How to Summon a Fairy Godmother - Laura J. Mayo - ★★★★.¼

AUTHOR: Laura J. Mayo

SERIES: Fairies and Familiars, #1

GENRE: Fantasy-Retelling.

PUBLICATION DATE: October 8, 2024

RATING: 4.25 stars.

In a Nutshell: A clever retelling of Cinderella’s tale from the point of view of one of her “wicked stepsisters”. Doesn’t stop at being a retelling but goes much beyond. Snarky, funny, magical. Excellent character and plot development. First of a planned duology(?) but no cliffhanger ending. A fabulous debut. Much recommended!

Plot Preview:

Lady Theodosia Balfour (Theo) has long hated her stepsister, the beautiful Beatrice who snagged the prince at the ball. Now that she is the princess, Beatrice has revealed to everyone her travails at the hands of her wicked stepfamily who treated her like a slave. Theo knows that the truth is *slightly* different, but who will believe her? Worse, Theo’s mother has forced her to be engaged to the Duke of Snowbell, an old curmudgeon with atrocious behaviour.

When Theo discovers the secret means that Beatrice used to go to the ball, she immediately plans to follow the same method: summon a fairy godmother and ask for her help. This should be easy, right? Wrong! What follows involves plenty of magic, mischief, mishaps, and mayhem.

The story comes to us in Theo’s third-person perspective.

Bookish Yays:

🧚🏻 A Cinderella retelling that begins with the fairy tale and spins off to so much more! I loved the twist on the original, and more than that, I loved how it doesn’t just invert the traditional tale (turning the good into bad and vice versa), but deepens the whole experience with new layers. BTW, I love how the word “Cinderella” is never used in the book.

🧚🏻 The initial quarter or so, which serves as a foundation for the main plot by recounting the well-known Cinderella story from Theo’s perspective. I enjoyed the wittiness of this section, as well as the glimpse of Theo’s frustration with the unfairness of it all. It establishes the key characters’ personalities well.

🧚🏻 Theo. Such an amazing and complicated character! Just like some people see the good in everyone, Theo sees the bad in everyone. Her selfishness and obnoxiousness is obvious from the start. But as she is the protagonist, I also wanted to root for her. Seeing her character grow in maturity as the book proceeds is a delight. Those who want likeable characters in the lead might find her annoying, but I love such grey characters, all the better when she has a strong spine and an equally strong mouth.

🧚🏻 Fairy Godmother Cecily is everything you would wish for in a fairy tale, and more. With her familiars Kaz and Phineas (both fabulous characters), Cecily ensures that her role isn’t limited to the typical fairy-godma job profile of providing boons and then disappearing. She’s one of the best fairy godmothers I’ve read in fiction.

🧚🏻 The character development of all “Cinderella” characters, whether the two stepsisters or the wicked stepmother or even Cinderella (“Beatrice” in this book) and her dad. Each has a novel trait that distinguishes them from their fairy-tale versions. Not a single one of these characters is a hundred per cent good or bad and each holds many secrets. Loved the depth of the detailing!

🧚🏻 Plenty of magic and plenty of magical beings as well. The magic is delightful; the magical beings are complicated but entertaining!

🧚🏻 Excellent humour throughout, with plenty of tongue-in-cheek comments, witty repartee, and pseudo-slapstick scenes.

🧚🏻 Though overall light in tone, there are many scenes where sadder emotions dominate the narrative. These are sombre and thought-provoking. But when the story gets heavy, the fun quotient keeps things balanced.

🧚🏻 I loved the way the plot stressed on the importance of “breaking the cycle” on the path to happiness. So very necessary!

🧚🏻 While I am usually not a fan of chapter titles, this book has some really amusing and quirky titles that further add to the lightheartedness.

🧚🏻 The “romance” in the book never supersedes the main plot. Moreover, while there are two potential love interests, we never see Theo torn between her feelings for them. Her attraction towards both is written equally without any defensiveness or justification. I found this writing choice refreshing. High time a FMC has two beaus and enjoys them equally without wondering about the future! Her choice at the end made this whole subplot even better.

🧚🏻 Quite a few well-handled themes and tropes in the book, including found family (with an unusual family), childhood trauma (emotional and reflective), abandonment issues (not a common trope in retellings but excellently handled). There’s even the one-bed trope for those who enjoy it.

🧚🏻 The cover: Irresistibly eye-catching and so well-suited to the plot!

Bookish Nays:

🎃 Some of the hidden plot points were a bit too obvious to me as a reader even though the character was in the dark. This genre is anyway known to be fairly predictable so this isn’t a major issue for the most part. But a couple of the developments were so blatantly leading that I couldn’t accept that the character in question didn’t *understand* what was happening.

🎃 One scene concerning an animal was a bit too gruesome. In a plot that was otherwise mostly sweet and funny, this event felt needlessly dark. Perhaps it should have kept the brutality more subtle because it spoiled the cosy vibe of the book for me.

All in all, this is the kind of book that delivers what it promises. It might not be earth-shattering or literary, but it does complete justice to its genre, and that is a big achievement, all the more if you keep in mind that this is a debut novel.

This is the first book of the ‘Fairies and Familiars’ series, currently planned as a duology. This first book has no cliffhanger and all the key arcs are complete. I am not even sure that a sequel is needed, but I won’t complain as I had loads of fun reading this. Whatever is planned for the next book and whoever it has in the lead, I’m definitely on board. (I have a feeling the narrative will shift to a particular *unfamiliar familiar*; time will tell if my guess is right.)

Definitely recommended to cosy fantasy lovers who enjoy retold fairy tales and grey characters.

My thanks to Orbit Books for providing the DRC of “How to Summon a Fairy Godmother” via NetGalley. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.