This story is a prequel telling how Anastasia and Drizella became "wicked" stepsisters, which I didn't fully comprehend until the end. Anastasia and Drizella are well on their way to becoming the perfect ladies that their mother wants. Drizella practices singing with an elderly man to catch a suitor, while Anastasia practices a flute. The chapters alternate between the two sisters. Along the way to their practices one day, they both get distracted and try to grasp happiness outside of their mother's scary sights. Drizella befriends a female scientist and wants to become her assistant and Anastasia falls in love with a knight in training. There's interesting background info on what happened to their father and how they interact with their mother and Cinderella. It all comes crashing down in the end and they decide to be "wicked".
I listened to this on audio and found it really fun. I had so much hope for the sisters and was so sad for them in the end.

3.5

This is a retelling of Cinderella, but from the viewpoint fo the stepsisters. Robin Benway does make you feel for the sisters and their situation. I also liked how Cinderella was barely in the story, so the spotlight could be on the sisters. Even though this book isn't for me, I would recommend it to many tweens and teens.

I also really enjoyed the narrator and would read other books by them.

Thank you for NetGalley and the publisher for sending me a copy of the audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

I really enjoyed getting to understand the "evil stepsisters" a bit more. Knowing why they are they way they are and what led them to what we actually know them by was really great. I loved seeing them go their own separate ways and how they even stood up to their mother and cared for their step sister at first. This goes to show people aren't always evil, but sometimes their circumstances turn them that way.

I accessed a digital review copy of this book from the publisher.
Drizella and Anastasia were fleshed out as more than just snobby wicked stepsisters. It gave the reader a view into how their mother's bitterness twisted their lives and brought out the bitterness in them.
The ending was still sad and downbeat, but Drizella and Anastasia don't have a happy ending story so I wasn't surprised, I would have liked it for them, but it was expected.

I love Cinderella. And I love her stepsisters. I loved this book... mostly. I don't understand why they tweaked some pivotal moments to the original story. But I loved the development of the characters and I can't wait for the next.

I'm going to start by saying I gave this book 3 stars not for the fact that the book was bad or poorly written, but more so the fact that I didn't "enjoy" it. I felt like putting it down at about 75% because I realized how the story was going to play out. I know that might sound like a foolish thought - seeing as the nature of this story is Cinderella told from the POV of the step sisters, but there were things in the book that made me feel like things could be different. That's all I'll say about it because I don't want to spoil anything - even though going in it shouldn't be considered "spoilers".

Overall, it is well written, the characters are well described and the author has really made you feel for this characters who Disney has made you dislike. Even though I personally didn't really like the outcome of the story, I still would consider reading the sequel.

I received a copy of this book from #Netgalley

I love reading stories from alternate perspectives and use them quite often in class. I enjoyed this rendition of Cinderella and "understanding" the backstories of the "evil" stepsisters. I definitely have a newfound sympathy for them and will read the sure-to-follow sequel. I appreciated that the author decided to make Ella a truly minor character, really dedicating the story to the backstory of the sisters.

Two stepsisters who endured no love and endured the same abuse as Ella but learned that instead of being laughed and enduring the cruelty of there mother they would endure and make her proud by becoming what she wants them to be. The void of love and cruel to those who are lesser than them and those who would mock them.

A good way for students to empathize and look at striving to be more than their background but also to look beyond what other people portray on the outside.

This is a cute imagining of the tale of Cinderella's stepsisters and how they may have been pushed into the horrid, nasty people they became. It makes you have a bit more sympathy for them, because who wouldn't turn out like that after dealing with such a narcissistic parent?

The story ends on a decidedly dark tone, and there are themes of abuse, physical and emotional, that sensitive individuals should be aware of.

This is a fun new perspective on the classic Cinderella story. I really enjoyed seeing the story through the eyes of Anastasia and Drizzella.

I was excited about this title and the possible prospect of a new retelling series. Although I did generally like the story and the direction that it went in, it was a bit clunky and lost my interest as time went by. I felt that the characters did have some depth, and that by keeping the stepmother evil, they did tend to draw a little more sympathy for their plight, though a lot of their interactions with Cinderella were still cruel and uncalled for. I would have liked a more consistent story line to the familiar story as it might have explained the actions of the stepsisters in a more understandable way, but this take just did not put them in a good light as i believe that the intention was.

The audio of this book was somewhat harsh in its reading. the grammar seemed out of sync which made it have unusual gaps, pauses, and sentences that ran together at times. The voice was mildly pleasant.

A lofty goal that was thrown off course.

Thank you to NetGalley and to Disney Audiobooks for an ARC of this audiobook.

I am a huge Disney fan, and I have read many books like this one. This one I really enjoyed. It was an easy read, This book was a little depressing at times, and it will definitely continue as a series, But I look forward to reading them as well. I really enjoyed the reader for this audiobook. She did a great job.

This was a perfect retelling!
I loved that it showed the girls in a different light but set the pace to the traditional step-sisters we all know and hate.
Lady Tremaine in my opinion is one of the most evil villains because is the devil we are most likely to occur in real life and that makes it that much more scary... at least to me.

Drizella and Anastasia just wanted normal things, careers, love and to escape from the abusive hand they they are under while living at home but being a woman and in that time period there was little hope for them to escape. The fact that Lady Tremaine knows this and uses it to control her daughters because she herself was wronged.

I don't want to give anything away but this book is one of the better retelling's I have read in a very long time.

I love it when someone writes the backstory of a side character or a minor character of a story I loved. I like when they continue a story too after the main character's chapter has ended. In this novel, we get the backstory of Drizella and Anastasia Tremaine from Cinderella. We also get a little insight on how Lady Tremaine came to be the way she was as well.

Fair warning, like most fairy tales, this one has some tragic parts. There is significant child abuse within this story, not only to the main characters, but to Ella as well. There are also deaths of parents within the pages.

Drizella and Anastasia didn't start out as wicked stepsisters, they were molded and fashioned into them. It begs one to consider the nature vs nurture argument while reading. Had they had a more nurturing upbringing, would their nature have been less wicked? How would the sisters have faired if their mother hadn't been so wicked herself?

Drizella is miserable in her life. She wants adventure and travel. She wants to chase the stars. When she meets a scientist in town, she thinks all the answers to her prays lay in front of her. Anastasia dreams of love and romance. She wants someone to dream with and to hold her when she's lonely. Since the kitten Lucifer that she rescued doesn't seem interested in cuddles with her, she tries to escape with a budding love interest. But lives for the sisters is complicated by an overbearing and overly watchful mother. Even meek and mild Ella cannot escape her wrath.

Read on to find out more. Love this for middle grade retellings.

This was both great and horrible (in good ways).

To think that an author can make me root for the "ugly stepsisters"?

Touche', Benway.

I am a huge Disney fan and love books from various perspectives. It was an interesting take on Cinderella. I enjoyed this one, but found it more depressing than I expected. Yes, I realize it was a retelling from villains perspective. It definitely explained the resentment the sisters had towards Cinderella. Looking forward to more books in the series