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A review by pavi_fictionalworm
The Ugly Stepsister by Aya Ling
5.0
The review was first posted on For The Love of Fictional Worlds
I received a digital copy of the book via the author in exchange for an honest review.
Actual rating 4.5 stars
There are honestly way too many fairy tale retellings in bookworm world, so it should be totally used up idea that doesn't have anything new to give anymore! BOING!! WRONG!! I shouldn't be, but I am so happy that authors, different authors still continue to surprise me!
"If Beast gave me a library like he gave to Belle, I'd marry him too."
Kat is a typical bookworm - and by typical - I of course mean awesome - cause she loves reading, fictional characters more than real ones and loves getting lost in the fictional world - in short she is me, she is you and she is every single book worm there in this world (gender be damned!).
So, when Kat accidently rips apart an old Cinderella book - while she is cleaning out the old boxes of books reluctantly! - she is transferred into the body (her soul that is!) into the body of Katriona, Stepsister of Cinderella (Ella in this version!).
"It's fictional world, Kat. There's no need to be so into it."
This version of Cinderella is different (it has to be!) - it requires Kat do all the work, from finding the fairy Godmother to uncovering the history of Ella to actually fighting for the rights of those less fortunate - she does it all and she does it while believing that she is the bad guy in the story!
She is absolutely brilliant in the story. I fell in love with the character so hard - that I was almost heartbroken when the story ended! Kat transforms from a likeable awkward bookworm to a strong female character that I respected as much as admired!
There are a variety of secondary characters ranging from goblins to faeries to dukes to prince but Kat does overshadow them, through no fault of her own - especially since this is a single POV book! The writing is absolutely brilliant - it is simple yet effective in getting the emotions and the circumstances across to the reader perfectly.
Best part - there is no Insta - Love! You have to know, I was dreading that scenario but the romance was actually quite sedate in the book - in fact it was actually the perfect amount!
The only issue I had with the book was (except the single POV) was the ending. While intellectually I understand why the Ms. Ling ended it the way she did, I needed to know what happened with the Storybrook Characters, especially Edward - I actually swiped my iPad a couple of times to even check if there was anything else written :P
But in the end, this book was a cute story that has definitely made me interested in more of Ms. Ling's books :)
"Okay Kat. This is Story World, for heaven's sake, so get a grip on yourself. You've no business drooling over storybrook characters. Remember the mission."
^^ THIS! This is like the mantra I should always live by :P
I received a digital copy of the book via the author in exchange for an honest review.
Actual rating 4.5 stars
There are honestly way too many fairy tale retellings in bookworm world, so it should be totally used up idea that doesn't have anything new to give anymore! BOING!! WRONG!! I shouldn't be, but I am so happy that authors, different authors still continue to surprise me!
"If Beast gave me a library like he gave to Belle, I'd marry him too."
Kat is a typical bookworm - and by typical - I of course mean awesome - cause she loves reading, fictional characters more than real ones and loves getting lost in the fictional world - in short she is me, she is you and she is every single book worm there in this world (gender be damned!).
So, when Kat accidently rips apart an old Cinderella book - while she is cleaning out the old boxes of books reluctantly! - she is transferred into the body (her soul that is!) into the body of Katriona, Stepsister of Cinderella (Ella in this version!).
"It's fictional world, Kat. There's no need to be so into it."
This version of Cinderella is different (it has to be!) - it requires Kat do all the work, from finding the fairy Godmother to uncovering the history of Ella to actually fighting for the rights of those less fortunate - she does it all and she does it while believing that she is the bad guy in the story!
She is absolutely brilliant in the story. I fell in love with the character so hard - that I was almost heartbroken when the story ended! Kat transforms from a likeable awkward bookworm to a strong female character that I respected as much as admired!
There are a variety of secondary characters ranging from goblins to faeries to dukes to prince but Kat does overshadow them, through no fault of her own - especially since this is a single POV book! The writing is absolutely brilliant - it is simple yet effective in getting the emotions and the circumstances across to the reader perfectly.
Best part - there is no Insta - Love! You have to know, I was dreading that scenario but the romance was actually quite sedate in the book - in fact it was actually the perfect amount!
The only issue I had with the book was (except the single POV) was the ending. While intellectually I understand why the Ms. Ling ended it the way she did, I needed to know what happened with the Storybrook Characters, especially Edward - I actually swiped my iPad a couple of times to even check if there was anything else written :P
But in the end, this book was a cute story that has definitely made me interested in more of Ms. Ling's books :)
"Okay Kat. This is Story World, for heaven's sake, so get a grip on yourself. You've no business drooling over storybrook characters. Remember the mission."
^^ THIS! This is like the mantra I should always live by :P