Thank you netgalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review

Overall this was DNF for me mostly because it wasn't what I thought the book was when I selected it to be my next read. The author writes a a great summary on who the book is for in regards to if you like a, b, and c this is not the book for you on goodreads. I fell in that category. I was expecting a retelling of the cinderella story, instead it was more like an Alice in wonderland kind of theme with elements of cinderella to focus the story and the analogies. It's beautifully written, but it just wasn't for me.

Everyone loves fairy tales and their happily ever afters, but we know they are really not realistic. There is no happlily ever after. Life, and love, is full of bumps and bruises, highs and lows. So what happens when Cinderella's lows begin to outweigh the highs? That's such and excellent question, I don't know who no one has used it as a back story before this. This book is definitely going into my recommendations for my reading circle and will certainly start some interesting conversations. The author's post on goodreads is excellent too. I love when the authors weigh in, it brings an extra element to an already great read.

I was excited to read this book because it seemed like it would be just like the book Just Ella. However, this was a very odd and disturbing book. There were many scenes that made me uncomfortable. Thus, this was a very disappointing read. After reading it, I went to read the more superior take on Cinderella’s marriage Just Ella.

I am a member of the American Library Association Reading List Award Committee. This title was suggested for the 2022 list. It was not nominated for the award. The complete list of winners and shortlisted titles is at <a href="https://rusaupdate.org/2022/01/readers-advisory-announce-2022-reading-list-years-best-in-genre-fiction-for-adult-readers/">

QUICK TAKE: definitely an unexpectedly fun read...a look at what happens AFTER Happily Ever After, in particular what happens to Cinderella after she marries Prince Charming? I was not expecting this one to go in the VERY adult direction that it did, but I thought this book was dark and clever and a lot of fun. The sections about Cinderella's mice are worth the price of admission alone.

This is the continuing tale of Cinderella and Prince Charming 13 years after their fairy tale wedding. It certainly is not what you expect when the story says they lived happily ever after. Now Cinderella is visiting the witch for a death potion. An unusual story that was an okay read. This book sort of ruins my faith in good of fairy tales. I received a copy of this ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

𝐃𝐍𝐅 𝐚𝐭 58%

Unfortunately, this is my first DNF of the year. I had such high hopes for this story; I loved the idea of visiting a favorite fairytale years in the future, to see how their HEA really turned out.

This book follows Cinderella 13.5yrs after her Happily Ever After Marriage to the Prince. It turned out to be anything other than HEA; in fact, she wants him dead.

Overall I found this book to have a lot going on without much actually happening. There are huge chunks of time that are spent from the POV of her mice companions, which has almost nothing to do with the overall storyline. There is also a lot of repetition within the story, sometimes with just minor details changed but passing it off as a new idea. At times I couldn’t even understand what was real and what was her storytelling/dreaming. The main character was also extremely hard to connect with, she didn’t have a lot of substance and seemed to be sleepwalking through life.

While this book was not for me, I think that there are people out there that might enjoy it.

The premise of this book seems dark, but straightforward: Cinderella, miserable after 13 and a half years of “happily ever after,” wants out of her marriage. I can almost guarantee that whatever you think this book is going to be, you’re going to get something completely different. In fact, two or three people could easily read this book and come out with two or three entirely different ideas of what exactly was happening. I’m still not exactly sure what really happened, and I still loved it. And I love that I still don’t completely know.

I don’t want to give too much about the book away, I feel like it would spoil the surprise for anyone interested in reading it. The terms “modern fairy tale” and “fairy tale retelling” don’t quite do it justice. Definitely read it with an open mind to the strange directions it will take. There’s a big twist that was set up very clearly, and yet I still loved the reveal. It’s going to get weird, and you might think it’s bad editing or just bad writing. In my opinion, it’s not that at all. Hang in there. The result is a weird and wonderful feminist skewing of the Cinderella story – and the fairy tale genre as a whole – that’s not quite like anything I’ve read before. I found it to be totally worth the ride.

Also – don't sleep on the mouse subplot. Trust me. It will eventually add a whole other dimension to the story.

Just as a heads up, if you don’t like ambiguous realities or non-linear storytelling, this is probably not the book for you.

TW: gaslighting, cheating, self harm, prescription drug abuse, and a subtle but persistent thread of fatphobia.

I liked this one, but I found that it explored similar themes to her last novel, Forty Rooms, but not in ways that worked as well here. It’s beautifully written and she has a great sense of style, which I appreciated. Just. Pilsner always connect with the characters and story

The Charmed Wife by Olga Grushin is a story unlike any other I have read before. Typically a fan of traditional fairy tale retellings I was so curious about this one, which promised to be much more than just another retelling of Cinderella and gosh, I was certainly not disappointed. ((This is NOT, by far, a retelling of Cinderella.))

Told through the viewpoint of our main character, we travel on an adventure that will make you question what it means to have a fairy tale happily ever after ending, what is fantasy and what is real woven together sometimes in the same sentence! (Was it a carriage she called for and then a limo she took home? I was constantly questioning my understanding of the events happening in this book!). I found myself rooting for the main character and hoping she would find a way back to herself. If you know your fairytales, this one will also delight you with little bits here and there alluding to stories you may have forgotten all about!

And don't get me started on the mice! I love the little interludes where we were caught up on their lives and the descendants of Brie and Nibbles, the original two mice who befriended Cinderella. Truly original and so funny.

If you don't mind a story that isn't particularly straightforward and linear, this one is for you. If you're willing to start the first page knowing nothing is as it seems, good! You'll love The Charmed Wife. I cannot say enough how much I enjoy Olga Grushin's writing and the way she creates layers within her stories to challenge what you may have thought you know about a happily ever after and what these fairy tales we grew up with were actually telling us about finding our own happiness in life.

From acclaimed novelist Olga Grushin comes THE CHARMED WIFE, a fractured --- if not downright broken-down --- fairy tale about what happens 13 ½ years after Cinderella loses her crystal shoe and finds herself ensconced in a gilded palace.

Following the general gist of the rags-to-riches story told to children through books and Disney films, Grushin introduces readers to a grown-up Cinderella, a woman who has already married the man of her dreams, given birth to his children and lived as a perfect princess, now queen. Despite their fairy tale surroundings --- complete with talking mice, dancing teapots and frogs waiting to be kissed --- Cinderella and King Roland have not felt the “happy” of “happily ever after” in quite some time. And she is ready to close the book on her fairy tale ending.

On the night we meet Cinderella, she is fleeing the castle under the cover of darkness to meet with a witch at a magical crossroads. In exchange for the king’s nail clippings, golden hairs, a portrait and an egg-sized sapphire, the witch has agreed to cast a spell on Cinderella’s husband. No stranger to the flaws of men, she expects Cinderella to request a love potion, or a kindness spell, or even a curse that will prevent him from straying to other women’s beds. But even the witch is shocked when she reveals that she wants her Prince Charming dead.

With a dramatic entrance from Cinderella’s fairy godmother, the spell goes awry, and the witch and the godmother finally ask the queen what has made her so unhappy. Slowly and carefully, Cinderella shares her side of the story and explains what has happened after her “perfect” ending. As she chronicles years of abuse --- both obvious and more insidious --- she comes to see the ways in which she has prevented herself from achieving happiness, and just how blind she has been to the true flaws of her happy ending. Suffice it to say that Prince Roland is not very princely; in fact, he is a womanizing, calculating man with no real accomplishments of his own.

However, even more shocking is how long it took Cinderella to realize that his mysterious trips to nearby kingdoms were not hunts, but dalliances, and that the magic potions her fairy godmother-turned-therapist has been feeding her have not helped her find happiness, but dulled her senses and increased her waistline. Painfully but shrewdly, Cinderella starts to ask, “What if the slipper had fit someone else --- would the prince have married the other girl instead, would he have even known the difference? Was she, in fact, all that different from every other maiden with a sweet singing voice and a patient disposition?”

Interspersed among the queen’s tale are snippets about her evil stepsisters (not so evil, as it turns out), her beloved mice friends (long gone, but replaced every few years so as not to upset Cinderella), and even other fairy tale stars like Sleeping Beauty and Snow White (yet more women failed by the rules of fairy tales). Grushin skillfully unpacks every aspect of fairy tales, such as the unbelievability of insta-love, the bindings of the rules of magic, and even the ways that evil witches may have been trying to help all along. As Grushin makes clear, the same fairy tale laws that make magic possible also bind their characters and limit their worldviews. And, having seen that there is far more to happiness than a glass slipper and a handsome prince, Cinderella can no longer turn a blind eye to the dystopia around her. With the push of a former princess and a not-so-witchy witch, she enters the world of divorces, new careers and making a name for herself on her own terms.

The idea of a fractured fairy tale is instantly compelling in its subversiveness. After all, who among us has not grown tired of stories of princesses, magic spells and dashing princes with little to no personality? But what Grushin does by focusing on an adult Cinderella takes the fractured fairy tale to the next level, not only challenging the stories we have been spoon-fed since we were children, but also drawing painfully relatable real-life parallels on topics like weight and beauty, aging and, of course, the dissolution of a once-happy relationship.

Even in passages written about Cinderella’s evening-wear-making mice, Grushin pushes the envelope on the potential of the fairy tale and asks, “But what would really happen if country mice were suddenly in possession of fancy cheese, gold-foiled whiskers and cardboard manors?” Affairs, bloodshed, coups and cults, as it turns out. Though the toils of the fantasy world can occasionally be hard to follow, Grushin makes a valiant effort to include nods to other fairy tales, push the limits of the demanding, exacting magic system, and throw in a bit of whimsy as she goes.

Sophisticated, inventive and endlessly witty, THE CHARMED WIFE is a fresh and wildly original take on fairy tales, marriage and one woman’s search for happiness. Perfect for readers of WICKED, CONFESSIONS OF AN UGLY STEPSISTER and THE BEAST’S HEART, this creepy cool novel will inspire a whole new generation of princesses to save themselves.

It just came out in January, but I already know Olga Grushin's THE CHARMED WIFE will be one of my favorite books of 2021. I knew it just a few pages in when I realized this Cinderella retelling wasn't just an alternative version, but a sly, feminist retelling that frequently made me laugh out loud. The writing style is very Terry Pratchett meets Margaret Atwood, but with Grushin's charm and humor.

It's been thirteen years since Cinderella's fairy-tale wedding to Prince Charming, and she hasn't had her happily-ever-after. In fact, the book opens with Cinderella looking for help from a Witch, who offers potions to solve any problem...for a price. Cinderella's story unravels throughout the making of the potion, and we learn she doesn't want the Prince's love - she wants him dead.

The storytelling is sharp, witty and somehow whimsical. My favorite part of the novel, hands down, is that it also follows the story of Cinderella's mice through the generations - started with the first Brie and Nibbles. There's mouse war, a coup, lesbian romance - I've never laughed so hard reading a book. I frequently read out snippets of their stories to my partner, Keith, who loved it as much as I did. Different fairytales march through the main plot, and it becomes a fun easter egg hunt to recognize these stories.

I loved the feminist message behind Cinderella's story as well - we learn why she's so jaded, the love, regrets and betrayals she's faced. It's a remarkable read that everyone should pick up. I'll be recommending this to anyone who loves Robin McKinley, Naomi Novik, but also Margaret Atwood and Terry Pratchett.

If I could give more than five stars I would. Thank you to @netgalley and @putnambooks for the #gifted copy for review.

You know the part of the story where Prince Charming finally finds Cinderella and they live happily ever after... yeah, not so much.

This book was, dare I say... charming? Definitely the oddest yet most compelling book I’ve picked up this year. The concept is so intriguing and most definitely not for children: 13 years after marrying her prince, Cinderella plucks 13 hairs off his head in exchange for a curse to end her misery and her marriage - murdering the heir apparent.

While I loved the cameos of your favorite fairy tales, the story of Cinderella’s mice and the Great Mouse Civil War, and the chuckle-worthy banter between the witch and the Fairy Godmother, were easily the best moments. Cinderella’s story definitely is bizarre, and the writing itself reflects that. Think poetic-meets-run-on-sentences, a meandering river a bit hard to follow. And just wait until about three quarters in when the fairy tale morphs into something completely, ahem, out of this world... if you know you know.

This is not a book for everyone, but if you like metaphorical writing, dark fairy tales, and feminist touches, I’d recommend this book. Perhaps readers of Once Upon A River and The Starless Sea would like this one.

Thank you to Netgalley and G.P. Putnam's Sons for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

I really struggled getting into this book. It's a dark and vengeful take on the Cinderella story, with a snooty fairy godmother and a terrible witch. The pace lagged, and I found myself skimming the sections in italics, detailing the adventures of the two mice that accompany Cinderella. I'm sure this book will find its ideal reader somewhere, but it wasn't for me.

Very well developed characters and an extremely engaging story. Well thought out and very suspenseful story line that keeps the reader guessing until the final twist! This is the book to read this year! Highly recommended!

The writing was engaging at first but in the middle it lost me, with long passages when nothing much happens or the action is repetitive and predictable. I ended up not finishing the book.

Wait, the princess is warned as she drifts off in search of the zest that will reignite her dull life. You can’t forge straight ahead, you can only turn left or right. But the princess throws caution to the wind and discovers life’s many underexplored paths. Grushin chronicles the many ways real life upsets the traditional stories of “happily ever after” we are fed as children. This brilliant narrative, a mashup of Cinderella and other fairy tales, reveals the struggles that women cope with even as they try to reconcile their everyday lives against a promised paradise that never materializes.

I am not the right audience for this book. The long interludes about the talking mice Brie and Nibbles were unbearable, and the parts about the naive and whiny Cinderella were only slightly better. I was hoping for a sharp, clever story about what “happily ever after” really means, but this book is more of a jumbled mess about a woman who insists on being the victim in her own story and who has read too many fairy tales. In case you care about such things, characters are shamed for their weight, age and appearance generally. 2.5 stars

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.

This book is great! Would definitely recommend. Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

The fairy tale Cinderella—as envisioned by Walt Disney—has shaped the dreams of millions of young girls, who dream they will one day, they, too, will find their Prince Charming and live happily ever after.

But wait! What if Prince Charming turned out to be not quite so…charming? What if Cinderella became “woke” years later to find that she had traded in her own dreams to live a sterile life with an unhappy man who ignored and at times despised her? In other words – what if Cinderella became trapped in her own fairy tale? And what if, above all else, she wanted her prince dead?

This audaciously imaginative, wildly creative and lyrically written new novel by Olga Grushin is a true marvel. It’s populated with all the archetypes and legends of fairy tales—the witches, the fairy godmother, the dancing mice (who have delightful back stories of their own), the stepsisters (who turn out to be nowhere as bad as Cinderella imagined.) Hints of other fairy tales abound—Sleeping Beauty, Rapunzel, Jack and the Beanstalk, Hansel & Gretel, Little Red Riding Hood—and are woven seamlessly into the narrative.

In a fairy tale world, Ms. Grushin suggests, things are run by their own logic. Young maidens are always beautiful and fair and princes and kings are always valent or sometimes, blood-thirsty. Witches weave spells and stepsisters are evil. And woe to the fairy tale character who tries to break out of this preordained life.

But, the author suggests, if fairy tales constrict—and they do—doesn’t a princess feel more clearheaded, awake and present when she embraces her messy real-life possibilities—filled with hope and promise and unpredictability? Don’t true life fairy tales occur when we break free from the battling the tedium of stale fairy-tale coupledom? And isn’t that what fairy tales are all about anyway—generations of unhappy women who collectively try to dream themselves into a life that makes sense, transforming the chaos of pain into some kind of order?

Cinderella, then, becomes every woman who gives away her freedom and her fire—her untold stories and her future selves—in exchange for a “handsome prince” and a big house to call home. Without ever stretching herself beyond her one-dimensional role, no wonder her prince begins to feel stifled too.

We, the readers, never do know Cinderella’s real name until she goes through her own Hero’s Journey and emerges with realizations of who she really is and what she really wants. Her rewards: her name, which lifts her out of the stereotype and introduces her as a flesh-and-blood woman. I am thrilled to be an early reader, and thank Catapult and NetGalley for an ARE in exchange for an honest review.