Aya LingRecensioni

This was a unique and different way to tell this classic fairy tale of Cinderella, I was very interested and intrigued by it.

Although if I hadn't know there was a sequel, I would have been rather annoyed with the ending.

I haven't read the other two books in this series - and I doubt I will, neither of the plot lines or characters appealed to me enough to read them. But this book was great. An odd mix of young adult/middle grade, but enjoyable nonetheless. Elaine is first introduced as a twelve year old brat. She enjoys inventing things but she doesn't like school. Throughout the book she grows and develops into a hardworking determined young lady who has dreams and goals and is willing to compromise to achieve them. The time jump was a bit out of nowhere. The suspense and mystery plot line at the end more so. I liked it but I would've liked it to be brought in earlier and developed further. The timing and pacing was just a bit out for it. I liked the romance between Elaine and Andre, although I would've liked to see more of Andre throughout. But I did like the girl power message throughout the book. Solid 3 stars.

I love fairy tale retellings with a focus on minor characters or villains, so I absolutely HAD to have this book. I’ve read one book about the ugly stepsisters from Cinderella before, Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister by Gregory Maguire, and even though it was a very impressive and interesting take on the fairy tale, I have to say that it was a little hard for me to understand at the time (my English has improved majorly since I’ve read it). In comparison, Lin’s take on the theme is easy to read and even has a kind of happy end – which is kind of predictable, since this book is a young adult fantasy story.

A PROPER PUNISHMENT FOR BOOK DESTROYERS TBH

The concept of this book is basically ‘What if a modern-day girl was sucked into the Cinderella story’ –not as Cinderella herself, but as one of the ugly stepsisters. Except in this story, neither of the stepsisters is really ugly. Kat, who now has to ‘repair’ the story which she accidentally destroyed by ripping apart a fairy tale book, is faced with an older sister who is so beautiful that she doubts the prince will ever notice plain little Elle over beautiful Bianca.

(On a side note: I like this version of the story especially because there are no ‘ugly’ stepsisters in the original story. The sisters, as described by the Grimm brothers, are beautiful, but proud and vain and evil of heart. That same thing can definitely be said of Bianca.)

In any event, Kat has to find a way to repair the story while also trying to fit into the strange world she has fallen into, while a servant of the goblin king (who enchanted the book in the first place) keeps checking in on her. She makes friends with Poppy, a country bumpkin, helps Elle’s poor family, becomes politically active and accidentally makes the prince fall in love with her because of how unusual her behavior is. The suspense of the plot is well-done, Kat’s conflicts are believable and actually make you turn the pages just to find out how Kat is going to get out of her dilemma. The way she does solve her problems is pretty ingenious and for the most part quite unpredictable for a YA romance novel. I also have to say that I wasn’t quite sure how the story would end, since Kat’s conflicting desires are extremely convincing and there doesn’t seem to be a perfect solution for all of her conflicts. And, spoiler alert, there isn’t. Which actually adds to the story overall, even though I did hope for a perfect happy ending… But you know, sometimes not getting what you want can actually be better for you, I guess?

HARD-WORKING HEROINE SEEKS SENSITIVE PRINCE FOR ETERNAL HAPPINESS (OR NOT?)

Kat is a solid heroine. Her family (her single mother, her and her little sister) is pretty strapped for money, she’s got some self-esteem issues, she’s a tiny bit clumsy, but not in the absolutely exaggerated way a lot of heroines in YA I’ve read have been. She doesn’t get magically transformed into a confident, elegant new self when she enters the story world – she actually has to learn how to walk on heels and with creoles, how to dance and how to generally blend into this world. She has to actually work on it, but she does learn to blend in, her character does develop. Especially in her conflict regarding Edward, the prince who she fell in love with, even though he is meant to be with Cinderella, you really see that she is a well-rounded, fleshed out character. Her thought processes are very understandable and honestly, it’s just fun to watch her make progress in her mission to restore the story. She is also a very kind person who seems to be genuinely interested in the welfare not only of poor people (this sounds a bit strange, but it’s not such a big feat to be against child labor when you’ve been born and raised in the 20th/21st century), but she also shows genuine concern towards people who are outsiders, like Poppy or Lady Gregory, which gets pretty well rewarded later.

Edward, the Prince, is also pretty alright. Kind of cookie-cutter as far as YA love interests go, but he doesn’t patronize Kat, he listens to her opinions, and him falling for her feels very organic and believable. He is a very cute guy, and I understood why Kat likes him as well, even though I was slightly annoyed with pretty much all other girls swarming around him (I generally don’t like it when girls and women are portrayed as irrational and superficial, but well…) I loved Poppy, the unrefined country girl who becomes Kat’s best friend in Story World, and I really liked that she has her own pretty well-developed story. Elle, on the other hand… Well, Elle is there, I guess? She’s a very bland character, to be honest. Her personality is basically ‘I am just a lowly servant and why are you so kind to me oh thank you so much’. I didn’t find any real reason to root for her, to be completely honest. That’s a bit of a shame, since I’m pretty sure the author could have made something more out of her if she’d had tried – Ling shows with Kat and Poppy that she can create pretty well-rounded characters.

Bianca, our main villain of the story (next to her mother), is pretty much a love to hate kind of character. She is vain and proud alright, but she is also not stupid. It’s pretty obvious that she has no real chance to get Edward, since he seems to generally go for different qualities than beauty and refinement, but she is definitely very effective in thwarting Kat’s attempts at moving the plot along. I’d still say that Kat’s main problem isn’t Bianca, but her own growing feelings for Edward, but still, as far as antagonists go, Bianca does a decent job.

The next section about world building is going to be a lot more critical than what I’ve written up to now, so I’m just going to throw my least favorite character into the last paragraph of this part of the review. Krev, the goblin, is basically Kat’s ‘guide’ in the story world. He explains to her what happened and what she has to do, he reports back to the goblin king who enchanted the book (and to the queen), and at the end he actually helps Kat out. But good lord, what an annoying, useless, bland character… He doesn’t really seem to have a personality apart from ‘This is fun, I’m going to treat your life like a reality show’, he doesn’t advance the plot at all before the very last scenes, and he just seems SO forcedly funny. He basically seems like a gimmick to lighten up the story a bit and add some humor, but it just comes out heavy-handed and unnecessary. He is basically the joke nobody laughs at, but the person telling the joke doesn’t notice that nobody’s laughing so they just repeat the joke over and over and over again…

RUBY RED AND KING LEON? SERIOUSLY?

As we’re already on the topic of annoying gimmicks: I just HATE it when authors ‘invent’ a new world, be it a fantasy world or a story world, by basically just taking an existing place and giving things new names. England becomes Athelia, Scotland Lochden (??? Really???) and Greta Green becomes Ruby Red. How subtle. How clever. How original.

I’m not quite sure why authors keep doing that. I have two guesses, though. The first one is that they want to create a new world, but they’re just neither creative enough nor willing to put in the work to actually create an original world. The second is that they actually want to use a different time period, but they don’t want to put in the work to actually research that time period, so they just paste a thin film of ~alternative world~ over the stereotypical image they have of a specific time in history.

Let’s be completely honest, there are not that many anachronistic issues in this book. I guess the feeling is supposed to be Victorian, and all in all, Ling actually portrays the time pretty accurately, I’d say. There are a few minor details, like people using the phrase ‘black tea’ (it’s just ‘tea’ in Britain, ‘black tea’ just means you’re not taking milk), people of high standing dipping their scones into teas in public, and one person from the story world using the phrase ‘cool as a cucumber’; but I was pleasantly surprised that Kat didn’t actually suffocate in her corset once it was properly put on.

There were also some parts of the story where basic logic gets thrown out of the window in favor of drama, for example when a character who has suffered a major head wound and is said to never be able to function properly again holds an extremely coherent and never-ending death bed speech. Just… No. Why. Don’t do that.

And just a last bit of nitpicking about coherency and story-intern logic. Most of the names in the story are very, well, time-appropriate. Henry, Edward, Clair, Poppy, Bianca, Katriona… All sound dignified and historical and stuff. But then Ling names the king of her alternate England ‘Leon’. ‘LEON’. What kind of name is that?? I tell you what it isn’t: It definitely isn’t the name of any kind of British royalty. There are Leons in 19th century Spain, Italy, and even France – but those are very distinctly not British places. And I dare anybody to come at me with ‘But it’s not Britain!’. They have scones. There’s a place named Ruby Red there. They have a season. If ‘Athelia’ isn’t Britain, then Middle Earth isn’t proto-Europe.

All in all, though, if you can deal with the awkward, lazy world building, the story is actually really fun and engaging. The ending is quite unpredictable, the conflicts feel real, and most of the characters feel pretty well fleshed out. The Ugly Stepsister is a fun, satisfying read, and even though the plot has its hiccups, it’s refreshing to find a YA romance story with a non-perfect ending. This is also the reason why I’m not going to read the second book in this series – I just really feel that the story is finished.


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The era of princesses as demure ladies with nothing better to do than sit around getting rescued is long gone - modern princesses learn combat and go on heroic adventures! To her mother’s despair, however, Princess Valeria is not one of those modern princesses. She’s a fat, leisurely young woman who’s more interested in desserts than anything else, and it’s starting to look like she’ll never find a husband. The queen packs her daughter off to the Royal Riviera Academy of Fighting Arts in the hopes that they’ll force her into shape, but the plan backfires - Valeria ends up spending every moment she can in the royal kitchens, putting her culinary knowledge to good use and dazzling the chefs. And it’s there in the kitchen that she catches the prince’s eye.

I’m kind of on the fence about whether this is good body positive representation or not. On one hand, Valeria is a fat princess who gets her dream job and a happily ever after and a handsome prince who falls in love with her smile without any kind of redemption-through-weight-loss arc. On the other hand, the narrative really makes a huge deal about her weight - there are mulitple mentions of her size on every page, she gets into some embarrassing situations because of it and some people (especially her mother) are very unkind about her looks, and I can easily imagine that bothering some readers.

I read this book during a very stressful time and it was exactly what I needed in that moment: quick, undemanding and fluffy as a cloud. I flat-out adore it, but for reasons that have nothing to do with its quality as literature and everything to do with the buttons it pushes in my id.

I had so much fun with this book! I haven't read too many retellings but I was quite curious about this Cinderella story. Unfortunately, I was quickly distracted by other new shiny books and this one was lost in my virtual stacks. I came across the audiobook and decided it was time that I give this book a try and I am so glad that I did. I flew through this audiobook and really enjoyed my time with it.

Kat lives with her sister and mother but she is transported to the world of Cinderella when she accidentally rips an old book. Instead of Cinderella, Kat fills the role of Katriona who is one of the step-sisters. It was a lot of fun watching her try to navigate this new world. She had so much to learn with the differences in manners, language, and fashion just to start. Kat decides that in order to get back to her world she needs to help the prince fall for Cinderella so she starts working towards this goal.

I loved Kat. I loved the way that she couldn't help but try to make the world a better place even if she didn't plan to stay for very long. Prince Edward was also quite wonderful. He couldn't help but be drawn to Kat's fresh perspective. They were really just wonderful together. I couldn't help but cheer this pair towards their happily ever after.

The audiobook was narrated by Luci Christian and I thought that she did a great job with it. I really liked all of the voices that she used and thought that her reading helped to make the story even more enjoyable. She had a very pleasant voice that I was able to listen to for hours at a time. I wouldn't hesitate to listen to more of her work.

I would recommend this book to fans of fairy tale retellings. I thought that this was a really well-done story that offered a new look at an old tale. I do have to admit that I wasn't thrilled by how the story ended but that would be my only complaint.

I received a digital review copy of this book from Aya Ling via NetGalley and purchased a copy of the audiobook.

There were so many grammatical and syntactical mistakes in the first two chapters that I could not read any farther.

This was a funny, refreshing retelling of Cinderella with a twist. Perfect for teens

A middle grades/YA adaptation of The Little Mermaid that is a light read with a clean romance and a bit of mystery. This book is part of a series and even though it can be read as a stand-alone, go ahead and read the whole collection. The mermaid-turned-human in this novella already has a crush on another mer and it's fun to see the human prince chase her instead of the other way around. For fairy tale adaptation fans.

The main character, Kat, accidentally tears a page out of an old fairy tale book she found in the attic, and gets transported into the world of Cinderella. When she gets there, she finds out that she is one of the Ugly Stepsisters. Funny thing is, the other stepsister isn't ugly at all, she is almost super model pretty. Another weird thing is that Ella (or Cinderella) actually has a family and is not an orphan. The more Kat finds out, the story is more messed up than she could remember. Kat actually finds that the prince is attracted to her no matter how hard she tries to make him not like her. She tries and tries as hard as she can to return back to her real world, where she is the complete opposite person as she is in the story. The "Ugly Stepsister" has many twists and turns, and can be nothing like the original Cinderella.
I absolutely loved this book. It was a twisted fairy tale, which is my absolute favorite type of book. I am anticipating reading the next two books in the series. I gave it a five stars for those two reasons. Not to mention, the funny situations the main character went through. I would be completely happy recommending this book to any friend or peer. I hope that other people enjoy it as much as I did.

"4.5 out of 5 stars! Typical shy seventeen-year-old Kat (Katherine/Katriona) transforms into a confident young lady after being sent into the Cinderella story-world because she fell and accidentally "broke" the Goblin kings book. Her only way home or back to her family and her "reality" is by insuring the Prince's (Edward) happily-ever-after. But with her being thrown into the "ugly stepsister" role, finding that her "sister" is model-worthy gorgeous, and that she suspects her maid (Elle) is really Cinderella yet she's without proof, Kat isn't sure how she'll accomplish her goal of getting home. Nevertheless, she's determined no matter what obstacles or lovelorn hearts get in the way...

I LOVED this novel!!! I just wish that the scenes after the happily-ever-after happen could have been a bit more magical, I suppose, as if those scenes were more magical than I'd definitely have given it the full 5 stars. However..."

Read more of this review and THREE TEASERS here: http://frommetoyouvideophoto.blogspot.com/2015/06/feasted-on-ugly-stepsister-by-...

I have always enjoyed fairytale retellings. Honestly, I had a good time with the THE UGLY STEPSISTER days and plan to tell my daughter and wife that this is one I recommend as it was so fun to read a whole new take on Cinderella.

I was immediately drawn to Kat, who LOVES to read and when her old picture book rips apart in her hands she is forced to play out a story and make sure she gets the characters to a Happily ever Ending.She is cast in the role of one of the ugly stepsisters, but she is anything but ugly. She is a bit of a clutz, but she's loyal and caring. She doesn't like how some of her new friends are treated and goes to bat for them. She has an instant connection with the prince, but really wants to go home and she knows he is supposed to marry Cinderella.

Kat has a different take on her new time. She's not going to put up with the way the Kingdom deals with child labor, their attitude towards women etc.Because she's from a different time she has a whole new way of thinking and it really made her character stick out. The romance between her and Prince Edward was sweet, but not over done. I enjoyed the supporting cast of characters and was rooting for Henry and the others to get their happiness.
I did have one issue with THE UGLY STEPSISTER, I and others apparently didn't love the ending.I don't want to spoil it for you but there really wasn't a happily ever after for Kat and Edward. That doesn't mean I didn't love the story and I don't want to go to much into it because that would spoil it, but I was hoping for more in the way the story ended. Would I read it again? Oh yea, like with another book CINDER,by another author I love, I want to see a movie about the ugly stepsister.
Way to go Ava.

Jack Murphy

Another fantastic read by Aya Ling! This was just the cherry on top readers needed after The Ugly Stepsister. This continuation of Kat and Edward's story was the perfect opportunity for readers to get to see their love grow in the few months they have left together. There were even more great moments from some of the favorite characters seen in The Ugly Stepsister. It was a real treat getting to see these characters together again and I didn't want it to end. But all good things have to.

If you haven't already, read The Ugly Stepsister (like, right now) and then read Princess of Athelia right after so you can get even more great moments with Kat and Edward.

I received this free copy in exchange for an honest review.

For more reviews go to: http://best-of-ya.blogspot.com/

When Kat accidentally transports herself into one of her old fairytale books as Cinderella’s ugly step-sister, she finds herself in quite the predicament. The only way to get home is ensure that the story ends as it should—with a happily ever after. Unfortunately for her, the rest of the characters don’t seem to be playing along; she has no idea where the fairy godmother is hiding, the handsome prince seems to hate all the attention that comes with his status, her beautiful sister is dead set on becoming queen, and if all of that weren’t enough, Cinderella has her eyes set on someone else. How is Kat supposed to make sure the story runs smoothly and still learn how to navigate the social season as a highborn lady?

I am not a huge fan of retellings because I feel like they all end up being the same so I almost didn’t bother reading this. And omg, how horrible would that have been? Because I honestly loved everything about this! I think that just the small change of making this from the ugly stepsisters perspective added so much to the story. But that isn’t even the best part. The characters were so well-written and amazing. I loved every single one of them—even the actual evil, stepsister.

Kat predictably started off as shy and clumsy but quickly turned into the brave heroine. It was great seeing her grow and become assertive and bold. She challenges various issues in the fairy tale world including child labor and sexism. I thought it was funny how everyone is either impressed or scandalized by her behavior and was happy that she felt the need to do something about these injustices despite knowing she wouldn’t be in Athelia long. Prince Edward is very down-to-earth and passionate about his position, despite the fact that he doesn’t like all the attention that comes along with being the crown prince. He was so cute and sweet and understanding—I just loved him.

Another thing I really liked was the distinction between Kat’s voice and that of all the other fairy tale characters. They really sounded like they came straight out of a fairy tale while she had a modern vocabulary—it was very comical at times. Eventually she kind of starts to sound like them, but there was always that modern slang that confused the hell out of everyone else.

This is by far one of my favorites and I hope Aya continues to write such amazing and strong female characters! The only thing I would change about this is the cover. The current one does not do this justice and I think this is definitely deserving of a prettier and more magical one.

Very enjoyable book. Murder mystery with a lot of suspense and some romance thrown in for fun. The characters were very well written and I found myself thoroughly drawn into the story, wanting to see what would happen next and hoping justice would come for the falsely accused.

I received a copy of this book through librarything.com member giveaway for an honest review. I really liked the concept and was really excited to read it, but I just couldn't connect with Kat and couldn't really get into it. It was a cute story and great idea though.

I love all of Aya Ling's stories. They are such fun reads and this one did not disappoint. I can't wait to read more!

If you are a fan of twists on the usual princess stories, the one where the princesses are more than just the side characters to be saved by the prince, then this story is for you! Valeria is such a fun and spunky character! She is not your common demure and "fit" princess. Lots of laughs and fun in Princesses Don't Get Fat.

I recommend this author and this book.

I received a copy of this book through librarything.com member giveaway for a honest review. I really enjoyed and love this book!!!! I love the retelling of Cinderella. I loved the fact that the step-sister got a happy ending. Kat is on of my new favorite characters.

2/5 stars
You can find all my reviews here
*Disclaimer: I received a copy of the book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.*

“Honestly, we’ve met coincidentally so many times that it feels like I’m in a badly written novel. Oh wait, I actually am.” This quote pretty much sums it up for me.

The best compliment I can find for this book is that it managed to still be entertaining after getting past some major annoyances.

Everyone was hot and she just HAD to point it out constantly:

“Six feet of pure unadulterated hotness. There was a slight accent in his voice, but that only made him sexier in my opinion.”

“Whoa…where did this walking personification of hotness come from?”

It gets old when every character is supposedly perfect looking except the main character. The girl on the cover is the main character and she is gorgeous as well. Excuse me while I roll my eyes.

I did not enjoy Kat for the most part. She acted like an annoying teenager, yes, she’s only seventeen but it got repetitive.

For some reason her constant book and movie references didn’t make me very happy. She says Lysander looks like Legolas. She solves a problem by recreating a magical item from Harry Potter. I should’ve been excited for the references but instead it felt cheap and almost lazy.

And the worst part of the story was the first person present tense. It made the story painful to read at times. Some people may enjoy the tense but I do not at all. It was actually amazing how enjoyable the writing was when the main character barely talked. There rest of the time there was an overabundance of Is and it read more like a narration than an entertaining story.

Everyone else seemed to enjoy this story and I’m actually upset that I didn’t. I had such high hopes going into this one but it didn’t meet them.

it was an enjoyable read keep up the good work

Welcome to this book review !

-Disclaimer.:I received this book for free in exchange of an honest review.

Wow ! I personally am a really big fan of cinderella and all those disney stories. So I was really looking foward on reading this new take on cinderella. I loved Kat, she was funny genuienly sweet and I easily got into this story because of how easy it was to relate to her. I liked the fact that it wasn't the usual story, we all are used to. I loved Aya Ling writing style and this book will absolutely be on my re-read list. IT'S A BEAUTY OF A BOOK ! Honestly read it !!!

-Bookarina :)

I honestly still think about THE UGLY STEPSISTER days after reading it. It was so fun to read a whole new take on Cinderella.

Kat LOVES to read and when her old picture book rips apart in her hands she is forced to play out a story and make sure she gets the characters to the end. She is cast in the role of one of the ugly stepsisters, but she is anything but ugly. She is a bit of a clutz, but she is very loyal and caring. She doesn't like how some of her new friends are treated and fights for them. She has an instant connection with the prince, but really wants to go home and she knows he is supposed to be with Cinderella.

I really enjoyed all the struggles that Kat found herself in. Because she is from a different time she has a whole new way of thinking and it really made her character stick out. The romance between her and Prince Edward was sweet, but not overly done. I enjoyed the supporting cast of characters and was rooting for them all to get their happily ever afters too.

I did have one issue with THE UGLY STEPSISTER, I didn't love the ending. I hated that there really wasn't a happily ever after in the larger sense. I don't want to go to much into it because that would spoil it, but I was hoping for more when the story part of the story ended. Would I read it again? Oh yea, I so want to see a movie about the ugly stepsister now.

* This book was provided free of charge from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.½

Great, must read book for all ages. An emotional roller coaster with all the elements to keep it engaging and thoroughly enjoyable.

Kat is a typical awkward teenager of the modern age. When she damages a magical book with the tale of Cinderella in it, she is transported into the tale, and into the life of one of the ugly stepsisters. She is charged with the task of completing the story all the way through to the happy ending. Only then can she break the spell and go home.
Kat’s fairy tale sister Bianca, and every other woman in the story kingdom, is determined to be queen, but the prince is notoriously anti-social. She has to find a way get Elle, her maid, to make a connection with the prince while staving off all other interested women.
That’s just the beginning of the story. There are lots of twists and turns, some predictable, some not, all enjoyable. This book was laugh out funny. There were also some serious issues that allowed Kat to further develop into a conscientious person capable of seeing beyond the seams of her frilly dresses.
I got the book for free through a Library Thing Giveaway and enjoyed it immensely. I read the book in one day. I couldn’t put it down. Although the beginning was slow and the ending was okay, I still think it’s a great read and would absolutely recommend it.

I was hooked from beginning to end! This novel has it all: dynamic characters, depth, humor, romance...I didn't want to stop reading. A must-read!

fun book!!!!