Title: Sinful Cinderella (Dark Fairy Tale Queens Book 1)
Author: AnitaValle
Grade: 97% A
Review:
I'm going to start out by saying that I had more fun reading this than I have with any book in a very long time. I read this book in its entirety in the span of a few hours before promptly heading to Amazon to put the rest of the series in my cart, only to remember that I am broke and put them on a wishlist instead. (I did get a paperback of Sinful Cinderella for my birthday, so I at least have one so far.)
It's certainly one of the shorter novellas I've read, but the pacing isn't weird at all—not too fast and packed with more plot than it can fit, not too slow and rushed at the end. It feels like the Goldilocks zone for me. The protagonist, who is certainly more villain than heroine, is compelling and just generally very fun to read about. She's evil and relishes in it, and she's determined and works extremely hard to get what she wants.
I'll start with the cover. It's beautiful. I can't believe the author herself designed the Dark Fairy Tale Queens covers, because... just wow. They are stunning (and even more so in person). Even though the font placements are a little squished the fonts used are visually pleasing and get the point across. I think the Sinful Cinderella one is probably my favorite, frankly, and having read the whole novel it makes me feel just a little devilish knowing precisely what scene the cover portrays.
The description is too short for my taste. Anyone who's read my work probably knows that I adore long, enticing descriptions that set up the premise of the story and just enough background knowledge to make you want to learn more. That aside, the description was enough to make me click and read it. Truthfully, the length feels necessary. Because the story itself is made up of thirty very short chapters (I would guess it's maybe a couple hundred pages at most), writing a 150-word description wouldn't suit it very well, and would be forced to spoil the plot. So, while I object to the length and style of the description out of personal preference, I can acknowledge that it gets the job done in a way that works with the book.
Going into this story, the reader has to be prepared for some elements that are just... unapologetically rudimentary. The methods of magic used are extremely simple for the fantasy genre. The spectrum of morality is quite short. Arguably every single character is downright evil, given depth by motivations that are just enough to make you question who's better and who's worse. The plot is almost an exact rehashing of the fairytale this is inspired by, taken from a different perspective and having grown some thorns. But you know what? This book absolutely does not care, and it doesn't try to be more than it is. The result is fantastic. It's a clean-cut story that always cuts straight to the chase and never overstays its welcome. There is nothing elaborate, nothing that leaves you pondering the meaning of life for days. And yet I was thinking about this story for hours after finishing it, admiring the brilliance of it all.
In this retelling, Cinderella's motivations are simple. It's stated explicitly in the prologue. She's going to get the hell out of her stepmother's house and make a life for herself, and nobody's going to stop her. Another thing we learn about her immediately:
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And to do that, I have to be good.
I hate being good.
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See what I mean? It's pretty black-and-white. But you'll be able to unfold shades of gray later, and the initial apparent lack of complexity that slowly reveals to you what it really is makes for some seriously refreshing entertainment.
Cinderella's narration right off the bat is a fabulous hook in itself. She's snarky, but only in her head. She's got nasty things to say about everyone, but for both the magic she holds so dearly and the perspectives of those around her, her actions speak louder than her inner monologue. And she's not sassy in a cute, endearing way—nope. She is 100% pure, unfiltered savage. She has no one left to care about and shows it.
One of my favorite things about Sinful Cinderella is that it weaves together various fairy tales in a way that is positively genius. But even the interpretation of just Cinderella itself is incredibly well done. Every question you might have had reading the Grimm fairy tale? Answered. Maybe not in the way you would have liked, but it gets answered. Why is the prince giving a ball, for example? Oh, that raging party animal is always throwing balls. This time he's just decided to have more girls invited (can't imagine why).
From the very beginning Cinderella is known to be attracted to that which is elegantly dark, a true villainess already. She complains about tacky flowers and hideously cutesy houses. Even though she isn't as completely and totally evil now as she will become later, it's pretty obvious that the seeds are there. I would argue it's even too obvious, but as previously stated, everything in this story has to be taken with a grain of salt. There is subtlety in plenty places, but when there doesn't need to be to get the point across, there isn't.
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Frigid elegance is what I go for. Black marble floors. Silver chandeliers. A throne made of... crystal. Yes, I would like that. A solid crystal throne where I'll sit and wield terror to the people of this paltry kingdom. You're not a true queen unless they're afraid of you.
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At this point in Chapter 2, I was thinking... she sounds suspiciously like the Evil Queen, doesn't she? Therein lies the genius of the way these stories all tie together. Oh, I could rant about the brilliance of it for ages. But I'll spare you my meaningless ramblings so I don't spoil the whole series.
We learn throughout that each character is so obviously shaped by their circumstances, and it says so much by saying so little. I love, love, love when consequences are really taken seriously in a story. Here, nearly every single character would not have turned bad had one specific person's actions not ruined them. It's a fascinating dynamic. Cinderella would not have been so bitter had her father not died. Her sister would never have betrayed her if she had treated her with kindness. And so on. Everything is a chain reaction, each character's behavior deeply affecting those around them. It hits pretty hard because it's true. This is really what happens to people. This is really how people change, for better or worse.
Cinderella is motivated by "white magic", which comes to her by doing good deeds and pretending to be happy about it. Due to her excessive vanity, she has become enamored with using the magic to make herself continuously more beautiful, like a Kardashian who's a little too addicted to the plastic surgery. She has even shrunk her feet, only she went a little overboard, making them practically child-sized (see? There's the genius again!). Sinful Cinderella's brilliance almost always lies in its simplicity. Maybe there's even some social commentary there too. You don't necessarily need to read into it that far, but I like to.
The interpretation of the fairy godmother is fun and new—she's a bitter old woman with a snarky sense of humor and a pipe for a wand that refers to Cinderella not-so-affectionately as "brat". Trust me, you would too. I actually like the godmother a lot. She's probably my favorite character. I also really like Moody (real name Melodie), the less wicked of the pair of wicked stepsisters. It's really interesting to consider that she, much like Cinderella, might have been a better person in a parallel timeline, and could have had potential.
The characters manage to be both cartoonishly 2D at face value, theatrical sorts of personalities, and also have hidden depths that give the story more layers. The author is not afraid to give them over-the-top personalities or no personality at all, both of which are bold moves in such a short story that has to be driven by character lest it fall completely meaningless. Her personality is one flat note, the lowest groan on a pipe organ. Not only is this a vivid and informative description, it's also short and direct. Using figurative language helps get the message to the reader in a way that engages their senses and enhances their reading experience. That one sentence provides me more about a character than most authors manage to convey in several chapters.
And the figurative language is a strength throughout the story. Cinderella's narrative voice—or the author's style itself, maybe—is clipped and to the point, and it's just a style I really enjoy and would love to emulate. In my writing, I like to find a balance between lengthy and short description, pulling from one or the other depending on what I need to get across. That works best for me. But this style is certainly very satisfying to read. A couple of examples:
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And I was right. Both Loony and Moody liked their fabrics. I know because they said nothing. When they don't like what I do, they snarl and yap like nasty little lapdogs. But when I do something right, I get silence. A trick they learned from their mother.
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The warm sparkles sink into my body, then rise up through my head. Then I'm awake. Not bouncy or cheerful, but I can think now. And sit straight. I pick the pieces of Moody's gown off the floor and flop into the chair again. Get it done. Get it done. Get it done.
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I could go through and talk about things I like about this book for hours. The motivations and backstories of the characters are brilliant and sympathetic while still refusing to ignore the poor choices the characters make. The white magic is portrayed almost like a drug that Cinderella has become addicted to, that she's let consume her completely. It's a very dark interpretation of fairytales that were already pretty dark in the first place and brings a new and fascinating perspective to the genre. Dialogue is cutting and witty. The main reason I love Godnutter is not for her interesting backstory—which I would've loved to see fleshed out in an extended novel, by the way—but her hilarious quips.
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"Do fairies play cards?"
"All the time, and cheat like thieves."
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"So have you met this prince?" she mumbles, mouth around the pipe.
"No, not yet."
"But you want to marry him. Ooh, real smart."
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I slam the door shut. "Drop dead, Godnutter!" I shout as the carriage begins to roll.
"I already did that!" she calls after me, following it with her nasty cackle. I look back and the spot where she stood is now vacant. But her crazy laugh lingers, chasing me into the night.
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She's also rather wise, and though she offers up that wisdom, she knows better than to try to change Cinderella when she knows she's going too far. She uses manipulation and makes deals instead to try and twist Cinderella back into being good, but when things don't work out in the end, she will still remain by Cinderella's side until her magic will not allow her to anymore. The consequences of everyone's action reverberate off of one another and eventually accumulate in an unhappily-ever-after.
Thus, the cycle of evil stepmothers and tragic fairytale marriages will always continue. It's like a fairytale rendition of A Series Of Unfortunate Events, without the innocent children. Because of the nature of the characters, the things they've endured and the decisions they've made, their world is doomed to never have a happily ever after. They are forced, bound by the chains they've shackled, to manipulate their way through every obstacle, tunneling further down the rabbit hole of evil because of the domino effect of everyone failing somewhere along the line to choose to be good. You can't tell you've gone too far until you look back and realize the line was crossed long ago. And beyond all the other messages you can dig up from this story, that bit of commentary on human nature is the most profound, I think.
It's difficult to pinpoint a specific antagonist because everyone is kind of a degenerate to some extent, but while Cinderella has some good in her heart still thanks to her love for her father, her stepmother and the prince are pretty much pure, unbridled nastiness (along with the prince's daughter, but I suspect I'll learn more about the demon child in the sequel). A very fun element of this book is the fact that the prince is made out to be the villain, which is a concept most writers never get around to toying with. There's zero romance, which some of you probably already know is a pro rather than a con for me, and a large conflict is driven by Cinderella's realization that chasing after the prince was her biggest mistake. This flips the usual standards of a fairytale love story on its head.
The prince himself and his nature is a twist that shakes up the whole narrative. Another of the story's strengths is its ability to effectively deliver twists, both those that are satisfactory because you saw them coming and those that are satisfactory because you didn't. In the end, it is inevitable that things don't work out quite the way Cinderella intended, but you are left with a sneaking suspicion that she can take care of herself, and if the prince gets in her way, rest assured she can take care of him too. Did I win? Did I lose? I honestly don't know. It's a twisted world, a world in which sometimes the worst thing that can happen to you is to get exactly what you want.
That's the parting message ol' Cindy leaves us with, and what the author wants us to take away. If you were paying attention as you read, you'll take much more than that. It's quite the opposite of the message I'm forming for my own fairytale-themed story and yet connected to it in a way, which is something I quite like about it. I like that the genre is so versatile that we can make endless observations about the world around us and still retain similar immortal themes. We can take a doomsday approach or a hopeful approach, and either way, we've learned something about the life we're living and the people who will build us up or let us down.
Sometimes things don't work out in the end. Happily-ever-after isn't a promise. It's a continual series of choices that not everyone will make. It's never as easy as it seems. Sometimes your The End is a mystery. And it's up to you to determine what to do with it.
I adored Sinful Cinderella, and in particular the new perspective it gave me. I hope someone reading this will go take a look at it. Have a good one.