Enchanted (Woodcutter Sisters, #1)

by Alethea Kontis

[Briana @ Pages Unbound]

Enchanted is an absolutely delightful and adorable book that kept me reading way past the time I should have put it down and done some homework. Although it is YA, and one has the feeling it must be a happily ever after sort of book, Kontis includes enough darkness to suggest that things could go very terribly wrong for Sunday and her sisters. They certainly have before.

Enchanted is formally based on the “The Frog Prince,” but Kontis weaves in just about every other fairytale she can get her hands on and puts Sunday’s family smack in the middle of most of them. Not all of them end happily. What stories do not make a prolonged appearance in the book get subtle nods, such as an old woman selling Sunday an apple.

In general, this fairytale free-for-all is exciting, and the reader can have tons of fun matching events with tales. At times, however, it adds confusion to the book—for I found Enchanted, particularly in the beginning, very confusing. One of my overwhelming and repeated thoughts was, “I have no idea what she is talking about.” (I always like to think this is a failing on the book’s part and not my own because I flatter myself as an English major that I ought to be able to follow the plot of a YA novel.) Some of these instances I was ultimately able to brush off as references to fairytales I am unfamiliar with, and then I moved on. But sometimes my confusion came from the way Sunday explains things, or from Kontis’s writing style, which occasionally gives the impression important transitional paragraphs or even chapters are missing. It is a bit jumpy.

So why did I love Enchanted so much? Ultimately, I found my bewilderment did not matter. I may not have followed some of the specifics of the story, particularly background information, but the main attraction is obviously Sunday and her prince. And they are just so cute! Rumbold has so many romantic lines and does so many romantic things it is impossible not to fall in love with him. Sunday is equally lovable, with a true heart and lots of spirit. She is a fantastic protagonist, loyal to friends and family and skilled at writing. (Every reader loves a character who writes.) Briefly, their love story is beautiful, and that is generally the point of fairytale retellings.

Enchanted is creative, imaginative, and a true treasure chest of fairytales. A perfect read for hopeless romantics and those who like their fairytales with just a bit of edge.

This review was also posted at Pages Unbound Book Reviews.