I was pleasantly surprised by this book, it is a darker retelling of Cinderella, I liked it a lot and was drawn into the story very easily

Mixed feelings. On the surface this is a Cinderella retelling, if Cinderella was grittier and a bit gothic and depressing. I have mixed feelings about retelling. One the one hand I love the idea of taking something well known and turning it into something fresh and interesting, but I can be extremely critical if this fails. This falls somewhere in the middle. I admire the author for having he guts to take on such an infamous tale as Cinderella and try and reinvent it, but I'm sure it worked.

The story is decent enough. It's well written and entertaining but I found it lacking any real depth and a lot of the story feels rushed and unstructured. We never properly explore the world, the magical elements or the characters to any great detail. Everything seems superficial, and I think the story suffered as a result because I found I just wasn't invested in it.

I also wasn't keen on the characters. Eleanor, Nora, had a very flat personality, lacking in any real emotion or a strong backstory. Nobody is really explored fully, and I often found myself wishing Jack in particular had more of an opportunity to shine and develop as he could have been a really interesting character. I did like the fact that there's no real 'romance' aspect to the novel though. It was refreshing.

Interesting read, but it just didn't make me feel anything.

I was very surprised by how Owl Eyes: a Fairy Tale diverged from the original Cinderella tale. The first part of the novel is devoted to Nora's quest to find who her parents were. Nora has spent her life as a kitchen servant under the harsh brutality of Lady Portia and Lord Alcander. When Nora discovers that she is of noble birth, Nora tries to redefined herself and take back her birthright that was stolen away from her.
In many Cinderella retellings, there is a huge focus on romance. Owl Eyes has very little romance, which I found slightly dissatisfying. What I did enjoy about the novel was the world building. Nora's world is a world of magic and spells with strange plants and a rich history. I really liked the descriptions of the odd food Nora would have to serve to Lord Alcander and Lady Portia's guests.
Nora herself is an unremarkable character. Although she narrates the story, I never had a good sense of what she is like as a person. Her desire to find out who her parents were and to get revenge on those who wronged her, seemed to be her only motivation. Nora's relationships with the other characters were quite shallow. The secondary characters seemed to have more personality and to be more of interest than Nora herself. If the story would have been through Jack's point of view (Nora's friend), I probably would have enjoyed the story more.
There were moments of great potential, and some interesting changes to the original Cinderella fairy tale. This one certainly breaks the mold of the original beloved tale. My disinterest in Nora and the overall slow pacing of the story made this novel largely forgettable and not as enjoyable as I would have liked.
I would recommend this book to those who enjoy Cinderella retellings and are looking for a novel with very little romance, and a bit of magic.
* I received an advanced copy of Owl Eyes: A Fairy Tale from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review*

Well, this is one of those books hard to rate. While the story was an highly enjoyable retelling, the ending was rushed and felt like it was lacking. Throughout the story, we get to experience a beautiful and grimly dark fairy tale which was awesome. While I liked the story, I would not re-read it.
I want to thank NetGalley and the publishers for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review. I appreciate this opportunity and all views expressed are my own.

Owl Eyes is a solid young adult fantasy book - a book that seems to hint that there may be more to come, and I'm likely to read them, to find out what happens to Nora. I wish the author had spent a bit more time on the magic in the book - while you get a taste of it, there could be so much more - maybe in the next one, if there is one! Overall an enjoyable read.

Fresh, dark and fantastic!!
Owl Eyes is the reimagined world of Cinderella. There are things that seem a lot like the fairy tale but most of it is new and different.
I recommend reading this book if your into classic stories being retold in a new way.

Captivating! While this book is in many ways a retelling of Cinderella there are so many changes and the world is so different that you will be very much drawn in. Nora will quickly win you over and have you feeling deeply for her and the injustice that has been done to her. Nora has finally found out the truth about who she is and the immediate knowledge of the wrong done to her. I found her story absolutely captivating and could not put it down. My only complaint is that the story was wrapped up in one novel. The world is so rich and the characters so vibrant that I really hoped that this would be the beginning of a series. There is so much here that I did not want it to end. I also wish there had been more resolution of the artifact that sh

As far as retellings go, this one was really interesting and different. This is a retelling of Cinderella, I could tell pretty early on that it was and I was looking at all the ways it differed from the original story.

It's fairly dark tale, much darker than the sugary version most people are used to with Disney. This version seems to be taking parts from both Cendrillon, which was published in 1697. And the Brother's Grimm version, Aschenputtel (1812), to create this new version.

I really enjoyed this book, it had a refreshing take on cinderella, it took me a while for it to actually dawn on me that it was a Cinderella tale though, which I didn't mind as it added more to the story when I finally clicked with the book!

This was mostly enjoyable but the ending was rushed and unsatisfying.

'Owl Eyes' is a well thought out re-imagining of Cinderella in which readers spend most of the book learning about our main character, Nora, and the warm, loving people who help her serve the Lord of the house. This is an original tale about a young woman and how she came to be a servant living in a Lord's kitchen house. Though she contributes heavily to food preparation, Nora is prohibited from serving the family in person and is punished when she dares to inquire about her dead parents.

As she makes several discoveries about her birth parents and the family she serves, readers learn more about the way magic works in Lazer’s fictional fantasy world. Ultimately, Nora participates in elements of the traditional Cinderella tale, and faces a new and original dilemma; whether following in her mother’s footsteps is worth losing her loving kitchen house family and a chance for real romance.

I voluntarily read a Review Copy of this book. All opinions stated are solely my own and no one else’s. 'Owl Eyes' will be available on March 20, 2018. #OwlEyes:afairyTale #NetGalley