Godmother: The Secret Cinderella Story by Carolyn Turgeon

Godmother: The Secret Cinderella Story by Carolyn Turgeon

Publisher: Three Rivers Press
Category: Adult
276 Pages

Lil is an old woman who spends her days shelving rare books in a tiny Manhattan bookstore and lonely nights at home in her apartment. But Lil has an intriguing secret. Tucked and bound behind her back are white feathery wings–the only key to who she once was: the fairy godmother responsible for getting Cinderella to the ball to unite with her Prince Charming.

But on that fateful night, something went terribly and beautifully wrong. Lil allowed herself the unthinkable: to feel the emotions of human beings and fall in love with the prince herself, going to the ball in place of Cinderella in her exquisitely gorgeous human guise. For her unforgivable mistake, she was banished to live among humans, far from her fairy sisters and their magical underwater world. But then one day she meets Veronica–a young, fair-skinned, flame-haired East Village beauty with a love of all things vintage and a penchant for falling in love with the wrong men–and suddenly it becomes clear to Lil that she’s been given a chance at redemption. If she can find a soul mate for Veronica, she may right her wrong and return to the fairy world she so deeply longs for. . . .

I want to start by saying that this book is currently being optioned for a film! I would definitely go see it if it gets that far. Godmother is a very cute story about redemption. Lil was THE fairy godmother. However, the night of the ball didn't go as planned... So, three hundred years later the fallen fairy is in modern New York and is about to stop accepting her fate.

This story had an interesting concept 'What if we didn't know the real story?', but something kept this book from being amazing. Turgeon has a fantastic writing style. It just didn't click right with me. At times while I was reading Godmother it felt like almost all I was reading were description.

The three main characters were really refreshing. Lil, George, and Victoria were very neat and quirky characters, but they didn't pull at my heart strings. I liked the take on the prince and Cinderella's story. It was depressing at times yet very interesting.

Overall, this book is a nice rainy day read. It's worth picking up from the library, but I'm note sure about buying it.

B-