I was so excited for this - and so disappointed.
I absolutely love fairy tale retellings, so learning that this was supposed so be a reverse Cinderella story really had me excited to read it. Sadly, nothing about it lived up to my expectations. I have read other of Dickerson's books and been slightly underwhelmed, but this fell flat in every way.
👎 What I Disliked 👎
Cinderella: What attracted me to this book was the premise of a reverse Cinderella, but I can honestly say that I don't see anything related to the Cinderella fairy tale. Sure, Frederick is a peasant and Adela is the daughter of a Duke. And Frederick has two sisters. But that does it - that's where it ends. Sorry, but that to me is not enough to call it a reverse Cinderella story.
Writing: As with other Dickerson novels, the writing of this one struck me as half-assed and slightly amateurish. It felt like she just wrote without editing herself or ever using the option to delete - but she still backtracks and takes stuff back. Why not just delete it? It just didn't feel like there was any effort put into it.
Bible stories: Why include Bible stories that play no part in the story? Honestly, I found it a bit offensive. Felt like a sermon in the middle of the book. I am really not okay with that.
Plot: If you read fanfiction or Wattpad stories, you are familiar with those stories that are written chapter-by-chapter. They often don't have a red threat that takes you from beginning to end and that guides the actions in each chapter. I had the same feeling while reading this book. It was just a bunch of chapters strung together with seemingly no thought to the overall storyline.
⭐
ARC provided by the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review
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