When you are going to write a fairy tale adaption, you can go about it in one of two ways. One: it can have several elements of the original story even if the overall plot is almost nothing like the original or two: tell almost the same story except with more developed characters are a (hopefully) unique spin on it. In the time I've been writing this blog, I have seen both these types of stories and have found both good examples and bad examples of each. This tale, a Cinderella retelling, is an example of the second type and done pretty well...for the most part. Let's begin.
Trystan Colbourne is stuck. Forced under the thumb of her unbearable stepmother, she finds very little in the world to be cheerful about, finding solace only in escaping her home for the occasional horseback ride. But Trystan is soon pulled into a plot she knows nothing about. She's encouraged to join a masquerade ball, thrown by the prince in the hopes of finding himself a noble woman he'd be willing to marry. While Trystan does catch his attention, this might not be for the best. Forces are seeking out the prince and threaten his place in the palace and the life of the king. Trystan must decide if she's willing to continue to be a pawn in a greater scheme if it means the freedom she longs for, or doing the right thing and saving the prince she's meant to betray.
Now, throwing political intrigue into these types of stories can have both positive and negative consequences. It certainly gives the plot depth and makes the story a bit more realistic. On the other hand...it can get kind of boring. Thankfully, this book uses just enough to balance things out. We see that there are real consequences to situations not working out in favor of our leads if things go wrong, so the inclusion of these details works out in the book's favor. It never goes too far so the readers can continue to be invested and not lose track of what's going on.
The other big aspect of this book is the fairy tale details tying this to the tale of Cinderella and...meh. Okay, let me explain: Cinderella is about staying true in the face of tribulation and fate rewarding you. Cinderella goes through some serious grief in her tale, dealing with constant abuse, both physical and emotional, before she's given her chance. Trystan...doesn't really go through that. What she endures at the hands of her stepmother and stepsisters is...more annoying than anything. Cinderella was forced to cook and clean and sleep by the hearth and Trystan...has to embroider and wear dresses. When Cinderella was punish she was beaten or starved, but Trystan's punishments are...not being able to read or draw. You see what I mean? By taming these aspects of the story down to this level, it makes the impact not as strong. We're happy that Cinderella could finally catch a break and find happiness while Trystan has plenty of opportunity to help herself but doesn't, which can make her come off as kind of stupid.
Other aspects in the story are handled a bit better, thankfully. The 'fairy godmother' stand-in, for instance, is not at all what she seems. There are two princes in this version and the "charming" one is the one you want to watch out for. Little things like that are actually pretty well done. While some of the motivations aren't quite as strong as I would have liked, I did appreciate the effort in making the world realistic and the situation believable. It kind of reminded me of Ever After in that regard, not quite as well done, but definitely the same feel.
But the biggest negative of this story is probably the constant misunderstandings and assumptions that keep being made. It causes a lot of unnecessary drama, some really mean-spirited comments from our supposed "love interest", and it makes the third act of the book really crawl. It didn't feel necessary to throw in some of these details. A lot of them felt like they wanted to be plot twists and turned out to be plot contrivances. Still, the story over all didn't suffer to bad. The writing is solid and does a good job at capturing imagery, when the action picks up it's genuinely entertaining, and the overall conclusion is just what we could have wanted in the first place.
Final Verdict
Flawed but fine. A good retelling with just the right mix of realism and fairy tale. Anyone who likes Cinderella retellings is going to like this one just fine and so, if you want to give it a try, please do...but I'd wait for it on paperback.
Have you read the book? What did you think? Comment below and share your thoughts. Please make sure to Follow Midnight Readings for instant updates. Have a book you'd like me to read or would like to make a recommendation? Contact me on goodreads at https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/65448711-michelle-beer
Amazon:https://www.amazon.com/Powerless-Shelley-Miller/dp/1543482546/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1519062043&sr=8-1&keywords=powerless+by+shelley+miller
Xlibris: https://www.xlibris.com/Bookstore/BookDetail.aspx?BookId=SKU-001175242
Next Time: The Looking Glass Wars conclude....
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