Blog Tour: Cinderella: Ninja Warrior + Giveaway

Cinderella: Ninja Warrior (Twisted Tales, 1) by Maureen McGowan, 2011. 320 pages. Published by Silver Dolphin Books. Source: Premier Virtual Book Tours.

In this fast-paced story full of adventure and romance, Cinderella is more than just a servant girl waiting for her prince—she's a tough, fearless girl who is capable of taking charge of a dangerous situation. Seeking to escape the clutches of her evil stepmother, Cinderella perfects her ninja skills and magic talents in secret, waiting for the day when she can break free and live happily ever after. In a special twist, readers have the opportunity to make key decisions for Cinderella and decide where she goes next—but no matter the choice; the result is a story unlike any fairy tale you've ever read!

First Sentence:

Cinderella's shoulders quivered with fatigue as she tipped the twenty-seventh wodden bucket of fresh water into her stepmother's bath.

I actually found myself really enjoying Cinderella: Ninja Warrior, which kind of surprised me since I'm not the biggest (read, I don't like Cinderella) fan of Cinderella. Usually I find her to be nothing more than a weak character whose only ability is to irritate me, but I loved Ms. McGowan's take on Cinderella.
For me the biggest shock about this book was that its a choose you fate read, where at the end of the chapter you have two choice on what the MC can do. It was shocking because I haven't read one of those in a few years, but it definitely makes me want to re-read the book and make new choices to see how the story differs with change of direction.

My thoughts on this new vision of Cinderella (as a character), I must say that liked this version way more than Disney's movie version. What I liked most about Ms. McGowan's Cinderella was that she was a fighter and was willing to try and save herself, rather than waiting for some prince to come along and rescue her from her life of drudgery

What I really liked best about Cinderella: Ninja Warrior was that (for once) Cinderella wasn't a pushover. It was really nice to see her grow a backbone; I also enjoyed the fact that she had quite the fighting spirit. It also doesn't hurt that there were some pretty cool fight scenes in the book as well.

While this Cinderella was great compared to the original, what really made this book was the evil Stepmother. She by far surpassed all fairy tale evil stepmothers, with how down-right ruthless she was and how cruelly she treated Cinderella. Why did I find her to be so much worse, well let's see, she was vile, cruel, heartless, and to top it all off her use of dark magic made her a truly formidable villain.

I thought that the story progressed relatively fast, but that could just be because of the route that I made Cinderella take.
It was also interesting to see how Ms. McGowan tweaked the meeting/introduction of the books prince charming, I think what she did with his part in the story was great. It definitely made him seem like a more intersting and useful guy.
What I liked the best about Cinderella: Ninja Warrior would have to be when Cinderella finally got to the palace for the first time, before the ball, I loved the extra bit that was added on to the story. Plus it was here were you really began to see what exactly this Cinderella was made of.

While I found this to be an interesting read *dum,dum, dum* I do have one point that just about drove me bonkers while reading it. I know that the book had ninja warrior in the title, but I felt the author used that turn of phrase just wee bit too much, because it would always be her ninja abilities this her ninja abilities that.

Final Verdict: Cinderella: Ninja Warrior  is an interesting twist on a classic. with a new and stronger Cinderella, whose more than willing to fight for what she wants.
I'll definitely be adding Sleeping Beauty- Vampire Slayer to my wish list.

Cinderella: Ninja Warrior earns 4 out of 5 pineapples.

Thanks to Teddy of Premier Virtual Book Tours and Silver Dolphin Books, I have one copy of Cinderella: Ninja Warrior for one lucky winner.

Rules:
Open to residents of the US and CA (sorry, but no PO Boxes for this contest) .
Ends 5/30 at 11:59 pm (eastern)
Winner will be notified by email and will have 48 hours to respond before a new winner will be picked.
Following is NOT required, but is always appreciated.
MUST leave a Meaningful comment on review.
To enter fill out the form.
Winner will be picked by Random.org






Dear FTC: This book was received for an honest review as part of a book tour. All views expressed are mine and were NOT influenced by any outside forces. Nor do I receive monetary gain for this *because there is NOT any to be had*.