I'd been meaning to read any of Maguire's books for a few years and finally started with this one. I'd heard nothing but praise for his writing, but I was disappointed with this. It is actually a decent book, just not worth all the hype. The story is unique, interesting, and well-crafted, but bleak and more sad than amusing. I think I would have enjoyed it better had I different expectations of it altogether (I guess I expected it to be a bit funny, no help from the cover). However, Maguire effectively portrays the stepsisters as lovely in their own way and inspires more affection for them than this version of Cinderella. *Spoiler* And I'm glad that at least Iris found love!
