ARC Review: The Fairy Godmother

Author: Mercedes Lackey
Genre: Fiction, Young Adult, Fairy Tale, Romance, Fantasy
Release: July, 2010
Source: Net Galley
Rating: 3/5

Description: In the land of the Five Hundred Kingdoms, if you can't carry out your legendary role, life is no fairy tale….

Elena Klovis was supposed to be her kingdom's Cinderella— until fate left her with a completely inappropriate prince! So she set out to make a new life for herself. But breaking with “The Tradition” was no easy matter—until she got a little help from her own fairy godmother. Who promptly offered Elena a most unexpected job….

Now, instead of sleeping in the chimney, she has to deal with arrogant, stuffed-shirt princes who keep trying to rise above their place in the tale. And there's one in particular who needs to be dealt with….

Sometimes a fairy godmother's work is never done…

Review: I rather liked this fairy tale/fantasy. It had a different take on Cinderella. The main character, Elena, was born to be her kingdom's Cinderella. Both her parents died; she had the horrid stepmother as well as the two annoying stepsisters; she was even treated as a mere slave in her parents' own house. When she turns 18, though, no prince arrives to take her away. Instead of becoming Cinderella, she becomes an apprentice to the Fairy Godmother, Bella, who takes Elena under her wing and teaches her everything she knows. As an apprentice, Elena learns about "The Tradition," the force that makes everything happen in fairy tales. Eventually, Elena takes Bella's place as Fairy Godmother and does an excellent job.

WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE:

• Alexander, a prince and Elena's love interest, didn't transform on his own. He was supposed to learn his lesson and be transformed, but he had help. I would have liked for his change to come from within...not without.

• The story got became too long at times. It was almost as though she was trying to cram everything into one book.

• The sex scenes. It would've been ok if they fit in, but they didn't. The scenes came out of no where and completely threw me off. Here's an example: "...and it wasn't until he'd stolen up her skirt and suddenly his head was - good heavens! What was he doing between her legs..." Ms. Lackey didn't need the scenes. The book would've been fine without.

WHAT I LIKED:

• I loved the character of Elena. She was strong, despite horrible circumstances. When she became an apprentice, she worked hard at learning. That's why she became one of the best.

• I loved the different take on Cinderella, featuring a strong character. Cinderella was never really my favorite fairy tale, but I loved this take.

• I liked the storyline and the idea of "The Tradition" and how fairy tales worked.

Overall, this was a pretty good book that I enjoyed reading.