Charming

Pros: fun characters with some unique takes on fairy tales

Cons: the story meanders, convoluted plan

Prince Charming has been rescuing women - and paying himself with half their treasuries - for years. Now, a group of his victims has banded together to bring him to justice.

This is an entertaining reworking of several classic fairytales, but with the idea that Prince Charming is a real cad. I enjoyed seeing how the author would rewrite each woman’s history. The characters were fun to watch, even - especially? - Charming.

Once the women got together and started their plot, things began to meander a bit. Their plan, as it’s revealed through the story, is so convoluted when you consider it after the fact, that it’s hard to believe it succeeded. The ending was also a bit lacking of consequence.

I did find it strange that with how many women he’d defrauded and how THEIR part of the stories travelled, that the prince wouldn’t be more easily recognized. He’s using the same name, just translated for new languages after all. Seems with a detailed description and his modus operandi new potential victims could be warned away.

It was a fun, quick read. Don’t think too hard about it. Just go along for the ride - and the reworked fairytales.

I received this book through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I'm a sucker for a good fairytale retelling so I was intrigued by the premise. And it was overall a decent story. We follow Prince “charming” as he plays the hero in classic fairytales that we all know and love in a way that's a bit edgier than the classic Disney tales.

The women in this book are the true stars of the show and all of them are so interesting and multidimensional. They each have their own talents and traits that truly make each of them feel like their own well rounded character.

The only reason I didn't rank this book higher was because I loved the idea and just thought in execution it needed a bit more. The writing was a little stilted in places that slowed the pace of the book, I think it would have benefited from being written in first person instead of third, maybe at least for charmings sections. While it left me wanting more, if you like fairytales, bad-ass females who go after the man who wronged them, sisterhood, dragons, and twist after twist, I think you will really enjoy this book!