Fairy Godmothers, Inc. by Jenniffer Wardell – Blog Tour

 Posted by  Blog Tours, Book Reviews, Shanda's Reviews
Apr 222013
 

Fairy Godmothers, Inc.Fairy Godmothers, Inc.

Author: Jenniffer Wardell

Publisher: Jolly Fish Press

Published Date: April 27, 2013

Hardcover: 302 pages

Genre: Fairytale Romance

ISBN# 978-0-9886491-4-9

Reviewed by: Shanda

FTC FYI: received an uncorrected digital proof in exchange for an honest review

Goodreads Summary

In a world where fairy tale situations are as much a fact of life as death and taxes, everyone knows hiring Fairy Godmothers, Inc. is the best way to assure that your beautiful daughter or enchanted frog of a grandson will get the happily-ever-after he or she deserves. Sure, sometimes a little love potion is required to make sure those quotas stay up, but what Prince Charming doesn’t know won’t hurt him. 

Kate, an experienced Fairy Godmother, who’s enough of a romantic to frustrate her rigidly rule-bound boss, has just received a specialty assignment from one of the company’s board of directors. Cinderella—Rellie for short—was placed with an appropriately wicked stepfamily years before, and now needs the dress, ball, and handsome prince to complete her happily-ever-after. The fact that Rellie isn’t sure this is her dream come true—balls are fun, but princes tend to be less interesting than fluffy bunnies—isn’t something management considers a problem.

Complicating things a bit is Jon, the youngest son of the royal family, who meets Kate, and is smitten, but isn’t quite ready yet to reveal his true identity. After all, it’s his older brother Rupert who’s supposed to marry Rellie, which means pretending to be a lowly civil servant will give him the chance to spend more time with Kate. (As long as he can get the ball arranged, and stop Rupert from getting himself into trouble over his “self-actualization” business, he should have the perfect opportunity to explain everything and get started on making a little magic with the Fairy Godmother of his dreams.) 

But, of course, things never ever happen as planned.

Review

Fairy Godmothers, Inc. was such a fun read. I was entertained from the first chapter to the last. I laughed out loud on more than one occasion. I loved Jon, Kate, Lawton, and even Rellie by the end. As a romance, I knew Jon and Kate would eventually end up together, but there were a few unexpected twists with other characters I didn’t see coming and I wasn’t sure quite how things would work out until the very end.

I read Fairy Godmothers, Inc. pretty much straight through. (The kids had to eat and I had to sleep, at least for a few hours.) Even though the  book is approximately 300 pages long, it moved at a good pace and didn’t seem overly long. I was pulled into the story and thought it was well-written and pretty clean overall. The characters were interesting (Bubbles was effectively intimidating, considering her name), and I cared about what happened to them.

It’s obvious that the author had fun writing this story. A lot of fairytale, a bit of magic, some intrigue and a generous dose of romance all combine to make Fairy Godmothers, Inc. easily one of my favorite reads this year.

Content: There is some mild innuendo; a few side characters consume alcohol but I don’t recall the main characters ever partaking; one mild “curse” word; older teens and adults will probably enjoy this book

Visit Jenniffer Wardell: 

BLOG | FACEBOOK | TWITTER | GOOGLE+ | GOODREADS

Find Fairy Godmothers, Inc.:

AMAZON | BARNES & NOBLE | GOODREADS

 

Bonded by Michelle Davidson Argyle

 Posted by  Book Reviews, Mindy's Reviews
Feb 202013
 

Bonded

Author: Michelle Davidson Argyle

Publisher: Rhemalda Publishing

Published: November 2012

Hardcover: 365 pages

ISBN13: 9781936850648

FTC FYI: I received an ebook copy in exchange for an honest review

Reviewed by Mindy

Goodreads Summary

What happened after Cinderella married her prince? How did the evil sorceress in Sleeping Beauty turn evil in the first place? Discover these stories and a world filled with magic, forbidden love, elves, sprites, dragons, and the most powerful creatures of all— the fairies —in Bonded, a collection of three fairy tale inspired novellas.

CINDERS: A Cinderella sequel. Money can’t buy love, but magic isn’t a sure bet either. Cinderella, now officially a princess, finds royal life is not what she once dreamed. When a mysterious elf from her past stirs up long-suppressed passion, Cinderella begins to wonder if there really is love beneath the spell that captured her husband’s heart. But undoing magic can be harder than casting the initial spell, and the results are even less predictable.

THIRDS: A retelling of the Grimm’s fairy tale, One-Eye, Two-Eyes, Three-Eyes. Issina is surrounded by magic, yet none of it belongs to her. Despised and abused by her mother and sisters, she finds comfort when she meets the beautiful elves living in the nearby woods. The elves want to help her discover her own magic, but it’s not the kind of power she hoped for, and she learns there is more to magic than getting what you want.

SCALES: A Sleeping Beauty prequel. The sun never sets in the realm of the fairies. When the young fairy Serina looks into her sister’s eyes, she sees darkness for the first time. After her mother is murdered, Serina defies fairy law to follow her sister to the human realm. There she discovers the strength of a bond, the weight of a promise, and the darkness in her own heart.

My Review

I really enjoyed these three novellas by Michelle Davidson Argyle.  Each were very well-written and I was taken into the different story immediately.  Ever since I was a little girl, I have been fascinated with fairytales.  I would spend hours in my room reading.  Aurora from Sleeping Beauty is my all-time favorite, and so I was excited to read Scales.  But, if I had to pick a favorite (and it was really hard) it would be Cinders.  Cinderella’s (Christina’s) story was fascinating to me.  What if happily ever after isn’t enough?  The guilt of using magic to win her prince really weighed on Cinderella’s heart.  Did her prince really love her?  How Cinderella finds the truth, and the events that take place are actually heart breaking, but I really liked where Michelle took the story, and teaches that not all stories have a happy ending.

4 out of 5 stars.  I want to thank Michelle for the chance to read and review these amazing stories.  The settings and characters immediately draw you in.  Once you start Bonded, you won’t stop until you’re done.  Michelle is also the author of The Breakaway, which is on my review list.  The sequel Pieces just came out! Check out all of Michelle’s titles, including Monarch.

Author Links

Website / Facebook / Goodreads

Purchase Links

Amazon / Barnes and Noble / Rhemalda

 

My Fair Godmother by Janette Rallison

 Posted by  Book Reviews, Mindy's Reviews
Nov 022011
 

My Fair Godmother

Author: Janette Rallison

Publisher: Walker Publishing Company

Published: 2009

Softcover: 310 pages

ISBN: 978-0-8027-2073-3

FTC FYI: I purchased my own copy

Reviewed by Mindy

Ever wanted your own Fairy Godmother to come and fix your life?  If Chrissy is yours, you better know exactly what you want!

Backcover: “After a dramatic breakup with her picture-perfect boyfriend, Savannah needs a true prince–and fast, because prom is only weeks away.  But looking for love can be a Grimm experience!  If only Chrissy were more than just “fair” in the wish-granting department.  After two botched attempts that land Savannah in the past, first as Cinderella and then as Snow White, Chrissy must send Savannah to save Tristan, a surprisingly cute boy from school whom Chrissy accidentally sent to the Middle Ages.  Hopefully the third time’s a charm…as in Prince Charming.”

Savannah is down.  Her plain sister Jane has won the heart of her boyfriend Hunter.  She tries to move on, but it’s hard when your boyfriend’s new girlfriend is your sister. “Fair” godmother Chrysanthemum Everstar is trying to raise her semester grade with an extra credit project.  At first, she doesn’t know what sister she is supposed to help.  After Jane and Hunter get together, Chrissy’s officially assigned to Savannah.  (I especially loved page 20, when the Memior Elves have to go to detox because they’ve been in Savannah’s teen-age head too long.)  Chrissy comes to Savannah and tell her she gets three wishes per their contract.  Wish one (page 47):

I just wish that somehow my life could be like a fairy tale.  You know, with a handsome prince waiting for me at the ball, and that somehow when I meet him, everything will work out happily ever after.

Chrissy checked her wristwatch again, hardly paying attention to me. “Okay, great.  One Cinderella coming up.”

I LOVED this book.  It is so well written.  I loved the humor, characters, cleverness, and especially the story line.  I thought it was so clever having the first part be Chrissy’s report, so fun!  Everything comes together so smooth and it’s full of very fun twists.  I’ve said this before, I love reading books I can pass to my girls without hesitation, this book tops the list.

My Fair Godmother was a finalist for a Whitney Award in 2009.  It’s sequel, My Unfair Godmother was released this year.

5 out of 5 stars.  Janette has written many books.  My Double Life was also a finalist for a Whitney last year.  Read more about her here.