The White Slipper by Brittany Fichter
Fairytale. 148 Pages. 5 Stars
Synopsis:
What can a poor apothecary offer the princess who has it all?
In this fairy tale retelling of The White Slipper, Princess River is the envy of all her peers, for her doting father has always promised her she could marry for love. But when he loses the healing slipper that prevents his ghastly foot injury from killing him, he makes a horrifying edict. The man who makes him an identical slipper and saves his life shall have River’s hand in marriage.
To River’s chagrin, such a man, poor and unknown, does come forward, claiming he’s found the secret cure. But River, discontent to helplessly hand over her future and her kingdom, seeks to learn about his past. To her surprise, however, her search reveals far more than she ever expected.
This mysterious young man may not only hold the true secret to helping her father…but he might be the one who claimed her heart long ago.
Delve into these standalone fairy tale retelling novellas of lesser-known tales as told by Wendy and Peter Pan. The Nevertold fairy tales are not set in the same world as the Classical Kingdoms Collection, but they have the same clean romance, magical mystery, and heroic happily-ever-afters.
My Review:
Y’all know how much I love Fichter, so of course I got my hands on this one when she released it a few months ago. But I’ve just now made time to read it. And it was cute!
A quick, easy read that retells an uncommon fairy tale. I can’t say I’ve heard of the White Slipper before this, but now I want to go look it up. I’m excited for these Nevertold stories and curious to see what other stories Fichter takes to.
The childhood lovers is always a cute story and this one had a fun twist. I really, really liked how Fichter used a hero who wasn’t all broad shoulders and thick muscles. I mean, I can get behind a hunky hero, but it’s refreshing to see a wiry, bookish hero, too. And I really appreciate how she focused on the character underneath the cute.
I liked River. It was cool how Fichter managed a small growth arc in such a short space. Novellas don’t typically have enough space for characters to really develop deeply and change realistically. It isn’t fleshed out super deeply, but it was neat to see her get a little gumption and come into her own. She loved her father very much, but she wasn’t impervious to irritation or confusion at his actions. She had spunk and she loved her people, but she also had a softer, sentimental side that was sweet. I liked how she handled the mystery of the newcomer and I liked how we got to see the humility and steadfast love of the hero. He was kind and took his lemons in stride. I liked him quite a bit.
I’ll also add that I liked the side characters. The king had me going, but Fichter twisted his storyline and gave him a cute little ending. River’s aunt was sweet too. And Madame Balastrade was one of the best characters in the book! We need more of her!
Clean, sweet romance that focused on what really matters in a relationship. No violence, no language. Preteen safe.
More:
Book 2 in the Nevertold Fairy Tales is The Prince’s Dangerous Wish (4 Stars)
Book 3 is The Enchanted Wreath
These are standalones and can be read in any order. However, I’ll be reading them in publication order cause…I’m me. XD