The Stepsister's Tale by Tracy Barrett is a clever twist on the Cinderella story, told from the perspective of Jane, one of the “evil” stepsisters. Barrett humanizes Jane, depicting her struggles to adjust to a life of poverty and to care for her family in a crumbling estate. The story explores the challenges of family loyalty and resilience, making you rethink the traditional fairytale. With its grounded, realistic take, it’s a refreshing read for fans of fairy tale retellings that focus on character depth and complexity.

This book was requested when I was young and requested more books than I could possibly read. Sadly, I no longer have access to this book and my tastes have changed. Thus I will not be able to give feedback on this title.

I requested this title back before my blogging break. I have ended up with a number of titles that are overwhelming to catch up on now I am back from my blogging break. I am regretfully not going to be reading and reviewing this title, but now I am back from my blogging break, I am looking forward to reading and reviewing some of your future titles. Thank you so much for the opportunity and apologies.

I'm sorry I was not able to read and review this book before it was archived due to serious health issues.

I really enjoyed this overall. I loved the retelling aspect and the characters. Although the mother and Isabella drove me crazy at times. Jane is so strong as a young woman trying to care for her family and I adored Will and his family. I hated the prince. UGH!
No fantasy in this retelling, just honest, harsh struggles of a hard time. The story is a bit slow at times and parts could have been cut out to make is move along better. I liked the romance. Very sweet.