Mercedes Lackey is a very prolific writer and has many and varied series that she has created. Some I really like and some I don’t. For example, I love her Valdamaar series. It is one of my all time favorite fantasy series, but I didn’t really care for her Elemental Masters series that is supposed to be fairy tale based, therefore I was kind of hesitant about reading another fairy tale series from her. I sincerely wish I had read this book earlier. It was very well written with great characters that paid homage to the fairy tales that they were from (you can actually tell what they are supposed to be) while being their own unique characters. I couldn’t put this book down; I spent a couple of late nights up with this one.
Elena is someone you might recognize; she has two evil stepsisters and an evil stepmother. Yep, she is Cinderella or a version of Cinderella anyways. In the five hundred kingdoms, the fairy tales are played out over and over. A magical force called The Tradition forces people who have magic about them to fulfill the roles outlined in the tales. But sometimes the tale goes wrong; in Elena’s case it is the fact that the prince of her kingdom is only 11 years old and therefore would not be old enough for the ball and marriage before Elena is 18. Eighteen seems to be the age at which The Tradition stops pushing you so hard to fit into your tale. Instead Elena is taken on as an apprentice to the Fairy Godmother of her kingdom. The Godmother is getting older and she needs an apprentice to handle the job of helping the happy endings come about. Sometimes happy endings just need a helping hand to come true, questers need to be tested, magical weapons dispersed to heroes, and such like. Some Godmothers, like Elena mistress, keep the sad tales from coming true as well for the Tradition doesn’t care if the ending is happy or not, it just cares that a proper fairy tale is followed. And there are some unhappy fairy tales where many perish before the happy ending is reached. Some Godmother’s only fix tales after they have gone wrong and some like Elena and her mistress try to be more preventative. Each Godmother is responsible for several of the five hundred kingdoms and is able to see and use the magic that is the Tradition. The book follows Elena as she learns how to become a Godmother and as she deals with the failed quester, Alexander. Alexander is a second born prince who tried to run her over with his horse instead of helping her when she was testing him as the old grandmother who needs help (you know the one who gives the prince the important information that leads him to be able to rescue the princess after he shares his meal with her). Elena is so angered that she turns him into a Donkey and takes him back to her cottage to work for her. She is determined to teach him kindness, honor, and manners. Can Elena rehabilitate Alexander and make him a human being worthy of a Godmother’s trust and can she keep anything truly horrible from happening in her kingdoms? You will have to read this enchanting book to find out.
The plot is well thought out and moves very well. I was enraptured by the tale that was enfolding in front of me. I am a big fan of fairy tales; I have read many, many fairy tale books. I loved this tale because while paying homage to fairy tales that I recognized, it changed it up to be something new. The characters are fantastic. That has always been Mercedes Lackey’s strong suit. Elena is a great character. She refuses to accept her fate as Cinderella and she is ready to do anything to get out of being an unpaid servant. She becomes a very smart Godmother only using her power when needed. She grows and shows depth as her life changes through the course of the book. As each new conflict arises she figures a way to counter it. Prince Alex also changes and grows quite a bit. He goes from being the stuck up nobleman who doesn’t give a care about the peasantry to being a true Knight worthy of honor and justice. We also have flying horses, talking unicorns, brownies and other things mystical and magical in this book. This is going to be a fun series to read because the options for characters are nearly limitless as there are hundreds of fairy tales for Lackey to choose from to use for these novels.
I really enjoyed this book and can’t wait to read the rest of the series. If you like Mercedes Lackey’s Valdamaar series or you are a lover of fairy tales then you should enjoy this novel.