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Unabridged Digital Audiobook
Runtime: 5 hours, 41 minutes
Read by Kristin Condon
In her first Fairy Tale Reform School novel, Flunked, well-meaning thief Gillian Cobbler was sentenced to attend a reform school run by reformed villains. But while she helped to save the day in the first installment, she faces new challenges in the audio edition of the follow up, Charmed.
The second book in the series finds Gilly trying to adjust to her new-found fame. After saving Enchantasia, Gilly has become a hero—and that’s a pretty big change from being seen as nothing more than a thief and a troublemaker just weeks ago. But something is still not quite right at Fairy Tale Reform School, and Gilly is determined to get to the bottom of it. She is, after all, the school’s hero. So she decides to do a little undercover work—even if it means spending less time with her friends and more with the school’s snobby Royal Ladies in Waiting.
Charmed explores what can happen when you let a little bit of fame go to your head. In the first novel, Gilly got to enjoy life at FTRS a little more. She got to explore the school and make friends (and an enemy or two) before the real action began.
But now that she’s a beloved hero, Gilly feels that it’s her responsibility to protect the school—to get to the bottom of the latest mystery and keep evil from rearing its head once again. That’s not altogether a bad thing—but, in the process, she turns her back on those who care about her the most. She secretly joins the Royal Ladies in Waiting, avoiding her closest friends as she searches for a mole who’s leaking valuable information to the villains who want to take over the kingdom.
For that reason, the second book in the series is rather dreary. Gilly may have the best of intentions, but her methods aren’t always the best—and that makes her less likable as a main character. She’s hurt her friends and her family members, too—so the story is filled with disappointment and hard feelings.
Meanwhile, the story also offers some interesting twists on some familiar fairy tales—surprising twists that might not sit well with loyal fairy tale fans. But as long as you’re open to some new perspectives on the characters, you’ll be amused by the outcome.
The second Fairy Tale Reform School lacks the novelty of the first—and it takes a moodier turn. But if you love the fairy tales of your childhood, Charmed is still an entertaining twist on the stories (and characters) that you know and love.
Listen to the review on Shelf Discovery:
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