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Thursday 30 September 2010

Personally I Blame my Fairy Godmother by Claudia Carroll


The fairytale ending was just the beginning! Jessie Woods absolutely believes in fairytale endings. So would you if you had a recession-proof career as a daredevil TV host, a palatial pink mansion, and the dream boyfriend. But, quicker than you can say Cinderella, her life falls to pieces and suddenly her prince isn't quite so charming, her party-loving friends disappear and even her faithful friend Visa no longer loves her! Utterly heartbroken and jobless, Jessie is forced back home, to live with her step mum and two evil stepsisters. Is it time for her to give up on the dream - or will Jessie learn that happy endings can come in the strangest of places? Avon's hot new acquisition presents a tale of princes who turn out to be frogs, Manolo Blahnik glass slippers and not-so-happily-ever-afters!

I have not read any of Claudia Carroll's previous books and when I received this book I liked the synopsis and was looking forward to reading it. However, I when I started the book I found it was at a very slow pace.

I did enjoy the story - a girl who had the dream job on a television programme alongside one of her best friends. However, due to a lapse in judgement, Jessie looses everything - her dream job, which led to a decline in income meaning she looses her home and along with it her boyfriend, friends and lifestyle.

The story continues as she is forced to return to her childhood home, now inhabited by her stepmother and stepsisters - usually only seen at the annual memorial of her father. However, Jessie earns her keep by doing household chores and takes stoke of her life. after a hard hitting realisation that her ex-boyfriend, Sam, does not wish to rekindle their relationship, she takes stoke of her life and along with new friend, step sister Sharon, she finds a job, which leads her to finding another job through an old friend.
The story continues predictably with another turn of fortune and leaves Jessie looking at her life and working out what is important.

The book has many similarities to Cinderella and is right to be compared to a modern day Cinderella - there is the evil step-mother and the two wicked stepsisters, although they do change by the end of the book and Jessie who is left slaving at home while the step family are out at work.

Although i thought the story was a good one, I was not so keen on the authors style of writing. It was slow in places and i found myself wanting to skip pages to get to the next part. I also predicted how the story would progress. However, I did enjoy the modern day Cinderella twist to the story.

Thank you to Charlotte Allen of Harper Collins for sending me the book to review.

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