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annettebooksofhopeanddreams's review against another edition
4.0
I read the first book in the Castle Charming collection quite some time ago, while we were waiting for a train to bring us to a convention. I needed something quick to read, something I could finish before my friends arrived and reading wouldn't be in the cards anymore. I never read the rest until I saw this book on BookSprout and got it right away. And since I remembered how much fun the first book was I also re-read the first book and reconnected with the story.
The setting of this story is just too perfect. The kingdom of Charming has everything a fairytale kingdom should have. It has a royal family with a few troublemaking princes, a sleeping queen, a cursed princess and a lost prince. It has fairy godmothers who fulfill wishes, but who's magic always comes with a price. It has a newspaper writing down all the gossip, but mostly a version of the truth that the royals want their people to read and it has loads of love and kissing. In secret corners. Between people who actually shouldn't be kissing before they overcome the obstacles standing between them.
Therefore the entire book reads as one big fairytale. There are moments I was laughing out loud, moments I was screaming at the characters and moments I moved to the edge of my seat, even though I knew it would end with some kind of happily ever after. In a light hearted way, this book has everything that a magical tale should have. It really transports you to a lovely magical world where every reader will find someone to love, someone to identify with and someone to root for.
Because the cast of this series is quite diverse, which is part of what makes this series so much fun. All those characters are quite unique and without info dumping or over explaining we really get to know the characters very well. And even though they are characters in a fairytale setting, they never feel cliche. Every character has their own battle, their own inner conflict and their own flaws to overcome. And every character has their own story to tell and their own happy ending to find. And there was literally not one character I didn't find interesting or didn't like reading about.
Please tell me that in a kingdom like this there are always more adventures to have?
The setting of this story is just too perfect. The kingdom of Charming has everything a fairytale kingdom should have. It has a royal family with a few troublemaking princes, a sleeping queen, a cursed princess and a lost prince. It has fairy godmothers who fulfill wishes, but who's magic always comes with a price. It has a newspaper writing down all the gossip, but mostly a version of the truth that the royals want their people to read and it has loads of love and kissing. In secret corners. Between people who actually shouldn't be kissing before they overcome the obstacles standing between them.
Therefore the entire book reads as one big fairytale. There are moments I was laughing out loud, moments I was screaming at the characters and moments I moved to the edge of my seat, even though I knew it would end with some kind of happily ever after. In a light hearted way, this book has everything that a magical tale should have. It really transports you to a lovely magical world where every reader will find someone to love, someone to identify with and someone to root for.
Because the cast of this series is quite diverse, which is part of what makes this series so much fun. All those characters are quite unique and without info dumping or over explaining we really get to know the characters very well. And even though they are characters in a fairytale setting, they never feel cliche. Every character has their own battle, their own inner conflict and their own flaws to overcome. And every character has their own story to tell and their own happy ending to find. And there was literally not one character I didn't find interesting or didn't like reading about.
Please tell me that in a kingdom like this there are always more adventures to have?
jillybean357's review against another edition
3.0
Charming is the best word to describe this book (hehe… get it…). I’m serious though, the writing is simple yet fun to read and the characters are cute and well described. It is pretty charming. I was expecting your classic fantasy plot when I opened this book, but instead I was treated to a little collection of shorter adventures that the gang of characters goes on. Not to trash your classic fantasy plot, I love that just as much as any other avid teen reader, but it was nice to read something unique. My only major criticism is that the world building was quite mediocre. The setting and the plot (mostly towards the end of the book) seemed bland and simple. Maybe simplicity was the intention, but I found it hard to immerse myself into the book and to stay engaged through to the end.
Oh and I almost forgot, the few illustrations were terrible. I hate random illustrations in novels. Picturing the world myself is always so much more fun. The newspaper front pages at the beginning were manageable, but the random pictured scenes throughout made me want to vomit. The illustrations weren’t interesting or cool either, they felt generic and bland.
I have a soft spot for creative twists on fairy tales, and I loved the theme that happy endings are problematic and the real world is much more preferable, even though it is harder. I also loved the symbolism of ink vs. magic, that was a really cool concept that I had never read before. The portrayal of fairies as evil instead of good was also quite interesting. I feel like I can look at fairytales in a new light after reading this novel, which is really saying something considering how many versions and twisted recreations of fairytales I have read and watched.
FANTASTIC sexuality representation. The ratio of straight couples to gay couples was really nice, and we had lesbian, bisexual/pansexual, gay, and asexual characters, who disrupted the stereotypical “prince + princess = happy ever after” bullshit. I saw myself in some of the characters (mostly Jack and Ziyi); it always feels good to feel represented. There was a bit of cultural representation as well, which was great considering that this world was completely made up. I am much more happy with adequate levels of cultural representation in worlds where you have to make up the cultures yourself, even if you are basing it on an existing culture in our world. If fantasy worlds can have cultural representation, there is no excuse for not having it in reality-based novels.
I would recommend this book if you want some cute and easy reading. I definitely lost steam towards the end of reading this book, but in the end it was still time well spent.
Oh and I almost forgot, the few illustrations were terrible. I hate random illustrations in novels. Picturing the world myself is always so much more fun. The newspaper front pages at the beginning were manageable, but the random pictured scenes throughout made me want to vomit. The illustrations weren’t interesting or cool either, they felt generic and bland.
I have a soft spot for creative twists on fairy tales, and I loved the theme that happy endings are problematic and the real world is much more preferable, even though it is harder. I also loved the symbolism of ink vs. magic, that was a really cool concept that I had never read before. The portrayal of fairies as evil instead of good was also quite interesting. I feel like I can look at fairytales in a new light after reading this novel, which is really saying something considering how many versions and twisted recreations of fairytales I have read and watched.
FANTASTIC sexuality representation. The ratio of straight couples to gay couples was really nice, and we had lesbian, bisexual/pansexual, gay, and asexual characters, who disrupted the stereotypical “prince + princess = happy ever after” bullshit. I saw myself in some of the characters (mostly Jack and Ziyi); it always feels good to feel represented. There was a bit of cultural representation as well, which was great considering that this world was completely made up. I am much more happy with adequate levels of cultural representation in worlds where you have to make up the cultures yourself, even if you are basing it on an existing culture in our world. If fantasy worlds can have cultural representation, there is no excuse for not having it in reality-based novels.
I would recommend this book if you want some cute and easy reading. I definitely lost steam towards the end of reading this book, but in the end it was still time well spent.
jksteach's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
4.75
This book is five interrelated stories plus an epilogue that take place in the Fairytale Kingdom of Charming. Kai, the Quill (reporter) and Dennis, a palace guard called a Hound are new at their jobs. They get involved with Chase and Cyrus, the two Royal Princes and Ziyi, a visiting Princess, as they all try to stay out of the Fairy snares - like cursed dancing shoes, deadly spinning wheels, and glass slipper shenanigans- and solve the mystery of the missing Prince and the sleeping Queen.
These are really fun and clever stories. I enjoyed the mashup of fairytales and the twisty, malevolent Fae and the dreamlike Fairyland. The characters had surprising depth for such a lighthearted story and I grew to really care about them and their various Happy Ever Afters. There's also a good bit of diversity and LGTBQ rep.
misssusan's review against another edition
3.0
no new thoughts cause this is mostly a reread -- i bought it because i didn't catch dead queen walking before roberts took it down for republishing. i hope the bonus novella is about camilla because i wouldn't mind hearing more from my girl
3.5 stars
3.5 stars
raucous's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
4.25
This is a fun look at how "happily ever after" goes once the original fairy tale ends. The characters were interesting and there were plenty of fable-based plot twists to keep me engrossed to the end.
molokov's review against another edition
4.0
What happens after happily ever after? This collection of novellas, novels and a short story are set around the children of Cinderella and what life is like in a fairy tale kingdom. It's a light, amusing, modern, queer-friendly take on fairy tales, with characters that are sympathetic and likeable as they try to combat the annoyance that only story-based magic can enforce on one's lives. A very enjoyable spin on the fairy tale genre without the darkness or angst of many of the other "twisted fairy tale" books out there.
wordnerdy's review against another edition
4.0
https://wordnerdy.blogspot.com/2021/03/2021-book-52.html
I read a short little novelette by Roberts last night as a palate cleanser; it was super cute but too short for any real character development. So I was psyched to try a full-length novel from her (though this seems like it might have originally been serialized?). Anyway, the story here is set at the titular Castle Charming, home of a certain queen who was famous for her glass slippers, except things went badly not long after, with one of her children kidnapped and the queen ending up in a cursed sleep. Now it’s years later, her remaining children are beyond rebellious, and a new Royal guard, a new young reporter, and a visiting princess all get tangled up with things. And several other fairy tales come into the mix. I really liked all the characters here, plus there’s lots of queer romance and magic and action and meddling fairies. Just a good fun and fluffy time. Just what I needed. A-.
I read a short little novelette by Roberts last night as a palate cleanser; it was super cute but too short for any real character development. So I was psyched to try a full-length novel from her (though this seems like it might have originally been serialized?). Anyway, the story here is set at the titular Castle Charming, home of a certain queen who was famous for her glass slippers, except things went badly not long after, with one of her children kidnapped and the queen ending up in a cursed sleep. Now it’s years later, her remaining children are beyond rebellious, and a new Royal guard, a new young reporter, and a visiting princess all get tangled up with things. And several other fairy tales come into the mix. I really liked all the characters here, plus there’s lots of queer romance and magic and action and meddling fairies. Just a good fun and fluffy time. Just what I needed. A-.
thiefofcamorr's review against another edition
5.0
Marking this as read so it's easier to track that I have indeed read it all when it was serialised.
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