This book, right here was everything I have ever loved about fairytales. It was whimsically dark and rife with mysterious players, following an adorable love story that unfolds only after the main character has learned what they were missing. I haven’t had much luck with fairytale retellings and yet here I am, giving this Cinderella-inspired novel a 10/10. It took the perspective that no one wanted to see in the stepsister and transformed it into something to admire. It was remarkably well-done and I appreciated the refreshing new setting, as this one takes place just moments after Cinderella’s happily ever after and shows what life is like after trying to undermine the beloved princess.
“What could you do? You’re a girl. Girls don’t fight. Stay here and cut cabbages for us, all right? Soldiers need to eat.”
Very condescending, isn’t it? This is throughout the whole story, painting the men in the novel as the villains. Women are less than favourable and are seen to be helpless shells, but don’t worry Isabelle is not one to fit that mould and she has no problem fighting it. However, prepare yourself for rude comments towards Isabelle and all other women! I won’t lie, there were several times that I couldn’t believe how they talked to each other and it did get me angry because of how ridiculous it seemed. There were even times I had to put the book down and leave because it got intense, so you’ve been warned.
Life is tough and Isabelle is no stranger to that reality, but she’s not what you would expect. In the older, darker versions of Cinderella, the stepsisters butcher their own feet in order to fit the infamous glass slipper and in this book that happens, but you know what you don’t see in the original? Her reluctance to follow through. She had remorse for stealing the Prince away from her sister, Ella, and she only continued the charade because she couldn’t fathom the idea of her breaking her mother’s heart. So this is not the stepsister we’ve come to know and this is just the beginning of how great of a character she is.
One scene that I will never forget was when she confronted the soldiers who beat her horse, Nero. They make crass comments about disciplining her for her bad mouth and she offers him to get a crop and they can see if he’s the one to teach her to stay in line. She’s feisty and ballsy and a girl who will always fight for the ones she loves, even if she has to walk right in the line of fire (which she does quite a few times in here!).
She is hilarious in her ferocity and isn’t ashamed for fighting with her heart. Brave, courageous, and passionate, she is also intelligent and doesn’t care to act like “a lady should” and that was nice to see, especially in this world because she is laying the foundations for change with her behaviour as she shows how much a woman can do in a man’s world. Formidable and stubborn—she will not conform to their ways and the men in this story can’t stand that. Plus, she’s clever too and underestimated a lot!
“Change is a kiss in the dark. A rose in the snow. A wild road on a windy night,’ Chance countered. ‘Monster’s live in the dark. Roses die in the snow. Girls get lost on wild roads,’ the crone shot back.”
Jennifer Donnelly incorporated the idea of Fate versus Chance fighting over Isabelle’s life as another level to the plot which served as a third party perspective to the moments unfolding before our eyes and that was so creative and intriguing!
“Chance snorted. ‘Here are the things girls die of: hunger, disease, accidents, childbirth and violence. It takes more than heartache to kill a girl. Girls are tough as rocks.”
I absolutely adored Chance. To Isabelle he’s just an eccentric ringleader travelling with his entourage who she happens to stumble into, but he knows that it’s much more than that. The whole time he tries to protect her from herself, knowing exactly what choices will be her last and praying that he can stop her before it’s too late. He is a man that is not blinded by the blatant condescension towards women and this only made me love him more.
Speaking of men to fall for, let me introduce you to Felix, Isabelle’s childhood sweetheart. There was a lot of animosity between these two because of miscommunication and the blaming of each other for something neither one ended up doing but they found their way back to each other. Plus, all the ups and downs were juicy little tidbits that Donnelly sprinkled in right where you needed them.
I know you must be thinking that this isn’t a tale fit for romance, as it does follow Cinderella’s UGLY stepsister, but you would be wrong. Felix adores the very qualities that others find ugly and underwhelming. He’s a swoon-worthy guy that you can’t help but fall for and their bond over horses sparked an unforgettable love story.
He is probably the only guy that can compare a girl’s hair colour to a red squirrel and make it romantic, and if this didn’t have you falling for him, I bet knowing that he makes shoes out of wood to help a certain somebody solve her missing toes issue well have you reaching for tissues! Isabelle is constantly mocked over her looks and although she doesn’t let that affect her, Felix is the one guy who’s not hung up on it. All he can see is the girl who can tame horses and practice fighting like pirates.
In the tale, there were two stepsisters and Tavi is an intellectual force to be reckoned with.
“Try for whom, Hugo?’ she repeated, her voice raw. ‘For the rich boys who get to go to the Sorbonne even though they’re too stupid to solve a simple quadratic equation? For the viscount I was seated next to at a dinner who tried to put his hand up my skirt through all five courses? For the smug society ladies who look me up and down and purse their lips and say no, I won’t do for their sons because my chin is too pointed, my nose is too large, I talk too much about numbers? I wanted books. I wanted math and science. I wanted an education.’ Tavi said, her eyes bright with emotion. ‘I got corsets and gowns and high-heeled slippers instead. It made me sad, Hugo. And then it made me angry. So no, I can’t make myself likeable. I’ve tried. Over and over. It doesn’t work. If I don’t like who I am, why should you?”
This embodies so many emotions and powerful ideas. Tavi makes an excellent point. You shouldn’t have to force yourself to be a certain way just because society demands it of you. She knows what she wants and she will no longer try and lie to herself or others because she’s right, how can someone like you if you don’t like yourself. This was a classic example of what a fairytale does. It teaches morals or lessons for life and Tavi’s character has understood an important one, that many seem to forget. Despite it being 2019 and an overall more accepting society, I can’t help but feel like this is still relevant so I liked Donnelly including it.
Chance’s play was an amazing addition to an already great plot. It’s showcase of strong and powerful female rulers was empowering and I feel like it served as another lesson to all those with doubt. Doubt that women are limited in what they can say and do. And the use of successful women from history such as Elizabeth I was ingenius!
I really like how Donnelly expresses a clear divide between pretty and beautiful. Pretty is looks whereas beautiful is a matter of perspective. A lovely notion and a distinction that I once again feel is relevant to today. People may say one thing but still feel the opposite so this acts as a great reminder that you don’t have to possess what society has deemed to be pretty to feel beautiful.
This was a wonderful standalone that portrayed a feisty underdog of a heroine, friendships forged in forgiveness, and brimming with lessons that many of us forget, at one time or another. I definitely recommend this to any and all fairytale readers! It possesses a strong plot from start to finish and comes to a complete story by the time it ends, making it the perfect fairytale. Fans of CJ Redwine’s Ravenspire novels and A.G. Howard’s reimagined novel Stain will want to add this to their TBR pile! And if you were impressed by Donnelly’s writing like I was, check out her Beauty in the Beast inspired novel, Lost In A Book!
Stepsister is available from Amazon, Book Depository, and other good book retailers.
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Synopsis | Goodreads
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 blood.
When the prince discovers Isabelle’s deception, she is turned away in shame. It’s no more than she deserves: she is a plain girl in a world that values beauty; a feisty girl in a world that wants her to be pliant.
Isabelle has tried to fit in. To live up to her mother’s expectations. To be like her stepsister. To be sweet. To be pretty. One by one, she has cut away pieces of herself in order to survive a world that doesn’t appreciate a girl like her. And that has made her mean, jealous, and hollow.
Until she gets a chance to alter her destiny and prove what ugly stepsisters have always known: it takes more than heartache to break a girl.
