Series: Fairies and Familiars #1
Publication Date: 08th Oct 2024
Genre: Fantasy, Historical, Fairytale Spin-off
4.3 Stars
One Liner: So good! Excited for the sequel!
Lady Theodosia Balfour aka Theo is out of options. Her stepsister, Beatrice, the newly crowned princess who married Prince Duncan is telling everyone that Theo, her sister, and her mother are evil. Though Theo knows this isn’t the entire truth, she can do nothing as her life becomes a mess. Her mother forces her betrothal with an aging and pompous Duke to save them from bankruptcy.
A desperate Theo does the only thing she can – summon a fairy godmother to help her. If a fairy can help her stepsister, she sure can help Theo, right? However, the fairy (Cecily) is less of a godmother and more of a stunning vision in yellow with a cunning attitude. The fairy is willing to help Theo, but only after seeing the proof of Theo’s goodness. With assistance from the fairy’s assistants – Phineas, a flirty human-turned-mockingbird, and grumpy Kasra, a fox shapeshifter, Theo has to complete three tasks and prove she is worthy of the fairy’s help.
Well, it should be easy enough, right?
The story comes in Theo’s third-person POV.
My Thoughts:
I knew I had to read this the moment I saw the cover. The premise made me even more curious to find out how the author spun Cinderella’s plot and enhanced it.
For me, a retelling/ spin-off loses merit when it simply flips the good as bad and vice versa or when the so-called evil characters are made squeaky clean, and whitewashed beyond recognition. A good re-creation should add depth to the characters and freshness to the plot while retaining the essence of the original. Though this book sometimes straddles the line, it settles comfortably on the right side, thanks to the FMC.
I guessed the book would have a slower pacing and adjusted my expectations. The first quarter is indeed slow as we meet the characters and explore the settings. However, it picks up pace once the fairy enters.
The highlight of the book is how it sustains sassy humor (even if it feels a bit excessive at times but necessary for the character arc). Theo is a lot of things and though she is supposed to be the wicked stepsister, I could see her vulnerability almost from the beginning. She is a flawed character learning to become a better person as she has new experiences.
The book deals with themes like toxic family relationships (mother & sister, between sisters), bullying, societal expectations, presumptions, greed, jealousy, main character syndrome, etc.
This works well as a cozy fantasy, though I wouldn’t have minded a little more detail about the fairy world. The tone borders on YA (probably coz Theo is a teenager). There isn’t much romance as such, though we do see some ‘moments’.
Cecily is a terrific fairy. Need more of her in the next book! The supporting characters are pretty much one-dimensional but do the job. Maybe some of them will get more depth in the next book.
A few dialogues are longish, though we can see these are necessary and have to be said. The last 20% packs a punch with more reveals, twists, and developments. It also shows how the plot had been planned and structured to reach the desired endpoint (I won’t be surprised if the author worked it in reverse). A couple of triggers too.
While I didn’t expect the story to continue in the next book (I hoped it would be standalone spinoffs), I can’t complain. The book ends just the way it should – a good conclusion to the first part but leaving out enough to wonder where it would go from here.
To summarize, How to Summon a Fairy Godmother is a solid debut and an entertaining read with many introspective moments. Can’t wait to read the sequel (please don’t keep me in suspense for long). Just hope there won’t be any triangles (or if present, they are handled well).
Thank you, NetGalley and Orbit, for eARC.
#NetGalley #HowToSummonAFairyGodmother
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TW: Animal injury and death
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