The Ugly Stepsister Review!! – Is NOT Ugly!

4/5

I received this book from the author in exchange for a review, this does not change my opinions.

I cannot suppress my love for Fairy Tale retellings, so when Aya Ling, the author, asked my sister and I to read and review her book The Ugly Stepsister, I could NOT say no! I LOVE Cinderella, and The Ugly Stepsister sounded like a book I would love.

Good

AHHHHHHHHH cuteness overload! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! *Coughs* All silliness aside, this book was very adorable. I loved Kat and Prince Edward, Poppy and Mr. Davenport… Aya Ling did a wonderful job creating loveable (and unlikable) characters with unique and adorable/rude personalities. It was fun watching Kat’s journey on re-creating Cinderella’s story and watching how it all worked out. I loved the twists, how she tried so hard to make everything work out and in the end… well, you’ll have to read it to find out :)!

The story, like I said, was fantastic! Aya Ling is a fantastic writer with great skills! I read a ton of fairy tale retellings, so I can safely assure those of you reading this, that this new version of Cinderella is both refreshing, and a great read. Everything happens so fast, it’s hard to put the book down. My favorite part of the whole story was Kat’s friendship with Elle, she really opened the citizen’s eyes to some potential problems in Story World, don’t laugh because I’m serious! Kat tried everything in her power to help those wronged in Story World, and for that I admire her. Sure she came from our world where we have laws against Child Labor and such, but it was nice to see a character who cared for a world that wasn’t her. Even if the whole helping the people thing wasn’t apart of her escape/set the story right plan, I found her actions enjoyable :D!

Bad

For me, the beginning was a bit slow, this didn’t really take away from the story at all. After making it through a few more chapters, the book is fantastic and so well written!

Somethings were a bit predictable, but again, I might have played too much Nancy Drew as a child! I swear, those detective games taught me how to be a real sleuth and ever since, I have been wonderful at predicting/solving mysteries! However, in The Ugly Stepsister, some parts of the plot felt a bit to convenient. Okay, maybe I just have a problem of wanting main characters to struggle (WOW that sounds horrible XD) I just find the story to be more interesting when they have to work hard to achieve their goal. KAT WORKED REALLY HARD! I just felt like how quickly she found out she was in a story book and met Krev was a bit to easy. Whatever, it didn’t make the book any less enjoyable!

Verdict

Read The Ugly Stepsister by Aya Ling because it’s wonderful, because it is so well written and easy to enjoy. With a cast of loveable (some not so loveable) characters and an intriguing plot, Aya Ling’s story is sure to be a blast!