Against All Odds - A Fresh Cinderella Retelling

Romantic and engaging.

Against All Odd’s plot is not new. It is a retelling of the much-beloved fairy tale, Cinderella. Luis Ammerman gives the novel a fresh twist. Imagine “Bridgerton” meets “Ever After” then you’ll have “Against All Odds”.

The novel is set during the Regency Era in London specifically with the social season as its focal point. London’s social season was when the elite holds balls, dinners, picnics, and soirees for the ladies of the upper class to mingle with the most eligible bachelors. Ladies during this era were encouraged (to put it mildly), to find a suitable husband during social seasons. Mothers were eager to show off their daughters’ beauty, talents, and virtue as if they were possessions to the men who had powerful positions in their circuit. It could become vicious and cutthroat as marriages at the time were used to secure powerful partnerships between two prominent families. Marriages were more of business transactions than love matches. Luis was able to depict in an entertaining manner, the social structure and the importance of the season during that era.

The novel was about Hazel and Stephen’s love story. Hazel being Cinderella, and Stephen being the prince charming. In this novel, Stephen was a duke. In this retelling, Hazel’s character as Cinderella was given more depth. Sure, she was still abused by her evil stepmother, but Hazel was able to save herself by running away even if she had no idea where to go. Stephen was not the knight in shining armor, but an inspiration to Hazel. Stephen also was not just a prince charming looking for love, but a savvy businessman who showed no interest in following social conventions.

In this book, Luis’s main characters were progressive thinkers of their time. Although they still followed the era’s rules for courtship, Hazel and Stephen were still able to see each other pass their status. They were more interested in each other’s characters, attitudes, and goals in life. Despite the rigidity and stiffness of the upper class’ courtship style of the era, the romance of it all as described in the novel was irresistible. As a woman, who wouldn’t want to be courted by picnics, visits at home, dancing at balls, and just simply talking. As a reader, in as much as I’m happy that modern women have more autonomy in making our own decisions, it is still nice to be wooed and courted with flowers, dances, and nice dinners once in a while. This novel reminds lovers of the importance of romance to keep the love alive.

Typical tropes such as evil stepmothers, jealous stepsisters, and faithful best friends were still utilized, but they were engaging characters. Lady Sallington, the evil stepmother, was so effective in her cruelty that you would want to place her in a barrel and throw her into the ocean. Lady Sallington really made my blood boil and that showed how brilliant Luis as a writer. Luis was also able to depict the realistic challenges that Hazel and Stephen faced so they could be together. The romance is light-hearted filled with engaging conversations, coyish flirting, with a lot of stolen passionate kisses in between. Those scenes were sexier and steamier than erotic scenes.

Overall, Against All Odds appeals to the romantic side in all of us. It reminds us women that if a man loves us, they would do anything in their power to be with us. This novel also reminds women that despite all the hardships in life, we are strong enough to conquer our pains and we can save ourselves from our misery. We don’t need a knight in shining armor, but a man who truly loves us is the cherry on the cake.