Mechanica

By Betsy Cornwell

Nicolette’s awful stepsisters call her ‘mechanica’ to demean her, but the nickname fits: she learned to be an inventor at her mother’s knee. Her mom is gone now, though, and the Steps have pushed her into a life of dreary servitude. When she discovers a secret workshop in the cellar on her sixteenth birthday—and befriends Jules, a tiny magical metal horse—Nicolette starts to imagine a new life for herself. And the timing may be perfect: there’s a technological exposition and a royal ball on the horizon. Determined to invent her own happily-ever-after, Mechanica seeks to wow the prince and eager entrepreneurs alike.

There are literally hundreds of different retellings of Cinderella, and being the avid fairy-tale connoisseur that I am, how can I turn down a steam-punk version of the famous story? Mechanica is interesting because of the machines and world that was built to house a mechanical genius Cinderella. One of the more interesting aspects of the world building here is that there are still fairies and magic, but the mechanical is where the humans lean, and the mixture of the two is considered treasonous. While this version has all of the classic themes, like a ball, slipper, fairy godmother, and the stepmother and sisters, it has plenty of originality and a great twist ending that made this a really fun read. If you enjoy retellings as much as me, this one is worth a gander.

I give it a 3.5 out of 5 

Cinderella and the Colonel

By K. M. Shea

The country of Erlauf is the enemy, as far as Cinderella is concerned. Since Erlauf took over her home country, Cinderella has been forced to manage her once opulent duchy like a tightly budgeted farm. Gone are the days of wealth and luxury. Instead, Cinderella dons servants’ clothes and sells all her luxuries to save her servants and her duchy from the mountain of debt she’s racked up due to Erlauf fines and taxes.

Romance and forgiveness are the last things on Cinderella’s mind. Unfortunately the rakish Erlauf Colonel Friedrich has other ideas.

Cinderella thinks she needs a pile of money to save her duchy, and for the Erlauf invaders to leave. What she gets is a debonair Erlauf colonel, a fairy godmother, four mice, two goats, a pair of glass slippers, and a pumpkin.

It’s funny, I never seem to get tired of Beauty and the Beast retellings, but I always go into a Cinderella retelling with huge misgivings if I even decide to read them at all. When I began this book I was shocked at what K.M. Shea decided to do to the original tale, and I wholeheartedly pumped my fist in the air at her decisions. This is, in my opinion, the best retelling of Cindrella. Period. Okay, maybe it ties with Ella Enchanted. But seriously, this is amazing and heart-felt and all things good for a retelling and a proper romance. I adore Cinderella, I’m pretty sure I fell in love with the Colonel, and the plot is just amazing. This isn’t just a romance or a fairy tale. It’s a story about the power of forgiveness. Please, please read this if you love fairy tales and need a little romance in your day, but don’t want just fluff. It’s such a breath of fresh air. I loved K.M. Shea’s Beauty and the Beast, but this, this was just awesome.

I give it a 4.25 out of 5

Princess of Glass

By Jessica Day George

Hopping to escape the troubles in her kingdom, Princess Poppy reluctantly agrees to take part in a royal exchange program. She travels abroad hoping to find better political alliances and perhaps a marriage. But thanks to a vengeful fairy, Poppy’s happily ever after gets complicated.

This is the second installment in Jessica Day George’s fairy-tale retellings about the princesses from Princess of the Midnight Ball, better known as the 12 dancing princesses. This is the story of Poppy, one of the twin girls from the above prequel. She’s sarcastic and snappy, down to earth, and stubborn. Poppy is sick to death of dancing, having just escaped a curse that required her to, even though she’s an incredible dancer because of it. Now, she’s trapped in an upside-down version of Cinderella, and she’s trying her best to figure out who exactly Eleanor, Ella, or Lady Ella is, and she’s trying to get rid of a vengeful fairy-godmother called The Corley as well as trying to help out the prince who is the target: Christian. This is a fun and creative perspective on the Cinderella tale, where the main character is in fact NOT Cinderella. It was fun and cute, though it seemed to end rather abruptly without much problem. Seemed to me that the Corley shouldn’t have been defeated so quickly or easily. Oh well.

3 out of 5- Average. 

Cinderella

By Jenni James

When Prince Anthony spies Eleanoria Woodston outside her family home dressed as a servant, he knows something is amiss. Pretending to be John, his cousin’s outrider, he decides to take matters into his own hands and figure out why Ella hasn’t been seen at court. And more importantly why the daughter of one of the wealthiest families in the kingdom dresses like a pauper.

Ella has had her own bout of trials, including losing her beloved father and facing the wrath and jealousy of her stepmother and stepsisters. Becoming a servant doesn’t seem all that bad until the handsome John comes into her life, now he appears to be upsetting everything. Never before has she been so unsettled. Just his presence is making her dream of a life beyond this one.
When John invites Ella to the ball and she grudgingly accepts, he wonders if he’s truly losing his mind. How would he ever pull off pretending to be John while obviously hosting the ball as Anthony? Especially when the stubborn girl has made it quite obvious she would never attend a ball with a snobbish prince.

Surprisingly I really enjoyed this. There are a billion and one retellings of Cinderella, and while this one follows the original tale fairly close, it does have some unique and endearing twists that had me feeling warm and fond of the two protagonists. I enjoyed their courtship and relationship and the underlying plot of the book. It was pretty fluffy, but entertaining and sweet, just what I like in a story about love and happily-ever-afters.

 

I give it a 3.5 out of 5

Bewitching

By Alex Flinn

Bewitching can be a beast… Once I put a curse on a beastly and arrogant high school boy. That one turned out all right. Others didn’t. I go to a new school now—one where no one knows that I should have graduated long ago. I’m not still here because I’m stupid; I just don’t age. You see, I’m immortal. And I pretty much know everything after hundreds of years—except for when to take my powers and butt out.

I want to help, but things just go awry in ways I could never predict. Like when I tried to free some children from a gingerbread house and ended up being hanged. After I came back from the dead (immortal remember?) I tried to play matchmaker for a French prince and ended up banished from France forever. And that little mermaid I found in the Titanic lifeboat? I don’t even want to think about it.

Now a girl named Emma needs me. I probably shouldn’t get involved, but her gorgeous stepsister is conniving to the core. I think I have just the thing to fix that girl—and it isn’t an enchanted pumpkin. Although you never know what will happen when I start bewitching.



Like Alex Flinn's other books, A Kiss Across Time, and Beastly, I was happy to be reading her fun and unconventional takes on fairy-tales in modern times. And honestly, I think this is my favorite by her thus far for a couple of reasons: It surprised me at the end, and secondly, it didn't have as much hanky-panky as usual; only one scene I can think of actually. Those were the only things that knocked down my liking for her other books. I loved Emma, she was nice, average, and in a lot of pain and hurt that was totally relateable to I think everyone.  The side story of Kendra and her misnomers was fun, and a little sad at times. But the main story went along with Cinderella...of sorts. I loved the twist at the end that I wasn't expecting. Usually Ms. Flinn does what I'm expecting and she pulled a fast one on me that I really appreciated. 

I give it a 3 out of 5 

Cinder and Ella

By Melissa Lemon

After her father’s disappearance, Cinder leaves home for a servant job at the castle. But it isn’t long before her sister Ella is brought to the castle herself. What Ella finds there starts a quest that will change her life and the entire kingdom. Cinder and Ella is a Cinderella story like no other, and one you’ll never forget.



I had some mixed feelings after finishing this book. It was a quick read, and had loads of good ideas in it. I loved the idea that everyone had their own tree they were connected to in life. I also liked the subltle christian themes in the book, but as I read it I felt like these ideas and themes weren't fully developed, but rather a sort of dream-like idea. I wanted it to be better than it was, and I really think that this author has a great start and I'll definately read other things by her, but it was a little underdeveloped for me; it could've been something really fantastic.
The basic story is about four sisters that have to cope with the disappearance of their father and their lives falling down around them. The oldest deals with it by focusing on her looks and material possessions, the youngest becomes helpless and babyish, the mother focuses on her spinning work and tries to forget the hurt. The second daughter, Cinder,  is the gentle service-oriented one who looks outside herself to try and heal. The third daughter, Ella, is the determined one who never gives up hope for her father to come home and is the fiesty one, yet is forgotten by everyone except her beloved sister Cinder.
The best part for me was the teasing that happened between Ella and Tanner. He kept on dropping her or not grabbing her fast enough when she fell and it was a very fun and endearing relationship. It made me smile and gave warm-fuzzies. :)

I give it a 3 out of 5 - it was average.

Cinder

By Marissa Meyer


Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She’s a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai’s, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world’s future.


Shout out to Ms. Meyer: You are my hero for writing this book. I fell in love with the story almost immediately. I mean, it's got everything! It's dystopian, with some cyborg sci-fi going on, along with fantasy glamours, romance, fairy tale goodness, and adventure with awesome characters! The only bad part is, I keep trying to get people to read this and as soon as I say, "Oh it's so cool, it's like a future cinderella, but not, and she's a cyborg that lives in China..." they kinda look at me like, 'are you serious?' And then I respond, "Do you have a Kindle?" And I proceed to tell them what I'm telling you, go get the sampler, the first 5 chapters free, and you'll be hooked just like I was. Give it a try, you won't be disappointed in Cinder or her story. I thought I might be able to tell where Meyers would go since it was based loosely on Cinderella, but she kept me guessing as to how she would tweak things. I have just been geeking out about this book ever since I read it, and can't wait for Scarlett (The next book in the quartet!)

4 1/4 out of 5! Yes I loved it that much.

Before Midnight

By Cameron Dokey


Etienne de Brabant is brokenhearted when his wife dies in childbirth, and he cannot bear to see his infant daughter, La Cendrillon .But before he abandons her for king and life at court, Etienne brings a little boy, whose identity he does not reveal, to be raised alongside her.
La Cendrillon and the boy, Raoul, pass sixteen years in the servants’ care. Then Etienne remarries, sending his new wife to live at the estate.
When they all are invited to a great ball, La Cendrillon’s stepmother makes a decision that will lead La Cendrillon and Raoul to challenge their understanding of family, test their courage, and ultimately, teach them who they are.

So I've read about a billion Cinderella stories in my time, so I didn't really want to read this one, but heck I thought I'd read it anyway. It's different than any other story, it's got a werid sort of magic in it; and love at first sight is made real. I like how Cameron explains love at first sight because I admit, I'm not a believer. The weirdest thing happened though when I read this book; I got pretty close to the end and I knew what was going to happen. It was the biggest de ja vu I've had in a long time. I've either read this before, or something almost exactly like it, because it was no surprise what happened at the end. But it was still good. I enjoyed it.

Ella Enchanted

By Gail Carson Levine

When Ella was a baby she was visited by the well-meaning fairy Lucinda and given a ‘gift’. The gift was obedience-which turned out to be the curse of Ella’s life. Imagine having to do everything anyone told you whether you want to or not. When Ella’s mother suddenly dies she is left with a father who doesn’t care. But who does she meet other than Prince Charmonte himself? They become fast friends and correspondents as Ella’s life is flipped upside down by her father’s marriage to one of the most terrible women imaginable and her two dimwitted daughters.
When Ella starts having feelings for Char she realizes with a jolt of terror that she was the greatest liability to him. If someone told her to hurt him…she would be forced to do it. Join Ella in her quest to break the curse, an adventure full of laughs, Ogres, Princes, and two very awful stepsisters.

Ella Enchanted is the most awesome Cinderella-like story out there. The characters are downright wonderful and/or horrible, and their story sucks you in from page one. Ella is an enchanting young woman whom you can’t help but like, and you end up falling for Char right along with her. This is a spectacularly creative take on the famous fairy tale and will leave you laughing at Ella’s antics and Char’s humor. If you haven’t read it, please do, it will leave you smiling.