Enspelled by Aya Ling Review

 For Christmas I received a lot of books from my family. My sister gave me the book Enspelled by Aya Ling, the author of the Reversed Retellings trilogy I reviewed last year. I was very excited to read it and but at first, I found it a bit difficult to get into. The reason was not because I wasn’t enjoying it but because I had a lot of unfinished books to complete (still do) and starting a new one would only add to the seemingly unending list. However, I am glad I stuck with it for it turned out to be a really wonderful story. 

The book is about Sana a modern-day girl from Japan who doesn’t have much going for her in life. Her parents are gone, her aunt's new boyfriend turns out to be a pervert forcing her to move out, and she her boss at the Ramen restaurant is close to firing her. Her friend Naomi one day sends her an online manga about a princess named Rosemary who is on her way to meet her betrothal Prince Alistar. During the journey her evil servant Anne uses a magic spell to switch bodies so she can marry the prince instead. Stuck in Anne’s body and unable to tell anyone the truth (because of the curse) poor Rosemary is forced to become a goose girl. However, Anne’s selfishness drives Alistar to avoid her and he eventually falls in love with the real Rosemary and the truth is revealed in the end with the help of an old wizard and Anne is punished for her crimes. The next day Sana’s life is changed forever when she is hit by a truck and wakes up to find herself in the manga’s world of Trodor in the body of Princess Rosemary. Sana has no idea how she got there but remembering the manga realizes she arrived after Anne cast the curse leaving the real rosemary still in Annes body. She is brought to Prince Alistar's palace where her life becomes one of luxury and relaxation. However, Sana knows it cannot last. She must give Rosemary her body back before it’s too late and she suffers for Anne’s crimes. However, she must also deal with Falada Rosemary’s horse who wants her dead, an evil witch who has a sinister plan for her, and Walter a handsome guard who she is falling for. Will Sana survive it all and find her happy ending?  

This was a very enjoyable story with an awesome modern protagonist. Sana was a character I truly rooted for. She was stuck in a bunch of unfair situations that were beyond her control and in no way her fault. But due to Anne’s actions and her bad timing in entering the world she is forced to fix everything. However, instead of letting Rosemary suffer, Sana does everything to gain Rosemary’s reverse the spell, and bring her and Alistar together. Her relationship with Walter was so cute too. Sana is attracted to Walter from the moment he saves her from drowning. He on the other hand is very suspicious of her. He had known Rosemary in the past and he finds it surprising that she can suddenly swim and climb trees since she lived a very sheltered life. He also has his own problems to sort out, like finding a way to keep his late mother's bakery open since it hasn’t been getting lots of customers. I also wished I could have seen more of the real Princess Rosemary and Alistair. I did like that Alistair has a crush on someone else but still wants to do his duty and be a good husband to Rosemary. You can see that his feelings are torn throughout the book even though he knows his crush doesn’t return his feelings. I felt that Rosemary was a bland character but perhaps she is supposed to be. Sana is the main character not her after all.  

Overall, I give this book five out of five stars. Despite my minor complaints this book was really good. I recommend this book to anyone who likes fairy tales, fantasy, and humor. The book is less than two hundred pages (like 195 or something) but it still tells a wonderful story. I also plan to read Aya Lings Unfinished Fairy Tale series early this year. They have a similar story (a modern-day girl is transported to a fairy tale world and switches bodies with Cinderella’s stepsister), and I look forward to reading all five books. Look out for their revies too. Until next time E. V. A.