Friday, October 7, 2011

Review: Utterly Charming by Kristine Grayson


Utterly Charming 
~Kristine Grayson 

Mass Market Paperback: 320 pages 
Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca 
Publish Date: October 1, 2011
ISBN-10: 1402248512 
ISBN-13: 978-1402248511 
ASIN: B005EU50K6 

From Goodreads:
Bestselling author Kristine Grayson's fairy tale romances bring the classic stories into the present day, where fairy tale characters must grapple with the complexities of modern life as well as their own destinies.

This time when Sleeping Beauty wakes up, she wants nothing to do with the man who kissed her. Consoling Alex Blackstone, the rejected suitor who is a brilliant magician but inept when it comes to women, falls to modern career woman and lawyer, Nora Barr. Nora now has to deal with Beauty's evil stepmother, and the discovery that Alex just might be her own personal Prince Charming...
Nora Barr is a young attorney who decided to open her own practice instead of joining a big law firm out of law school.  Money's running short because she doesn't have a lot of clients, so when Aethelstan (Alex) Blackstone shows up in her building looking for an attorney, she agrees to talk to him.  It turns out he's trying to contact a dear friend in a coma, but the friend's guardian won't let him near her.  He is not related to this friend, nor does he have any sort of custody, so Nora tells him she can't help him and sends him on his way.  A few days later, Nora gets a call from Alex's friend telling her he's in desperate need of an attorney and to come right away.

What follows is a story about true love and what happens when you get what you think you want.

My thoughts:
I kept expecting this story follow Sleeping Beauty and that's not at all what happened....

Nora is a tough attorney, even though she looks like a cheerleader.  I like that she doesn't let anyone walk all over her - even magical beings who could turn her into a frog, lol.  She's practical, except where Alex is concerned, something about him just keeps Nora off-center.  But not so off-center that she doesn't continue to do what she thinks is right.

Alex did not grow on me as much as he could have.  His blind infatuation with Emma (the close friend in a coma), I think, in part was responsible for this - how can a romance grow and develop with Nora while he is pursuing Emma?

I loved Alex's friend, Sancho - he was funny and vividly written; I loved the scenes he was involved in! Sancho was the kind of wise but irreverent secondary character who lights up the page.

Utterly Charming was a fun, modern twist to a traditional fairy tale, full of magical characters learning to navigate life the 20th century.  A cute, light read.



My Rating:

The first book in this series, Wickedly Charming, is currently free in ebook format from your favorite retailers through October 9!

Book received from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

4 comments:

  1. I really didn't like the first book in this series so I think this is a pass from me.

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  2. I didn't read the first book yet but did snag it while it's free for kindle :)

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  3. Nice review, but not really my kind of book. Sort of like Sleepless in Seattle?

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  4. I liked that it was fluffy and light, I truly need that sometimes :)

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