Fairest

I LOVE Ella Enchanted. I've read it, I think, three times, and we all know that rereading is quite the luxury. I rarely do it. So Naturally, upon hearing that Fairest was set in the world of Ella, well, I was pretty excited.

First I would like to point out the similarities between the covers (well, and the stories themselves being alt-fairy tales perhaps, as well...) of this book and of Bella at Midnight. Some of it may be in my head, but you've got a girl's face, you've got an ornate object of importance to the story, and you've got this brocade-like thing going on with the dress here and the cover pattern there. Notice how one is far better executed than the other. That's all. Just pointing it out.

Poor Aza was adopted. While she loves her family she doesn't feel like she fits in at all because everyone tells her that she is, well, quite ugly. The only time Aza feels comfortable is when she sings. No one has a better voice than Aza. The problem is that the image-obsessed Ayortha rarely see past her looks. When Aza ends up at the castle to witness the King's marriage she can no longer hide in her parents' inn.

There's something about a good fairy tale. Hours before I began this book I was talking to Gwendolyn about the fact that there hadn't been a good romantic comedy in the theaters in ages. While Fairest has elements of the classic rom-com, what with the miscommunication, etc., it really doesn't fall into that category. Fairy-tales, at least for me, hit that same button. Let's call it the happily-ever-after button. It just makes me feel good. I like that. I don't have any criticisms. This book made me happy. I can't really ask for any more than that, can I?