Turgeon, Carolyn. Godmother: The Secret Cinderella Story. Crown, 2009. ISBN 978-0307407993 279 pp. $

I’m a sucker for a good fractured fairy tale; I think it stems all the way back to when I was 6, and there wasn’t a gifted & talented program at my school, so the administrators had me meet with the librarian (Miss Hathaway!) to read and discuss fairy tales that featured princesses.

In Godmother, Lil is a former fairy who was kicked out for failing her mission to get Cinderella to her prince. Now, hundreds of years later, suffering as an elderly woman in a human body with wings that she must keep hidden, Lil has an opportunity to connect two more star-crossed lovers.

Characters, from fairy sisters to Lil’s bookish employer to a vivid customer are wonderfully drawn; Turgeon’s descriptive style is akin to Francesca Lia Block, but a smidge less outrageous and lush. The New York setting is nearly a character in its’ own right.

Highly appealing for urban fantasy fans who prefer romance to epic battles.