I really enjoyed this book, but I was a little disappointed by it's resolution. I feel like there could have been a better way to end it. But, overall, it was a good retelling.

it lured me in with a subversion on common tropes and then just became a cliched mess. Love plot was cute though, even if I didn't really want it to happen.

3.5 Stars

I originally started this book a few years ago but I restarted it this month.

I thought this retelling of Cinderella was cute!

So the gist of the story was that Kat accidentally tore apart an old story book that was cursed by a Goblin King. The punishment is that Kat was transported into the storybook world and becomes Cinderella’s “Ugly Stepsister.” In order for Kat to return to the modern world, she has to make sure that the story gets its “happily ever after.”

I liked that Kat was a reporter/editor for her high school’s newspaper. It made for an interesting plot line in the storybook world.

I have to say though this story drive me crazy in the beginning. Kat is supposedly a lover of classic books... but when she gets transported to Athelia, she keeps making a lot of mistakes with their jargon and fashion. 🙄 I understand slipping every once in a while... but not all the freaking time. Like... she actually considered putting her hair in a ponytail. 🤦🏻‍♀️

Now... the ending... what the hell?? The ending left me feeling so unsatisfied.

This was such a fun re-telling of Cinderella! I really enjoyed the whole ‘getting-transported-into-a-fairytale-but-as-the-stepsister-idea (bc I love the isekai genre)’. I love the fl and ml so much- they are so cute together and their relationship is so wholesome and I can’t wait to read more about these two.

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This review was originally posted on Books and Ladders

This one had me smiling and laughing as much as it had me in tears -- which is exactly what a good book should do. One part spunky heroine, one part already knowing a story, and one part loveable cast of characters = one of my favourite reads this year so far.

I love Kat. She stuck up for what she believed in and while she may have been biased based on her experience growing up in our world, she never let that sway her from doing what she needed to. I loved her decision to do whatever it took to get home. I thought she might be persuaded to stay in the Story World rather than go home, but she had her beliefs and stuck to them. Her faith and conviction on the issues that plagued the country were my favourite part about her character. Honestly she was so relatable.

Everyone in the story was so loveable, it is hard to say who I liked the most out of the supporting characters. Elle was such a nice girl and I was so happy for her and her happy ending. We got to know so much about her and her predicament, it was nice to see that, but it was always nice to see Kat grow in her story as well.

Edward ... *heart eyes* I loved everything about him. I can see why he is a prince and he will make an excellent King to this Story World that I do not live in but wish I did. He was so thoughtful and did everything he could to help those in need. And he took Kat's ideas seriously which is huge for someone who obviously grew up in a world where women are treated as second-class citizens. And he cared so deeply. I just. This might be the first time I enjoyed a male lead named Edward.

The plot was fun and refreshing. I liked that Kat knew she was in the story and had to make it progress. I love fairytale retellings, but this one was something different. It was original and fun! I wish I could get dropped into a novel and play the role of one of the characters to make the story actually happen. It was so creative and went at such a good pace. The writing was also very good, which really helps when you are trying something new.

Overall: 4.5/5 stars. I loved this one. It was a refreshing take on a fairytale retelling and I really enjoyed myself while reading it. I am a tad disappointed by the ending though, like if not for the ending, I would have rated it 5 stars.

This review originally appears on What Am I Reading?

Rate: 3

I received the ebook of this story from the author for an honest review.

Three (3) Points that Explain My Feelings for The Ugly Stepsister

1. The story was too long for its own good. According to Goodreads, The Ugly Stepsister is 452 pages long that's about 300 pages too many. From what I remember of Disney's version of Cinderella spanned about 2-3 weeks, but The Ugly Stepsister seemed to span months. I get that it's a retelling so it's going to be different, but it shouldn't be unnecessarily long.

2. Besides the fact that the story is a retelling, it was very predictable. From the first couple of chapters, I could tell how the story was going to end, which made me more irritable that it lasted so long.

3. The execution lacked a bit of imagination. Having the protagonist play the part of the stepsister is an original idea, but again the ending was predictable and the overall flow of the story didn't off any twists to spark interest. The main reason I thought the execution was poor was that from the beginning Kat rips the book, gets called downstairs by her mother, and proceeds to fall down the stairs. This to me meant that there was a 99.9% chance that Ling was going to end the story with Kat waking up after a couple of hours and realizing that "it was all just a dream." I would have preferred to read the 0.1% chance where the explanation for Kat's experience is an alternate universe/ multidimensional theory. To clarify, I wanted Kat to sucked into some sort of mystical tornado after she ripped the book and then went through Ling's version of Cinderella instead of the story going with the "dream/hallucination/thought" explanation. Does this make the story much different than it occurred? No, but at least I know in the end that Kat actually went through all the stuff I read about instead of her just waking up at the end. I'm being picky, but The Ugly Stepsister is so long and so predictable.

Overall I found this a delightful retelling of the classic Cinderella story given a modern twist and some modern feminist viewpoints that are sorely need in our class fairy tales for girls. While I found the ending to be bittersweet I overall enjoyed the book and reading who sees and thinks about more than the cute boy in front of her. Ling takes the Cinderella story and turns it on his head by introducing a modern character who see and tries to fight the plight of the poor. While it's a fairy tale set in a fictional kingdom she brings up real parts of history that many young girls don't like to think about when they're daydreaming of the times of Lords and Ladies. She writes of what life was like before child labor laws existed, before women had rights and public education was mandatory. While many of these things are glossed over for the medium of presentation the fact that they're present, that the reader is reminded that the past was filled with more than just fancy ballgowns really should be applauded. Overall a great story I'd highly recommend.

To attract me, a good fairy tale retelling needs to follow one simple rule: to twist the story a little bit. Aya Ling followed this magical formula and the result was The Ugly Stepsister – a fun retelling of Cinderella.

LIKES

* Interesting twist to the story. Cinderella is one of more popular fairy tales for girls. Aya Ling retells the story from the point of view of the ugly stepsister, or at least from the point of view of the modern girl who gets stuck in that role.

* Main character I could relate to. I could never imagine myself in a role of Cinderella: she is a big pushover. But I could easily imagine myself in Kat’s shoes and most of my reactions would have been similar. Kat blatantly ignores Victorian setting and fights for her rights.

* Bookworm heroine. What can I say, I always feel extra close to a character who can appreciate a good book. Going on balls or snuggling in a bed with hot chocolate and a book – Kat and I would make the same choice. ;)

* Realistic coming of age story. In the beginning Kat annoyed me with her shyness and stumbling when she meets cute boys. It was too similar to some popular cliches. But, I loved it how Kat grows up and gains confidence as the story progressed.

* Sweet romance. Like every fairy tale love story should be, the romance is so sweet and cute. Although there are a couple of steamy kisses, it mostly radiates that warm fuzzy feeling, the same when you watch your favorite fairy tale cartoon.

* It’s not only about the romance or about Kat going back to her family. Aya Ling wonderfully describes to us how lucky we are to live today. Victorian society is often romanticized in novels, but here Aya Ling bares it’s flaws for us. There are a lot of secondary characters whose tragic stories touched my heart.

DISLIKES

* Kat is sometimes illogically uninformed. Bookish Kat is dumbfounded and asks about the social calls, how to talk to servants, etc. I think that etiquette rules of polite society in Victorian time period should have been familiar to her, since she likes to read.

* Everything happens too easy, like in a fairy tale. The Ugly Stepsister is a fairy tale retelling and young adult novel, but it does not mean that it should be naive. Sometimes events unravel in just the way that suits Kat. It would have never happened in real life like that.

IN THE END

The Ugly Stepsister had everything I expected from a good fairy tale retelling (or a good young adult novel too): twist to make it interesting, like-able heroine and cute love story. In the end, I was left with a slight smile on my lips and a twinkle in my eyes, like every good fairy tale should do.

Aya Ling says that she might write more fairy tale retellings, and I am looking it. In the meantime I will definitely check out her other novels. I think i will start with [b:Princesses Don't Get Fat|18372538|Princesses Don't Get Fat|Aya Ling|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1377401747s/18372538.jpg|23691197] since its a Kindle freebie. ;)

Disclaimer: I received this ebook from author in exchange for a fair and honest review. This text is also posted on my blog Bookworm Dreams in a little bit more styled edition.

4.75 más bien. Tuvo algunos fallitos y el final me descolocó, pero en general me divirtió enormemente y es una perspectiva que nunca se me hubiese ocurrido antes del cuento de cenicienta. He leído muchísimos retellings de este cuento, pero nunca desde la perspectiva de que la protagonista tenga que representar el papel de la hermanastra "fea".
Aunque hubo algunos vacios argumentales menores, como escribe la propia autora "mientras la historia de amor nos mantenga en vilo, los lectores ignorarán las pequeñas incongruencias".
Me gustó que Kat se mueve mucho para conseguir reescribir el cuento y no solo se centra en los líos amorosos, también añade las injusticias sociales de la época de la industrialización. La acción transcurre en un marco de tiempo realista, incluso la historia de amor me pareció bastante bien llevada. Me encantaron los personajes y por eso creo que no soy capaz de darle las cinco estrellas a pesar de que lo considere de mis favoritos de este año, el final, aunque sea realista y muestre la evolución de la protagonista desde el principio del libro, me resulto desgarrador ver como todo fue una "alucinación".
PS: Encontré impecable el uso de las referencias al mundo literario que iba comentando Kat.

4.5 stars. Best fairy tale re-telling that I've read so far.



That's normally one way that authors go with the re-tell of a fairy tale. Wait, I would probably read and like that one. Let's scratch that and start again.

Kat is told by her mom to head up to the attic and clean up some of her old books for a yard-sale. In doing so she finds an old copy of Cinderella. She is kinda clumsy so she ends up tearing the book when she falls down the stairs.
When she wakes up their is a troll there waiting and he tells her that the book was enchanted and the only way to get out of storyland is for the story to finish from where she tore the book. On the first page.


She doesn't wake up as Cinderella though. She wakes up as Katriona. One of the ugly stepsisters.

Kat's a hot mess. She hates the constant visiting, the whiny girls all wanting to meet the prince, the whole she-bang. Upon her presentation to the queen she falls down and busts her butt.

She has to find out who Cinderella is though. Could she be the maid in the house Ella? But Ella has a mom. Who is sick at home and younger siblings.
Kat does end up spending a lot of time with Prince Edward. Get this. No insta-lurrve. Kat is too busy doing her own thing and trying to end the curse. In the meantime she does fall down and get dirty.


Because I am from the modern world, it's natural that I'm not like other girls. It's second nature to me that children shouldn't work at all, that women should be allowed freedom to do anything they want. It isn't because I'm special.


This book is so much fun. The only time I shook my head with is was when the people in "storyland" used the word "ain't". That part just didn't ring true for me.
Now that ending....

I know it had to go that way but I still said a really big cuss word.