BOOK REVIEW: LADY TREMAINE BY RACHEL HOCHHAUSER

 GOODREADS SUMMARY

A widow twice-over, Etheldreda is now saddled with the care of her two children, a priggish stepdaughter, and a razor-taloned peregrine falcon. Her entire life has become a ruse, just like the manor hall they live grand and ornate on the exterior, but crumbling, brick by brick, inside. Fierce in the face of her misfortune, Ethel clings to her family’s respectability, the lifeboat that will float her daughters straight into the secure banks of marriage.

When a royal ball offers the chance to secure the future she desperately desires, Etheldreda must risk her secrets, pride, and limited resources in pursuit of an invitation for her daughters—only to see her hopes fulfilled by the wrong one. As an engagement to the heir of the kingdom unfolds with unnerving speed, she discovers a sordid secret hidden in the depths of the royal family, forcing her to choose between the security she’s sought for years and the wellbeing of the feckless stepdaughter who has rebuffed her at every turn.

As if Bridgerton met Circe, and exhilarating to its core, Lady Tremaine reimagines the myth of the evil stepmother at the heart of the world’s most famous fairytale. It is a battle cry for a mother’s love for her daughters, and a celebration of women everywhere who make their own fortunes.

TEE'S THOUGHTS

I am not much of a fantasy reader ( I say that now, but I seem to be reaching for more every time I buy a book, maybe it is because the world is a shitshow at this moment and it takes me to other places ), but I have always loved retellings of fairytales or mythology.

A fellow bookstagrammer was highlighting Lady Tremaine by Rachel Hochhauser on her account a week or so ago, and I liked what she had to say about it, so I was off to NetGalley to see if I could get a hold of a copy of it. Lucky for me, I was able to  ( Thank you McMillan Audio ) and she was right, it is a good story.

It is a retelling, sort of, of Cinderella, except there is no fairy godmother, no pumpkin coach, or glass slippers. In fact it was a bit of a dark story, and even though it took place in a land long ago, it was fairly modern.

I liked how the author spun her story, she kept the basics of Cinderella, but remade it from the Stepmother's POV. It is a story of pushing through, and surviving what has come your way.

Lady Tremaine has had it hard, she has two daughters by her first husband and is taking care of her stepdaughter ( Ella ) from her last husband. She wants the best for them, despite the lot they have been given with the death of each husband. She does lean a bit more toward her own daughters, which I am sure most parents might, over Ella. Ella, isn't the Cinderella of the fairy tale, she was given much growing up and has a tendency to be a bit lazy, while the other two girls work hard helping their mother. While I wasn't a fan of Lady Tremaine, I did question how I might be if I were in her situation, but I will say she is not the stepmother we often see her as.

The one thing that I did not enjoy, and it is minor, is that I felt at times the author got bogged down in detail, making the story lag in places, but I kept listening, refusing to hit the pause button on the audio ( and stay up until after 2 one morning ) so it is hard to say it bothered me a lot. What I did like, was her details to hawking, I always like watching the Hawks at our annual Medieval Festival and she did teach me a lot.  The ending? Well let me just say, I did not see it coming, and it was a bit of a surprise to me. 

Lady Tremaine is well written, enjoyable and full of strong women, the perfect retelling of a loved fairytale.