Book Review: The Stepsister and the Slipper

The Stepsister and the Slipper by Nina Clare

Fairytale Retelling. 139 Pages. 4 Stars

Synopsis:

What if the prince fell in love with the stepsister?

Lady Charlotte needs a rich husband, and fast. Good thing she has plenty of beauty and charm, with no foolish ideas of love to get in the way of her plans. When the chance to catch the wealthiest, most eligible bachelor in the kingdom appears, she will do everything in her power to win such a prize; even if she must break a few hearts along the way. But in the end, it is her own heart that’s troubled. Perhaps true love really does exist, but if so, it’s not with the man she has caught…

The Stepsister and the Slipper is one of twelve short novels in A Villain’s Ever After, a collection of standalone stories featuring villainous twists on some of your favorite classic fairytales. Read the series in any order for magical adventures . . . and fall in love with villains as you’ve never seen them before. Who said villains can’t have happily-ever-afters?

My Review:

Okay, so…there were some things I liked in this one and some I didn’t love.

First off, I do love Cinderella and even wrote my own retelling from the Stepsister’s pov, so I was absolutely intrigued by this novella and very curious to see what Clare would do. Second, I just have to say that cover is gorgeous! Bravo to the designer on that one!

I liked some of the nods to the original tale, like the godmother, the slipper, and the balls. The godmother figure played a very small role, but she was distinct as a godmother figure and I liked her. I also liked how she had a role in society, two really unique houses, and more than just Cinderella as her charge. Her function in the story was neat and I appreciated that. I also have to say I liked the house the Cinderella family stayed in near the palace and how it was so specifically tied to Cinderella. That was a really cool way to explain the magic. And it was fun that the manservant looked to her as his mistress!

Additionally, what Clare did with the slipper was fun and clever. I did something similar in my own story, but it was still really neat to see it played out here. I also actually really liked how Charlotte struggled with the decision over the slipper in the end and she didn’t immediately do what was right. That made her more like the traditional villain, but it also added a small twist to her character since she didn’t technically lie about it.

And, of course, the balls were fun. But I think more than that, I really liked how Clare used the balls to push the story forward. And she didn’t focus so exclusively on them, but drew in time outside the balls so that things came together in pivotal moments during the balls. It was fun to see Charlotte approach this opportunity and I liked how she was confident when dealing with suitors and intentional, even if it was a cruel game to play. I also liked that we got to see why she did it. That there was a reason and the pressure for her to marry well.

But that said, that was one of the things I think missed the mark just a little. Perhaps because it’s a novella and there just wasn’t quite the time to flesh this out properly, but Charlotte felt like two different people sometimes. On one hand, she was under a lot of pressure and dealing with an insane mother (nice touch, Clare). She knew she shouldn’t have to be the family’s salvation, and yet she also knew that she was. Combined with her soft heart toward Cinderella (I can’t for the life of me think of her name right now!), made her a sympathetic character in line with the whole theme of the Villain’s Ever After series.

But on the other hand, Charlotte flipped a switch in a few places and was quite cruel. And I don’t just mean cruel because she was raised to be or because she panicked and wanted to fulfill the role her mother thrust on her (there were a few of those places that made sense), but there were a few places where she just got super jealous and all up in arms and threw a hissy fit about Cinderella and the prince. And it just didn’t make sense to me. Or when Cinderella’s dress was prettier than hers. It didn’t quite line up with who she was in other places and that kind of disappointed me. You’d think she’d want Cinderella to be happy based on her interactions with her in other places of the book (like defending her against her mother or giving her the plan to get to the ball–a really cool plan, if I may say so when I used something similar ;)) but then there were bits where she was more traditionally like the cruel stepsister that I think could have been better explained or shown.

Similarly along those lines, I really liked some of the other characters a lot, like the Cinderella character and the stepmother and the prince. But they didn’t really get enough screen time to be fleshed out much. The prince could have been a really neat character, but we really didn’t get enough of him. Though I did really like the scenes between him and Charlotte in the study and in the treasury because it showed off Charlotte’s character very well in the first and gave us a glimpse of his in the second. Lance was a fun character, but like Charlotte, there were bits of him that felt a little off. He was a charmer and that made him a lot of fun, especially with Charlotte who was a flirt in her own right. The favors he asked of Charlotte though didn’t make much logical sense and made him seem a little…not very smart…at times. And the way things wrapped up with him also felt a little convenient or forced, I’m not sure which. It was just odd for Charlotte to go from husband obsessed to completely nonchalant. And for him to hang back and then suddenly show up again. So, that felt a little bumpy to me. But I did like how he pushed the plot forward and some of the ways he influenced the other characters and storyline. I really liked when we learned what he was really up to and his interactions with the Cinderella character and Charlotte together. Those were really eye-opening and showed us more parts of each of the characters in the scenes.

Overall, it’s a cute little short read. Not super deep or fleshed out, but a fun story nonetheless. I’m looking forward to the rest of the series and possibly checking out more of Nina Clare’s work in the future.

Content: there’s no swearing or violence, but the stepfamily is cruel to Cinderella in some places and they are pretty manipulative to people in general. Charlotte thinks a lot about marriage and how that can further her in society, but there’s nothing worse than a pretty quick kiss and the implications of a flirt hinting at roguish behavior for the era. I think this one would be fine for 12/13+

A Villain’s Ever After Book 1 is The Beast and the Enchantress (3 Stars)

Book 2 is The Sultan and the Storyteller (4 Stars)

Book 3 is Bluebeard and the Outlaw (5 Stars)

Book 4 is The Stepsister and the Slipper (4 Stars)

Book 5 is The Goblin and the Dancer (4 Stars)

Book 6 is Hansel and the Gingerbread Queen (5 Stars)

Book 7 is The Dark King and the Eternal Dance (4 Stars)

Book 8 is Gothel and the Maiden Prince (4 Stars)

Book 9 is The Sorcerer and the Swan Princess (3 Stars)

Book 10 is The Baker and the Wolf (4 Stars)

Book 11 is The Prince and the Sea Witch (5 Stars)

Book 12 is Carabosse and the Spindle Spell (5 Stars)