Lady Tremaine by Rachel Hochhauser is a unique twist on the classic tale of Cinderella.
In this perspective, Lady Ethel Tremaine is a strong, resourceful woman trying to keep her family in good standing despite dwindling resources after the death of her second husband.
Her daughters, Rosie and Mathilde, are also hard working. Her stepdaughter Elin is not. She is the only daughter with a dowry and chooses to spend her time relaxing and spouting virtues from a book left to her by her mother.
At first it’s only Elin who receives an invite to the prince’s ball. It turns out there is some bad blood between Ethel and the current queen around her first husband. Their history is rehashed.
Eventually she secures an invite for her daughters as well. It takes everything they have to scrape together the ability to make suitable dresses to attend. Elin’s laziness prevents her from making her dress in time. However, she ends up getting help from a traveling musician – wearing Ethel’s first wedding dress.
The story progresses with a hidden agenda for the sudden ball and hurried marriage proposal to Elin. The handsome prince is actually a monster in disguise. Ethel needs to decide whether to risk their standing forever by blocking the marriage, or overlooking Elin’s safety for her family’s advancement.
While the story got a little draggy at times for me, it was an interesting perspective.
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