Book Review: Ella: An Everland Ever After Tale

I love fairy tales. Growing up, my favorite movies were Disney’s animated reimaginings of these stories. So it’s only natural that I would enjoy checking out novels that do the same thing. One of the more recent ones that I’ve read has been Ella: An Everland Ever After Tale. This book is the second in the Everland Ever After Tales, and it is a reimagining of Cinderella.

Here’s the synopsis:

"Forget glass slippers... this time she's wearing cowboy boots!

Ella has grown used to the casual cruelty of her stepsisters, the complete control her wicked stepfather exerts, and the exasperating way the birds and the mice keep bothering her while she's trying to do her (extensive) daily chores. But with the big July Fourth celebration coming up in Everland, she's determined to make her sisters the prettiest dresses possible so that they'll finally get married and move out of her life. But she doesn't count on a chance meeting with a handsome shopkeeper...

Having lost a leg at Gettysburg, Ian Crowne knows that he's no princely catch. He's got his store and his dogs, so he's satisfied...until the day when an enigmatic stranger captures his imagination and his heart. Now they're both dreaming of each other and wishing on stars, and the celebration is only days away...”

My rating: ***** (Probably closer to a 3 ½) 

I’m sort of torn on my thoughts when it comes to this story. I enjoyed it, but it’s not a story that I’d necessarily want to read again. This is a really creative story. I’ve never read a western version of a fairy tale before, so that was pretty neat. I liked the small twist of Ella having a wicked stepfather instead of the usual stepmother. Ella and Ian were both nice characters and they seem like a good pair, also props to the author for having them meet a few times before the Fourth of July celebration. And on a more minor note, I did like that Ella didn't have blonde hair for a change.

My main problem with the novel is that it feels like things move very fast as soon as the celebration happens.  It just seems like there was so much building up to it, that as soon as things were getting good the story was over. I’m of the mindset that the story would have been better with a few more chapters about Ella and Ian after the celebration was over. I think that would have kept the ending from feeling rushed.

That being said, the story was still an interesting one. I have two of the other novels in this series on my Kindle, and I’m curious to see how this universe will be expanded.

So what fairy tale retellings do you all enjoy? Are there any you would recommend?