Never After

Rating:
Summary: A great fairy tale spoof-had me laughing out loud.
Review: "Never After" was funny, witty, and amusing. Which is why I _almost_ gave it four stars.

However, since I'm still new at this reviewing bit on Amazon, and I don't know how to give 3.5 stars, I'll give it 3 instead.

The main flaws in "Never After" are the extraneous wizards; they, at best, are caricatures. I was hoping Lickiss would marry the odious stepsisters off to them; no such luck. And the wicked fairy godmother turned me off, too; of course, I'm sure she was supposed to do that.

Still, making jokes about senility and spells that don't work just doesn't cut it with me, so her character just was a plain miss.

Contrary to most of the other reviewers, I liked Princess Vevila. She was very smart, and I thought liked Rumplestiltskin immediately, because he saw her as _herself_. That's a feminist fairy tale -- and the way Rumplestiltskin proposes to her, twice, _also_ was done in an enlightened way (he basically asks her if she wants to be bored, and promises that if she comes with him, she won't be).

Rumplestiltskin _is_ the best character in the book. He's very funny, and I believed his motivations.

However, _most_ of the other minor characters were good; Prince A-whatever was callow but funny, the wizard that gets a spell put on him, M-whatever, was funnier after the spell was cast than before, and the other characters were reasonably well-drawn, too. (I especially liked Prince A-whatever's family. A solid lot.)

I think this is a good book; not a great book, but a good one. I wish I knew how to give it 3.5 stars, because I really, really think that's what it deserves.

Don't expect great literature with this book, but _do_ expect entertainment, enjoyment, and something you might want to reread on a cold, wintry day with a cup of tea in your hand.

Rating:
Summary: Enjoyable light piece of fluff
Review: "Never After" was funny, witty, and amusing. Which is why I _almost_ gave it four stars.

However, since I'm still new at this reviewing bit on Amazon, and I don't know how to give 3.5 stars, I'll give it 3 instead.

The main flaws in "Never After" are the extraneous wizards; they, at best, are caricatures. I was hoping Lickiss would marry the odious stepsisters off to them; no such luck. And the wicked fairy godmother turned me off, too; of course, I'm sure she was supposed to do that.

Still, making jokes about senility and spells that don't work just doesn't cut it with me, so her character just was a plain miss.

Contrary to most of the other reviewers, I liked Princess Vevila. She was very smart, and I thought liked Rumplestiltskin immediately, because he saw her as _herself_. That's a feminist fairy tale -- and the way Rumplestiltskin proposes to her, twice, _also_ was done in an enlightened way (he basically asks her if she wants to be bored, and promises that if she comes with him, she won't be).

Rumplestiltskin _is_ the best character in the book. He's very funny, and I believed his motivations.

However, _most_ of the other minor characters were good; Prince A-whatever was callow but funny, the wizard that gets a spell put on him, M-whatever, was funnier after the spell was cast than before, and the other characters were reasonably well-drawn, too. (I especially liked Prince A-whatever's family. A solid lot.)

I think this is a good book; not a great book, but a good one. I wish I knew how to give it 3.5 stars, because I really, really think that's what it deserves.

Don't expect great literature with this book, but _do_ expect entertainment, enjoyment, and something you might want to reread on a cold, wintry day with a cup of tea in your hand.

Rating:
Summary: A Fallen Fariytale: Had Potential, but Ultimately Disapoints
Review: At first, it seemed like Lickiss was doing everything right. She developed her fun malady of off-center characters in surroundings that led us to understand more about their motives and their personalities. She had the perfect set and the perfect twisted fairy tale (3 sleeping princes, not 1 sleeping princess). What could go wrong? It was such a good start...

But no. Somehow, Lickiss manages to keep her flight-intended characters grounded. Don't ask me how; don't ask me why. The characters do not interact the way their should; they form no specific relationships. Cousins Princess Vevila and Prince Athelstan provide little entertainment, as Vevila seems to be completely heartless (as no heroine, not even a boyish princess, should be) and Athelstan spends the entire time sulking after an asleep princess whom he's never met. The only bright spot on the picture is clever, witty Rumplestiltskin and his illuminating sense of humor. At the end the story picks up, but the plot lags tremendously in the middle.

Okay, read it if you want to. The idea is good, but the story fell through. Lickiss is a good writer and no doubt probably could have pulled off the story had someone given her some direction. For bookworms and very intense readers, it'll be enough worth your time just to whiz through it within a few hours. For those who are looking for a novel to read in their spare time, I don't recommend this book. Its far to dull to be picked up and put down again periodically.

Reader beware! This was a rather boring book and, if it is to be enjoyed at all, must be enjoyed through the idea of the adventure and not how the author portrays it. Happy (or not) Reading!

Rating:
Summary: Could have been great...
Review: However, there were many problems with this book. There was absolutly no character development. I felt the characters were flat and the reader never understood WHY the characters were doing the things that they did. The entire book read like a storyboard outline or a skeletal framework that was never fleshed out into the full potential that it could have been. The anti-climactic ending. The entire book could have been related in one or two chapters as a flashback to the real story; the ending was just beginning the real story of saving a kingdom that could have been filled with adventure... sadly we are given... they go to "save the kingdom and they all lived happily ever after." I was highly disappointed that I spent the money on it.

Rating:
Summary: This Book Would Make a Great Movie!
Review: I agree with the reviewer from Hendersonville, NC that this book would make a great movie. As I read it, I could picture the characters' actions and facial expressions on the big screen (like in Shrek). The characters were very well developed as the novel progressed. It was altogether a delightful book.

Rating:
Summary: Delightful---but not enough.
Review: I picked this book up on a lark and am pleased I did so. It was a delightful book combining elements from multiple fairy tales (Sleeping Beauty, Princess and the Pea, and Rumplestiltskin to name a few). I genuinely enjoyed the concept of a female protagonist that was not interested in the "princessiness" of life and wanted more. To that extent I wished the author had fleshed out Vevila to a greater degree. This book has such great potential. Perhaps Rebecca Lickiss will take a cue from many directors who are "re-tooling" their movies, and take a moment to retool this. I for one would buy it again with add-ons.

Rating:
Summary: Lots of fun
Review: I really enjoyed this book. The characters were fun, but they had their faults. Princess Vevila is a great princess that want more to life than being the wife of some idiot prince. I loved the fact that it was a mix of lots of fairy tales. The only part that I did not like was that the which did not get her due in the end, she should have been punished. Hope the auther writes more in the same vein.

Rating:
Summary: A mixture of all fairy tales
Review: I was in the booksotre looking for a book I had never read, when I found Never After. I had been there the day before and it wasn't there so it was almost like magic. I just got through reading it and I think that it was a very very good book. It was a mixture of Cinderella, Rumpelstilskin, Sleeping Beauty, The Princess and the Pea, and The Frog Prince. I just hope that this is made into a movie. You will Enjoy it.

Rating:
Summary: Never After - Interrupted
Review: I was really enjoying the book, liked all the fairy tale elements retold and right after the frog gets kissed, I turn the page and whamo! Blamo! I have upside down pages pages 183 -214 of Between Lovers by Eric Jerome Dickey. The book stops in the middle of a sentence! I am very frustrated. I tried the Penguin web site and there is no way to leave a message. I feel that the rest of the book should be posted on the web site so that I can find out how it ends! I'm hoping that there will be a copy at the bookstore that has the entire book. Penguin should apologize to every reader.

Rating:
Summary: A fairy tale's fairy tale
Review: Never After is a fairy tale within a fairy tale...several times over. If you are looking for passion, high drama, intrigue, or mystery...find another book. But, if you are a fairy tale lover with a funny bone, you've found what you're looking for.

I was afraid that I would not like this book at first, but as soon as I met the main heroine, Vevila, I was hooked...

The story starts out with a prince, who can only marry someone of equal or higher rank, on the hunt for a princess. He unfortunately lives during a time of severe princess shortages. He reads about a princess, cursed into eternal sleep, and goes on a quest to rescue her with his kiss. But even the best scribes can blow it, as the prince finds out. It's not a princess, but three identical princes who need a royal to awaken them with a kiss. But there is a lovely maiden asleep in their castle, so our prince, Athelstan, asks his cousin, Vevila, to break the curse for him. Since this will take her away from all her suitors, handsome yet boring certainly included, Vevila agrees. But the princes are guarded by their fairy godmother, and she will allow no one to kiss them until they have undergone a princess test...or two. So Vevila is locked up with a pile of straw and ordered to spin it into gold...and that's only the beginning.

Includes spoofs of The Frog Prince, Cinderella, The Princess and the Pea, and lots more. It was hilarious...especially the fairy godmother who happens to resemble a wicked witch and is slightly, well, nuts really. Try this book! It's great.