This is a great read - a twist on the traditional Cinderella fairytale. The premise asks the question, "What happens to all of the girls who don't get the happy ending?" and then answers that question. ( )

Tradition ist alles was zählt, denn die Tradition lenkt alle Geschicke - und der Tradition ist es egal, ob eine Geschichte gut ausgeht oder böse endet. Nicht aber der „Fairy Godmother“ - die im ersten Band meint, dass es an der Zeit ist, sich zur Ruhe zu setzen und als ihre Nachfolgerin ein Mädchen ausbildet, dass zwar von der Tradition als „Cinderella“ vorgesehen war (und daher auch bei ihrer Stiefmutter und ihren Stiefschwestern ordentlich schuftet), deren Prinz aber gerade erst geboren wurde…

Es geht also immer darum, eine vorbestimmte Geschichte so abzuwandeln, dass am Ende doch etwas Gutes dabei herauskommt, ohne dass die Änderung außerhalb der Tradition wäre.

Die Geschichten sind nett geschrieben, lesen sich gut weg und haben Unterhaltungswert - allzu hohen Anspruch sehe ich hier aber nicht :-P ( )

A different tact and writing style from the Valdemar books, Lackey still has it. These books have the same basic appeal, but with a whole new story line to enjoy. ( )

The author's name has been familiar to me for a while, but this was the first of her books that I have read, and I don't believe it will be the last. I found it entertaining, with references to and puns based on traditional fairy tales, with a story structure that is a romantic twist on a melange of genre classics, in a thoroughly modern treatment. ( )

"Perhaps that was all that freedom really was, in the end, the knowledge that you had nothing and were nothing, and thus had nothing to lose or gain."

Heading another series that take well-known fairy tales and retells them (the first one being the "Elemental Masters" series), Mercedes Lackey starts her "Tale of the Five Hundred Kingdoms" with her own--thoroughly contemporary and highly feminist--version of Cinderella.

Made into a slave by her stepmother and stepsisters, 21-year-old Elena "Ella Cinders" Klovis's woes are further exasperated when the three, in the wake of Elena's father's death, decide to leave town to hide from debt collectors. "Keep the house tidy" were her last instructions and with that Elena is left alone. Seeing the abandonment as an opportunity for freedom, she runs away to sell her services as a maid.

Like the the original Cinderella, she is unexpectantly saved by an eccentrically dressed Godmother; unlike the original tale, Elena becomes Godmother Bella's apprentice, under the fact that her prince to-be is still a child, a sign that The Tradition--a force that guides the peoples of the Five Hundred Kingdoms into fairy tale stories wheather the like it or not--is not always perfect. And it with a later induction into the life of a Godmother that Elena comes to effectively fight against The Tradition.

While the novel is a romance, under the Harlequin imprint of Luna, Lackey focuses on magic rather than love and lust. In fact, while there are themes of love and lust, it is scattered and perhaps unskillfully added--for example, a chapter that quickly becomes a sex scene. However, Lackey also manages to write a very contemporary, very feminist story in which the characters metaphorically and literally break The Tradition (of gender roles): on the way, we meet feminine princes, a knight turned into a donkey for being a pig, and above all--very strong women. Added to this are humorous moments, magical fun, and an intelligent heroine to make a 400+ book into light reading that is ultimately about freedom and our ability to rewrite our stories for freedom.

Readers of her previous works might be taken by surprise and may even dislike this particular series; romance readers will find something new to try out; and her fans will enjoy this mediocre fantasy-romance that while different from her previous works, it can likely fit onto their shelves. ( )