Kindle Edition Download to your Nook (eBook) Amazon Kathy L Wheeler - Romance Author Kobo Apple Category:  Historical Fiction Publisher: Kathy L Wheeler Type: Fiction Pages: 190 Copyright: Aug 27, 2015 Price: $3.99 (eBook) Ever wondered why Cinderella's stepmother was so mean? In a tale of heartbreak and enlightenment, the sisters learn how tragedy shaped their mother into the woman she became. Fairy tales don't always end happily... Fourteen years after Prince Charming and Cinderella are crowned as the new King and Queen of Chalmers Kingdom, Cinderella's evil stepmother lies upon her deathbed. With her sisters at her side, the three find themselves shocked with the revalations Lady Hildegard Roche unwittingly unleashes. The question is: can the sisters forgive her? Excerpt “Why are you telling me this now?” Papa roared so loudly the paintings on the wall seemed to tremble in fear. But Hilda knew it was she who was trembling. On stealthy feet and hugging the wall, she crept closer. There was no other way to gain her freedom save leaping from her balcony. Even Juliet had not jumped to her death in that particular fashion. That line of thought sent a shudder of terror over her. We are not lovers destined to death, she reassured herself. All she need do was make it to the pond. Off Papa’s property. Then out of Alsace to the safety of Grenoble, all within the arms of Pierre. ’Twill be over soon...’twill be over soon...soon. If she kept repeating the words, they would come true. Wouldn’t they? She slipped by the clock—a monstrosity—though she rather loved the overbearing piece of wood at the moment. “You,” Papa spat. Hilda froze, squeezing her eyes shut. “You are responsible for her recalcitrant nature.” The menace from the foyer rose like a poisonous haze that rent the air. The breath rushed from Hilda’s body leaving her trembling like the leaves she’d heard stirring from her balcony. She chanced a peek below. Her father’s large form hovered, a threatening force over Maman’s slight one.

There will be Tears
Fairy tales do not always end happily. Cinderella Series - The Evil Stepmother
Did you ever wonder why Cinderella's Evil Stepmother was so vile? So mean?
Fourteen years after Prince Charming and Cinderella are crowned as Chalmers King and Queen, Cinderella, Pricilla and Esmeralda gather at their mother's deathbed.
Lady Hildegard Roche has nothing but resentment and scorn for the stepchild who culminates all that was stolen from her. Stunned silent, the sisters learn how tragedy shaped their mother into the woman she became. The question is: Can the sisters forgive her?

I have read the stories of the Princesses: Cinderella, Pricilla and Esmeralda. I never dreamed that there would be a story about their mom and step mama (the evil one). Didn't see that one coming and when it did, I wanted to read it! Wow. What a story. How much abuse and loss can one woman stand? It really tugged at the emotions. Twists and turns kept happening, none of them working in a good way for Hilda. More than once she wished for death. Betrayal every where she turned; it caused her to harden her heart; and become the unpleasant woman that she became. She didn't start out that way, but her father was the first one to treat her harshly and cruelly without any mercy. Yes, I did cry a few tears over this story. I guess you could call it a Dark Fairytale. One that caused Cinderella, Priclla and Esmeralda to come to an understanding of their own pain that she caused them. With understanding and compassion came some peace.

How to create an Evil Step-Mother
The Brother's Grimm would be so proud to know their evil step mother creation from Cinderella has finally found her history revealed! In this 4th book in the series - The Price of Scorn - book iv: Cinderella's Evil Stepmother, the barbarous, savage, inhumane life experience of Cinderella's step-mother unfolds leading the reader to discover empathy with this most unsympathetic of iconic characters. The brutal back story to the evil step mother, LADY HILDEGARD BERGENOIR SIMMON ROCHE, helps to explain how she became the cruel, despicable archetype of all step-monsters. As a young girl she is ripped from the arms of her lover, raped, married to a man for dynastic purposes, seen her own mother murdered by her father, and, before she turns 18, miscarries her first child (by her long lost lover). This is a compelling read that is hard to put down while keeping the reader in a state of shock as the young woman who will become Cinderella's tormentor suffers almost unimaginable torture. Just when you think the poor child cannot suffer any more tragedy or abuse, she manages to escape her unfeeling husband who keeps her pregnant. How? He dies leaving her to think she may now know peace. Wrong. Her dead husband’s nephew plans to take his place. She escapes by marrying another man she only just met. However she is irreparably damaged by this point in her life and her own opportunity for a happily ever after is destroyed by her own inability to accept love or share love with another. Cinderella and her sisters learn their mother's story as she lies on her death bed. The story of Hilde helps her daughters understand how she became the bitter, evil woman known to the rest of the world in the iconic story of Cinderella. Set aside time to read this book start to finish. Kae Elle Wheeler has masterfully crafted this tale of how one woman becomes the definition of evil. I guarantee you will not want to put it down until you turn the last page!

The Evil Stepmother's Tale
This is the conclusion or Ms. Wheeler's rendition of the Cinderella story....and what a great way to end the series. This is the story of the 'Evil Stepmother' from her young adulthood and crush on the family's help to her eventual marriage to Cinderella's father and up until the day she dies. It is quite the journey and explains much as to how the stepmother became the way she did and how to make someone truly evil by circumstances alone. While I will never truly 'love' the wicked stepmother, this story does allow me some compassion towards her in explaining things.

I enjoyed how Kae started in present day Chalmer's Kingdom and then had the stepmother tell her own story to her grown children...going back to when she was the same age as when we first encountered her daughters and Cinderella in the author's previous stories. I feared that it was going to be a dark, tragic, and melancholic book when in the first few pages she tries to run away, contemplates ending things, and then is given to a man old enough to be her father; but the author somehow pulled me in, engaged me, and kept just enough compassion or lightness in the story to prevent it from becoming horribly depressing. Instead she unfurls the stepmother's story with several twists that had me smiling broadly or gasping with surprise.

I would highly recommend this book. I also would recommend reading the books in order as this story does allude to things that have happened in the previous books. However, the main storyline can stand on its own.

Having read the whole series, I must say I have a new view on the 'old, well-told' Cinderella story. This rendition has been by far my favorite one. Unique, well-told, surprises and twists that delight and sometimes shock...it is a series I will be recommending to my friends and family.