⋙ Libro The Stepsister Scheme Princess Novels Jim C Hines 9780756405328 Books

The Stepsister Scheme Princess Novels Jim C Hines 9780756405328 Books

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The Stepsister Scheme Princess Novels Jim C Hines 9780756405328 Books

I adore fairy tales, and am always on the lookout for fairy tale retellings that seek to breathe fresh life into the bones of a classic, well-known tale. Thanks to a recent GoodReads friend request, I stumbled upon The Stepsister Scheme, the first novel in Jim C. Hines' Princess series. With its graphic novel-style cover artwork featuring three princesses ready for battle, I was immediately intrigued, as the artwork promises that are most assuredly not the princesses of classic lore. For the first volume in his Princess series, author Jim C. Hines returns some of literature's most famous heroines to their darker Grimm roots. Adding a healthy dash of modern sensibility, wry humor, and a set-up reminiscent of Charlie's Angels, Hines' princesses are no wilting wallflowers waiting to be rescued -- rather they are on a quest to reclaim their lives from the sanitized, romantic tales that have arisen around rumors of their respective pasts.

As the title hints, The Stepsister Scheme is primarily centered on Danielle Whiteshore, the real Cinderella (in a nice touch her father was a master glass artisan), attempting to adjust to her new life as a wife and princess. But shedding her past, riddled with emotional and physical abuses, proves difficult, and Danielle has trouble reconciling her previous hardscrabble existence with her stepmother and stepsisters with the privilege and power it is now her right to command. Following an attempted assassination attempt by her suddenly magic-wielding stepsister Charlotte, Danielle is introduced to a world she never dreamed existed, where her mother-in-law, Queen Bea, commands a duo of elite women -- Snow White, an expert in all things magical, and Talia, otherwise known as Sleeping Beauty, a fighting expert thanks to the fairies' gifts of preternatural grace and intuition. Snow and Talia's unique skill sets make them the ideal agents to serve the queen on dangerous assignments -- and when the attempt on Danielle's life reveals a plot to kidnap her husband and overthrow the kingdom, she joins the pair determined to save her marriage and prove her mettle as a fighting princess.

I loved the multitude of nods to each princess's original story that Hines incorporates into his wildly fractured reimagining. Snow's nemesis -- this time her mother -- is tortured by being forced to dance in red-hot shoes as in the Grimm version. There's also a tragically doomed romance with a handsome huntsman and a multitude of mirrors replete with magical uses. Talia views her fairy gifts as more of a curse than a blessing, and while a prince figures in her reawakening, he's less noble and far more lecherous pervert. I loved the touch of a "spindle whip" being Talia's weapon of choice -- that was a nice nod the spindle lore in the original tale. But my favorite nod to Grimm involved Danielle's story, which saw Hines keep "Cinderwench's" guardian angel in the form of her mother's spirit -- first trapped within a magical tree, then a glass (!!) sword, as well as the vicious bird attack her stepsisters experience at the royal wedding.

While this is an undeniably fun concept, where this debut in the series falters is in character development. Danielle is the only princess I consistently felt any sympathy towards or inclination to cheer on as she fought to rescue her husband and reclaim her happy ending from the machinations of her stepsisters. Snow and Talia suffer from unfortunate stereotyping for much of the novel -- Snow is a sexed-up flirt while Talia is the embittered, rude warrior (and in a "twist" you can see coming a mile off, has unrequited feelings for Snow...ergh). Much is made of their own dark histories, but it isn't until the final third of the novel that their backstories are explored, finally lending the them some level of much-needed depth. Despite the character development issues and an occasional want of plot focus, Hines' world-building sparks with life. This is a fresh, energetic, and oft-times wonderfully snarky take on fairy tale retellings that shows great promise for future volumes.


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The Stepsister Scheme Princess Novels Jim C Hines 9780756405328 Books Reviews

I'd been meaning to get around to reading this author, ever since I saw him taking on female character poses from science fiction and fantasy book covers. This guy is really cool, and I felt I was missing out.

The story was pretty original, and often humorous. The book stars Cinderella (Danielle), Sleeping Beauty (Talia), and Snow White. It uses some of the darker details from the fairy tales, which I really appreciated. I found the main characters really likable, and appreciated hearing the darker aspects of their back stories when they got to it.

Initially, I did have trouble getting into it, because the action and the crisis starts off pretty quickly. That may work for a lot of people, but I find it harder to care, when I haven't been given a little bit of time beforehand to get to know the characters. In particular, I would have liked to see something of Armand before the main plot began, in which he was kidnapped. As the story went, more was revealed about all of the characters, and I was able to feel more of an attachment to everyone. This may not be an issue for everyone, and I definitely found it to be worth reading.
The Stepsister Scheme opens with an assassination attempt on Cinderella by one of her step-sisters. We are deep into "happily everafter" in this story, except for the "happily". Oh she loves her prince plenty, there is no doubt about that, and her step-family is still evil and twisted. Cinderella still talks to animals and befriends them; and, at least in the beginning of the book, is still naive and innocent of the ways of the world.

Things change rapidly as book progresses. It turns out her prince has been kidnapped, the queen is a good witch with a network of spies, the land of fairy are old-style scheming no-goods making complex bargains with hapless people and taking advantage of them. Cinderella's prince has been taken into the kingdom of fairy and now she must work her way into the very heart of the fairy kingdom to rescue him. She is aided in this quest by Snow White (a powerful witch in her own right) and Sleeping Beauty (a compulsive dancer and deadly warrior who never sleeps anymore). There are a variety of colorful characters and a unique version of the traditional fantasy realm that combines dark gothic undertones with moments of light-hearted celebration.

This is a very unique take on classic fantasy characters. There are allusions to true love, powerful magic, complex politics, and sex. Nothing grapic here. It is not hard to imagine this story as a Tri-star pictures movie released in the fall after the summer blockbuster season has wound down. Probably with a PG-13 rating. While darker and more modern than traditional Disney movies, this story is still suitable for junior high school students with a taste for fantasy, or even adults who enjoy ABC's "Once Upon a Time".
I adore fairy tales, and am always on the lookout for fairy tale retellings that seek to breathe fresh life into the bones of a classic, well-known tale. Thanks to a recent GoodReads friend request, I stumbled upon The Stepsister Scheme, the first novel in Jim C. Hines' Princess series. With its graphic novel-style cover artwork featuring three princesses ready for battle, I was immediately intrigued, as the artwork promises that are most assuredly not the princesses of classic lore. For the first volume in his Princess series, author Jim C. Hines returns some of literature's most famous heroines to their darker Grimm roots. Adding a healthy dash of modern sensibility, wry humor, and a set-up reminiscent of Charlie's Angels, Hines' princesses are no wilting wallflowers waiting to be rescued -- rather they are on a quest to reclaim their lives from the sanitized, romantic tales that have arisen around rumors of their respective pasts.

As the title hints, The Stepsister Scheme is primarily centered on Danielle Whiteshore, the real Cinderella (in a nice touch her father was a master glass artisan), attempting to adjust to her new life as a wife and princess. But shedding her past, riddled with emotional and physical abuses, proves difficult, and Danielle has trouble reconciling her previous hardscrabble existence with her stepmother and stepsisters with the privilege and power it is now her right to command. Following an attempted assassination attempt by her suddenly magic-wielding stepsister Charlotte, Danielle is introduced to a world she never dreamed existed, where her mother-in-law, Queen Bea, commands a duo of elite women -- Snow White, an expert in all things magical, and Talia, otherwise known as Sleeping Beauty, a fighting expert thanks to the fairies' gifts of preternatural grace and intuition. Snow and Talia's unique skill sets make them the ideal agents to serve the queen on dangerous assignments -- and when the attempt on Danielle's life reveals a plot to kidnap her husband and overthrow the kingdom, she joins the pair determined to save her marriage and prove her mettle as a fighting princess.

I loved the multitude of nods to each princess's original story that Hines incorporates into his wildly fractured reimagining. Snow's nemesis -- this time her mother -- is tortured by being forced to dance in red-hot shoes as in the Grimm version. There's also a tragically doomed romance with a handsome huntsman and a multitude of mirrors replete with magical uses. Talia views her fairy gifts as more of a curse than a blessing, and while a prince figures in her reawakening, he's less noble and far more lecherous pervert. I loved the touch of a "spindle whip" being Talia's weapon of choice -- that was a nice nod the spindle lore in the original tale. But my favorite nod to Grimm involved Danielle's story, which saw Hines keep "Cinderwench's" guardian angel in the form of her mother's spirit -- first trapped within a magical tree, then a glass (!!) sword, as well as the vicious bird attack her stepsisters experience at the royal wedding.

While this is an undeniably fun concept, where this debut in the series falters is in character development. Danielle is the only princess I consistently felt any sympathy towards or inclination to cheer on as she fought to rescue her husband and reclaim her happy ending from the machinations of her stepsisters. Snow and Talia suffer from unfortunate stereotyping for much of the novel -- Snow is a sexed-up flirt while Talia is the embittered, rude warrior (and in a "twist" you can see coming a mile off, has unrequited feelings for Snow...ergh). Much is made of their own dark histories, but it isn't until the final third of the novel that their backstories are explored, finally lending the them some level of much-needed depth. Despite the character development issues and an occasional want of plot focus, Hines' world-building sparks with life. This is a fresh, energetic, and oft-times wonderfully snarky take on fairy tale retellings that shows great promise for future volumes.