Heart of the Raven Prince A Cinderella Retelling by Tessonja Odette Review

Tessonja Odette has quickly become a new favorite author after reading only two of her fairy tale novels. Her series Entangled with Fae is so enjoyable that I have decided to read more books featuring fae protagonists. For those who don't know what the fae are they are basically the adult version of fairies. They are not small and friendly like Disney's Tinkerbelle nor fairy godmothers from Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella. Fae are more devious often causing mischief and tricking unwitting humans into bargains that they later regret. They are known to be inhumanly beautiful which they use to their advantage to get what they desire. In some books they are full on villains who are very difficult for the heroes to defeat. However in other series like Faeries Tale Romances by Hanna Sandvig and Of Candlelight and Shadows by Sylvia Mercedes the fae are the love interest to the main character. Entangled with Fae is one such series where they are presented in a better light and are one of the two main characters. The series is set on an island where the fae and humans live together twenty years after the event of Tessonja Odette's previous series The Fair Isle Trilogy. You don't have to read The Fair Isle Trilogy before reading the Entangled with Fae series (and I haven't) but you will learn a few spoilers if you haven't. I did not know this when I read Curse of the Wolf King (the first book in the series and is also reviewed on my blog) but for those who don't want to be spoiled about anything its best to start with the book To Carve a Fae Heart. Anyway this book is based off Cinderella and has quickly become a favorite. It rivals my enjoyment of Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine and was the first Cinderella retelling I ever read and considering how much praise I have that book finding one that tops it is saying something.

The book centers around half fae Ember Montgomery and heir to the fae Lunar court Prince Franco. For years Ember has been forced to slave away for her cruel stepfamily after she was tricked by her stepmother Mrs. Coleman into making a fae bargain with her. The bargain states that she must obey Mrs. Coleman until she is old enough to claim her inheritance her deceased father left for her. Blaming herself for her fathers death Ember had agreed thinking her stepmother meant to help her. Only did she realize too late her stepmothers malicious true intentions and has been there servant ever since. Patiently waiting until she turns nineteen (and the bargain will be broken) Ember plans to leave town and give her fortune up to charity. However things take a turn for the worse when she is forced to go to a ball with her stepfamily where her life changes forever. Prince Franco is known for having a reputation as a notorious flirt. He has given up on love and doesn't expect to ever find a mate let alone marry someone. However when his older sister Queen Nyxia informs him of her intention to step down as queen and have him take over the throne his world is flipped upside down. To help win over the people he must marry a princess and Nyxia has invited princess Maisie from the Sea Court to come and stay at the castle. Although reluctant Franco is ready to do his duty until Maisie flees the palace leaving an imposter in her place. Ember knows she's playing a risky game when she entered a new bargain with Princess Maisie to impersonate her but what choice did she have? Her stepmother was about to force her into an unwanted marriage with a despicable man who is part of the church who killed her mother. Unable to leave the palace because of the bargain she had no choice but to agree to Maisie's proposition. Now in order to escape her stepfamily once and for all she must wear a magical pair of shoes (with glass heals) that glamor her to look just like the fleeing princess. She can't reveal her true identity to anybody which suits her just fine. However when Prince Franco discovers her identity things quickly grow complicated. Although offended by Maisie's flight Franco soon realizes that he can use this situation to his advantage. Not ready for marriage or to take the throne he could use Ember to stall for time. But what starts out as a fake courtship meant to benefit the two soon turns complicated when feelings start to grow on both sides. How will this masquerade end? You must read this awesome book to find out. 

    This book was so enjoyable. Ember and Franco were such wonderful characters. Ember has a lot of guilt weighing her down as she is blamed by her stepfamily for accidentally ending her fathers life when she performed a song. She knows her singing is dangerous and does her best not to avoid it despite longing to play on a piano. She also doesn't have a very high opinion of Franco at first due to a chance encounter in the beginning where he thought she wanted to flirt with him. Franco himself has met so many ladies who want him for his status only that he basically expects ever single girl to throw themselves at him (much to his annoyance). Its easy to say they don't start off on the right foot. But over time you see their relationship grow and develop making them an easy couple to root for. One that I would argue is better written then Gemma and Elliot's romance from the first book in the series Curse of the Wolf King.

Ember is a wonderful Cinderella who is kind and caring but who would have run away from her stepfamily if she could have. The twist as to why she was forced to become their servant reminded me a great deal of the book Ella Enchanted which I mentioned above. Both characters are forced against their will to obey their stepfamily through magic. Although unlike Ella who was cursed to be obedient forever unless she broke the spell Ember's bargain does have an expiration date. It's not until her stepmother tries to force her into an even worse situation that her future seems to look as bleak as Ella's would have been. Ember is a great modern representation of Cinderella and who while still the titular kindhearted mistreated servant girl is willing to take action to stop those who would harm her. 

Prince Franco is not the typical prince charming. He's a flirt who has flirted and bedded with many women. He avoids his duty and tries to stall getting married as much as possible. When I first read his perspective I confess that I wasn't that impressed by him. But over time he grew on me. I enjoyed seeing him grow up and learn to care about not just Ember but his people and admit his own insecurities. Not to mention he can shapeshift into a raven. And that's plain cool.

Ember stepfamily was so awful. I hated Mrs. Coleman and her eldest daughter Imogen. They are so mean and devious that I couldn't wait to see their downfall (which I can reassure you was extremely satisfying.) The second stepsister Clara I had mixed feelings about. She is not as bad as her family but she never really defends Ember either. The two form something of a friendship during the coarse of the story but that is only when Ember was pretending to be princess Maisie. I don't know but I guess I just wished the two could of had grown closer but given the circumstances I guess their story arc makes sense.

Overall this book was awesome. My only complaint was the absence of a fairy godmother. There was a character named Flora who I thought would be her as she is a specializer in glamour's but nothing ever came of it. It's not that big of a deal but I was slightly disappointed since the fairy godmother is such a big part of the story. However that is my only complaint of this book. I rate it five out of five stars. If you want to read more Cinderella books this is a must read.