Charming: A Cinderella Prequel

by Laura Briggs, C. Hawthorne, G.B. Anders

Alternate cover edition for ASIN B00ECN4Z6G

CHARMING is part one in a two-part series (so yes, it does have a cliffhanger ending!) The second volume, CINDERMAID, is also available at Amazon and other major eBook retailers.


Ugly is a great many things. Warty, buck-toothed, crooked-lipped, long-nosed. Plump, squinty, thin-haired, or squat...So what was Jode? Not beautiful. Not plain; no, plain would have been a mercy, a boon. A mere pity is plain for one as young and poor as he....

Homely, awkward farmboy Jode Lintwich has always longed for adventure and greatness: two things which can't be had in his humble village and which don't happen often to anyone like himself. But desperation can change anyone's destiny–and Jode is desperate enough to try.

A visit to a local witch, a few coins, and an inadvertent promise transforms Jode into something beyond his wildest imaginings; and also causes him to be cast out of his own village for good. A wanderer turned loose in the world, Jode must learn the truth about the magic upon him and embrace a destiny greater than any ever before conceived by his mind. If he wants to survive, he must find the one key to his ultimate happiness and escape the danger inflicted upon him by the two-sided coin of the witch's magic.

From a pirate ship to the sands of the desert, from a mercenary knight to a monarch's deceptive pawn, the adventures of Jode-turned-Handsome-Jack are as a varied as his namesake's tales ... and as far from his true fate as he could possibly imagine.

Book One of Hawthorne and Ander's retelling of CINDERELLA spins a tale of multiple threads as varied as their characters' fates: an awkward boy spun into a hero by magic, an unhappy orphan girl languishing in a house filled with secrets, a homely witch of unexpected powers and a coldblooded noblewoman of mysterious past. A tale of magic makers and fortune tellers, of con artists and criminals, bandits and sultans, artists and peasants, servants and monarchs, all bound by the common thread of one boy's existence.

Other Books in The Dark Woods Series:


Cindermaid

First Bite: The Wicked Queen's Tale

Gingerbread House

Snow White's Knight and Magic Mirror

Thorns

Genres: Fantasy, Fairy Tales, Young Adult, Fiction, Fairy Tale Retellings, Retellings

Unknown Binding

First published August 5, 2012

About the author

Laura Briggs is the bestselling author of multiple lighthearted romance books, including the Amazon UK Top 100's LATE TO THE WEDDING and the popular A WEDDING IN CORNWALL series. Since her debut with Pelican Book Group's inspirational novella ONLY IN NOVELS, she has worked both with publishers and as an independent author, as well as partnering with others writers, including working under a pen name in other genres. She loves vintage fashion, classic movies, British melodrama, and spending time with her pets.

Reviews

[Heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

Story was a bit choppy as I was reading thru it, very long winded. Not really as much a cliff hanger as you were just dropped off the cliff at the end. Parts of the book were exceptional, but I found myself bored by other parts. Some parts you really wondered if it had anything to do with the story.

[°~Amy~° · Rating 2 out of 5]

I can not finish this book. I have trudged through, not forming any kind of bond or feeling for the main character, hoping it would end, just to find myself only halfway through the book. Ugh. The premise of the story is good. The execution is not. Moving on to something that I actually look forward to picking up and reading.

[Beth Pieprzica · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love the rewrite of Cinderella - this book focuses more on the prince than Cinderella. More adult version of Cinderella.

[Donna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fairytale Retelling

A fun read full of fairytale adventure. A well written tale with interesting characters. A good start to a fun series.

[TBR Addictions · Rating 5 out of 5]

Poor Jode Lintwich. Living in his small, remote village, he dreams of being a charming, handsome adventurer attaining glory, fame and riches. He listens fervently to every traveler's tale, committing them to memory and parroting them to anyone who will listen. But his heart's desire, his most desperate dream, is to be loved by a maid. He would take any maid, as long as she loved him in return.

But Jode has a problem, well several problems, not least of which is that fact that he's a scrawny, homely and unlikable youth with a face only a mother could love. A boy who's the joke of the entire village because of his awkward attempts at distinguishing himself through bragging and exaggerations. No maid looks at him without derision and scorn, of which Jode is well aware. In all his memories, there's only one girl who's smiled at him with open friendliness. A plain maid. Someone's servant girl. A girl whom Jode has only seen once . . . one quick glance as they passed in the street, but he well remembers her face and the expression of kindness directed toward him.

Jode would do anything to win the heart of a maid and can think of only one solution - A visit to Molly Greery, the witch living in the nearby swamp. He gathers his courage and fights his way through the treacherous path to Molly's cottage, which turns into a "be careful what you wish for" kind of situation. Molly weaves a powerful spell that knocks Jode off his feet and turns his world inside-out. He wakes to find that he's been transformed into Jack. He's now handsome, charming and courageous, but the spell comes with a curse - His life is tied to the plain maid and he can love no other. To do so means death. From this point on in the story, Jode/Jack follows his destiny through desert bandits, dragons, a fairy pond and other impossible challenges to rule a kingdom, find his one true love and break the curse to save his life.

Charming is one of those books you wish would never end. At 545 pages, it's a fabulously lengthy, imaginative and thrilling dark fairy tale filled with adventure, danger, valor, romance and most of all magic.

This is actually the second time I've read the book, and it just gets better. The first go-round, I was in such a dither to see where the ending would take me, I hurried through it. This time, I took my time to read every delicious word. I don't think I can sufficiently express to you how amazing Charming is. C. Hawthorne and G.B Anders are truly master storytellers. It's actually one of the best books I've read in quite a while, so I'm giving Charming: A Cinderella Prequel a wholehearted 5 Star Review!

[Kirsten · Rating 5 out of 5]

First off, I love retellings of fairy tales, so that has already slanted me in favor of this book. The tale is that of the Prince in the Cinderella story who is actually an ugly man named Jode who visits a witch, Molly, asking for good looks, fame and love. He finds himself handsome, driven out of his village as unrecognizable and the murderer of Jode, and "cursed" with adventure and fortune. He has plenty of adventures and he keeps getting and losing fortunes, and he CANNOT die, but he is cursed because his destiny is only with the one plain girl whose face he saw once and who he does not know. He cannot be with any other woman, and that is his curse. The plot line takes a break to introduce us to Eloise who is the orphan daughter who lives with her step mother and the two daughters she is trying to marry off. There is some mystery behind Carlotta and her origins, and the death of her two husbands including Eloise. Eloise is living the life of a servant, but loves from a a far and then tells the truth and the young man disappears. He was intended for a step sister who rejected him. The story grows more interesting as Jode/Handsome Jack/Prince R longs to just be plain old Jode but is unable to because of the spell and the curse, and so he finds himself told he has to to marry and throw a few balls for all the eligible young women in the kingdom......

The next book is actually the story of Cinderella, but this book certainly intrigued me and held me attention. If you love fairytales, these authors have a few more of them, and I have become interested enough to probably delve in the next one. The teaser at the end caught my fancy.

[Heidi Garrett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Made Some of My Favorite Reads in 2014 as My Favorite Fairy Tale Retold

This is an amazingly intricate retelling of Cinderella. The writing style is very distinct, probably best suited for readers who have a thing for prose. Charming is more a Part One to Cindermaid than a prequel. They are about equal length... long. The story is very measured. No rushing here, so don't pick it up when you're in the mood for something action-packed or a quick read. However, if you're in the mood to linger, and enjoy some exquisitely detailed storytelling, and you love fairy tale retellings, don't miss this one. We get a full history of Prince Charming, and Cinderella's (Eloise/Elle) story is particularly wretched. Very unique.

Note: I came back to up this rating to 5-stars after reading Cindermaid. These two books: Charming and Cindermaid are more Parts One and Two. They both must be read to appreciate this incredible retelling!

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a clever and interesting story. It is the story of how the prince in the Cinderella story became the prince. He started out as a homely and poor farm peasant. The imagination for the story was wonderful, and Jode/Jack were very believable. Some of the story seemed at times to assume that the reader could intuit things, and yet I wasn't quite sure what was happening. I don't know if that was due to poor reading on my part or the authors assuming too much. Also, they tended to start sentences (more accurately, sentence fragments) with "Who..." rather than correctly connect them to the previous sentence. In spite of this, the book was very enjoyable, and I actually bought the second book to find out how the story worked out. Even though we know the traditional and Disney versions of Cinderella, this one was fresh and different, and so I wanted to know how it worked out. Peolple who like historical fiction with a bit of fantasy will enjoy this book.

[Tracy Barton · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVED this story!!! Yes, it's a bit long-winded, but I tend to like books like that, as long as they don't wander off-track. I felt like every single bit of this story was crucial. The character development is amazing, and other details (descriptions of locations, clothing, people's looks, behaviors & mannerisms, etc.) are FABULOUS!!! THIS is what writing should be!!!

I disagree with another reviewer, who said it didn't end as a cliffhanger. I totally feel that it did--luckily, I got this book as an e-book, free, on Amazon.com, and I finished it just in time to find the 2nd installment available on Amazon.com, and for only $.99!!! Can't wait to start it today!!!

I will definitely continue to follow Ms. Briggs' writing, as well as her partner with these books, Sarah Steinbrenner.

[The Reading Hammock | Erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was (is) a great story. I'm a little miffed that the description didn't mention it was part 1 of 2, and that you had to get the second book to finish the story. But the story is with picking up both. There are pleasant twists and turns along the way through this first half of our story. It almost has a vague "Once Upon a Time" feeling to it, in that it makes you reassess what you thought you knew of Cinderella's origin story, but much more, prince charming's back story. I'm excited to see how this will all play out and come together in the end!

[Monique Timberlake-brady · Rating 5 out of 5]

This did not end up being the kind of book I thought it was going to be, and for that I am extremely grateful. I loved this book and the story. I didn't like the author's writing style initially--though I thought the story was good--but it grew on me, or got better, and I ended up really enjoying it. It was actually quite dark, not at all the light reading I thought it was going to be. If you like fairy tales but are looking for a fresh perspective, this is it!

[Allison · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting and absorbing take on the Cinderella story. Seeing how Charming became well...Charming was completely different. Usually not much interest is taken in his character in the story, he's mostly a back-drop for Cinderella and in this story he actually takes center stage. Unexpected backstory for both characters. Really enjoyable. Started reading the 2nd book right away.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

The writing for this book was really good, if long-winded - but it shouldn't have been marketed as a stand-alone book. There was no cliffhanger at the end, just another chapter ending. No plot arc - it was almost like the story was just ended after a certain number of pages, and will continue in the next book. Pretty unsatisfying.

[Mellie B · Rating 4 out of 5]

If this is a cliffhanger, I'm at the bottom of the ravine! Great book, but the ending was as if the author wrote one book, then cut it in half, and called it two. I was in the midst of a chapter, knowing full well that the book would end soon, turned the page, and BAM! No more story. Just the ad for the sequel. Neat story, though, about how Prince Charming came to be.

[Trudi Jorda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Started of a bit odd-- I guess that's the right word. But as you read beyond the first part as Jode the self pitying little guy into the action you become engrossed in all the action! I was not expecting this kind of Cinderella story and am glad I stayed for the ride-- most of the story is about Prince Charming! I look forward to seeing how things all work themselves thru!

[Danielle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am so happy I read this! What a fresh take on an old tale. The author delves into a detailed history of Prince Charing's origin, and later introduces Cinderella, making you get to know her just enough and then, before you know it, you're at the end of the book and dying to read the next one. Very impressed with the style of writing (much more elaborate than the typical fairy tale reteller).

[Allison · Rating 4 out of 5]

The beginning was a little slow, but by the end I was ready to curse out the authors for leaving me hanging! I got this book when it was offered for free on Amazon, but I plan on buying the next book in the series - which is not something I do often.

[Cate · Rating 3 out of 5]

well written, but for a prequel very long-winded.

[Melissa Bee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow! I guess my imagination just got stretched.. . . in a very good way. You've never met a Prince Charming like Jode/Jack/Prince Revieul like Laura Briggs' Prince Charming