How to Summon a Fairy Godmother, Laura J. Mayo
How to Summon a Fairy Godmother, Laura J. Mayo
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How to Summon a Fairy Godmother
A Hilarious Cinderella Fairytale What-If

Author: Laura J. Mayo

Narrator: Josie Charles

Unabridged: 11 hr 35 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Orbit

Published: 10/08/2024


Synopsis

If a fairy godmother can get one sister into a marriage, getting another out of one should be easy…  Lady Theodosia Balfour has certainly gotten the short end of the stick—her stepsister, the newly crowned Princess Beatrice, is telling everyone in polite society that Theo, her sister, and their mother are evil, wicked, and horrid people who treated her like a slave. Though Theo knows this isn't exactly true, it seems her life is thoroughly ruined by the rumor. With the Balfour family estate on the verge of bankruptcy, Theo's only path forward is a forced betrothal to the Duke of Snowbell, a foul-tempered geezer who wishes only to use her as a brood mare for spare heirs.  Desperate for help, Theo clings to the only thing that might save her: the rumor of a fairy godmother, one that supposedly helped her stepsister secure a prince. After discovering a way to summon a fairy in Beatrice's old room, Theo thinks her prayers have been answered. But the fairy she meets isn't at all what she imagined. Drop-dead gorgeous, incredibly cunning, and slightly devious, Cecily of the Ash Fairies is much more interested in gathering powerful favors and smoking her pipe than providing charitable magic for humans in a bind. Before she receives magical assistance, Cecily sets Theo to three tasks, seemingly to prove that Theo is a selfless and kind person. Helping her along the way are Cecily's familiars, the flirty human-turned-mockingbird Phineas and the aloof Kasra, a fox shapeshifter who should not be as handsome as he is for someone with such cutting remarks. As Theo works on her tasks, she shockingly finds kinship with the magical creatures she's helping, and starts to wonder if a continued life among her human peers is what she really wants after all. From debut author Laura J. Mayo comes a hilarious new spin on the Cinderella tale!

Reviews

Goodreads review by Rosh ~catching up slowly~ on May 11, 2025

In a Nutshell:A clever retelling of Cinderella’s tale from the point of view of one of her “wicked stepsisters”. Doesn’t stop at being a retelling but goes much beyond. Snarky, funny, magical. Excellent character and plot development. First of a planned duology(?) but no cliffhanger ending. A fabul......more

Goodreads review by Robin on February 20, 2025

i’m the mean stepsister who bargained with a fairy godmother and you’re her grouchy familiar who can turn into a fox, responsible for following me around while i complete a series of tasks to prove i’m a good person this was the perfect cinderella retelling and oddly fitting following my read through......more

Goodreads review by Mbhabibti on September 11, 2024

3.5 STARS — So what happened to the stepsisters after Cinderella married the prince? Well, one found herself needing to get out of an engagement rather than into one (To our great dismay, not everyone manages to catch the attentions of a handsome prince.) If only there was a fairy godmother around t......more

Goodreads review by jenny reads a lot on September 05, 2024

3⭐️ | TikTok | The imagery and prose is fantastic, if you’re looking for an immersive world packaged in a Cinderella spin-off where the FMC is one of the stepsisters, this is that… However, I was bored. The whole time. I firmly believe that the first 25% of this book could have, and should have been a......more

Goodreads review by MillennialMomReading on October 01, 2024

How to Summon a Fairy Godmother by Laura J Mayo is a fun listen (or read) that takes a classic tale and spins it on its head. A bit of romance and a smidge of fantasy kept this engaging, although I would have appreciated more of both. The difference between four and five stars for me was pacing-I fe......more