Blog Tour: The Ugly Stepsister Strikes Back Review

Title: The Ugly Stepsister Strikes Back
Author: Sariah Wilson 
Genre: Young Adult Contemporary Romance
Published: August 15th 2012
Published by: Fire & Ice Books
Buy It: Amazon Kindle

Everyone knows how all those fairy tales go. The princess gets beautiful, nabs her prince, falls instantly in love, lives happily ever after and leaves her evil stepsisters in the dust.

But what happens when you’re the ugly stepsister and your obnoxiously perfect—read pretty, smart, and, worst of all, sickeningly nice—stepsister is dating the charming, tall, devastatingly handsome guy you’ve had a thing for since you were nine years old?

Quirky, artistic and snarky Mattie Lowe does not lead a charmed life. Her mother is constantly belittling her on Skype. Mercedes, the school mean girl, has made it her personal mission to torment Mattie. But worst of all? Her stepsister Ella is the most beautiful, popular girl in school and is dating Mattie’s secret longtime crush, Jake Kingston.

Tired of being left out and done with waiting for her own stupid fairy godmother to show up, Mattie decides to change her life. She’ll start by running for senior class president against wildly popular Jake.

Ella can keep her Prince Annoying. Mattie’s going to rule the school.

And no one, not even a cute and suddenly flirty Jake, is going to stop her.

Praise

“My top pick of 2012 YA… This book is just. plain. fun.” ~Jordan McCollum, author of Saints & Spies and I, Spy

“Sariah Wilson's new book, The Ugly Stepsister Strikes Back, is hilarious…What follows is a story of fun and romance with some good non-preachy life lessons thrown in.  The voice in the main character, Mattie, makes the whole thing.  I thought it was definitely a book I'd recommend to anyone with teenagers or who just want to read a good teen romance.” ~Julie Coulter Bellon, author of All Fall Down and All’s Fair

“Sariah [Wilson] has written one of the funniest stories I've read in such a long, long time. I literally couldn't put it down. Yes, my poor Kindle's battery died and I was attached to a short power cord, contorted in a very uncomfortable position while I read to the end…. Sariah Wilson captured the back-biting, insecure, hormone-driven, clique-riddled high school atmosphere so perfectly you'd think she never grew up. I dare you not to laugh as you read this witty and oh, so, romantic story.” ~Debra Erfert of Windows into Writing

“Sariah Wilson writes like the best of/most popular YA teen fiction/teen romance authors - Sarah Dessen, Jennifer Echols, Susanne Collins, Cassandra Clare.  She sucks you in and never lets you go.  I finished the ~194 novel in one night because I just couldn't go to sleep without knowing the ending!  I hope that Sariah comes out with more novels, I know I'll be re-reading this one all the time!  She's extremely talented and needs to be talked about.  I highly recommend The Ugly Stepsister Strikes Back! to anyone (over the age of 12) who wants a YA novel that's a real modern-day fairy tale.” ~Hilary at Novel d’Tales

“This was such an entertaining story! I shouldn't have started reading it so late in the evening, because I didn't want to put it down to go to sleep…This is a book I can see myself reading several times. It's a fast, clean read with great characters, and I highly recommend it.” ~Andrea of Literary Time Out

The book is wonderful.  It’s quirky and fun.  The story makes you laugh and you fall in love with the characters right from the beginning…This is a well-written book.  It is one that will make you smile and sigh as you remember your first love.  And it has a moral…be yourself, believe in yourself and maybe, just maybe, your fairytale will come true.  Pick up this book.” ~Ana of The Book Hookup

REVIEW

Don't let the cover fool you. Seriously. I admit to being skeptical about the book at first because of the cover and the Cinderella-inspired plot. But once I started reading it, I couldn't stop!

I just love how incredibly well written this book is. I liked that the story incorporated a few Cinderella elements into it without letting them take over. I also liked that the story tackled things that teenagers would normally experience: envy, self-doubt, first love and all the drama that comes between.

The characters were truly a delight to read! Mattie may have hated Ella's guts in the beginning, but she was in no way like the ugly stepsisters in Cinderella. Sure, she made a List of Grievances but she never acted on them. She was pretty cool, in fact, drawing manga and being great at poker. I loved how quirky and snarky she was - it made her all the more relatable. I also liked her sense of humor! I cannot get enough of that. I had to highlight a few of her lines because she was just so funny. Observe:

Dad once said that if I hadn't looked so much like him he definitely would have had a paternity test done. The day you found out your mother was a skank was a very sad one.

I'm sorry but I found that really funny. Her personality made the story twice as enjoyable. She was never boring and I think she makes a good example for teenage girls. She's strong and she's passionate. She may have had some stubborn moments when she found it hard to let go of her insecurities (she kept calling herself ugly but clearly she wasn't) but she was able to overcome that eventually. Matilda "Mattie" Lowe is definitely one of my favorite protagonists now.

Then we have Ella who seems too good to be true. But when Mattie took the time to get to know her, she wasn't the annoying girl Mattie thought she was. She was just... Ella. Cinderella and the fairy godmother all rolled into one... only more kickass.

Lastly we have Jake. Jake was sort of confusing at first because he's the nice popular jock who everyone adores but he treats Mattie like dirt (we all know why of course, duh). As the story progressed though Jake quit being such a bully to Mattie and showed who he truly was - this sweet, swoon-worthy guy who genuinely cares for her. I loved the all the subtle albeit confusing flirting Jake was doing with Mattie! The anticipation of getting to their happily ever after was actually one of my favorite things about the book. Some scenes really gave me butterflies. Woot! 

I highly recommend The Ugly Stepsister Strikes Back. Not only was it light and fun, it wasn't just a story - it teaches a lesson that I think a lot of young girls/teenagers should learn. It teaches girls to be confident and to come out of their shells............. I'm making it sound cheesy. It's not! Trust me. ;)

My Rating:

(Refer to rating system)

***I received an e-copy of this book for review***

This book is based solely on my opinion.

About the author

Sariah Wilson

Sariah Wilson has never jumped out of an airplane, never climbed Mt. Everest, and is not a former CIA operative. She has, however, been madly, passionately in love with her soulmate and is a fervent believer in happily ever afters—which is why she writes romance. The Ugly Stepsister Strikes Back is her fourth happily ever after novel. She grew up in southern California, graduated from Brigham Young University (go Cougars!) with a semi-useless degree in history, and is the oldest of nine (yes, nine) children. She currently lives with the aforementioned soulmate and their four children in Utah, along with three tiger barb fish, a cat named Tiger, and a recently departed hamster that is buried in the backyard (and has nothing at all to do with tigers).

CONTACT INFORMATION

Website | Twitter | Facebook

TOUR GIVEAWAY

$25 Amazon Gift Card or Paypal Cash

Ends 3/10/13

Open only to those who can legally enter, receive and use an Amazon.com Gift Code or Paypal Cash. Winning Entry will be verified prior to prize being awarded. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 or older to enter or have your parent enter for you. The winner will be chosen by rafflecopter and announced here as well as emailed and will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook, Twitter, Rafflecopter or any other entity unless otherwise specified. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. Giveaway was organized by Kathy from I Am A Reader, Not A Writer http://iamareader.com and sponsored by the author. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.

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February 18th

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February 19th
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Gamila's Book Review - Review
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February 20th
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Indie Author How-to - Spotlight
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The Book Mark Blog - Review
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February 23rd
Cuzinlogic - Interview
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February 24th
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February 25th
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February 28th
My Devotional Thoughts - Review & Tens List
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