Kendra Edens
Full review appeared at Reader's Edyn on 05/08/20 Mellie – Snow White’s evil stepmother – of all the reputations to be saddled with. If anyone knew the true story behind the completely skewed fairytale, they would have a completely different view of stepmothers. Unfortunately, those dang Grimm brothers set in motion some truly damning consequences for several of the people from her realm. Being a misunderstood stepmother, she possesses a hatred for all things book-related and launches a campaign to ban them all. But then she meets “Dave” who is really Prince Charming. Jaded by his own stereotype, he has come to the Greater World to escape the suffocating responsibilities of being himself. And avid book lover and self-professed nerd, he sets out to share his love of books with Mellie and explain why they are so important. Together they hatch a plan for an even better platform for Mellie to get her point made in a way that will bring attention to her cause – but in a positive way instead of a negative way. And unexpectedly, as they travel down the path of writing a book together, their attraction grows. But why would Charming want anything to do with an evil stepmother? Charming is besotted. Attracted to Mellie from the start, but horrified to realize she is trying to ban his most loved hobby, he sets out to redirect her anger at stereotypes in a different direction. After realizing she had no skill to write a book what-so-ever, they agree to team up. But writing the book isn’t the only struggle they have to overcome – others are lurking in the shadows waiting to strike. An ex-wife, children, a stepdaughter, spells, magic, a jaded coffee shop patron...the list is seemingly endless. Charming is less than confident in his attraction towards Mellie, but once they get past all of this other garbage trying to interfere with their HEA, he’s determined to show her how much he’s come to care for her. Care – hell, more like a desire to the point of distracting fantasies of a future with her. I have to admit I knew absolutely nothing about this series when I decided to read the book. I have not read anything by Ms. Grayson, had no idea that this was the 7th book in the series, and literally only read it because I was immediately enchanted with the title and cover. And dang! Am I thrilled to have made that decision! We’ve been seeing more and more of the “other side of the story” as time goes by. Many of those types of stories actually mentioned within the pages of this book. I completely enjoyed Ms. Grayson’s take on not only the stereotypes attached to the evil side of fairytales but how even those put on a pedestal can suffer consequences of stereotypes. In other words, things are not always as they seem: Mellie having a completely different reality from what was portrayed and Charming viewing his persona as a fate worse than death. This book has a little bit of everything – intrigue, betrayal, magic, alternate worlds, love, redemption – everything. Also immensely enjoyed was all of the inclusion of books, books stores, a book being written, publicity, a book for book lovers to be sure! I absolutely adored the intertwining of the world of books, a twist on fairytales, and a sweet romance. Ms. Grayson has a gift of being able to take something well known and completely remake it into her own creation. I found myself enjoying almost all of the characters presented, except for the few who were truly unlikeable. I was a bit taken back by Ella’s character, but given everyone else is so far removed from what is traditionally accepted, I probably shouldn’t have been. This book is broken into three sections – The Idea, The Rought Draft, and The Final Manuscript. This was an effective tool in easily moving forward with brief time jumps. My only issue was that toward the end, as I understood it, the time frame for a particular occurrence didn’t work. I don’t want to give anything away, but Charming’s last big hurdle and the negative press that suddenly surrounds ...
