So This Is Love
So This Is Love twists the classic fairy tale Cinderella by asking the question: what if Cinderella never tried on the glass slipper? What if Prince Charming wasn’t able to whisk her away from her life of servitude and cruelty?
After missing the Grand Duke’s visit, Cinderella escapes her Stepmother’s clutches and is left with few options. She meets a young woman who works at the castle and takes her chance to start a new life, even if it does put her in the path of the young prince she’s falling for. When Cinderella finds herself witness to a grand conspiracy to take the king – and the prince – out of power, she is faced with questions of love and loyalty to the kingdom.
Elizabeth Lim truly did justice to a character often regarded as a weak, simple girl. Cinderella is sometimes seen as a girl who just waited for her prince charming to save her. She relied on her kind and forgiving nature to get her through the terrible days with her stepfamily. But people often forget how much strength and courage it took Cinderella to put up with her stepmother’s cruelty. While it’s easy to dismiss Cinderella as weak, I always thought she had a spine of steel. Lim highlighted that strength many times over in this book.
What I really liked about this story was how Lim addressed Cinderella’s traumatic past. She actually made Cinderella acknowledge that yes, her stepfamily treated her horribly and it impacted her deeply. Through new friendships and her time spent with the prince, she was able to start working through the abuse she suffered and begin to heal from those awful years.
Lim also allowed us to get a better look at Prince Charming, or Charles as he’s named in this story. Her version of the prince reminded me of the glimpses of the prince viewers got in the movie Cinderella III. In So This Is Love, readers learned the prince actually had a personality. He cared about his kingdom and when it came time to rule, he wanted to help his people. I liked how Lim had Charles and Cinderella go on a few dates together, giving them a chance to get to know each other instead of relying on “love at first sight.”
So This Is Love offers a deeper look into the timeless story of Cinderella.
So This Is Love Rating: ★★★★
After missing the Grand Duke’s visit, Cinderella escapes her Stepmother’s clutches and is left with few options. She meets a young woman who works at the castle and takes her chance to start a new life, even if it does put her in the path of the young prince she’s falling for. When Cinderella finds herself witness to a grand conspiracy to take the king – and the prince – out of power, she is faced with questions of love and loyalty to the kingdom.
Elizabeth Lim truly did justice to a character often regarded as a weak, simple girl. Cinderella is sometimes seen as a girl who just waited for her prince charming to save her. She relied on her kind and forgiving nature to get her through the terrible days with her stepfamily. But people often forget how much strength and courage it took Cinderella to put up with her stepmother’s cruelty. While it’s easy to dismiss Cinderella as weak, I always thought she had a spine of steel. Lim highlighted that strength many times over in this book.
What I really liked about this story was how Lim addressed Cinderella’s traumatic past. She actually made Cinderella acknowledge that yes, her stepfamily treated her horribly and it impacted her deeply. Through new friendships and her time spent with the prince, she was able to start working through the abuse she suffered and begin to heal from those awful years.
Lim also allowed us to get a better look at Prince Charming, or Charles as he’s named in this story. Her version of the prince reminded me of the glimpses of the prince viewers got in the movie Cinderella III. In So This Is Love, readers learned the prince actually had a personality. He cared about his kingdom and when it came time to rule, he wanted to help his people. I liked how Lim had Charles and Cinderella go on a few dates together, giving them a chance to get to know each other instead of relying on “love at first sight.”
So This Is Love offers a deeper look into the timeless story of Cinderella.
So This Is Love Rating: ★★★★