Jim C. Hines is a Fairytale Genius!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I have said before that I love fairytales and any books about fairytales so when I was told we would be reading The Stepsister Scheme in my bookclub I got excited. I didn’t expect to love it as much as I did and I had to get the second book right away! As soon as I can, I plan on getting the rest of the series but for now I am just going to review the first two books of the Princess Novels series.

The Stepsister Scheme: In this book you are introduced to the princesses Danielle De Glas (Cinderella), Talia (Sleeping Beauty), and Snow White. If you think about the original princesses they are these petite, dainty girls who are fragile and cannot look after themselves. Sometimes just complete airheads. Well, Cinderella never was an airhead, she was probably the strongest, most self reliant of the three. She went through major crap with her step family and that makes a person pretty strong. In this book, the roles are reversed. Talia is a badass martial arts chick and Snow is a powerful sorceress. Danielle is finally a princess but I feel like becoming one took away her ability to be self reliant. She becomes a damsel in distress too easily. Thankfully she does learn to be a little better, especially with a magic sword in hand.

Ok, the weapons/powers these girls have are just so awesome! Who needs men when princesses can be warriors instead. The damsel in distress gets rescued by women instead of men. Way cool! Danielle gets this cool sword made of glass that can never cut her and helps to hit her mark even though she is not a good swordswoman. Talia doesn’t really need weapons because she is one but she can use weapons even more effectively. Then Snow, not only does she have snowflake throwing stars, she uses mirrors to be a sorceress almost as powerful as her mother, eventually more so.

The plot is so exciting and unexpected. I was on the edge of my seat and really had to force myself to put the book down so I could sleep or work. But wow. Ok spoiler coming up so if you don’t like those, stop reading now. Best twist ever in this series…Talia is gay!!! How cool is that! I love that Hines made that twist. It is so unique and shocking but really says a lot about how much our culture is changing. Better yet, she is in love with Snow and when Snow’s curse gets reactivated, Talia is the one who kisses her to wake her up. I was squealing in delight at this scene! I really loved this twist. I think that is a more adorable love story than the simple prince kissing princess and living happily ever after. Why can’t the princesses live happily ever after together? Just amazing!

The backstories of the princesses are told more along the original darker side of the story but I think that gave the girls more depth to their characters. I enjoy some darkness, ok a lot. It makes them seem more realistic than the perfect, flawless barbie dolls of Disney. Not that I don’t love the Disney princesses but people aren’t really that perfect. Hines makes the girls more down to earth and at our level of reality. They are even more relatable.

The Mermaid’s Madness: Continuing to the second book. Like the first book, the action starts pretty quick which really pulls you in. I was shocked at the loss that happened so early on though.

For me, this book was about growth. At least for Snow and Talia. I feel like Danielle didn’t really grow much. There wasn’t as much focus on her though she did figure out how Talia felt about Snow pretty quick and was able to help her feel more comfortable around Snow, especially with the nakedness when they became mermaids. Talia grew as she faced her past, herself, and her guilt. Snow started becoming more powerful and pushed herself with the magic only to realize she was starting to become her mother.

I loved that Snow found out about Talia’s feeling for her but I was disappointed that the issue wasn’t resolved. I hope it will be in the next book. I’ll admit that I hope the two of them will end up together but I don’t know if Snow can feel that way about Talia. Who knows, perhaps fate will be kind. I’m glad Snow found out but I hope she can stop pushing Talia away.

This was another great read. Control over sharks is actually a cool power and Danielle did it amazingly. The action and adventure is amazing and the ending will surprise you. Hines really knows how to keep you guessing.

I definitely recommend both of these books to fairytale fans!! I give them both 5 out of 5 stars and am so excited to read the rest of the series!!

Galea Rain- Author, Editor, Self-publisher

Tagged: Cinderella, Fairytales, Jim C Hines, mermaids, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White