Happily || the Cinderella retelling we’ve all been waiting for

Happily Book CoverTitle: Happily

Author: Chauncey Rogers

Genre: Retellings

Category: Young Adult

Status: Standalone

Goodreads

Synopsis:

If the shoe fits, wear it.
If it doesn’t, make it.

Laure is a teenage street urchin just trying to get away. Where the rest of the world sees an enchanting love story, Laure sees royal incompetence and an opportunity to exploit it. She’ll have wealth and a way out of a life she detests, if she can only manage to hoodwink the royal family and survive to tell the tale.

my-review-lightuptheshiningnightstars

Note: I received an eARC of the book for free from the author in return for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I love Cinderella and any and all retellings of it. If there’s ANY Cinderella retelling, I’m there. Now that we’ve established that, I would have LOVED to hear this story when I was younger.

The Plot

No fairy godmother. No magic pumpkin. Just one grumpy girl and a glass slipper.

Laure is a thief, stealing to live and staying in an abandoned house. But one day, her plan goes awry and she becomes indebted to Luc, a boy who wants to become a merchant and provide for his family.

At the same time, Cinderella runs away from the ball and the royal family is looking for her. Laure, recognizing how stupid it is for the prince to marry the first girl whose foot fits in the show, also realizes that she can take advantage of it.

The story includes travel, bandits and fighting, slapping a prince, the girl saving the boy (rather than just the other way round) and much more. 

The Characters

Laure has a cynical view of Eclatánt, the place where this is set. All she wants is to have enough money to leave the kingdom for good. She’s clever and she concocts the plan to impersonate Cinderella somehow. I liked her because she’s not a meek girl and does what is required, not hesitating to run into things or talk back to anyone. She takes no nonsense.

Luc a clever optimist. He has the brains to make money out of an opportune situation and has an attitude to get him where he wants to be. He doesn’t spend time thinking negatives and prefers taking action to be at a better position. He’s also really kind to others, which repays later.

As for Prince Carl and Cinderella? We see a little bit of them but they’re not the main protagonists of the story. Laure and Luc’s story is way more interesting, trust me.

Overall

I really liked it! It’s fun, adventurous and interesting. This is one of my favourite retellings partly because it’s completely not what you expect.

Definitely recommend it to everyone!

four-stars

17 thoughts on “Happily || the Cinderella retelling we’ve all been waiting for”

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