My Unfair Godmother

I have been looking forward to reading Janette Rallison's My Unfair Godmother since I read her first novel about the neglectful fairy godmother Chrissy Everstar, My Fair Godmother (my review). The two novels only share her as a character and therefore can be read individually. In My Unfair Godmother Chrissy is back to wreak havoc in another teen's life by grossly misinterpreting her wishes.

Synopsis (from Goodreads):

Tansy Miller has always felt that her divorced father has never had enough time for her. But mistakenly getting caught on the wrong side of the law wasn't exactly how she wanted to get his attention. Enter Chrysanthemum "Chrissy" Everstar, Tansy's fairy in shining, er, high heels. Chrissy is only a fair godmother, of course, so Tansy's three wishes don't exactly go according to plan. And if bringing Robin Hood to the twenty-first century isn't bad enough for Tansy, being transported back to the Middle Ages to deal with Rumpelstiltskin certainly is. She'll need the help of her blended family, her wits, and especially the cute police chief 's son to stop the gold-spinning story from spinning wildly out of control.

In many ways this book is similar to its predecessor. Again you have a teen girl sent against her will into a fairy tale, a hot acquaintance of teenage girl ends up in the past for a longer period and is able to help her when she gets there, members of her family are also transported so defeating the magic becomes a team effort. I enjoyed the first novel and like Rallison's writing so the similarities didn't bother me. It was nice to be able to read something and know exactly what I was getting: a humorous yet thoughtful romantic story with fairy tale tropes and a happy ending.

I admit that I was a little nervous about the fairy tale Rallison was tackling with this one. Rumpelstiltskin is such a disturbing tale that it is a difficult one to do a reimagining of and not veer into the creepy. It is just a creepy story. Rallison managed it though, baby and all, and how she did it was inventive. Tansy is sympathetic yet flawed as well and Hudson is a perfect fairy tale hero. I also enjoyed the story of Tansy's relationship with her father, stepmother, and stepbrother.

Overall I liked the first one a little better, mainly because I liked Tristan as a hero more than Hudson and I thought the first one was more amusing. This is a very nice one too for those looking for more of the same and I will certainly read it if Rallison ever writes a third installment.

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