year! A special thanks to Sky Sommers for sending me a copy of her gorgeous book and being so patient while it took me forever to read and review it!
This Cinderella retelling is like none I’ve read before! The main story is told from Grace’s (the evil stepmother’s) perspective, but here’s the twist: she isn’t actually evil! In order to save her own life after a terrible car accident, Grace made a deal with a guardian angel to be the “necessary evil” in three children’s lives in order to continue living. The three children don’t know this detail, and Ella cannot stand her stepmother.
I loved so many aspects of this novel. First, I appreciated the unique perspective on the fairy tale, and the addition of Grace being the “necessary evil” was very inventive and well-written. Sommers also explores other fairy tales in this story, which was a lot of fun.
Grace was a very interesting character, and I found myself going back and forth between liking her and hating her. That being said, the ending helps explain some of her behavior, so I actually enjoyed this feature of the book. One minute she would be absolutely horrible to the children and the next she sincerely cared about them. Deep down, it was clear that she wanted what was best for Ella, Greta, and Hans. As the story progresses, it’s obvious that she will do whatever it takes for Ella to live a happy life, which was really endearing.
There were a couple instances of Grace judging Ella for her sex life that I wasn’t super fond of. And, at one point, Grace appears to be okay with giving Ella a potion that would permanently prevent pregnancy, which was not only wrong but also strange considering her own struggles with infertility. Despite that, I think some of this behavior was explained at the end.
Speaking of Ella, I absolutely HATED her character! This was actually one of my favorite parts of the novel because readers should hate Ella. That is the whole point of the book being told from Grace’s perspective. I thought Sommers did an exceptional job of portraying her as a spoiled brat, while also painting her in a different light in the section from Ella’s point of view. She is definitely one of the best written antagonists I’ve read in a long time!
As a whole, I really enjoyed this book, and the ending has me wanting to read the sequel immediately!
This Cinderella retelling is like none I’ve read before! The main story is told from Grace’s (the evil stepmother’s) perspective, but here’s the twist: she isn’t actually evil! In order to save her own life after a terrible car accident, Grace made a deal with a guardian angel to be the “necessary evil” in three children’s lives in order to continue living. The three children don’t know this detail, and Ella cannot stand her stepmother.
I loved so many aspects of this novel. First, I appreciated the unique perspective on the fairy tale, and the addition of Grace being the “necessary evil” was very inventive and well-written. Sommers also explores other fairy tales in this story, which was a lot of fun.
Grace was a very interesting character, and I found myself going back and forth between liking her and hating her. That being said, the ending helps explain some of her behavior, so I actually enjoyed this feature of the book. One minute she would be absolutely horrible to the children and the next she sincerely cared about them. Deep down, it was clear that she wanted what was best for Ella, Greta, and Hans. As the story progresses, it’s obvious that she will do whatever it takes for Ella to live a happy life, which was really endearing.
There were a couple instances of Grace judging Ella for her sex life that I wasn’t super fond of. And, at one point, Grace appears to be okay with giving Ella a potion that would permanently prevent pregnancy, which was not only wrong but also strange considering her own struggles with infertility. Despite that, I think some of this behavior was explained at the end.
Speaking of Ella, I absolutely HATED her character! This was actually one of my favorite parts of the novel because readers should hate Ella. That is the whole point of the book being told from Grace’s perspective. I thought Sommers did an exceptional job of portraying her as a spoiled brat, while also painting her in a different light in the section from Ella’s point of view. She is definitely one of the best written antagonists I’ve read in a long time!
As a whole, I really enjoyed this book, and the ending has me wanting to read the sequel immediately!