Someone recommended Mercedes Lackey so I picked up The Fairy Godmother because it seemed to be a romance, and is a standalone novel. I got a discarded library copy (it’s about 20 years old) which made me expect it to be stuffy and dull, but I was pleasantly surprised!

It starts with a huge amount of world-building—nine chapters to be exact. But it’s kind of necessary because the magic works in a unique way, so we see examples of it at work before the main story starts. The heroine, Elena, is a Cinderella-like character who lives in a kingdom where the prince is a child—so she never gets a chance at her happily ever after. She’s also aware that her situation fits a certain story and isn’t working out, and she grows more and more frustrated.

Her fairy godmother shows up and offers her a position as her apprentice. For a few chapters, it was just delightful watching Elena be fed and treated kindly. She learns about the magic, which abides by something called The Tradition that is constantly trying to push people into certain story lines. There’s a network of godmothers, sorceresses, witches, and wizards who help people succeed on their quests and reach their happy endings, and who also stop certain storylines (like Rapunzel, where a baby is taken from its mother). The manipulate the magic to have outcomes that satisfy The Tradition.

Ultimately, Elena becomes the new Godmother after her mentor deems her ready and disappears. Then a witch asks Elena to cover for her and pose as the “old lady at the crossroads” as three princes come through on a quest. Elena expects the first two to be rude and the third to be kind; but the second one is so rude that she loses her temper and turns him into a donkey. So she takes him home, but of course he has to be in human form once a week, and you can guess where that goes. The story was unexpectedly steamy!

The book uses some “quaint” language like referring to Elena’s “secret parts between her legs.” It also has some unfortunate bits, like mean comments on a character’s weight. But otherwise, it’s a cozy romance with minimal fighting, and some interesting ideas about magic that often seem vaguely related to the real world. ( )

this was a great read. instead of smooshing all the fairy tales together or doing a new spin on one, Mrs. Lackey gave us the reason behind the fairy tales. this was definitely an interesting take and i loved reading about the fairy tales i had forgotten over the years. i can't wait to read more of this series! ( )

I do like books where the characters make their own fate rather than let fate dictate their choices. ( )

I went through a Mercedes Lackey phase a few years back, spurred on by the "Arrows" novels. Somewhere around the "Gryphon" books I lost enthusiasm, but this story has rekindled my interest. The often exasperating situations that Elena, the fairy godmother in question, finds herself dealing with are laced with humor and a snide poking at the sillyness of many fairytale cliches.

A fun fluffy read, hopefully the rest of the series will be just as good! ( )

Absolutely loved it. One of my favorites out of all of her works. ( )