Wendy H. (donkeycheese) -
Helpful Score: 3
Despite the whimsical cover, this is a truly sad book. I couldn't put it down, I was so drawn into Lil. She is an old woman who keeps living in her past, and you just want to have her over for tea and a nice long chat. If your looking for fairy tales, this isn't the book for you. Sure, its compelling and magical, and full of remorse, but the ending will leave you shocked and wide-eyed. I highly recommend this wonderfully written novel to any book-lover!
Helpful Score: 3
This book will be one of my favorite for this year, if not for many years. Where this book starts and where you think it is going to end are not even in the same ballpark.
Lillian is a quite unassuming woman who spends her days working in a small rare books bookstore in Manhattan, helping students and the locals to find the variety of books that they need. But Lil has a secret, she was once Cinderella's fairy godmother. She even has wings bound to her back as proof. It was her responsibility to get Cinderella safely to the ball and to live the life that the fairies has foretold to be her future.
Unfortunately, Lil had dreams of her own and one day appeared to the Prince in human form and she fell in love with him. She went to the ball instead of Cinderella and for doing so, she was banished from the fairy kingdom; that is until Veronica came into her shop. If only she could get Veronica to the ball with her prince charming then all would be forgiven and she could return to her fairy sisters.
As you see the ending coming you just want to put the book on the shelf and get to it another day. You don't want to see Lil's life unfolding, you want to see the happily ever after. But only that happens in fairy tales. Lil's new reality is much more harsh then that.
Lillian is a quite unassuming woman who spends her days working in a small rare books bookstore in Manhattan, helping students and the locals to find the variety of books that they need. But Lil has a secret, she was once Cinderella's fairy godmother. She even has wings bound to her back as proof. It was her responsibility to get Cinderella safely to the ball and to live the life that the fairies has foretold to be her future.
Unfortunately, Lil had dreams of her own and one day appeared to the Prince in human form and she fell in love with him. She went to the ball instead of Cinderella and for doing so, she was banished from the fairy kingdom; that is until Veronica came into her shop. If only she could get Veronica to the ball with her prince charming then all would be forgiven and she could return to her fairy sisters.
As you see the ending coming you just want to put the book on the shelf and get to it another day. You don't want to see Lil's life unfolding, you want to see the happily ever after. But only that happens in fairy tales. Lil's new reality is much more harsh then that.
Helpful Score: 2
After hearing so much about this book, I finally grabbed it and read it in one big gulp. This was a great read! The writing is truly magical.
This is Lil's story - she was Cinderella's fairy godmother and after she failed her duty, she was banished from the fairy world and into the human world.
She works at a bookstore, and lives a quiet life as an old woman. Until she meets Veronica, and comes to believe that the fairies are coming back for her and giving her the chance to redeem herself. If she can find true love for Veronica, maybe she can finally be forgiven and return to her home and family.
There's a lot of sadness, loneliness, and loss in this book - Veronica's first love died, George is divorced, and Lil craves to be reunited with her family and home. But there's beauty too, and hope for redemption - will Veronica and George be able to move away from the past and fall in love? Will Lil be forgiven, most importantly by herself?
This book is both lovely and heartbreaking.
This is Lil's story - she was Cinderella's fairy godmother and after she failed her duty, she was banished from the fairy world and into the human world.
She works at a bookstore, and lives a quiet life as an old woman. Until she meets Veronica, and comes to believe that the fairies are coming back for her and giving her the chance to redeem herself. If she can find true love for Veronica, maybe she can finally be forgiven and return to her home and family.
There's a lot of sadness, loneliness, and loss in this book - Veronica's first love died, George is divorced, and Lil craves to be reunited with her family and home. But there's beauty too, and hope for redemption - will Veronica and George be able to move away from the past and fall in love? Will Lil be forgiven, most importantly by herself?
This book is both lovely and heartbreaking.
Heather F. (AZmom875) -
Helpful Score: 1
Am I the only one who hated this book? She spent so much time describing things and the story moved real slow and it switched back in forth between Present time and the cinderella story but not in a way that was clear at times what world you were in. It was sad and dark and just plain lonely. One reviewer wrote that it took the first 100 pages to get into it, and I agree and then it bang didnt develop a good ending. It wound up too fast. Hmm kinda like the stroke of midnight and it was all over. I really cant recommend this book. The author tried too hard to do some deep literary piece and it was just boring. I wont read another book by this author. Life is too short.
Helpful Score: 1
Reviewed by Marta Morrison for TeensReadToo.com
"What occurs in the world of faerie will manifest in the world of man."
This thought was the main theme of GODMOTHER.
This was a dark retelling of the story of Cinderella. When I saw the cover, I thought,"a fun, light read." I was very wrong. This is a story about Lil, an old woman broken in spirit who lives a very meager life in New York. She works in a bookstore, and her life consists of working, eating, and sleeping.
But Lil has a secret. If you saw her back you would see wings. She is actually the fairy who was sent to be Cinderella's godmother, but she made a terrible mistake that night. Lil fell in love with the prince and couldn't help the broken spirit of Cinderella.
Since that night, Lil has been permanently in the world of man, thrown out of the world of faerie, until she can redeem herself and fix what she did to Cinderella.
This book is not for the immature reader. It has a very dark, ambiguous ending. The characters all live lives of despair.
However, this would be a good book to read in a book club or with a group of friends. It needs to be talked about. The writing was extraordinary and the author needs to be commended.
So read GODMOTHER if you would like a more realistic version of the beloved fairy tale.
"What occurs in the world of faerie will manifest in the world of man."
This thought was the main theme of GODMOTHER.
This was a dark retelling of the story of Cinderella. When I saw the cover, I thought,"a fun, light read." I was very wrong. This is a story about Lil, an old woman broken in spirit who lives a very meager life in New York. She works in a bookstore, and her life consists of working, eating, and sleeping.
But Lil has a secret. If you saw her back you would see wings. She is actually the fairy who was sent to be Cinderella's godmother, but she made a terrible mistake that night. Lil fell in love with the prince and couldn't help the broken spirit of Cinderella.
Since that night, Lil has been permanently in the world of man, thrown out of the world of faerie, until she can redeem herself and fix what she did to Cinderella.
This book is not for the immature reader. It has a very dark, ambiguous ending. The characters all live lives of despair.
However, this would be a good book to read in a book club or with a group of friends. It needs to be talked about. The writing was extraordinary and the author needs to be commended.
So read GODMOTHER if you would like a more realistic version of the beloved fairy tale.
Helpful Score: 1
While this story was creative and well-written, it was not at all what I was expecting. The description of this book lead me to believe that it would be a fun novel that's a spoof of Cinderella. In reality, it is a very dark and depressing story. I was left disappointed.
Helpful Score: 1
I have mixed emotions about this book. It took me the first 100 or so pages to actually get involved in the novel. Then once I finally got into the characters and the plot, I feel like it ended way too quick.
I usually base novels on whether or not I'd recommend them to a friend. This one, I don't think I would.
I usually base novels on whether or not I'd recommend them to a friend. This one, I don't think I would.
This is one of those books that you will think about for a long time to come. The other reviews have really said it all - the ending is jarring, the characters have all experienced heartbreaks of one kind or another, the story is full of loneliness, wrenching emotions, and all-too-real disappointments. But so is life - and this author truly knows how to build the intensity as the story unfolds.
If all of the books you read must have a happy ending, then this is not the book for you. If, however, you want to read a story that slowly grabs hold of you and drags you along, makes you alternate between loving and hating the main character, and, ultimately, drops you so that you suddenly come crashing through to reality, then, by all means, get your hands on a copy of this book. When you have finished reading it, you will find yourself going back through the story, looking for the little clues and hints that will finally make you grudgingly believe the truth in the (very ambiguous) ending.
If all of the books you read must have a happy ending, then this is not the book for you. If, however, you want to read a story that slowly grabs hold of you and drags you along, makes you alternate between loving and hating the main character, and, ultimately, drops you so that you suddenly come crashing through to reality, then, by all means, get your hands on a copy of this book. When you have finished reading it, you will find yourself going back through the story, looking for the little clues and hints that will finally make you grudgingly believe the truth in the (very ambiguous) ending.
Well, at first, I really loved this book - the beauty and romance of it all was initially intoxicating. But the crushing reality of its ending ruined the whole book for me. It really did. Too many questions were left hanging... and for all that magic to be stomped away, it really left a reader wanting to read something else. I wouldn't recommend this to anyone who wanted to be disappointed. This one retold fairy tale that really lost the magic of its medium.
Polly J. (spiritedbabe59) reviewed Godmother: The Secret Cinderella Story on + 106 more book reviews
I love the retelling of fairy tales in contemporary adult fiction (and I know the original audience of the Grimm Brothers' writings were not children). they appeal to me in there archetypal intent and also to the side of me that still really believes in magic. This retelling of Cinderella has an interesting, original take on the story. When I finally arrived at point of tying it all together, I I understood why the parts of Lil's past that didn't set well with made me feel that way. Sorry, can't explain more without giving away too much! But if you like new versions of classic fairy tales, you will not be disappointed in reading this book.
Tiffany K. (tiffanyak) -
It wasn't really my cup of tea as far as books go. It did get quite a bit better towards the end, and get me interested, but I still can't say I really enjoyed it. But, it does really make you wonder about Lil, and what the truth is. Was she a fairy godmother, banished from her people for committing a great wrong, or is she so grief-stricken from events in her all-to-human life that she created the story in her mind? In any case, I'm sure a lot of people will love it. It just didn't appeal to me much personally.
Kristen A. (KristenAshcraft) reviewed Godmother: The Secret Cinderella Story on + 4 more book reviews
I love reading books that make me see something new in my favorite stories. This book was wonderfully written and was a great read. The ending was a complete surprise.
I couldn't put this book down and ended up reading it in one night. It almost felt like reading two stories at once, revolving around Lil, an old woman. Despite the whimsical name and cover, this book goes much deeper than your standard fairy tale.
Not sure how I feel about this book. What really happened? I liked the mental health take on the fairytale, but I am really confused about what was real and what wasn't. Huh. Didn't really make me feel all warm and fuzzy.
Lil is an old woman who works in a bookstore in New York. She spends her days shelving books and being lonely. She wasn't always this way though. She once was Cinderella's fairy godmother, but was banished to the human world after that fateful night at the ball. One day she meets a young lady and is convinced that she was sent to be her fairy godmother. That she can fix the wrongs of the past, and redeem herself to the fairy world again.
This was an interesting read. I liked that the story was a twist on Cinderella. The ending was a little confusing for me. I was kind of confused about what was reality and what wasn't. I don't know if the author meant for it to be that way. Maybe that's what you're suppose to take from the story, that it can be interpreted either way. The main character is very sad. She lives in the past and yearns to return to the world where she belongs. I also thought it was interesting how the author portrayed Cinderella. Very different from the classic version. I would definitely read another of her novels. If you're a fan of books with twists on fairy tales or looking for something a little different I would recommend this book.
This was an interesting read. I liked that the story was a twist on Cinderella. The ending was a little confusing for me. I was kind of confused about what was reality and what wasn't. I don't know if the author meant for it to be that way. Maybe that's what you're suppose to take from the story, that it can be interpreted either way. The main character is very sad. She lives in the past and yearns to return to the world where she belongs. I also thought it was interesting how the author portrayed Cinderella. Very different from the classic version. I would definitely read another of her novels. If you're a fan of books with twists on fairy tales or looking for something a little different I would recommend this book.
