This is a book that some people will absolutely love and others will sit on the fence. I’m very much that person perched on a railing wobbling from side-to-side.

And here we go. TL;DR:
✨ 13 years after those wee glass loving, pumpkin riding scamps say ‘I do’
✨ Cinders but make it extra depressing
✨ An alternative world where Prince Charming is a proper asshole
✨ A ~murder~ plot

Normally I wouldn’t feel the need to introduce the two main characters in a very well known Disney film but, you know, consistency and all that.

Ya’ll know Cinderella. Escaped her previous life and living it up in her castle surrounded by those mice (I’ll come onto those later) with two wee kiddy winks in tow. HOWEVER [insert dramatic noise here] – all is not as it seems and things very quickly fall apart.

Enter Prince Charming. The one who was supposed to be her true love except he’s a massive gaslighting asshole who’s probably had sex with the entire household staff. Poor Cinders never stood a chance.

Let’s start on the bits I was a massive fan of:

｡ Cinderella. I grew up with Disney films so this grabbed me instantly. It’s actually kinda refreshing to see the story from a different side. The side where they didn’t live happily ever after.
｡ The concept. This book’s twist is excellent and I didn’t see it coming or I just wasn’t paying attention. Yet it tackles depression and the impact that divorce has on someone’s mental wellbeing head-on.
｡ The banter between the Fairy Godmother and the Witch was perfect. Those little moments were a bloody delight.

And now the bits that just weren’t for me:

｡ It was hard to keep up with. I found myself rereading bits and literally losing the plot.
｡ With that in mind I just, uh, lost interest in the middle. I tried – I really did – but I just got a little bored.
｡ I just didn’t love the characters. Cinderella’s portrayal was the only one I could really connect with whilst the rest of them just sat on the sidelines for me. And then there are the bloody mice. These little cretins just seemed to be there for the sake of it and I most definitely struggled to take in their story. I get it – they’re a main character in the fairytale but they ain’t no Gus Gus now are they?

The book isn’t for me, but it has some wonderful poignant parts that’ll stick with me and some will absolutely fall in love with 💕

This is the tale of what happened after the happily ever after........perhaps not!

I love Cinderella and am always up for a retelling or a story that explores the story after the original ones has ended.

I never spoil in my reviews, so i certainly won't here, but this book was a lot of fun, it just goes to show that sometimes the grass is not greener on the other side.

If you are into re tellings, then this is a good choice to explore.

The only gripe i have, and it is an aesthetic one, the cover is awful, could have been so much more!

The Charmed wife by Olga Grushin is adult retelling of the time after Cinderella got her man the prince and lived happily after.
After 13 and a half years of marriage to the Prince and two children later Cinderella is had enough of the marriage. The Prince and herself live separate lives and live-in different side of the castle. He never sees his children and they do not talk to each other. She wants more to her life. She wants the prince dead but when she meets a witch but, thing don’t always go to plan.
The story starts the same fairy-tale style, with snippets of other tales thrown in. It is beautifully written book but then for the second half of the story it gets too modern with talk of divorce and custody which I wasn’t expecting at all. I also found this book hard to get into. It wasn’t the magical tale that we all know and love and this is definitely NOT for children.

I recieved a free digital copy of the book from Hodder & Stoughton via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

The guys at Hodder offered me this arc outright and i was so happy, it sounds amazing and i love a good fairytale. And this takes place 13.5 years after the original Cinderella tale ends, at the marriage of Cinderella and the Prince.

I made it 18% through this before giving up, honestly i really didn't like Cinderella but tbh we didn't actually get to realy know her as a princess, so far we saw a secret meeting with the witch and then the fiary god mother turns up to stop her finishing a spell...

We've seen at least two flashbacks and a ton of useless (in my opinion) info about the mice. I didn't need to know this information, it didn't enrich the story in any way that i coukd see, but it was pages worth of a mouses pov, whoch just confuses me.

And mostly we've seen Cinderella complaining about how her kids aren't kind and that she wants her chesting husband dead - cheating seen through the last flashback/memory - and I don't want that... I liked Prince Charming, i don't want to see him cheating on his wofe 😔

Structurally this didn’t really work for me. The concept is interesting – what happens after happily ever after? But I have seen this done in a YA book – Just Ella by Margaret Petersen Haddix – and I think it was done better there. That said, this does have some delightful touches such as looking at what other characters are up to – including the mice. A subversive, literary take on Disney’s reimagining that almost pays off.

Cinderella and the Prince Charning lived happily ever after......or did they?!

Warning - if your looking for Disney you might not want to read this!!!!

I was so up for this but after I read I felt like someone had royally burst my bubble of the idea I had in my head of what could've happened to Cinderella and her HEA!!!!  This could've been a lot of womens story but I found I couldn't seperate!

Saying this the writing was so good, there was plenty of dark stuff, a confused switch from a fairytale world to modern day NYC which I am still puzzling over and fun stuff like the mice and their now family from the original fairytale (special mention to Queen Gertrude!!!)

It was actually a good story and totally different to what I normally read. Was nice to get out my comfort zone!

This wasn't my thing. Although the plot definitely had potential, it was poorly executed. I had a hard time getting acquainted with the writing style, and therefore couldn't get into it at all.

This is the fairytale of Cinderella but not as you know it, she’s been married to Prince Roland for thirteen and a half years and happily ever after?? Maybe, maybe not.

This is a clever story as subversive as any of the original fairytales but Disney sanitised fluff (not that I don’t enjoy that!) this most certainly is not. It’s extremely well written, the style and descriptions are lively, colourful and engaging. It’s funny in places with plenty of modern day references that really stand out. There are fun elements like the stories of Brie and Nibbles, Cinderella’s mice and their descendants and I especially like Queen Gertrude the leader of the Valkyrie mice! There’s talking, rushing teapots with an endless supply of tea, there’s a fairy godmother and magic mirrors. However, there’s a very dark side too. The prince is ... well, not very princely in his behaviour, in fact he’s a cad and a bounder! There’s lie built upon lie in an empty cardboard life and sex, drugs and rock n’roll. Ok, I lied about the rock n’roll. There’s dark magic aplenty, right paths, wrong paths, reality versus fantasy, enchantment, curses and wicked deviousness. What, you expected a happy ending? As it reaches its conclusion that’s where the story reveals its particular, twisty cleverness as the truth of two worlds colliding reveals itself to one and all and the ‘princess’ makes some realisations and sees things how they really are.

Overall, an enjoyable and different read which transports you to some magic in a land not too far away and allows you to shut of the reality of right now for a few entertaining hours. Great fun with a good message too! Recommended.

With thanks to NetGalley and Hodder and Stoughton for the arc for an honest review.

Started to read this and wasn't sure whether it was my type of book but got to the end and quite enjoyed it. The story starts 13 years after the wedding of Cinderella and Prince Charming and all might not be what it seems. Lots of fairy tale references and very creative the story goes back and forward through time and place.
Some parts of the tale are quite dark and the book is quite magical. A modern day fairytale about the realities of marriage and romance.

I love when authors asks what if questions when referring to fairytales, I can just imagine what if Cinderella can’t bear children? What if the prince doesn’t treat her the way the fairytale makes you believe he would? What if the castle is full of ghosts? What if Cinderella stopped loving her Prince and hated the dream that isn’t all happily ever after?

The Charmed Wife asks a simple question: what happens when the magic goes out of Cinderella's marriage? Feeling unloved and let down by the false dream she has been sold, our main character seeks out a witch to cast a spell to kill her fairytale prince. Just as they are about to cast it however, the fairy godmother shows up and urges her to look back on her relationship and whether things are as bad as they seem.

I really liked the social conversations that the author was able to bring about, by discussing the ideas about how women are ‘supposed’ to find their happiness in their families, the importance of social hierarchies and marrying up. About feeling unimportant in our own lives, and questioning whether those who claim to love us, do so because of who we are, or because of who they think we are.

I did find some of the writing a little weird, and found myself having to go back and reread paragraphs, as the story did jump around a little. I am not sure if certain part or characters brought anything necessary to the story.
Originality is probably a bit over-rated. This is not the first revisit to Cinderella out there, and won't be the last. But it’s always fun to see an author put their own spin on old classics and make them something new a fresh which is what was done with this book.

I was offered this book to review and loved the premise which is essentially what happens after the words "and they all lived happily ever after". Olga Grushin certainly didn't disappoint. This novel is an easy read that is written very much in the fairy tale tradition. Don't expect everything to be smooth sailing though, this novel is far more intriguing. Saying more will spoil the plot so grab a copy and enjoy a different take on "happily ever after".

I would first like to thank Hodder & Stoughton for sending me an ARC of this fantastic book.

We all know the stories and some of us have based our life on living that ‘happily ever after’. Granted were not all princesses but we all hope to find that one person we can sail off into the sunset with and who loves us unconditionally, but have you ever wondered what happens to the princess after? Well sit back and let Olga Grushin take you on a dark and twisted tale of her own.

I definitely did not expect the story to plan out how it did even after reading the synopsis. Obviously I knew it wouldn’t be all fairies and unicorns, the sunshine happiness we’ve come to receive from fairy tales but Grushin delivers a story that is unusual, strange and unlike any retelling I’ve ever read. This is Grimm’s turned up 1000 notches!

I enjoyed the beginning when Cinderella was surrounded by the witch and her Fairy God Mother, explaining her life and what events had taken place since she said I do. I felt that both magical beings played the devil and the angel, advising and trying to convince Cinderella what she should do for the best. In particular I thought the witches part in the story was fascinating, I loved the different ways she appeared and her back story was compelling.

What I found clever and a great addition were the links to the other fairy tales. None of the characters were what they seemed, villains were portrayed in better lights and heroes clearly had their dark side. It made me realise there’s a little darkness inside everyone, even a princess.

I will admit that I got a little lost when the modern world started to emerge. I felt like Cinderella trying to work my way through the fog so it brought the pace of the book down a little. Luckily all was explained when the two worlds clashed together. This left me questioning what was reality and what was fantasy, which I would like to think was Grushin’s entire plan? It was a very cunning way to round it all off.

This was a great retelling and I would love to see more from Grushin, hopefully she will explore some of the other stories she gave a nod to in this. After all happily ever after isn’t the end, it’s just the beginning….

The charmed wife is a twist on the fairytale Cinderella. It’s set 13 years or so after she and the handsome Prince got married and lived happily ever after...or not quite.
An interesting idea that’s was fun to read and a nice change.
A twist on the classic fairytale

I have just finished this book and I am feeling a little stunned if I am honest! I love a twist on an original fairytale so the premise of 13.5 years later really intrigued me.

Once I started I found the story a little slow going but once the author started to explore the marriage history from the eyes of Cinderella I was fascinated and couldn't put the book down.

I really loved the parallels with our modern world and the twist towards the end where fairytale and real life meet. I especially enjoyed how the author explored how hopes and dreams can swiftly become nightmares!

There were sone wonderful nods to other fairy stories and also how some of those turned out in later years too.

I thoroughly recommend this story to all die-hard fairytale fans I think its the little dose of reality we all sometimes need!

What an unexpected treat this was. I was expecting something dark and whimsical, and there was definitely both darkness and whimsy here, but there was also anger, feminism and subversion of what happy ever after actually means, adding up to a clever, inventive modern fairytale.

The Charmed Wife begins long after Cinderella and the Handsome Prince have begun their happy ever after. Our heroine lives a life of balls and tea parties, of enchanted mice and gorgeous gowns. She has two children and the perfect husband. At least, that's what she tells herself, that's what everyone says. So what if she hardly ever sees him, if every day blurs into the next, if life is one blurry, bland pink bubble? And yet, here she is, standing at a crossroads at midnight, asking a witch to murder her husband. What brought her to this moment? And what happens next?

Hold on tight and forget everything you think you know about fairytales as Grushin sweeps us off on an adventure unlike anything you've read before. At times grimmer than Grimm, with deft humour and some excellent storytelling, The Charmed Wife recasts traditional fairytales for the modern day. A thoughtful, original retelling. Highly recommended.

This twist in Cinderella is a lot of fun, and whilst revisionist fairy tales are nothing new, this rattles along slowly broadeneing its focus until there is barely any fairy tale left. That is the point. Its easy to deconstruct Cinderella to point out that three dances, and a show fitting is no basis for a wedding, but to also take to task all the protagonists motives with initially humour and then a broader purpose is a little trickier.

Grushin has a lightness of touch which means the extreme feminist twists that the book latterly engages in (including the core question between the real difference between a Fairy Godmother and a Witch), slide by naturally. There is a lso a running subplot in the first half of the book that sees an entire rise and fall of a mouse civilisation from Cinders initial mouse friends whose lifespan would not allow a long relationship (but nevertheless the trip through revolution and disillusionment with the vapid heroine is very amusing). I wasn't initially sure about the second half completely having the setting fall apart, but in retrospect it works and frankly I wasn't really up for just a deconstructed fairyland for the rest of the book. Nevertheless the Sleeping Beauty cameo is very well done, as is the jazz age twist on the twelve dancing ladies.

Originality is probably a bit over-rated. This is not the first revisionist Cinderella out there, and won't be the last. Any serious dramatisation of the tale has to wrangle with its inconsistencies and anachronisms (I have always been very fond of the solution in the Drew Barrymore starrer Ever After). But doing it well, with wit and purpose is a lot harder. This does it pretty well.

This is a based off of Cinderella. I liked it but I didn’t love it. The writing style was okay and I found it a pretty quick read. The first half I really enjoyed as Cinderella fairytale happy ever after falls apart and I was sucked into the book. The middle was a little weird and I didn’t like it as much as there just seemed a lot going off. I almost didn’t finished the book after this section as I lost most of my interest, then suddenly we are in New York modern day which just felt wrong. The twist of it all being in the head of the books Cinderella wasn’t what I was expecting and it didn’t feel natural. However the final pages were enjoyable for me and I did like the end. I enjoyed the fairytale aspects that it had and I liked a couple of the characters but overall I don’t think I will read it again and I don’t think this is a book that will stay with me.

Romantic stories usually end with the heroine marrying her handsome Prince and living happily ever after, in the case of fairy tales often without getting to know each other first which is a tad unrealistic. This skilfully plotted fantasy takes the Cinderella story to a point some 13 years after the marriage to a point where the happy couple haven’t communicated for years and looking after their 2 children is not enough to prevent Cinders going out of her mind with boredom. So much so that the story opens with her meeting a witch on a windswept moor to arrange his death. Will she go through with it and what exactly has driven her to this point? Nothing is as it seems in this feminist fantasy.

I received an ARC of this book thanks to NetGalley and publisher Hodder & Stoughton in exchange for an honest review.
The Charmed Wife poses an interesting question: what happens when the magic goes out of Cinderella's marriage? Feeling unloved and embittered by the false dream she has been sold, our main character seeks out a witch to cast a spell to kill her fairytale prince. Just as they are about to cast it however, the fairy godmother shows up and urges her to look back on her relationship and whether things are as bad as they seem.

I thoroughly enjoyed the first half of this book. It has a dreamy, fairytale style sprinkled with humor and thought-provoking imagery. It takes an interesting look at what life for Cinderella would actually be like, and I particularly enjoyed the asides about the saga of her two pet mice. That honestly was my favourite part of it and I wish it had continued throughout the entire book.

Halfway through however, this book changes gear and here it got a bit less enjoyable for me. A lot of different fairytales start appearing and this was great at first but quickly became crammed and a bit tiresome. I felt like the plot had gotten away from the author and I wanted to get back to it. The ending I cannot discuss without spoilers so:

*SPOILER WARNING*

I think the decision to have it all be a potential delusion could have worked a bit better but it was woven in so messily into the multiple fairytale stuff that was going on, it didn't quite hit the mark for me. And personally I would have preferred to stay in the fairytale world as I found that more insightful and that it worked better as a metaphor. The final scene with the prince revealing he never got what he wanted either is very powerful, and it doesn't need the real world muddying the waters.

*END OF SPOILER WARNING*

Having said that, this book was incredibly creative and I found myself very absorbed and invested in the story. It is unlike anything I have read before in a really great way, and I was completely enchanted seeing where it would go. It's definitely a powerful book and one I know will stick with me for a while.

Overall Rating: 4/5 stars

An incredible fantasy depicting what actually happens post the happy-ever-after. A fairytale like no other!