Chapter 19 : All the Ever Afters

 

All the Ever Afters is a retelling story that written by Danielle Teller. This novel covers story of Cinderella but from the stepmother's perspective.

We all know the story of Cinderella. Or do we?

Cinderella's stepmother, Agnes, a peasant born into serfdom, she is separated from her family and forced into servitude as a laundress’s apprentice at Aviceford Manor when she is just ten years old. Alone, friendless, and burdened with a grueling workload, Agnes carves a place for herself in this cold place that is home to Sir Emont Vis-de-Loup, a melancholic and capricious drunkard. 

Using her wits and ingenuity, Agnes eventually escapes and makes her way toward a hopeful future, serving as a housemaid for the powerful Abbess Elfilda. But life once again holds unexpected, sometimes heartbreaking twists that lead Agnes back to Aviceford Manor, where she becomes nursemaid to Ella, Emont's sensitive, otherworldly daughter. Though she cares for Ella, Agnes struggles to love this child, who in time becomes her stepdaughter and, ultimately, the celebrated princess who embodies all our unattainable fantasies.

Familiar yet fresh, tender as well as bittersweet, the story of Agnes and Ella's relationship reveals that beauty is not always desirable, that love may take on many guises, and that freedom is not always something we can choose.

It is an interesting story to read and open my mind to another telling of Cinderella's story. It is unique and enjoyable to read. I do find this book is kind of hard to read with all those fairy tale's term, so I do not really recommend this to beginner. Overall, I rated this book for 3.9/5 ✩.

A quote that I would like to cite from this story :

"Death does not diminish a mother's love. Not a whit."

 (page 279)

Additional details of this book :

• Comes with paperback, hardcover and kindle edition.
• Genre : Fiction, Fantasy, Retellings
  
• Author : Danielle Teller
  
• Pages : 376 pages
• Goodreads rating : 3.75/5.00 ✩ 
• Published in May 22nd, 2018