Not Your Average Fairy Tale
Chantele Sedgwick
Crescent Moon Press
August 1st 2012
Young Adult | Paranormal
Official Blurb -
Armed with wings and a blue wand, being a fairy godmother should be easy ... unless your name is Ash, and you're a dude.
Ash Summerland has it all–good looks, popularity, and the best grades at The Academy of Magical Beings. Ready to complete his last assignment in order to graduate, Ash is confident he will get the apprenticeship he wants. When he opens the letter from the Council, he is shocked to discover he has been assigned to apprentice Lady Shenelle, Keeper of Happy Endings. A.K.A. the head fairy godmother. Ash is forced to grant three wishes to a troubled human girl named Kendall, and ultimately give her a "happy ever after". But Kendall turns out to be more than he bargained for. Still grieving over her father's death, Kendall doesn't want anything to do with him. And worst of all, she doesn't believe in happy endings.
Whimisical. Light and frivolous.
Ash doesn't ring true to my idea of a guy. He is explained as a typical stud. The kind of guy that gets everything without much effort. But Ash is anything but typical. Sure he has the stats but when it comes to his character voice and process of thinking he isn't very masculine. He sounds more like a woman's thoughts and words laid over a studly character. It really got in the way of his character taking on a life of his own. Instead of getting lost in a great story I was reminded at every turn that this was a fictional story being told by a lady author.
Cheesy.
There are so many weird things going on in these pages. One is a mystical folder that contains everything a fairy godmother would need to know about their assignment. Where does all this information come from? Does it just appear out of the ether or did some fairy have to go and observe the assignment to collect it all? One of the life altering facts contained in this folder is that: "You don't like sitting on the grass. You think it's gross." I am not really sure how that particular fact would help a fairy godmother get to know their assignment or be able to determine how to grant their happily ever after.
Yet with this all knowing folder Ash is still sent off to observe his assignment. Why would that be necessary if you know everything? Why bother having the folder if it isn't going to help?
Aside from Ash at times being a bit odd in the loft the story isn't too bad. It is very cutesy and light. The other characters are just fine. Also, the dialog, while not super funny, will make you crack a few smiles.
The ending of the book is both predictable and scripted but then suddenly rather serious. As the pages near the end we are given a glimpse of more to come in this bizarre tale. The entire book was so lighthearted and the drastic change to dark and ominous is a little jarring. There are so many things thrown in here or there. A hodge podge of fairy stories.
Moment Divine:
"If you're really a fairy, do you have, you know . . . wings?"
His jaw clenched, and he looked away.
"I take that as a yes."
"Do you always ask such personal questions of people you barely know?"
"Yes. I ask everyone I meet if they have wings attached to their backs."
