Ella and the Enchanted Bookshop: A Contemporary Cozy Fantasy Retelling of Cinderella

by Brittany Fichter

Genres: Cinderella

192 pages, Kindle Edition

Expected publication October 1, 2026

About the author

Brittany lives with her Prince Charming, their little fairy, and their tiny prince in a decently clean castle in whatever kingdom the Air Force has most recently placed them. When she's not writing, Brittany can be found chasing her kids around with a DSLR or belting it in the church choir. You can find more of her work at her website BrittanyFichterFiction.com.

Reviews

[Sarah Ryder]

Full review and rating to come!

[faith_family_fiction · Rating 5 out of 5]

🍂📚 An enchanted bookshop + a horse farm + a modern-day Cinderella retelling?! SIGN ME UP! 🐴✨

If fall is your favorite time of year, this is the kind of book that just feels like it belongs on your fall TBR! 🍁
Brittany Fichter has created a sweet, clean Cinderella retelling that is perfect for teenagers who love clean books, but definitely still fun for adults, too!

Ella is an orphaned young woman doing everything she can to keep her deceased parents’ dream alive by caring for their horse farm. On her birthday—a day her stepmother typically doesn’t even acknowledge—a handsome soldier gives her a book…and he’s not someone she’ll soon forget. ❤️

Then the owner of a bookstore gives Ella another book…but there’s something very unusual about this one. 👀📖

Meanwhile, Ella’s evil stepmother continues to take advantage of her until Ella becomes ill, forcing changes that set her story on an unexpected path.

✨ A horse farm
✨ An enchanted bookshop
✨ A handsome soldier
✨ A Cinderella-inspired story
✨ Clean romance
✨ ALL the cozy fall vibes 🍂

I had so much fun reading this one, and I think it would be especially perfect for readers who enjoy sweet, clean fairy-tale retellings!

📖 Releases October 1st!

I received an ARC copy in exchange for an honest review.

[Mae Conrad · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cinderella is my absolute favorite fairy tale. I’ve been looking forward to reading this new retelling and it certainly did not disappoint. I loved the setting - contemporary but still with magical elements. All the ingredients for a classic Cinderella story were included: evil stepmother who did some pretty dastardly deeds that will have you screaming out loud, condescending stepsisters (with some happy surprises), tons of work for the heroine, a fairy godmother to help her in the moment of deepest despair, and even a sweet moment of returning a “slipper.”

Ella was such a relatable character. She deeply loved the work she did but at times also felt overwhelmed by it. Asher was super sweet - I didn’t feel like he got a lot of page time, but the scenes he was in were cute. Margaret was an awesome character - I’ll be excited to read more about her as the series progresses.

If you love tiny town bookshops, fall vibes, horses or any Cinderella story in general, I’m quite sure you will enjoy this charming read. Oh, and did I mention the darling illustrations?! You can easily read this in an afternoon, you won’t want to put it down!

[Rosalyn Nightshade · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a sweet, cozy, small-town fairytale retelling of Cinderella! I loved it so much! I admit that I was a bit skeptical when Brittany Fichter said that she was writing a cozy fairytale retelling series. I LOVE all of Brittany's books, so I knew that this book would still be nice and I wanted to read it, but I admit that I wanted her to focus on her Pandora Effect series because I love that series (I love urban fantasy) and I really need the next book. I also read every single book in her Classical Kingdoms series and, while those might have been HEA, it was not what I would consider "cozy". After reading this book, though, I take back everything I thought before. It was AWESOME!! The small-town vibes were perfect, the romance between a village girl and a military man was so perfectly portrayed, and I love the relationship between Ella and Asher. I can't wait for the next book in the series! From the small little excerpt at the back of this book, it looks SO GOOD!!! Thank you so much for giving me an ARC of this book, Brittany!

[Kristina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent retelling of Cinderella, with a cozy vibe, strong heroine, dastardly villain and a protective male lead. Ella is an overworked girl on a horse ranch working for her stepmother, Casey. She loves the horses and especially her horse, Nevada. She meets Asher, nephew of Margaret the bookshop owner and they immediately take a liking to each other. Margaret gives her a special book and tells her to read it nightly. Fun retelling of the Cinderella story with a godmother, a mysterious book, and more friends and resources for the heroine than she ever dreamed. I received this arc from the author in order to review the book.

[Kitty Elder · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a little different twist on the Cindarella fairytale. It has all the expected characters...the evil stepmother and wicked stepsister. And the one "trying to be nice" stepsister. A handsome "prince", and the magical godmotherly woman. All set in a contemporary setting on a horse farm. The sto4y is well written and kept my attention from the very beginning. It's one of those books that you don't want to set down until the very end. Definitely a 5 star read.
I received this book free from the author, and this is my honest review

[Amanda Favor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cozy fantasy at its best, this modern retelling of Cinderella is the perfect book to snuggle up with on a cool autumn day! I absolutely loved reading this, it’s such a great twist on the classic tale.

With all the cozy feels of fall, a budding romance, friends that are family, family that should be friendlier, horses, coffee, and books and a bit of magic, Ella and the Enchanted Bookshop is the best way to start the season! I cannot wait for book 2!

I read this as an ARC but my review is voluntary and my thoughts and opinions are my own.

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed Ella and the Enchanted Bookshop. It was the perfect length for a cozy day, with just the right amount of mystery and cinnamon. I’m looking forward to seeing what Margaret and her bookstore get up to in the rest of the series. Everyone needs a Margaret in their lives!

[Bryanna Phillips · Rating 5 out of 5]

✨ARC review✨ I love a good Cinderella story and this one was perfect!! Ahhhh it was such a cute book! Ella and the Enchanted Bookshop had all of the elements that I look for in a Cinderella retelling and was also the perfect fall read! This story is so cozy and sweet, I absolutely loved it.

[Laramee · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this twist on a fantasy Cinderella story! Excited for this new series!

I received an ARC from the author and all opinions are my own.