Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
A continuation of the classic tale of Cinderella, this book starts after the two stepsisters, Isabelle and Octavia have mutilated their feet in order to try and fit into the glass slipper. The two and their mother have been shunned by their town and rarely leave their house for fear of constantly being reminded of their errors and being called names such as ‘ugly’. Their mother’s health has deteriorated and most days she has no idea what day it is and that their lives have drastically changed, leaving the girls to fend for themselves.
You learn quite early on the reasons why and how the girl’s have turned out to be rude and quite horrible. It’s all they know, it’s all they’ve been taught.
It’s interesting to see how the two sisters are actually quite different to the expectations of females in the era this book is set in. Octavia or Tavi, is obsessed with learning, that’s all she ever wanted growing up. She wanted to get an education, she wanted to be surrounded by numbers and science but instead she was forced into corsets and gowns. It made her angry and in turn she became rather unlikeable.
Isabelle has loved to ride and play pirates since she was a little girl. This book shows a side of her which is brave but has been forced into a life that she didn’t want, doing what her mother told her because she knows how much her mother sacrificed for the two of them.
This is a coming of age story for the two girls, especially for Isabelle. Isabelle has had to take on the motherly role in her small family and fights to look after them after their house is burned down. In search of the missing parts of her heart in order to become pretty Isabelle finds more than that. She is brave, strong and extremely determined. She makes so many sacrifices in this book and none to aid her in her quest for beauty.
This book is very empowering to woman, showing that beauty isn’t everything. For all the girls who have been called ‘ugly’ this book shows that being pretty can be dangerous, that some of the strongest female figures in history were not pretty but strong, powerful, proud, brave and most of all beautiful. They changed the way society viewed females. Each of these women were told what to do and what not to do but instead of listening they followed their dreams and became some of the biggest figures in history.
I found myself loving the growth of the characters in this book. Tavi found herself focusing on the things she enjoyed while Isabelle became braver and learnt how to believe in herself more.
I did feel like the ending was rather rushed, I think I would have liked to have seen more of Isabelle in her element. Also, as much as I liked Fate and Chance, at times I felt like they weren’t needed in the book. Yes, they helped influence certain situations but I feel like the book would have done fine without them.
Overall I really did enjoy this book and gave this book a 4/5* rating. I do highly recommend it to those who are looking for a story about finding yourself and ignoring what other people think about you.
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