The Stepsister's Tale by Tracy Barrett {Review}

The Stepsister's Tale
by Tracy Barrett
Ages: 12+
Hardcover: 304 pages
Publisher: Harlequin Teen (June 24, 2014)'

Jane Montjoy is tired of being a lady. She's tired of pretending to live up to the standards of her mother's noble family-especially now that the family's wealth is gone and their stately mansion has fallen to ruin. It's hard enough that she must tend to the animals and find a way to feed her mother and her little sister each day. Jane's burden only gets worse after her mother returns from a trip to town with a new stepfather and stepsister in tow. Despite the family's struggle to prepare for the long winter ahead, Jane's stepfather remains determined to give his beautiful but spoiled child her every desire.

When her stepfather suddenly dies, leaving nothing but debts and a bereaved daughter behind, it seems to Jane that her family is destined for eternal unhappiness. But a mysterious boy from the woods and an invitation to a royal ball are certain to change her fate...

In this book the stepsisters live in a big house. But the house is falling apart, they can't even go upstairs without being in danger of falling through the floorboards. The story kicks off with Jane and her sister, Maude, gathering whatever food they can find. After a bit, their mother comes home from the city in a fancy carriage with the news that she has gotten married. Now Jane has a new stepfather and stepsister. Right off you can tell that her stepsister, Isabella, is a spoiled brat. You can also tell that their stepfather doesn't really like them. Isabella is the prettiest girl anyone has ever seen. But she is very young. Their stepfather dies from an illness later on and the family is stuck in winter, in debt.

I love the Grimm Brothers Fairy Tales. I also love spin-offs of those stories, such as The Lunar Chronicles. This story is a spin off of Cinderella. It is kind-of a reverse story. "Cinderella" is a brat and doesn't do any of the chores and dresses in fine silk, while the "ugly stepsisters" do all of the chores and runs around without shoes.

This book is small and so an easy read. This book is also clean, which I LOVED and highly appreciate. Just to let everyone know this is a stand-alone.  I don't know about any future spin-offs but there will be no more off of these particular people.

I thought the book and the idea of it was good, but I thought it lingered too much around the same household chores, and Isabella's many gifts, and not enough on things like, the ball.

Overall it was a really good read and something that took up what would have been an extremely boring day, and turned it into something fun!