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bookdragonstbr's review
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I loved this story! Eleanor is essentially "Cinderella" and getting married to the Prince of her dreams. However, right before they get married she discovers he's not exactly who she thought he was. His best friend, Dorian, is everything that Prince Gregory is not. The evil step-mother is still a prominent figure in this story as well. I loved the unicorns. My favorite character comes in the form of a "no-filter" parrot called ShuShu. He's absolutely hilarious and brought such a bright light to the story. How will the love triangle unfold? Will Step-mother get what she's always wanted?
The story flowed beautifully and the narrator did an amazing job at creating wonderful voices for each character. Very whimsical and enrapturing!
The story flowed beautifully and the narrator did an amazing job at creating wonderful voices for each character. Very whimsical and enrapturing!
ashleysbookobsession's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Read this if you
đ Like Fairytale Retellings
đ Enjoy Historical Fiction and Fantasy
đ§ââď¸ Believe in Magical Creatures and Witches
Meet The Author: The Cracked Slipper was Stephanie Alexanderâs first novel written in 2012. Alexander has 3 children and practices family law. She has ghost written dozens of books. Her life after divorce has inspired both her legal work and fictional work.
Synopsis: Following 8 years of mistreatment and isolation, Eleanor Brice will no longer stand for being seen and not heard. Eleanor is sure she has found her Prince Charming. When Prince Charming proves to have a temper, a loose grip on his marriage vows, and resorts to the bottle, Eleanor decides he isnât so charming after all.
What I Liked: Eleanor was sarcastic, smart, and didnât take grief from anyone, following her dreams. Chou Chou was one of my favorite characters with his witty banter and sarcastic remarks. Him and Eleanor were quite the pair. I enjoyed that this novel focused on what happened after the happy-ever-after. As a kid I loved Cinderella and this was the perfect adult version of what happens next.
What I Was Not Crazy About: Prince Charming was very disappointing. I just couldnât like him no matter how many comebacks he attempted to make. I found this book very hard to get into. At approx 55% in I considered giving up but couldnât, hoping it would get better. In the end, this book just wasnât for me. However this would not deter me from recommending to others who enjoy this type of read.
Available Now!
âď¸âď¸âď¸
Thank you, @katieandbreypa and @stephaniealexanderbooks for providing me with a complimentary review copy. In no way has that influenced my voluntary review.
đ Like Fairytale Retellings
đ Enjoy Historical Fiction and Fantasy
đ§ââď¸ Believe in Magical Creatures and Witches
Meet The Author: The Cracked Slipper was Stephanie Alexanderâs first novel written in 2012. Alexander has 3 children and practices family law. She has ghost written dozens of books. Her life after divorce has inspired both her legal work and fictional work.
Synopsis: Following 8 years of mistreatment and isolation, Eleanor Brice will no longer stand for being seen and not heard. Eleanor is sure she has found her Prince Charming. When Prince Charming proves to have a temper, a loose grip on his marriage vows, and resorts to the bottle, Eleanor decides he isnât so charming after all.
What I Liked: Eleanor was sarcastic, smart, and didnât take grief from anyone, following her dreams. Chou Chou was one of my favorite characters with his witty banter and sarcastic remarks. Him and Eleanor were quite the pair. I enjoyed that this novel focused on what happened after the happy-ever-after. As a kid I loved Cinderella and this was the perfect adult version of what happens next.
What I Was Not Crazy About: Prince Charming was very disappointing. I just couldnât like him no matter how many comebacks he attempted to make. I found this book very hard to get into. At approx 55% in I considered giving up but couldnât, hoping it would get better. In the end, this book just wasnât for me. However this would not deter me from recommending to others who enjoy this type of read.
Available Now!
âď¸âď¸âď¸
Thank you, @katieandbreypa and @stephaniealexanderbooks for providing me with a complimentary review copy. In no way has that influenced my voluntary review.
chelsea_not_chels's review against another edition
2.0
This book was just okay. First, it needs some more editing--there are numerous typos and misspelled words and a few instances of wrong word use; the one that comes to mind immediately is that two characters "poured over a book." You pore over a book, unless you're dumping something on it, in which case I guess you would pour over it. The whole "dragon and unicorn" dynamic brings to mind Pamela Dean's The Secret Country series, but it didn't feel as richly crafted as Dean's world. The non-romantic conflict was just "eh" and the climax was not exactly gripping. The ending was sensible, but lackluster. I think Eleanor made a good choice, but that resulted in an end that wasn't as emotionally powerful as it could be; there just seemed to be something missing.
pamelas's review against another edition
3.0
More fantasy than I expected, this take on the Cinderella story shows that happily ever after is rarely that. It's also a cautionary tale about love at first sight, though you could argue that Eleanor's other love interest was also love at first sight. But ultimately, dating for awhile would either prove the love out--or not. Another reviewer mentioned how Gregory was really not that likeable. This is true, but just about every time I was set to completely turn against him, he would do something to redeem himself ever so slightly. I liked this aspect of the story, as it made him a more real character, and not just a stereotype. Now, Dorian? He was a little too good to be true. Overall, it was a strange mixture of fairy tale, love story and fantasy--sometimes I felt the story needed to decide what it wanted to be. But overall, I thought it a pleasant read.
denizyildiz's review against another edition
2.0
The Cracked Slipper made me think for a long while after reading it.Sadly not in the kind of way the author had intended.
When I read a book ideally the plot, the characters and the setting/world building are good, but most importantly the prose has to be great. I always insisted that if i don't like the style of writing I can't read a book no matter how good the plot, if the prose is great I will still enjoy the book even if the storyline isn't that great. Well, I discovered that even if I do like the prose of a book, if the plot lacks, I really don't enjoy reading it either.
Alexander is a skilled writer, her style of writing is really great. But the storyline was lacking for me. I found lots was picked up and left unfinished and it sort of just ended. I get somehow the idea behind the book. I just didn't think it went anywhere. When I finished I thought, and what was the point of that?
Half the time it felt like being in medieval high school. The other half I kept wondering what point Alexander is trying to make. Was there a message behind this? There were tinges of feminist empowerment, the whole love triangle and the intrigues all ended up feeling a bit discombobulated.
The characters were inconsistent to me while some were great like Eleanor, written with deep insight and subtlety, others were simple stereotypes like Gregory.
The world building was quite good. Except that the talking animals somehow were unnecessary and ended up being too much, bordering on weird.
To be honest I kept on wondering if I like the original fairytale to much to appreciate this book. I like the traditional fairy tales and was brought up on the proper Grimm stories. Another thing I pondered over after reading this. It is possible that this is the case. I concede that the first couple of chapters I might have been a bit biased by that. But I kept reading due to two reasons as mentioned previously Alexander writes beautifully and I wanted to see where she will take this. And then the book ended. I was left wondering.
I can see that this could have been meant as a critic to the HAE but somehow that wasn't explored. And if that was the case, why set it in the whimsical setting? Why the intrigue? Why ad women's rights issues into it? Then there is the love triangle, which was left unfinished just was kinda not here nor there.
I really wanted to like this book, again I think Alexander is a great writer, but in my opinion it fell short on execution in the end. I wonder if maybe Alexander simply tried to do too much ?
ARC was provided by the publisher via NetGalley. Thank you!
When I read a book ideally the plot, the characters and the setting/world building are good, but most importantly the prose has to be great. I always insisted that if i don't like the style of writing I can't read a book no matter how good the plot, if the prose is great I will still enjoy the book even if the storyline isn't that great. Well, I discovered that even if I do like the prose of a book, if the plot lacks, I really don't enjoy reading it either.
Alexander is a skilled writer, her style of writing is really great. But the storyline was lacking for me. I found lots was picked up and left unfinished and it sort of just ended. I get somehow the idea behind the book. I just didn't think it went anywhere. When I finished I thought, and what was the point of that?
Half the time it felt like being in medieval high school. The other half I kept wondering what point Alexander is trying to make. Was there a message behind this? There were tinges of feminist empowerment, the whole love triangle and the intrigues all ended up feeling a bit discombobulated.
The characters were inconsistent to me while some were great like Eleanor, written with deep insight and subtlety, others were simple stereotypes like Gregory.
The world building was quite good. Except that the talking animals somehow were unnecessary and ended up being too much, bordering on weird.
To be honest I kept on wondering if I like the original fairytale to much to appreciate this book. I like the traditional fairy tales and was brought up on the proper Grimm stories. Another thing I pondered over after reading this. It is possible that this is the case. I concede that the first couple of chapters I might have been a bit biased by that. But I kept reading due to two reasons as mentioned previously Alexander writes beautifully and I wanted to see where she will take this. And then the book ended. I was left wondering.
I can see that this could have been meant as a critic to the HAE but somehow that wasn't explored. And if that was the case, why set it in the whimsical setting? Why the intrigue? Why ad women's rights issues into it? Then there is the love triangle, which was left unfinished just was kinda not here nor there.
I really wanted to like this book, again I think Alexander is a great writer, but in my opinion it fell short on execution in the end. I wonder if maybe Alexander simply tried to do too much ?
ARC was provided by the publisher via NetGalley. Thank you!
mibookobsession's review against another edition
4.0
Fun twist on a classic fairy-tale including intrigue, scandal, magic, and unicorns. This story picks up where the happily ever after leaves off. The night before the wedding Eleanor discovers that her Prince isn't so charming after all. After his multiple infidelities, she becomes more disillusioned by her new husband Gregory and closer to his best friend Dorian. Becoming her rescuer and champion against the court gossips only makes her long even more for a love that can never be. But when an important artifact critical to the survival of the kingdom turns up missing, Eleanor is the number one suspect and must prove her innocence to save her own life.
I just love that Prince Charming isn't all he's cracked up to be in this retelling. Eleanor becomes a strong woman able to defend her own self. I'm so excited to read the sequel that sitting in my to read file! Can't wait to find out what happens next.
I received a complimentary copy of this book through Netgalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
I just love that Prince Charming isn't all he's cracked up to be in this retelling. Eleanor becomes a strong woman able to defend her own self. I'm so excited to read the sequel that sitting in my to read file! Can't wait to find out what happens next.
I received a complimentary copy of this book through Netgalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
esdavis's review against another edition
4.0
Fun story, easy/quick read. Wish there had been more of a climax or at least a longer one.
jillmlong's review against another edition
3.0
This is the story of what happens after Cinderella and the Prince get together. I was intrigued with this because it did not go where I expected it to go. The ending seemed abrupt. I would have liked more.
Thank you for the ARC. This is my honest review.
Thank you for the ARC. This is my honest review.
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