“Happily Ever After” is a total scam, but at least this time the princess is the one controlling the grift—until her true love arrives and threatens to ruin the whole scheme. Intrigue, magic, and wit abound in this Cinderella fairytale reimagining, perfect for fans of Heather Walter and Naomi Novik.
I’m not who you think I am.
My transformation from a poor, orphaned scullery maid into the enchantingly mysterious lady who snagged the heart of the prince did not happen—as the rumors insisted—in a magical metamorphosis of pumpkins and glass slippers. On the first evening of the ball, I didn’t meekly help my “evil” stepmother and stepsisters primp and preen or watch forlornly out the window as their carriage rolled off toward the palace. I had other preparations to make.
My stepsisters and I had been trained for this—to be the cleverest in the room, to be quick with our hands and quicker with our lies. We were taught how to get everything we want in this world, everything men always kept for themselves: power, wealth, and prestige. And with a touchingly tragic past and the help of some highly illegal spells, I would become a princess, secure our fortunes, and we would all live happily ever after.
But there’s always more to the story. With my magic running out, war looming, and a handsome hostage prince—the wrong prince—distracting me from my true purpose with his magnetic charm and forbidden flirtations, I'm in danger of losing control of the delicate balance I’ve created…and that could prove fatal.
There’s so much more riding on this than a crown.
I’m not who you think I am.
My transformation from a poor, orphaned scullery maid into the enchantingly mysterious lady who snagged the heart of the prince did not happen—as the rumors insisted—in a magical metamorphosis of pumpkins and glass slippers. On the first evening of the ball, I didn’t meekly help my “evil” stepmother and stepsisters primp and preen or watch forlornly out the window as their carriage rolled off toward the palace. I had other preparations to make.
My stepsisters and I had been trained for this—to be the cleverest in the room, to be quick with our hands and quicker with our lies. We were taught how to get everything we want in this world, everything men always kept for themselves: power, wealth, and prestige. And with a touchingly tragic past and the help of some highly illegal spells, I would become a princess, secure our fortunes, and we would all live happily ever after.
But there’s always more to the story. With my magic running out, war looming, and a handsome hostage prince—the wrong prince—distracting me from my true purpose with his magnetic charm and forbidden flirtations, I'm in danger of losing control of the delicate balance I’ve created…and that could prove fatal.
There’s so much more riding on this than a crown.
MY THOUGHTS
This had a slow start. In fact, there were a couple of times I thought about DNFing it because it just wasn't holding my interest in the beginning. But I'm glad I kept reading because things started to pick up when Rance showed up. He turned out to be my favorite part of the book. He was so interesting and mysterious. I wanted to learn more about him. There ended up being a lot of palace intrigue, which really piqued my interest and kept me entertained. I will say that it took a while (well over half the book) before I started liking Ash. She wasn't a sympathetic character at all, but I enjoyed watching her growth. There was more cursing than I expected, and it felt out of place to me. Also, I could've done without the open-door bedroom scenes.
All in all, this was a mixed bag of a read. But despite the issues I had with it, I had fun reading it.
NOTE: This is NOT a clean read.
I received an advanced copy of this book via NetGalley and voluntarily reviewed it. All thoughts and comments are my honest opinion.
THREE STARS
Slow beginnings are never good, especially when you're not clicking with the main character. I'm glad it did pick up as it went along.
ReplyDeleteI usually put a book aside when there's a slow beginning and unlikable characters, but I'm glad I kept reading. It turned out to be pretty entertaining. Maybe I should give more "slow start" books a chance. :D
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