“Never Ever After” by Sue Lynn Tan
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Rating: 3/5 Stars.
A story that features some elements of the Cinderella fairy tale, mixed in a tale full of political intrigue. It starts with Yining, a thief and pickpocket that is barely surviving and living with her (evil) stepmother. She then discovers, and loses, a magical ring that hints at her actual background. Regaining that ring would involve her in political intrigue between the Iron Mountains and another kingdom that is nominally in league with the kingdom.
Her first real test would be winning the right to go on a quest to recover the royal daughter of another kingdom from a witch. But that would be the start of her voyage to discover who she really is, and where her loyalties (and her heart) should lie: with a cruel prince with an unexpected relation to her in the past, or with a devious aid to a rival kingdom whose motives may be hidden from her, or perhaps with the kingdom from which she originally came from.
The story starts off with Yining being a victim of circumstances, and it is only in the later half of the story when her origins are revealed to her does she being to assert herself. But it would be one act at the end that would define what she is and what she intends to do with the knowledge she has gained.
This is the first part of a duology, so it remains to be seen what she will do to head off the danger that threatens not only her kingdom, but other kingdoms too.
Book read from 2026/01/28 to 2026/02/01.