The last book I read was Mermaid by Carolyn Turgeon, and I really enjoyed it. Which is why I immediately started this book, by the same author. I can't say that I enjoyed this one as much though.
OK, so this is about an old lady named Lil. Lil works daily at a used bookstore shelving and cleaning, and spends her nights lonely in her apartment, remembering her old life. Lil has a secret - she used to be Cinderella's fairy godmother. But on the night that she was supposed to bring Cinderella to the ball to meet Prince Charming, she went to the ball herself instead - and has been living out her days as a human as punishment. When she meets a vibrant young woman named Veronica, she sees instantly what a great match she'd make for Lil's employer, George. And if she can successfully pair them up, maybe it will be her redemption and she'll be allowed to come back to the fairy realm.
I really loved the first half of this book. It alternates between Lil's present life, and her fairy life up to the night of Cinderella's ball. I liked the glimpses into Lil's fairy world - it was pretty and exciting and vivid. I enjoyed Lil's present-day life as well - her working in a used bookstore, her conversations with George and (later) Veronica. It all had that fairy-tale feel to it.
Something went wonky during the last 100 pages... Lil suddenly seems more like a crazy person that anything else. And while I still enjoyed her friendship with Veronica, internally Lil was turning into a mess. I just spent the last 100 pages of the book half confused and half frustrated. And now that I'm done with the book, I still don't know 100% what exactly just happened. I hate that.
Since I enjoyed Mermaid so much, and I did enjoy most of this book, then I'll probably read whatever else Turgeon writes. I just wish that this story had gone a little differently.
Sarah Says: 2.5 stars
Sounds like we had similar experiences with our second reads by a beloved author. Hmph!
ReplyDeleteI hate it when an initially good book has a mushy ending. The beginning sounds so promising, though. Great review!
ReplyDeleteI think I'd rather spend the first half of a book struggling and wondering if I should keep reading and then be wow'd by the rest of it than the other way around.
ReplyDeleteI hate when you start out loving a book and end up all confused. I think I'm going to half to check out this author. Especially if one of her books confused you but you can still speak highly of it and the author. :)
ReplyDeletei got this in my tbr. i should put it higher in my pile
ReplyDeleteThat's exactly what I thought when I finished this! Such promise just seemed to fizzle at the end. I had basically written the author off, but your positive review of Mermaid has me rethinking that.
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like a whole lot of fun so that really sucks about the ending! I may try to get it from the library.
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