Book Review: "Ella And The Enchanted Bookshop" by Brittany Fichter

 Happy Monday!

This is NOT my monthly post, but rather an extra one because I was given an ARC to read and review. I've posted a review on Goodreads, but I thought I'd talk about the book here, too. The book has NOT released, yet. It's releasing Thursday, September 24, 2026--but it is available on Amazon for preorder.

Brittany Fichter is an author I discovered...I'm not sure when. I can't remember. I've read several of her books and enjoyed them a lot. She has very low/no spice (kisses and attraction/love emotions mostly) in her books, but there is all the feels and enough romantic moments to keep this hopelessly romantic author/reader happy. So, when through her Newsletter I found out there was a way to get on the ARC team for her upcoming release, I threw my hat in the ring (so to speak) and she picked me as one of the ones to receive an ARC! I was very happy about that. (Still am).

So, I received this ARC in exchange for me reviewing it. The following opinions are just that. My own opinions.

Ella And The Enchanted Bookshop is a cozy modern-day retelling of the fairytale, Cinderella. It has some magical aspects to it, so it maintains a hint and flavor of a fairytale. Brittany does a great job of weaving both modern/contemporary aspects with fairytale details. The story is set in Colorado (which is cool, since I have some friends in Colorado!) and it definitely lives up to its "Cozy" descriptor (which is mentioned on Amazon).

I'm a fan of Brittany Fichter's Classical Kingdoms books; and while this novel is not exactly like those, it's worth reading and enjoying. I enjoyed Ella's sense of justice, without her losing the sweetness and forgiving nature I appreciated in her predecessor. (Some people think Cinderella was too "weak" or "damsel in distress" but I disagree with the idea that Cinderella is "weak". For someone who in the time period that the fairytale is set she didn't have many options she made the best of what she had, which I believe takes strength of character and fortitude).

Ella's problems with not being able to dislodge herself from her stepmother's clutches is because of her desire to look after her horse, Nevada, as well as the other horses that belong to the ranch her parents started, and the horses that are boarded there. She works hard every single day and does, in her own way, look for avenues that might lead her to freedom (only to have the stepmother thwart her in the most horrible ways the stepmother can think of).

The "Prince" is an upstanding guy named Asher who is in the military. His father purchases the vacant ski resort (which he also renovates) and he hosts a Harvest Ball in October. I liked Asher a lot, by the way. He's not anywhere as clueless as the prince in the original fairytale (a huge plus) and he's super sweet. Definitely deserves the nickname "Prince Charming".

Ella's two stepsisters are both younger than her. The youngest seemed extremely shallow, but she redeems herself later in the story, so in that respect definitely nicer and a step up from the original. The older one is around 18 and you don't see her as much, but she lives up to her predecessors in that she seems not to care about Ella at all.

Casey, the stepmother, is a real piece of work (I was mad at her, which is a sign of a good antagonist) and I was thrilled to see Brittany weave her intricate magic on how the stepmother stepped her stilettoes into running the ranch. It was a clever take on the whole "marrying the widowed father" trope. Unlike her predecessor, Casey is actually pretty good at caring for horses when she deigns to do so.

I loved how Brittany Fichter handled the whole Fairy Godmother character. It was a totally fun take and I liked the character a lot. There was a sneak peek at the end of the novel for the next one and I'm looking forward to reading that one, too.

While on Goodreads I did not give this novel 5-stars--I gave it 4-stars. I'm not sure it was completely on the same level as Brittany's Classical Kingdoms (my gold standard for measuring her books). I still gave it 4-stars and think it's worth reading and enjoying. I even think it's worth purchasing for those who want to purchase it. (And this review is totally my own personal taste and doesn't reflect on how well Brittany Fichter can weave a tale. She's a very talented author and I did end up enjoying this story).

As I said in my Goodreads review, I see it as a story that readers can grab a cozy blanket, a comfy chair/couch/bed, their favorite hot drink, and enjoy. I did enjoy it, especially once I got further along (beginnings are often a struggle for me with many novels, so don't take that as a problem, but rather my own personal issue).

I do look forward to the next book in the series (and will likely want to read all the ones in this series Brittany Fichter releases--I do not know how many that will be, though). So yes, I do recommend it.

Happy Reading!

January Bringing 2026...

 Happy Wednesday Everyone!

It's January...it's 2026...can you believe it? Sometimes I have to sit and think about this. When I was younger (teens and younger, that is), the concept of 2026 would've been so foreign, I probably would've given you an odd look. It always seemed so far away, but here we are!

My Christmas and New Year's were nice. Christmas was quiet at home--which was fine--and the following week, we were over at one of my sister's house to meet up with my younger brother and his family from out of town, and my parents live nearby. My sister lives approximately 40-45 minutes driving from me, and since the drive is too much for me to handle (I'm hate driving in general, and that sort of distance with all the other drivers who act like they own the road and are out to test their limits of survival, it's rather stressful for me to drive, so husband does the longer distances when he's off from work, while I do the shorter, daily stuff when he's not off). We had a nice visit with my family, and the new year has looked a lot like the previous one so far--but every year has its own things, so we'll see what happens.

Sugar & Frost is still in the querying stage. Some things happened last year, so waiting to see what may or may not happen with all that this year.

I've been editing Shifter Secrets. Both my long-time critique partner and long-time beta reader say it's some of my best writing. I'm not done editing it, though.

I'm still happily the Official Ambassador for #UnhingedPit on X(Twitter) and BlueSky and I'm looking forward to seeing what "The bosses" (as I call them) have planned. I know a little, but not all the plans...stuff gets revealed when it's time to reveal it

Real Life Hero (my husband) had a birthday this month, so Happy Birthday, RLH! He's still my hero (which is a good thing, since we're married and have no plans not to be married to each other).

Hope you all are having a fun 2026 so far and wish you the best! May God bless you in this year and always.

Have A Wonderfully Whimsical Day!

Conference, Fall, & Holiday Fun...

Happy Wednesday All,

We're almost done with August, in fact, September starts tomorrow. Writers have until September 23rd to register for the Northwest Houston RWA Lone Star Writer's Conference. All writers, of all genres are welcome. We open up the conference to all writers of all genres, so take advantage of that.


Morning Speaker will be NY Times Bestseller, Kerrelyn Sparks. The afternoon speaker is going to be Sandra Beckwith from Buildbookbuzz.com. We'll have raffle baskets to raffle off, there will be pitch sessions going on, and more. 

Some writers have said they couldn't make this year. Very well, if you, a writer, can't make it this year, then put us down for next year. Generally we have the Conference the first Saturday in October. That's the date it's been ever since I started going to the conference back in 2009. So see, the time of year hasn't changed, just when the first Saturday of October is changes (some years it's not the 1st of October).

As Summer slips past us, and Fall starts in, I get a sense of an anticipation. Not just for the Conference, but also for cooler weather...for Holidays and fun. Anybody who knows me well knows that Halloween isn't my favorite Holiday. Thanksgiving is all right, but I'm really a big Christmas fan. My husband puts up with Hallmark Christmas movies from the moment they begin until the moment they end (then he deals with the Valentine's ones in February, because let's face it, I consider myself hopelessly romantic).

One of the things I love about Christmas are the lights. I like seeing houses and buildings lit up in a festive glow. We're hoping to make it out to Disney World sometime (not this year) during the Christmas season in part for that reason. I hear so much about how beautiful and wonderful it is. This year, we're looking at San Antonio for a little visit during the December month and I'm looking forward to seeing the lights along the Riverwalk (I've been to San Antonio and the Riverwalk several times, but not during the Christmas/Advent Season). We're also looking at going to Sea World--we've been there in the Summer, but never for their Christmas events. I had no idea they were even open during that time!

After the Conference on October 1st, we'll probably start gearing up for Halloween. Generally my kids go Trick or Treating with the cousins, but due to some changes this year, I'm not sure what will be happening. Eldest already knows what he wants to be for Halloween, Youngest is pretty laid back and goes with the flow.

For Thanksgiving, I think one of my aunts is coming into town, which will be fun. I always enjoy seeing her, and having Thanksgiving at my parents' house is a treat.

This year, I'm hoping Texas gets cooler than last year. Last year we pretty much were wearing shorts at Christmas, which just felt completely wrong to me. Even in my part of Texas we generally can wear warm clothing at Christmas. I love wrapping up in blankets and watching Christmas Specials at home. Making hot cocoa or tea is always fun, too.

What do you like about the Fall months and the holidays during Fall and Winter?

Have A Whimsically Wonderful Wednesday!

Lovely Louisville Wedding & More!

Happy Tuesday All,

Whew! It's been a very busy week:

On Tuesday, September 9th husband, offspring, and I boarded a plane for Louisville, Kentucky in anticipation of my eldest niece's wedding. The flight was mostly uneventful (although some turbulence, but nothing serious). We landed at the airport and had to wait to get to the jet way because there was a police car there. Apparently there were two airplanes that had to push back and leave before we could get dock there. It was about 20-30 minutes wait, but then finally we docked and exited the plane.

**Warning:  I didn't take very many pictures--sorry!**

At the rental car counter there was a huge line, which meant offspring and I had to wait with the bags while husband got our reservation. I was hungry and a bit on the dizzy side, but finally husband got the keys and we went and found our rental (a royal blue Chevrolet Cruze, not sure what year--anyone own one or driven one?) Husband opted for GPS system since we didn't know our way around.

The hotel wasn't real far from the airport, so that was good. We got our room and settled in.

My family arrived the following days and activities ensued.

One day, myself, husband, offspring, one of my sisters, her two offspring, my younger brother and his wife, all walked down to a

coffee house called Mrs. Potter's Coffee Lounge & Cafe. We stayed in the lounge area, which had couches and chairs. I got a decaf Mocha (so yummy) brother opted for drip coffee, sister-in-law got some kind of tangerine tea (sounded good), my sis got a regular coffee Mocha, offspring got a Strawberry Smoothie, and sis's kids got ice cream and chocolate chip cookie respectively (the chocolate chip cookies were HUGE!)

On the way to the coffee house, we passed the KFC Yum! Center. I

didn't know such a thing existed until I saw it. Apparently they hold

all kinds of events there, like Disney On Ice. So, it's basically a stadium of sorts. I think there was some kind of a rally going on in front of it. We never found out what the rally was about, though.

Thursday morning I got to meet author Katie McGarry (of Pushing The Limits, Dare You To, Red At Night, Crash Into You, Crossing The Line, and Take Me On fame!) Unfortunately, that's one picture I should have gotten, but I have a picture of the autograph. I haven't read Take Me On, yet, but I plan to.

Thursday night was the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner--but most of my family didn't have to be a part of that (except my parents, my younger brother and his wife, and of course, one of my sisters, who is my niece's mom and my sister's husband and my niece's brother and some other people--most of which I didn't know). So the rest of us got together and went out to eat at a place called Champions Bar & Grill that has really good food and wasn't at all far from the hotel (we walked). It was fun.

Friday we hung out doing various activities until it was time to get ready for the wedding--which was at 7 p.m. (Eastern time). The

My niece & her new husband
during their first dance

wedding was really lovely and the reception was a ton of fun. (Link to the Cathedral where the wedding was held).

They had a photo booth, so a bunch of my siblings and I crammed into there and took some photos. I'm pretty sure that booth was not meant to hold quite so many people, LOL! The reception was held at a place called Ice House which was a nice location.

Yep, we crammed into that photo booth!

Saturday husband and offspring went with a bunch of others on the Louisville Slugger tour. I stayed at the hotel and did some edits, and then later that evening we all went to Mass at the Cathedral where the wedding ceremony was held. That night we went to the Troll Pub Under The Bridge for dinner--very good food.

Most people left Saturday and Sunday, but we weren't scheduled to leave until Monday (September 15th). So we remained behind an extra day.

Sunday I didn't feel good, so I rested in the hotel bed while husband and offspring went off to the zoo and to play putt-putt.

Monday morning we got up early. I showered while husband and offspring went downstairs for breakfast, then joined them when I was dressed. We got squared away with the hotel, and left. Traffic wasn't bad, and we made it to the airport with plenty of time. Husband turned in our rental, and then we all went through security, found our gate, and waited to board. When the time came, we boarded the plane and the flight went really well (much better than the one over). We got back to Texas early. My dad picked us up at the airport and brought us home. We had several things to do (such as grocery shopping) and I rested while the husband and offspring went off on an evening excursion after dinner.

Anyway, we had a lovely time. Today husband went back to work and I'm doing edits and various other things.

Offspring and I have some kind of cold/allergies thing we're dealing with, but no fevers (thank God!) so hopefully we'll be all well, soon (which would be really good).

Hope you all are doing well! Please be sure to pass the word along

about Divine Love and the upcoming release of Astral Love.

 

Speaking of Divine Love, I got a wonderful surprise Sunday morning in the form of an Amazon email. I get email recommendations from them, and lo and behold, at the top of the email for Fiction & Literature was Divine Love! I was so excited, I cried. It really was a thrill.

You all have a good week. I've got edits and writing to finish up, so I'll probably be pretty MIA for a while. I'm gearing up for the Northwest Houston RWA Lone Star Writer's Conference (which, if you're a writer and you haven't registered, please do! It'll be a great conference!) For more information please click here.

See y'all around!

Have A Totally Terrific Tuesday!

Gatlinburg, Tennessee Part 1...

Happy Wednesday Night Folks,

Normally I don't "double-post" but I have a ton of pictures and I'm picking some to post on here, so I figure I'd break them into a series of posts.  Check for the captions on description for each picture.

At the resort me and my family stayed at in Gatlinburg, TN. It's up in the Smoky Mountains.
In the background, you can see a  marvelous view of the mountains.
Below is the construction of another cabin for the resort (there were A TON of cabins!)

Yet another gorgeous view

In downtown Gatlinburg, there's a bunch of charming shops, restaurants,
and attractions. I wish we could have done way more than we did.
The streets were almost always busy, but the people were nice

We went to an ice cream shop, and that was their Nutritional Warning LOL

We didn't go here, but anything Indiana Jones-esque catches my husband's eye
There were A LOT of places to do Miniature Golf
We did play one game of miniature golf, but it wasn't at this one
Like I sad--a TON of attractions!

This picture defines why they're called The Smoky Mountains

I have more pictures to share...and will get them up soon. 

Have A Wonderful Wednesday Night!

Famous Avenue, & Gorgeous Roses (Final Arkansas Adventure Post)...

Happy Wednesday All,

Thursday of my Arkansas Adventure we hung out at in-law's house and Friday we headed back home.

There are some awesome things about the trip that I need to note.

For one thing, at the end of the block was this street sign...and yes, I did "Walk down to..."  

My in-laws have some beautiful roses growing in their garden, so I made sure to get some pictures of that. Particularly of a gorgeous pink rose...

I hope you enjoyed this taste of my Arkansas Adventure! We had a good time.

Please note:  I will be making some appearances on other blogs. Two dates are set, but the others are not. Watch the margin of my blog for further info. 

Have A Whimsically Wonderful Wednesday!

The NWHRWA Makes Merry

Happy Monday Everybody,

It's December, if you can believe it! I hope everyone had a great weekend.

On Saturday I Christmas partied with my NWHRWA Chapter mates.

Whomever did the decorations knows how to make things bright, merry, and cheerful.



Look behind the love gift bag, you'll see the very top
of the present I got to keep.

 We have a gift game that we do--the "white elephant" one. We didn't have too many joke presents...although someone did find a cookbook that was the source of much merriment. I ended up with a chalkboard type thing that says "The Writing On The Wall" and a box of chalk--it's really cool. I'm going to get husband to put it up on the wall...great place to jot down ideas real quick.



from L to R:  me, Christie Craig, William Simon

 My chapter mates are extremely talented, encouraging, and wonderful people, and I count myself lucky and blessed to be among them. The two chapter mates / published writers in the picture with me, William Simon, and Christie Craig, have been so wonderful and encouraging in my journey. William was the NWHRWA president when I joined and he took me "under his wing" so to speak and made me feel very welcome. Christie has encouraged me to believe in myself and to keep going. She gave me advice on my pitches. She calls me her "book pimp" and I proudly wear the title--her books are full of comedy and romance. William's Thrillers are fascinating.

As always it was full of fun and laughter! We had a blast.

Have A Merry Monday!

East Coast Adventure--Part 4

Happy Friday All,

I'm going to combine Thursday and Friday. Mainly because we didn't do a whole lot on Thursday (I wasn't feeling well).

Friday I didn't make it to the Train Museum, (although, husband and offspring went with relatives) so I can't really say much about it. But I have some pictures to share:



Nifty, huh? It really looks like a fun place. I was a bit disappointed to have missed it, but I was taking care of some things at the hotel.

I did make it over to the National Cryptological Museum with husband and offspring before the family pool party at a family member's house.



Part of the Rosetta Stone

One of the many machines we saw



Yes, those are playing cards...with codes on them!

Saturday, June 9, 2012, we returned home.

One thing I have to mention is from Wednesday night of our trip. We went to a restaurant called Friendly's for dessert. Years ago, I lived in New Jersey and I remembered going there for sundaes. I went to one some years ago, and that had been the last time I went to a Friendly's. I was insistent that offspring and husband had to experience this dessert. So we went.

Friendly's has the most amazing hot fudge and whipped cream you could ever have in your life. Unfortunately, they haven't made it near my area. However, if you find a Friendly's near you, be sure to go! The sundaes there are the best I've ever had.

All in all, the trip was wonderful and we had a great time! Hope you enjoyed having a "taste" of what we experienced.

Have A Fantastical Friday!

Quite Quotable!

Happy Tuesday All,

It's so rainy and gloomy today, which is not cool. The rain is good, but the gloom? Not so much. So we're going to have to find ways to brighten things up in spite of the grayness outside.

Yesterday, a writer-buddy of mine (and fellow blogger), Marsha, posted a fun post with quotes. So I thought today I'd pull some of my favorite quotes from various sources and post them here:

"Give me this moment. This precious chance."--Dr. Jekyll from the musical Jekyll & Hyde (song:  This Is The Moment).

"Fezzik, are there rocks ahead?" "If there are, we'll all be dead!" -- Inigo and Fezzik from movie, The Princess Bride.

"I'm too sexy for my fangs."-- Gregori, from Kerrelyn Sparks' book, Sexiest Vampire Alive.

"We would call Monroe something else, except we don't want to want to insult donkeys." -- Bastian "Bast" Cantrell from my novel, Surreal.

"I have better things to do than to sit here and listen to you quote yourself." -- John Adams  "No, that was a new one." -- Ben Franklin, from 1776.

I would include quotes from Christie Craig, except I don't have them all memorized (yet)! She has some FUNNY ones.

Anyway, what are some of your favorite quotes?

Have A Tip-Top Tuesday!

Laugh & Enjoy

Happy Monday Everyone,

Hope you all had a great weekend! Mine was relaxing--which, I desperately needed.

This week I hope to post the author interview I did recently. It's a really good one and I was very excited this author agreed to do it.

If you're in need of a good laugh, I highly recommend hot-footing it over to Query Shark for her most recent post. Click here to see it. I laughed and laughed.

Other than that, I'm gearing up for another week.

I'll have more later this week, for now...

Have A Marvelous Monday!

Growing Up, Musically

Happy Wednesday Everyone,

Recently a friend of mine asked some help with a project. This friend is trying to come up with songs that talk about growing up and different stages of life.

The project got me thinking about songs that define my childhood. Music that either makes me think of particular instances, or memories I cherish.

There's the mental snapshots of my Dad strumming away at his guitar while singing songs from Peter, Paul & Mary, Paul Anka, and the Kingston Trio. Or times when one of my uncles would join in with his guitar and we'd sit around singing The Beach Boys' Sloop John B.

Or the many family reunions at one of my other aunt and uncle's lake house, where another uncle brought out his collection of microphones, guitars, kazoos and whatever other musical instruments he happened to have with him and we'd have these amazing family singalongs.

I recall singing Walking On A Wire by Lowen & Navarro one year, while my younger brother played one of the electric guitars.

There's simple things I also remember (and at times, still get to enjoy) like singing harmony while my Dad sings Paul Anka's Diana, or knowing how comforting Dad was growing up while Mark Wills' In My Arms plays on the radio.

There's moments where I'll catch myself singing songs my Mother used to sing to us. Lullabies, an annoying wake up song  (that I now sing to my offspring LOL) or just humming brings back a flood of memories from growing up.

I don't think I'll ever be able to hear The Kingston Trio's Charlie And The MTA without thinking of my Dad and wondering why such a depressing song has such an upbeat tune.

I remember how me and my siblings used to beg for a country-western tune my Dad hated, but would eventually relent and sing the song with an exaggerated southern accent, much to me and my siblings' great delight.

So there's something about looking for songs that define different stages of childhood that make me think back on my own, personal musical history.

What about you? What songs bring back childhood memories?

Have A Whimsical Day!