Welcome to the end of the book! If you’ve read this far, then maybe you’re interested in some extra background on this story. Here goes!
I loved the Cinderella myth growing up. LOVED. As in, I pretty much played Barbie Cinderella non-stop. And when you replay something a million times, you start to notice where the gaps are. Here are some of the questions that (seriously) haunted me from my youth:
When Cinderella’s parents die, how does her stepfamily make a living? Her father was a merchant. If he stopped doing his thing, how did the bills get paid?
Who was the stepmother? In this I mean, how did the stepfather meet her? I didn’t picture her as another merchant, so it must have been that she was part of the same social set. If so, wouldn’t the stepmother know Cinderella’s birth mother?
Why didn’t Cinderella DO SOMETHING about her crappy situation? She could make clothes for mice and clean houses, so she clearly had marketable skills.
Plus, what was up with the fairy godmother? Nice to show up for the ball, but what about when her parents died? It seems like the godmotherly to have done would be to at least send a card. Showing up the night before the ball with fashion tips is a little thin.
And finally, why does the Prince have to be so wimpy? He’s about to become king one day and yet allows himself get bossed into this ball-for-a-bride deal. Every country has problems. What are the ones facing his realm? How will going to kick ass and take names … with his new partner at his side?
Those are a lot of questions to answer, and I couldn’t fit them all into one book. Hence why there’s another Elle and Alec story, BANDITS AND BALL GOWNS.
There’s more I wanted to do with this story than fill in some missing world building. If I’ve done my job right, this tale is about finding your authentic self and facing some real-world problems. I like my romantic partners to team up and take problems down. In that department, there’s a lot more to come from Elle and Alec!
