Review of “The Coronation Ball: A Four Kingdoms Cinderella Novelette”
by Melanie Cellier
After reading The Princess Fugitive where we learn about a character named Hanna, the sister of the love interest Hans, we get this novelette that tells us Hanna’s story with a bit of a Cinderella inspired ending. Even though we never met her in The Princess Fugitive, Hanna was a critical part of the guilt that Princess Ava felt and needed to overcome, so it’s great to finally be able to meet Hanna and tell her own story.
The novellete opens with Hanna working as an apprentice pastry chef in the castle of Northgate located in the kingdom of Northhelm, which is where she was sent to after an incident with Princess Ava five years ago. We quickly learn that Hanna is being bullied by another apprentice, and the head chef has no respect for her. But she does have one friend, young man named Stefan who she believes to be a footman.
Hanna is a relatable female character that is struggling to prove herself to her boss, while constantly being thrown under the bus by her female co-worker that thinks she better than her. The female co-work is a stereotypical mean girl. The kitchen staff prove to be helpful when Hanna is given an opportunity to bake a cake for a ball that a family of the royal court is hosting.
It turns out that her friends Stefan is not a footman but actually the son of a royal Lord, and the family is hosting the ball to find him a wife. The mean girl had her eyes set on him, and when she tries to take credit for Hanna’s cake, Hanna decides she needs to warn Stefan. This is where the book turns into a retelling of Cinderella. Hanna’s godmother comes in and gives her a magnificent dress and masque for the ball. Hanna infiltrates her way into the ball, and ends up dancing with Stefan, warning him about the mean girl. As she runs away just before the strike of midnight, Hanna loses her glass slipper. Stefan convinces his family to let him marry the girl that the glass slipper belongs to, and eventually he finds Hanna and she tries on the slipper. Perfect match.
It’s a clever retelling of Cinderella, with some charming characters. I really like Hanna and Stefan as a friends and then a couple. Stefan comes off as a charming prince to the rescue type character, but you can tell that he is torn between his love for Hanna and his duty to his family. His conflict of where his heart and honor lie, make him a compelling character. Hanna as the everyday working girl type makes her sympathetic, and the use of the godmother ties it all in with the other princess stories.
This is a short, fun, easy read if you like fairy tales and princess stories, even though Hanna isn’t a princess, it’s very similar. I enjoyed having a story about a character that was previously set up in another book. The author continues to build out her Four Kingdoms world, and it’s an enjoyable setting for these retellings of classic fairy tales. If you have read the main books in the series be sure to read this novellete.
My new book now on Amazon https://www.amazon.com/Chimera-Prophecies.../dp/B0C4QX4RZW/
"The Chimera
Prophecies" consists of eight short science fiction/dark fantasy short
stories. Themes of how reality and identity shape our journey and humanity.
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