Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister
The story follows Iris as she takes care of her mentally-challenged older sister Ruth and her stepsister Clara. Having fled from England to Haarlem, Iris often contemplates the value of beauty and ugliness. While caring for her sisters and keeping the peace between Clara and Margarethe, her mother, Iris spends time apprenticing with a local painter known as The Master, and his apprentice, Caspar. On the verge of losing everything after a sudden drop in their stock market, Margarethe devises a plan for Iris and Ruth to attend the ball. She leaves out Clara because she knows full well that if the girl wed the prince, she would abandon her family and they'd end up in the poorhouse.That night the fairy tale of Cinderella and her pumpkin carriage is spun, and the next morning her prince comes to collect her.
1 Star - This book was quite a disappointment. The premise is very interesting and I was looking forward to reading the book. Unfortunately the book moved at a glacial pace and was only interesting every once in a while. This doesn't seem like an ideal quality for a book to me. Few of the characters were very likable. The way the story unfolded was very jolted and inconsistent in pace. I would not recommend it.
The Final Verdict : A Fairytale Failure
