This book was published on May 14, 2019. However, I managed to get my hands on an advanced reader's copy and undoubtedly there will be some differences between the version I read, and the published edition.
You might see this cover/title and be like, UGH, ANOTHER CINDERELLA STORY, and you wouldn't inherently be wrong, it's just the story isn't really about Cinderella, it's about her stepsisters, well more like one particular stepsister, Isabelle. And even then, it's kind of about fate, chance, and the heart. ...actually, it really is, and not in the symbolic way.
An amazon summary, "Don't just fracture the fairy tale. Shatter it.
Isabelle should be blissfully happy - she's about to win the handsome prince. Except Isabelle isn't the beautiful girl who lost the glass slipper and captured the prince's heart. She's the ugly stepsister who's cut off her toes to fit into Cinderella's shoe . . . which is now filling with her blood.
When the prince discovers Isabelle's deception, she's turned away in shame. It's no more than she deserves: she's a plain girl in a world that values beauty; a bold girl in a world that wants her to be pliant.
Isabelle has tried to fit in. She cut away pieces of herself in order to become pretty. Sweet. More like Cinderella. But that only made her mean, jealous, and hollow. Now she has a chance to alter her destiny and prove what ugly stepsisters have always known: it takes more than heartache to break a girl." AMAZON LINK OF JUSTICE
After her sister Tavi slices off part of her heel to fit her foot into the glass slipper, Isabelle cuts off her toes to also try to fit her foot into the glass slipper. Unfortunately, before either of them are successfully taken away in the carriage, a dove cries out their deceit and it's revealed their foots are bleeding from being maimed. Their fair stepsister Ella manages to escape from their Maman and reveal that she is the one who the glass slipper belongs too. But, a member of the prince's party manages to break the glass slipper after taking it off of Isabelle's foot. Luckily, Ella has the other glass slipper and proves the shoe fits. While Ella is whisked off to the palace, both Tavi and Isabelle become known as the ugly stepsisters for how they've treated Ella and for their deceit in trying to win the prince.
But, that's not the full story. Tavi and Isabelle were just trying to listen to their Maman, who was determined to see them well married off so they wouldn't have to live with worry in their lives. Now, Isabelle is determined to run the household without servants (who left since they could no longer afford to pay them), and tries to take care of her Maman and corral her sister Tavi from spending all of her days reading books and doing math. Whenever they venture into town for supplies, they find themselves jeered or taunted at by the townspeople, usually even bullied. There's also a war going on that have claimed many lives; they see the wounded carted through town occasionally. There's a growing fear that the war is getting closer to their town, which generally makes people unruly and more unrestful.
However, there's another side to this story about Chance and Fate. Chance ventures into the home of the three Fates and manages to steal Isabelle's map. He's determined to give her a chance at forging a different life. One of the fates is bent on stopping him and making sure Isabelle's original fate comes to pass. But, Isabelle finds the fairy queen who offers her a deal; if Isabelle can discover the missing parts of her heart, she will grant her a wish. Initially, Isabelle wishes to be beautiful, as being beautiful is how she perceives Ella won the prince and made such a grand way in life. But not all hearts are the same.
That's enough summary.
So, I do like a good fairy tale retelling. This one definitely started with how the Grimm fairy tale kind of goes, but decidedly veered off into another direction. I really loved how Fate, Chance, and the Fairy Queen were also prevalent characters throughout the story. The dynamics between the two sisters and their stepsister were interesting and I also really loved how Isabelle handled herself.
But ultimately, I read this as a feminist novel. Let me explain.
The story is set in a world where there are rigid expectations of women; be beautiful, bear children, manage the household, and know your place. Isabelle and Tavi are none of these things nor want any of these things (but you know beauty is always in the eye of the beholder so maybe they are beautiful). Isabelle grew up reading about generals, war strategies, climbing trees, riding horses, practicing her swordplay, and in general, doing everything she wanted to with her best friend. Tavi grew up with her nose in a book, doing scientific experiments, and reading the history behind the different sciences and how they came to be. Neither stepsister dreamed of the life their maman did for them, they wanted to forge their own path. So, despite their circumstances, you see these stepsisters go through one set back after another, but it slowly starts to pull back the layers of doing what is expected of them to doing what they want to do; to encourage them to forge their own path once more.
I kind of loved it. It was also good to see the interludes from Chance, Fate, and the Fairy Queen especially as those characters interacted or meddled with Isabelle's life. They weren't strictly behind the scenes plotting, they were outright trying to move players into place to either help or hinder Isabelle depending on how you look at it.
It was kind of marvelous... but I will say that the last bit of story, as everything kind of comes to end, it felt really rushed. It felt like, well, this is it, and kind of pushed through to the epilogue rather than linger in the conclusion. It was kind of disappointing and obnoxious, but not enough that it soured the experience for me. I just wish a little more time had been spent with Isabelle in her final scenes (no spoilers!).
Also, I really adored the side character of Hugo. He was not a character I expected, what he said was not what I expected, and I just kind of adored his presence.
Happy reading!
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