This is certainly not what I expected. I picked it in a hurry, and I was looking for something light and fanciful. It was that, but certainly not the fairy tale version. It is a reality based tongue in cheek retelling of of an old fairy tale. It is light, but it certainly hints at deeper character development, over the course of the novel. The reader is left with a few unanswered questions and a feeling some things were glossed over in a hurry. But it is entertaining and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The narration is reminiscent of Vanessa Redgrave voicing Jenny Worth's reflections in the TV series, "Call the Midwife".