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!

An August Month...

 Happy Friday, Darling Readers!

August is already coming to a close! Why does it feel like this year has gone by so fast? Is it just me?

In the beginning of the month, my niece got married. We traveled out for it (by plane). It was lovely to see many of my siblings, several nieces and nephews, and most of my dad's siblings. Me and my family arrived in Washington state on Wednesday, August 5th. The hotel we stayed at was McMenamins' Anderson School--a fascinating hotel. It used to be a school!

Saturday morning was the wedding--it was beautiful! My niece and the man she married were utterly radiant. It was lovely. The ceremony was really special. Two of my other nieces--the bride's sisters--were also in the wedding and they looked beautiful as well. Two of my nephews (brothers to the bride) were altar servers. And it turns out one of the priests (they had several) was originally from the same place in Michigan as my parents! (I found this out at the reception when I was talking to that priest).

The reception was really nice. It was outdoors on some property the mother and father of the bride (one of my sisters and her husband) own. It was beautiful there, too. There was a lot of laughter and fun. It was really tender and sweet. There was dancing, and giant bubble making (for the kids), cornhole toss, lots of trees, and good food (including beautiful cupcakes that was made by a family friend of my sister that were also really good).

At the reception, I got an unexpected, and fun surprise. One of the sisters of mine who lives out in Washington state was talking to a friend of hers and the sister who's the mother-of-the-bride. My sister introduced me to their friend. This friend got so excited when she found out who I was. Turns out this friend read All's Fair In Love & Lion (the first novel I ever got published, which is no longer available) and liked it! She was just so sweet and encouraging. I really felt like God had given me a gift in the form of this interaction. I was quite honored, and deeply grateful.

This is one of the reasons why I tell readers to email or comment authors (the ones who are alive) that they enjoy and tell them so. Even if that author can't get back to the reader, you will make their day.

Sometimes being an author is hard. Sometimes it's easy. There are ups and downs, but the readers who enjoy our work help make it worthwhile.

So, in a special way, for this monthly post, I want to thank all my readers who have loved my work. Thank you, so much. It's a privilege to be able to bring joy to others through my stories.

I wish all those who have gone back to school--students, teachers, administrators, and those who are homeschooling--a great year!

Hope September is wonderful for you all! Have a Fantastically Fabulous Friday!

July, July, July....

 Happy Wednesday!

Can you believe we're nearing the end of July? I mean, on one hand it feels like this month has been long, but on another I'm like "Wait, didn't July just begin?"

For the USA's 250th birthday, my husband and I saw Young Washington. We both really enjoyed it. The acting was well done, and I found it inspiring. We didn't go see fireworks or anything because we can usually see some from our house (which I wish they weren't happening so close to where I live) or on TV / phone / computer. I watched some events that were posted on YouTube.

Like many Americans, I was impressed with many of the visitors from all over the world who came in for the World Cup. I enjoyed watching people discover different things about my country (and have another reason to appreciate air conditioning! Europeans who remarked on the lack thereof in their countries have my sympathies. I don't know how y'all manage without A/C! But I'm hopeful you at least have A/C in your cars?)  I got a kick out of watching people try the different food we have here. I definitely can get behind people trying Texas barbecue. Yes, it really is that big, and yes, that's totally normal for us.

I've worked on and off with Sugar & Frost to increase the word count. I decided I wanted to try and get it up to at least 80k words. It was approximately 77k so I've been going through the entire thing adding description where I can, fixing things I missed or had thought of, but somehow didn't correct before. The story is still important to me, and I have a plan in mind for it.

I continue querying Shifter Secrets.

In my personal life, we continue to have our busyness and things we're doing. My offspring continues to grow and become who they're meant to be. As a mom, I'm realizing other parents saying "Where has the time gone?" makes a lot more sense. I wouldn't necessarily want to go back to the very beginning, but there are moments I wouldn't mind reliving.

Anyway, I hope you all have had a great July!

God bless and have a wonderful day!

It's June, It's June, It's June...

 Happy Thursday!

Wow. This  is the last full week of June (next week is just Sunday-Tuesday and then we start July!)

I continue to write, and I continue to await query responses for Shifter Secrets and contemplate how to get Sugar & Frost to readers. I've started the process of going through Sugar & Frost to see where I can expand on the descriptions, etc. I'm trying to increase the word count from 77k to at least 80k. It's doable, it's just going to take time. Both Sugar & Frost and Shifter Secrets are stories I'm determined  that I will somehow get to readers. I can't say for certain how, yet, but I'm determined. I wrote them to be shared, not to keep them to myself.

UnhingedPit pitching event is happening TODAY! (Check X/Twitter and BlueSky for info). I've got the privilege of being UnhingedPit's Official Ambassador. UnhingedPit is also celebrating 2 years of unhinged fun today, so Happy Birthday / Unhinged-iversary, UnhingedPit!

As for other stories, I'm playing it by ear. I've been working on several projects, so we'll see what happens.

June also marked 60 years my parents have been married (they got married on June 10, 1966). They were high school sweethearts. Yes, they're still alive. I'm deeply grateful to them, their marriage, and commitment to God, each other, their family, friends, and community at large. They taught me a lot about what it meant to have a successful marriage, to be a wife, friend, companion, and to be a faith-filled person.

Father's Day was an ordinary day in my household (we didn't really do anything to celebrate, but that's okay, I've got something in mind; I just couldn't get it ready when I had originally intended to do so), but I'm grateful to Real Life Hero's constant support and despite ups and downs, continuing on. He's got a real sense of responsibility, which has been very, very helpful over the years. He's been my hero on more than one occasion, and my best friend.

I hope your start to the Summer has been fun and that fathers everywhere had a great Father's Day! God bless to you all.

Have A Thrillingly Terrific Thursday!

May Possibilities & Writing..

 Happy Wednesday!

Yes, I changed the title graphic banner on here. It's to match what I have on my social media pages. Please bear with me as I try to adjust the settings/layout. I'm not the most knowledgeable about these things, but I have someone I can ask to help me.

Currently I'm querying Shifter Secrets, my YA Fantasy Romance featuring wolf-shifters. I haven't written a story featuring any kind of shifters in a long time, but that's okay. My long-time critique partner (who has read just about every manuscript I've written in the last 16 years) and my long-time beta reader (who has been with me about as long and read almost all my manuscripts written in the last 16 years) said Shifter Secrets is some of my best work. It's got more personal aspects for me, but I won't tell what...I'll let the reader guess! It's a bit more on the serious side that Sugar & Frost, but it still has some humor in it (gotta love the male main character, Vest Plenilune's, cousin, Xavier--he's hilarious in my opinion and the female main character, Mauri Kipp, is sweet, but has a secret she's dealing with that isn't an easy thing).

Sugar & Frost is currently on hold. This does not mean it is permanently shelved--I have every intention of getting it out to readers somehow, I just haven't decided what path to take to make that happen. I know what I want to do, but I may have to adjust my wants to something I can do at this time. I still love the story (it's my long-time beta reader's favorite--even thought beta reader said Shifter Secrets is some of my best work) and it's one of my favorite things I've written. I love the story, the characters, the magical/cozy aspects, including some humor. It features fairies, elves as tall as humans (male main character Chase Frost), magic, a feud, a delusional would-be rival to the female main character, Kallie Sugar, it's all so fun. Not to mention Kallie's family lives above the family owned-and-operated bakery. If you like cinnamon rolls, cookies, pies, etc...and a fun coffee shop that's right across the street from the bakery, you'll have fun with this.

I like to think my work would sit comfortably (with more magical elements than the following examples) beside Kasie West's P.S. I Like You, Maybe This Time, and Places We've Never Been or perhaps near Jenny Han's To All The Boys I Loved Before, but on the more sweet end of romance (and again, with magical type elements). Lots of yearning (go read Becky Dean's Love Unmasked for context....or with Eliza Prokopovits' Regency Magic Faerie Tales series (that does have magical elements)--although, mine are set in current time period rather than the past)...or something fun like Eva Austin's My Favorite Color Is series.

Fairytales (or Faerie Tales, whichever spelling you prefer) definitely influence my writing. I've loved many of them (which explains me gravitating towards Eliza Prokopovits' series and Shonna Slayton's Beauty's Rose, etc.)

In any case, that's some of what I've been doing this month--as well as writing another manuscript and working on research for yet another manuscript that will have a historical aspect to it (brush off those Buddy Holly, Paul Anka, etc albums!) My unfinished manuscript file folder seems to grow. LOL

I hope you all have been having a wonderful May. Can you believe it's already the last week of this month? The year seems to fly by (at least, for me, it does!)

God bless! Have a wonderfully whimsical Wednesday and a joyful June!

April There & Gone...

 Hi Everyone!

Hope April has been a nice one for you...if not, maybe May will be one.

Anyway, April got away from me before I could post a monthly post. I've been writing, and various real life things.

Hopefully I'll do better about getting a May post up before that month is over!

I wish you all the best. God bless!

Time Marches On...

 Hi Everyone!

As March winds down (it's already March 30th??!!), and we've started Holy Week, I realize I haven't posted a monthly post for March, so here we go:

Real Life: After about 3 weeks of dealing with the flu (first eldest got it, then youngest, then me. Husband escaped it--I have a couple of theories why, but nothing that I know for a fact is the reason). Youngest seems to keep eating something that makes him have issues--luckily, I pretty much can nail down what those things are, so we can avoid them in the future. Eldest and I are okay. I've got my last dose of Tamiflu to have with dinner tonight.

Writing Life:  Still got some stuff out for Sugar & Frost. I've gotten back to working on edits on Shifter Secrets, and progress has been made on it--I'm hoping to finish implementing the edits I'm putting in based off of my critique partner's notes (I've already put in what I want to do in the files that I had sent my CP, I just have to put them in my master copy).

As for Holy Week itself, I haven't fully figured out what I'm going to do--other than on Friday I plan to put aside all writer related things and social media in honor of it being Good Friday.

April marks a much of birthdays in my family, so there is that coming up.

I hope you've had a great March and that you have a peaceful/prayerful Holy Week and a lovely, blessed Easter! God bless.

Have A marvelously merry Monday!