Wendy H. (donkeycheese) -
Helpful Score: 3
Despite the whimsical cover, this is a truly sad book. I couldn't put it down, I was so drawn into Lil. She is an old woman who keeps living in her past, and you just want to have her over for tea and a nice long chat. If your looking for fairy tales, this isn't the book for you. Sure, its compelling and magical, and full of remorse, but the ending will leave you shocked and wide-eyed. I highly recommend this wonderfully written novel to any book-lover!
Helpful Score: 3
This book will be one of my favorite for this year, if not for many years. Where this book starts and where you think it is going to end are not even in the same ballpark.
Lillian is a quite unassuming woman who spends her days working in a small rare books bookstore in Manhattan, helping students and the locals to find the variety of books that they need. But Lil has a secret, she was once Cinderella's fairy godmother. She even has wings bound to her back as proof. It was her responsibility to get Cinderella safely to the ball and to live the life that the fairies has foretold to be her future.
Unfortunately, Lil had dreams of her own and one day appeared to the Prince in human form and she fell in love with him. She went to the ball instead of Cinderella and for doing so, she was banished from the fairy kingdom; that is until Veronica came into her shop. If only she could get Veronica to the ball with her prince charming then all would be forgiven and she could return to her fairy sisters.
As you see the ending coming you just want to put the book on the shelf and get to it another day. You don't want to see Lil's life unfolding, you want to see the happily ever after. But only that happens in fairy tales. Lil's new reality is much more harsh then that.
Lillian is a quite unassuming woman who spends her days working in a small rare books bookstore in Manhattan, helping students and the locals to find the variety of books that they need. But Lil has a secret, she was once Cinderella's fairy godmother. She even has wings bound to her back as proof. It was her responsibility to get Cinderella safely to the ball and to live the life that the fairies has foretold to be her future.
Unfortunately, Lil had dreams of her own and one day appeared to the Prince in human form and she fell in love with him. She went to the ball instead of Cinderella and for doing so, she was banished from the fairy kingdom; that is until Veronica came into her shop. If only she could get Veronica to the ball with her prince charming then all would be forgiven and she could return to her fairy sisters.
As you see the ending coming you just want to put the book on the shelf and get to it another day. You don't want to see Lil's life unfolding, you want to see the happily ever after. But only that happens in fairy tales. Lil's new reality is much more harsh then that.
Helpful Score: 2
After hearing so much about this book, I finally grabbed it and read it in one big gulp. This was a great read! The writing is truly magical.
This is Lil's story - she was Cinderella's fairy godmother and after she failed her duty, she was banished from the fairy world and into the human world.
She works at a bookstore, and lives a quiet life as an old woman. Until she meets Veronica, and comes to believe that the fairies are coming back for her and giving her the chance to redeem herself. If she can find true love for Veronica, maybe she can finally be forgiven and return to her home and family.
There's a lot of sadness, loneliness, and loss in this book - Veronica's first love died, George is divorced, and Lil craves to be reunited with her family and home. But there's beauty too, and hope for redemption - will Veronica and George be able to move away from the past and fall in love? Will Lil be forgiven, most importantly by herself?
This book is both lovely and heartbreaking.
This is Lil's story - she was Cinderella's fairy godmother and after she failed her duty, she was banished from the fairy world and into the human world.
She works at a bookstore, and lives a quiet life as an old woman. Until she meets Veronica, and comes to believe that the fairies are coming back for her and giving her the chance to redeem herself. If she can find true love for Veronica, maybe she can finally be forgiven and return to her home and family.
There's a lot of sadness, loneliness, and loss in this book - Veronica's first love died, George is divorced, and Lil craves to be reunited with her family and home. But there's beauty too, and hope for redemption - will Veronica and George be able to move away from the past and fall in love? Will Lil be forgiven, most importantly by herself?
This book is both lovely and heartbreaking.
Heather F. (AZmom875) -
Helpful Score: 1
Am I the only one who hated this book? She spent so much time describing things and the story moved real slow and it switched back in forth between Present time and the cinderella story but not in a way that was clear at times what world you were in. It was sad and dark and just plain lonely. One reviewer wrote that it took the first 100 pages to get into it, and I agree and then it bang didnt develop a good ending. It wound up too fast. Hmm kinda like the stroke of midnight and it was all over. I really cant recommend this book. The author tried too hard to do some deep literary piece and it was just boring. I wont read another book by this author. Life is too short.
Helpful Score: 1
Reviewed by Marta Morrison for TeensReadToo.com
"What occurs in the world of faerie will manifest in the world of man."
This thought was the main theme of GODMOTHER.
This was a dark retelling of the story of Cinderella. When I saw the cover, I thought,"a fun, light read." I was very wrong. This is a story about Lil, an old woman broken in spirit who lives a very meager life in New York. She works in a bookstore, and her life consists of working, eating, and sleeping.
But Lil has a secret. If you saw her back you would see wings. She is actually the fairy who was sent to be Cinderella's godmother, but she made a terrible mistake that night. Lil fell in love with the prince and couldn't help the broken spirit of Cinderella.
Since that night, Lil has been permanently in the world of man, thrown out of the world of faerie, until she can redeem herself and fix what she did to Cinderella.
This book is not for the immature reader. It has a very dark, ambiguous ending. The characters all live lives of despair.
However, this would be a good book to read in a book club or with a group of friends. It needs to be talked about. The writing was extraordinary and the author needs to be commended.
So read GODMOTHER if you would like a more realistic version of the beloved fairy tale.
"What occurs in the world of faerie will manifest in the world of man."
This thought was the main theme of GODMOTHER.
This was a dark retelling of the story of Cinderella. When I saw the cover, I thought,"a fun, light read." I was very wrong. This is a story about Lil, an old woman broken in spirit who lives a very meager life in New York. She works in a bookstore, and her life consists of working, eating, and sleeping.
But Lil has a secret. If you saw her back you would see wings. She is actually the fairy who was sent to be Cinderella's godmother, but she made a terrible mistake that night. Lil fell in love with the prince and couldn't help the broken spirit of Cinderella.
Since that night, Lil has been permanently in the world of man, thrown out of the world of faerie, until she can redeem herself and fix what she did to Cinderella.
This book is not for the immature reader. It has a very dark, ambiguous ending. The characters all live lives of despair.
However, this would be a good book to read in a book club or with a group of friends. It needs to be talked about. The writing was extraordinary and the author needs to be commended.
So read GODMOTHER if you would like a more realistic version of the beloved fairy tale.
