I LOVE FAIRTALES AND THIS ONE JUST RIGHT PERFFECT HEART LOVE AKKKK AWWW ABSHDHUSSB

Ever since I read 'The Selection', I turned bit skeptic while picking up book with gorgeous gown on cover. I didn't like Selection that much and you can't blame me for being cautious. But this was a clear winner.

The idea of Ugly stepsister is appalling but what if stepsister was actually Cinderella's friend? What if she was genuinely happy for her to be with the Prince?



And what if in becoming friend with Cinderella and everyone else, 'The ugly stepsister' actually becomes favourite of Prince?

First you accompany your servant to find a doctor for her mother, then you pour wine over the nation's biggest tycoon. You interview child laborers and published a report. And now you're assisting your friend with her elopement? Just when I am amazed at your latest effort, you manage to surprise me with another.



This was was perfect! I'm pretty hard to please person but this one deserves 5 stars - no less!

Everyone's happily ever after is different and I am really okay with ending.

https://celebrityreaders.com/2019/03/14/the-ugly-stepsister-by-aya-ling/

4.5 stars — Wow. I didn’t expect to cry as much as I did at the end. I think it was all the anxiety over how it was going to end. But damn…I was seriously sucked in and attached to Kat and Edward. It was such a strange tug of war between what I wanted to happen, and what I knew had to happen. Ms. Ling somehow made it work, though I’m still unsettled. Which is making me intrigued about the rest of the series.

This one wasn’t the straightforward retelling I was expecting! And I loved that! I mean, I knew it would veer off course, but it’s amazing how many little pieces of other stories I felt like I encountered. And Kat referenced modern movies and books all the time! Sometimes it got to be a bit much, but it also felt authentic for a 17 year old girl.

Seriously though, I couldn’t have predicted all the places this story would take me, all the topics it would tackle. It was a lot more involved, and it got into some deep issues from that kind of society. I loved the stuff with Jimmy and the causes that Kat stood behind, and of course her friendship with Poppy and helping her out.

Occasionally I felt like Kat was kind of naive and oblivious to some pretty obvious clues. I’m not sure how I feel about that, because she comes across as a smart cookie, yet she would overlook the most obvious of details. But on the whole I loved how sassy Kat was, how she stood strong with her convictions, and how she wouldn’t be bullied.

I kind of loved the romance between Kat and Edward…it was *really* subtle, and not necessarily a prominent part of the plot, but it reminded me of the romance in the movie Ever After.

There were all sorts of crazy side characters in this one, and they all brought something interesting to the table. From Elle, Henry, Jimmy, Poppy, Bertram, Mr. Wellsley, Martha, Kreve (no idea on spelling since I listened to it), Lady Gregory, Lysander, and Meg…damn, there was a lot going on. So many tiny side offshoot stories that either helped or distracted Kat in her journey to the HEA.

I really enjoy Ms. Christian’s narration in general… She’s so lively and just provides the perfect voice for Kat. Her voices were pretty good, even the accents were okay since we were in a fictional world, so they didn’t have to be something real. I found she occasionally pronounced things in a different way than I thought they should be, but that could be a me-being-a-Canadian thing.

So yeah. This one surprised me in a lot of ways, and I’m totally going to be listening to the next one!

UN MILLÓN DE ESTRELLAS
MI CORAZÓN AYYYY! DÓNDE ESTÁ LA SEGUNDA PARTEEEE?

No, pero en serio. Me gustó un chingo.

4.5 stars

I want the second book now!!




I've been wanting to read this book since it was released. I love fairytale retellings (Who doesn't?) and this has been on my ebook library for really long.
There are many characters in this book but it really doesn't annoy me. Actually, it's interesting. The characters are all somehow different from each other and that's pretty exciting.


Kat, the main, character, rips off the pages of her old Cinderella book and gets transported into the world of Cinderella. It turns out that she's not the Cinderella but the ugly step sister and her job is to make amends by convincing the Prince to hold a ball and finding the fairy godmother who's literally nowhere to be found. Kat can only return to the modern world if she makes amends and achieve happily every after otherwise she'll be stuck in the book forever.


I love Kat's character because I can relate to her. She's also a very passionate reader and like every single nerd in this world, she makes various book references.



Although this book is a Cinderella retelling, I feel like it has different fairytales involved and this book also reminds me of The Selection series. But, honestly, I like this one better. I even think that Kat is better than America - I found America really annoying.

The writing is excellent and the era is described perfectly. I did mind some things but we can neglect them.
Anyway, I strongly recommend everyone to read it because this book is absolutely wonderful!

This was a unique and different way to tell this classic fairy tale of Cinderella, I was very interested and intrigued by it.

Although if I hadn't know there was a sequel, I would have been rather annoyed with the ending.

I received a digital review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion in any way.

Actual Rating: 3.5

Well this was such a fun retelling of the story of Cinderella! Cinderella is my favorite Disney princess if you don’t know guys. It was because of her blue gown, her hair in a bun and all the animals who helped her in her chores. When I saw that I can review this book, I immediately, requested it!

This is the story of Kat, your typical bookish girl. When she accidentally ripped the pages of an old book she was transported to Story World as one of the ugly stepsisters of Cinderella. To get back to her family in the real world, she has make Cinderella and the prince charming meet and fall in love with each other. The only problem is that Kat and Edward (the prince charming) are the ones falling hard for each other!

It was fun to read Kat learning the ways on how to be a proper lady like wearing gowns and all those fancy stuff because she was from the normal real world. Kat is a magnificent character because other than making Elle (Cinderella) and Edward fall for each other she also helped make a law about changing the work hours of the working children. She knows it’s only story world but she can’t help but feel sorry for the children.

I put this book down a few weeks ago when I was almost to the half of it because even though Kat is an awesome character, I couldn’t connect to her. The romance between Kat and Edward didn’t make me swoon though. I didn’t feel their love for each other.

The world was vividly described. I felt like I really am in the story world. I love how the world was described. Aaaaah for months I’ve been looking for a world like this and I’ve finally found it.

I recommend this if you want a very fun fantasy retelling with an awesome main character! If Aya Ling’s other books are as fun as this one, I would definitely read them too!

This is one of my comfort books. I would recommend this to anyone who likes fairy-tale retellings. The idea is so outlandish that it grabbed my attention, yet isn't that something we sometimes wish for as readers? To be transported into a book seems great... Until it happens. Kat and Edward's relationship always affects me, too. I've both swooned and screamed internally at the characters. And I keep going back for more! Warning: if you like the first book, you'll have to read the second immediately!

*I received a free copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.*

I was actually quite surprised by how much I enjoyed this novel. While I thought the beginning was rather slow and too descriptive, it developed into a quite compelling read as it progressed. It wasn't just a generic copy of Cinderella either, it had its own twists that made it unique. It was actually a nice blend of Cinderella, Jane Austen (almost any of her novels), with a hint of Dickens and Gaskell.

The romance wasn't overdone and the characters were well written and interacted well with each other. The ending was very satisfactory and left me impressed with Aya Ling's writing. I am looking forward to picking up more of her books.

The full review will be up on my blog on the 12th at this link:http://courtneysreads.blogspot.com/2015/06/the-ugly-stepsisteraya-ling-review.html

When the book started, I had no clue how it would go. It seemed to be confused and dragged a bit in the beginning. Once she got settled things really picked up and I loved the whole journey of the plot even though I saw every turn coming. And I like how the author gave the whole child labour thing importance without deviating too much from the story. This book was perfect... Except for that ending. I pulled my hair, I screamed and I really wanted to rip that last chapter out. But hey, at least it highlighted the character development. 3 stars.