The Stepsister Scheme by Jim Hines is the first in his Princess series. He takes popular fairy tales beyond their supposedly "happily ever after" and creates a world full of intrigue, betrayal, and adventure. Goodreads is spot on in their description of it combining Disney Princesses, Charlie's Angels, and the darker side of fairy tales.

This is another one of those books that I'd been meaning to read for a while and just hadn't had a chance, so I was a little afraid that it wouldn't live up to my expectations. It totally did and I wasn't disappointed.

This book finds Danielle (Cinderella), Talia (Sleeping Beauty) and Snow (Snow White) working together to find Danielle's husband, the prince. It was packed with great action scenes, twists and turns in the plot, and great characters. This is a prime example of what an author can do when they take fairy tale characters and re-imagine them in different roles.

If you prefer fairy tales retold with only superficial detail changes, this book is not for you. But if you're willing to stretch your imagination and re-imagine these princesses in totally different roles in their lives, you'll enjoy this book. ( )

I'm pretty sure I say this a lot, but Fairy Tales--and fairy tale reinventions--fascinate me. From the days of Happily Ever After on HBO to the wonderful, dark Vertigo title Fables--if its about a fairy tale I will give it a chance. This isn't to say I enjoyed them all (I'm not a fan of Shelly Duvall's Fairy Tale Theatre, wasn't even as a child), but I will give them a chance. I'm a late comer to The Stepsister Scheme, which came out earlier this year and until the upcoming sequel knew very little about it. I loved the cover, it had three 'classic' princesses done over and Happily Ever After existed--at a lifelong price.

I'm pleased to note that The Stepsister Scheme falls into the 'happy to have known' category. Danielle (Cinderella, and to note in Ever After 'Cinderella's' name was Danielle as well) doesn't take things laying down. She has her moments when she indulges in cliche'd princess behavior, but overall she comes across as a real person. Her reactions (such as to Talia) were believable and quite frankly she cracked me up. It was sometimes jarring when she'd go from Amazon to Princess, but by in large Hines straddles the line quite well.

Talia (aka Sleeping Beauty) is a pistol. She's cynical, tough and just shy of me thinking she's scary violent. Like the other two Princesses her backstory is comprised of the original tale and the watered down version a lot of people have learned it as. For those who've read the original tale, yes the Prince is still a right bastard for what he did to her and Talia isn't unhappy in saying so. She also decided to take a proactive stance against that happening every again and arms herself accordingly.

Snow (aka Snow White) took a little longer for me to cozen up to. Mostly because what I mistook for her being a tramp, was really her just being very confident in who she was and how she looked. By no means a lightweight in the fighting department, I think it thrilled her more to outwit the folks then anything else.

This isn't to say I loved it blindly, but its definitely been one of the better re-interpretations of the old tales (secret ninja Princesses is now my new favorite story device I think) I've read. Its definitely up there with Fables. And despite the fact it has an almost kid-like cover to it (at least to me) this is clearly an older teen to adult range book. Don't let the pretty princesses fool you folks--this isn't a Disney Princesses story at all.

Book 2, The Mermaid's Madness (with the Little Mermaid!) comes out October 6th with book 3 (Red Hood's Revenge) due out in 2010 and book 4 (Secret of the Snow Queen) due out in 2011. Titles and publish year are of course tentative and may change at any time. ( )

It's a clever idea, but I just can't get in to the characters. They're not very deeply written and not terribly compelling. I gave up on them about 100 pages in. ( )

Jim C. Hines weaves a marvelous yarn about three princesses in a world where magic has consequences, fairies are real, and 'happily ever after' isn't the end of the story. Unlike many recent books that take classic stories and try to make them into 'Buffy the Vampire/Zombie Slayer' or a series of films that makes fairy tales all about pop culture, this book takes a fresh approach to these traditional stories without getting too far out of character.

Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, and Cinderella know about the legends that are being told about themselves and each other. Legends that are only partially based on the truth. In due course, we learn more about what 'really' happened to each princess, all because Cinderella's step sisters decide to fight back.

Rather than add a thin patina of quaintness over a modern story with modern characters, the author creates a familiar world still a long time ago and far, far away and extrapolates what makes sense in that world. The result is a well told story that has both humor and danger and is just plain fun to read. ( )

The Stepsister Scheme is a crazy, comical and thrilling take on fairy tale lore we've all heard before.

Fairy tales? Yeah, those things you read as a kid? Most of them are wrong! Those incorrect stories are being retold in a fantastical, adventure filled story that will leave you breathless!

Three of our favourite princesses, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty and Snow White, come together like Charlie's Angels to rescue Cinderella's husband - Prince Armand. Danielle, Cinderella, married Prince Armand and seemingly escaped from her brutal step sisters, but unfortunately she truly didn't. They kidnap Armand which causes Danielle to go on a quest. Talia, Sleeping Beauty, joins Danielle in this insane journey alongside Snow, otherwise known as Snow White. Talia and Snow's story are more intertwined with Danielle's than they are aware, as they battle Stacia and Charlotte, Danielle's wicked step sisters.

Oh, and did I mention there's lots of magic and magical powers throughout? Because, no good fantasy lacks that magical element!

This book never slows down. It keeps the action and adventure moving constantly and barely gives you any time to breathe. There are so many fantasy creatures, pieces of lore and magical elements in this book that I almost needed an entire list to keep track of it all! I can see fantasy lovers devouring this book up, since it's just so good!

Prince Armand is the damsel in distress when the girls have to save him. There's barely any romance, but lots of fantasy and drama throughout. These girls kick butt and do it well! Throw in the comical takes on the fairy tale lore and the totally amusing funny puns and ingenious trickery, and you've got yourself one fun book! I'm really impressed with Jim C. Hines writing and I will one hundred percent need to get the remaining books in this series as soon as possible.

The cover is also ridiculously cool. If you're gonna judge a book by it's cover, judge this one. It's incredible to look at!

If you like books like the Cinder series but want a little more fun and a lot less romance, this book will be for you. It gave me the vibes Cinder gave me - fun, exciting, fast paced and packed tight with story. This is definitely an adult story, just be aware. There are lots of adult themes and sexual and snide comments throughout.

Five out of five stars!
I am so glad I got lent this book because WOW-ZA! ( )