A Grimm Curse

Janna Jennings’ latest book, A Grimm Curse, is set long before the previous two novellas in A Grimm Tales series. Rather than focusing on Andi, a girl from the “real” world, this is a story about the characters in the fairytales – most importantly Cynthia or, whom readers may know her better as, Cinderella.

As in the traditional tale, Cynthia works as a slave for her horrible stepmother and stepsisters – a fate she succumbed to after the death of her father. There is also an upcoming ball at the palace for the prince who is seeking a bride. This, however, is where the similarities end. As well as Cinderella, other fairytales make their appearance, particularly The Frog Prince and Rapunzel. But something is unsettling the characters; they are experiencing bad dreams. Or are they memories?

Cynthia is a much more admirable character than the original Cinderella. She is clever, determined and independent – she does not need a fairy godmother for a start! Neither has she any interest in the prince. If she is going to escape from servitude it will be by her own dexterity, rather than her reliance on someone else to save her.

A Grimm Curse can work as a prequel to the first in the series as it sets the scene that Andi will come across. It can also survive as a stand alone as there is no reference to the events of the other books, however knowledge of these will help the ending make more sense.

Personally I preferred A Grimm Curse to the stories that Jennings’ previously wrote. I had misgivings about the author’s use of fairytales that were not one of those collected by the Brothers Grimm. The tales in this book were, however, so therefore fit better with the title.

I strongly recommend this story to readers – adult and adolescent – who are still in love with fairytales or retellings. It is as though it is written with feminism in mind as the heroine does not need a man to rescue her, thus is in keeping with modern times rather than the time period of the originals.

After following the grandchildren in A Grimm Legacy and Grimm Memories, we now get to enjoy the story of Cynthia Wellington, Andi’s grandmother. In this retelling of Cinderella, we meet a charming young woman with the same golden heart as the Disney princess, but with a good deal more spunk. Gone is the fairy godmother and the friendly mice; they are replaced by Remi, a prince turned into a frog, who strikes an amazing friendship with Cynthia... and I can almost guarantee you will fall in love with both of them.

Frankly, this story was amazing. I adore the twists that Jennings puts in her fairytale adaptations, and how she mixes them in Elorium. This book was classic and modern, heartbreaking and hilarious, and had an ending that made me long for more books in this universe. It answers questions from the other two novels that I didn’t even know I had, and it ties everything together perfectly.

Once again, I kept thinking of the musical Into the Woods as I read it, which is a great compliment as far as I am concerned. The story has got beautiful imagery (that red dress, urgh, give it to me), and Jennings’s prose flowed so well that I felt as though I was watching a movie as I read. I’ll be honest – I read the book within twelve hours... half before bed, and half immediately when I woke up. It was just that good.

I would highly recommend it, even to those who may be unsure about the first two books in the series. It has a different style (perhaps because we only follow Cynthia, whereas in the other two books, we jumped from one character to another) than the other two, and a different focus, although the writing style is still the same. This is definitely her genre, and I’m looking forward to more (similar?) books from this author.

In short: it was wonderful!!!

I would like to thank Patchwork Press and Janna Jennings for the free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.