ARC Review: All the Ever Afters by Danielle Teller

Recommended Read!

“Grounding this magical tale in a semblance of reality gave a completely different perspective on all the familiar characters”
~ Under the Covers

I don’t usually seek out fairytale retellings, but All the Ever Afters attracted me for two reasons:

The cover. I admit I judge by a cover far too frequently, but this one is particularly gorgeous.
It was told from the evil stepmother’s point of view. Although we have books that retell a tale from a different point of view, I was intrigued by it being told by the heavily maligned evil stepmother.

Now that I have finished All the Ever Afters I am pleased that I picked it up. It told the Cinderella story in the style of historical fiction set in a medieval time period. Grounding this magical tale in a semblance of reality gave a completely different perspective on all the familiar characters, from the “evil” stepmother, “ugly” stepsisters to Cinderella herself.

Agnes’ character completely captivated me in this book. We watch as Agnes grows into a pragmatic and ambitious woman, with times of heartbreak (I shed more than a few tears) and times of joy. Teller paints a very clear picture of a woman, who although isn’t perfect has done the best with her limited circumstances. I especially enjoyed Agnes short journal entries that regularly intersperse the book.

I can’t state enough how much I loved this book, it was written very eloquently and had a very compelling story. I couldn’t put it down. Teller framing this retelling as if it was historical fiction was a brilliant decision. It brought the whole story to life in a way that telling it as a magical fantasy with pumpkins turning into carriages wouldn’t have.

I highly recommend give All the Ever Afters a try. It’s a beautifully written book which will have you completely rethinking the Cinderella story.

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[about-author author=”Danielle Teller”]