Audiobook Review – Enchanted (The Woodcutter Sisters, Book 1) by Alethea Kontis (4.5/5 stars)

Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Fantasy
Size: 336 pages
Publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers
Release Date: May 28, 2013
ISBN: 978-0544022188
Stand Alone or Series: 1st book in the Woodcutter Sisters series
Source: Audiobook from Audible.com
Rating: 4.5/5 stars

I have been wanting to read this book for a while now. This was an extremely fun read. It twists a number of fairy tales in a way that is fun, heartfelt, and clever. I thoroughly enjoyed it. The second book in this series will be titled, Hero, and is expected to release in October of 2013.

I listened to this on audiobook and the audiobook was very well done. They voices were all very distinct and portray emotion well. My only complaint would be that some of the female voices were a bit shrill. The narrator has a wonderful English accent that suits the story well.

Sunday is the youngest of seven daughters all named for days of the week and all cursed to characterize the epitome of their weekday name (Monday’s child is fair of face…you know that old poem). However Sunday is unhappy and her only refuge is stories. One day she meets a frog in the forest named Grumbold; they become friends, swap stories, and fall in love. Sunday kisses him but nothing happens…until the next morning when, unknown to Sunday, Grumbold turns into Prince Rumbold…who just happens to be a dreaded enemy of Sunday’s family. As you can imagine hilarious antics ensue.

Sunday was an excellent character. She is a bit dreamy, but still fun and feisty. All of her sisters have very distinct personalities. The family dynamic was very interesting to read about and I enjoyed it.

Rumbold was an interesting character because he is missing a lot of his memory for most of the story. As a result he gets to start life afresh without any of the baggage people normally accumulate as they grow up. It’s an interesting idea and thought-provoking…who would you be if you didn’t have any of your previous life experiences to shape you?

What makes this book really fun though is how cleverly all the different fairy tales are tied together. There are references to numerous fairy tales woven in here and it is fun to try to spot them and place them. This book has references to The Princess and the Frog, Jack and the Beanstalk, the Twelve Dancing Princesses, and many many more. I absolutely love fairy tales and really enjoyed seeing them all twisted together like this.

Overall this was a wonderfully fun read, I really enjoyed it. The characters are easy to engage with and very sweet, the plot is well done, and I loved how many different fairy tales are twisted into the mix. Highly recommended to fans of fairy tale retellings…this was just such a fun read! I can’t wait to see what Hero will be like!

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
– 100 Books in a Year Reading Challenge
– 150+ Reading Challenge
– Young Adult Reading Challenge
– YA/MG Fantasy Reading Challenge
– Audio Book Challenge