Synopsis:
The land of Anvara is a land where fairy tales are real. Because of a powerful spell on the land called the Happy Ending, the same tales are lived over and over again, with a few new additions from time to time. Each of these tales always ends the same way–happily.
Cinderella, Jack and the Beanstalk, and Sleeping Beauty have begun again, along with a new tale for the land: The Twelve Dancing Princesses. Their courses are set with their endings as sure as their beginnings. Until the Happy Ending breaks.
Confused and frightened, the citizens of Anvara must adjust to a new reality, one where things can go horribly wrong, the familiar tales are not following their usual patterns, and there is no certainty of a happy ending for anyone.
But this is not all. The breaking of the Happy Ending has uncovered a secret that has been waiting to be revealed for thousands of years. And all of this time, Darkness has been waiting for its chance to strike.
Favorite Lines:
“But being cheerful and carefree was not easy.”
“Sighing in frustration, Darya pushed her thoughts away from all of the what ifs and should haves. This kind of thinking would not do any of them any good.”
My Opinion:
I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for my honest opinion.
When Zundel requested a review for this book, I thought it sounded cute and had similar enough to Once Upon a Time that I knew I had to read it. This story follows four fairy tales in a land that always has happy endings…until it doesn’t. Readers follow along as characters in the fairy tales realize that what they thought were blessings for happy endings were actually a curse and the happy endings they thought they were getting were actually weakening them. They have to put aside their differences and work together if they want any chance at real happiness while also learning what real happiness even is.
I thought the characters were well written and the plot had me seriously invested. This book has a lot of themes and lessons that I think can be enjoyed by any age group but I could especially see it being enjoyed by young adults. As I mentioned previously, this gave me Once Upon a Time vibes so if you are a fan of the show, I am sure you will enjoy this.
Summary:
Overall, I thought this was a really creative idea and Zundel did a great job at executing it. If you like fantasy and fairytales retellings with a twist, then this book could be for you. Happy reading!
Likely Story 