After following the grandchildren in A Grimm Legacy and Grimm Memories, we now get to enjoy the story of Cynthia Wellington, Andi’s grandmother. In this retelling of Cinderella, we meet a charming young woman with the same golden heart as the Disney princess, but with a good deal more spunk. Gone is the fairy godmother and the friendly mice; they are replaced by Remi, a prince turned into a frog, who strikes an amazing friendship with Cynthia... and I can almost guarantee you will fall in love with both of them.

Frankly, this story was amazing. I adore the twists that Jennings puts in her fairytale adaptations, and how she mixes them in Elorium. This book was classic and modern, heartbreaking and hilarious, and had an ending that made me long for more books in this universe. It answers questions from the other two novels that I didn’t even know I had, and it ties everything together perfectly.

Once again, I kept thinking of the musical Into the Woods as I read it, which is a great compliment as far as I am concerned. The story has got beautiful imagery (that red dress, urgh, give it to me), and Jennings’s prose flowed so well that I felt as though I was watching a movie as I read. I’ll be honest – I read the book within twelve hours... half before bed, and half immediately when I woke up. It was just that good.

I would highly recommend it, even to those who may be unsure about the first two books in the series. It has a different style (perhaps because we only follow Cynthia, whereas in the other two books, we jumped from one character to another) than the other two, and a different focus, although the writing style is still the same. This is definitely her genre, and I’m looking forward to more (similar?) books from this author.

In short: it was wonderful!!!

I would like to thank Patchwork Press and Janna Jennings for the free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.