What a fascinating book. I was impressed by the storyline and the characters were all well written and complex. Where there are complex storylines combined with intriguing characters the reader experience is magnified tremendously. To have a book that is well written as well as entertaining is a delight. Reading is about escaping your world and entering another one. Here I forgot about my own life and was immersed in the world created by the author. I would recommend this book.

This book felt too dense for my taste,  it took a lot to finish it. Although I had high expectations when I started reading it the writing was too slow, at times felt too wordy and kind of crowded, making it at times not interesting to read.

The ending felt rushed.

I had high expectations from the author of the super popular Wicked, and was intrigued with the premise of a retelling of Cinderella, from the step sisters point of view. It was an interesting perspective, and while I didn't love it, enjoyed it enough to finish.

Confessions of an Ugly Step Sister

By: Gregory Maquire

Harper Collins Publishers

William Morrow

General Fiction (Adult)/ Sci-Fi and Fantasy

Publish Date March 17, 2009

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This was an interesting book. It is a different retelling of Cinderella. I like the back information on the step mother and the two step sisters. I really like getting to know them better.  I really liked that the sisters weren't as mean as the original. The step mother wasn't only mean to the step daughter but also to her own.

I also like that the father was killed off. It was fine and I enjoyed it. I gave it 4 stars. It had a slow beginning but picked up as things started happening.

I really expected to enjoy this one. What a letdown. In the same vein as his other fairy tale interpretations, Stepsister tells the Cinderella tale from a different vantage point - the stepsister... I wish I could recommend, but it was drawn out, touched upon storylines that really had no overall consequence and left the ending extremely loose. I will continue to read Maguire, I still love the concept.

This book is a variation of Cinderella but really dragged for me.  I gave up on it several times before I plowed thru just to finish it.  It was kind of all over the place at times.  I just did not like the characters in this book and I believe that is why I did not enjoy it along with the slow pace.

I was surprised but I really enjoyed this book. (I had tried an earlier book by this author which I was unable to finish. The story has some parallels to Cinderella but it is really it's own story. It takes place in Holland. The women in the book are well written complex characters, each with their own motives.

I’m quite intrigued with the premise, a retelling fairytale of Cinderella and her stepsisters.  This is a slow build up and sadly it did not move at a pace that made it entertaining.  Thank you to William Morrow and NetGalley for en ebook copy.  This is my honest review.

What a good book about a different side to the classic Cinderella story. Hearing the story told from the stepsisters Iris and Ruth spins a great version of the story, was interesting to see a different side to it.

This was a very interesting book, retelling the story of Cinderella from the point of view of the ugly stepsisters.  And from the author of Wicked!  I had high expectations before even starting this book, and I did find it a fascinating tale, I loved the way the author wove in the things we know from the story of Cinderella and then turned them on their head to present a cleverly different and surprising story.  I found it was a slow read, and took a long time for me to get into the rhythm of the writing and really enjoy this book but I think this could partly be due to the stresses of the time with COVID and being in quarantine for so long.  Overall I really enjoyed the story.

While this could be a fun story, I feel it took so long to get there. It felt repetitive and drawn out.  I wasn't particularly drawn to any specific characters. I did enjoy the setting and the background story of the tulip investments in Holland.
I would probably give this author another try, there is some potential there for me.

I had heard good things about the writings of the author so when the opportunity to read this came along I took it.  However tried as I might I could not get into it.  I would set it aside, read something else and come back to it to try again.  It is much too wordy and descriptive with a strange cadence fro me.  I was not able to get past the first 40 pages and so cannot give an honest review.

I found this story really interesting. Based on the age old tale of Cinderella. Told through the perspective of Iris, a plain girl, who along with her older sister are hauled by boat from England to Holland. Penniless, the little family seeks a new start in a foreign land. Starting out slow, they begin as housekeepers/ assistants to a local painter. They slowly make their way up through the ranks of society and eventually end up in the home of a wealthy business man and his wife. There they meet a stunningly beautiful and unusual little girl named Clara. A most odd little girl, who is socially isolated, and who’s stunning beauty puts all others to shame. This does somewhat follow the track of the Cinderella story we all know, although this story is darker. I find it really intriguing that we get to hear the inside perspective of one stepsister, and we learn she is more of a victim than a villain. This is a story we know, but it feels fresh because it is told in a much different way. Thank you to Netgalley for the copy in exchange for an honest review.

I love everything Gregory Maguire writes.  His fresh spins on old tales are fun and enlightening.  His spin makes you laugh and wonder what other tales will he take on next?

I had difficulty getting interested in the characters and the storyline of this book.  The pace was too slow for me.

I received this book as part of Book Club Girls Free Book Friday.

I love a great retelling of a commonly known fairy tale. As in real life, there is always another side to the story. For me, this started slow but picked up near the end.

A different take of the Cinderella tale, from the perspective of one of the ugly sisters. I had a difficult time enjoying this. The pace was quite slow until the end.

It took me a while to get in to this book/get used to the writing style but I ended up really liking it!

As a member of the Book Club Girls Facebook group, I received a free electronic copy of Gregory Maguire's <I>Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister</I> and enjoyed it very much. This fictional exposé suggests that much of Cinderella’s story goes unsaid in the children’s version and attempts to rectify the situation.  

While a retelling of a fairytale might seem mundane, especially after a Disney interpretation, this account is not. It is a narrative study of beauty in contrasts that expresses as much, if not more than any animated colors and memorable music can convey. It appears that <I>Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West</I> is not Maguire’s sole claim to fame!

Really enjoyed this book! Thank you for giving me the opportunity to read it ! I was surprised by how interesting it was and really kept my attention.