Title: Charlotte and the Cozy Cottage

Series: Autumn Fairy Tales #2

Author: Abigail Manning

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Retelling, Romance

Rating: 4 stars

Review:

She’s a con artist who’s ready to start fresh. He’s her last target before she’s placed under house arrest. What will happen when he pays her a visit in her new prison? Charlotte Chryses has spent enough time pick-pocketing and thieving to know that it’s not the life she wants, but her father doesn’t feel the same. Her illusion magic is far too useful for her father to let her leave the family trade. She could always run away, but that becomes more difficult when one of her father’s tricks offends the king. With no other way to keep himself out from behind bars, Charlotte’s father convinces the king that his daughter’s magic is capable of turning common items into gold. This intrigues the king just enough to place her on house arrest with instructions to transmute whatever he brings her, but how is she meant to fool the king when her magic can only cast illusions? With her freedom and her father on the line, Charlotte finds help in the most unlikely of guests when her solitude is interrupted by a former victim of her thievery. With only a weak form of magic, a strange new companion, and one very fat cat, Charlotte must find her way out of the cottage and out of the life that holds her trapped. Will she ever be free of her cozy prison? Or will she end up in a cell that’s far colder? – summary from Goodreads

Charlotte and the Cozy Cottage is a fun Rumpelstiltskin retelling with unique twists and romance!

I enjoy a good Rumpelstiltskin retelling, but they typically aren’t my favorite. I really enjoyed this one! It was cozy, while also having some nice plot twists. It was a perfect autumn read.

I enjoyed how Abigail twisted the Rumpelstiltskin story. It made for a really interesting story, and I couldn’t quite figure out how the story was going to end. The main character, Charlotte, is a con artist who works with her father, though she is wanting to leave the business. Her father ends up getting in trouble with the king, and to get out of it shares that Charlotte can make anything into gold. One of the things I love about this, is that she does have magic, it is just illusion magic and is not very strong. It added another layer to the story that I really enjoyed.

The Rumpelstiltskin character was also fantastic! His name is Crow, and I loved him. Originally, Rumpelstiltskin is a very creepy character, so I am quite happy that the author was able to make him not creepy. And that no firstborns were promised away! The author did include the firstborn thing, but it was said as a joke and became a really cute moment. I also love that the Crow made Charlotte guess his name, which is how we ended with him being called Crow.

The other aspect of this story that I really enjoyed was how the author incorporated turning items into gold in the story. It was well done and had its humorous moments. I loved the role that Crow played in it. It was a really unique twist on the original story!

I loved the main characters, especially Charlotte! She was a lovely narrator, and I really enjoyed how she was trying to do the right thing. I also loved her cat, Gourd. He was a lovely addition to the story. Crow was also wonderful. He was very kind and was doing his best to help her.

Their relationship is adorable! They start off distrusting each other, but pretty quickly grow closer. They are so sweet, and I love that Crow was so helpful and caring towards her.

I suspected one of the plot twists, but the other plot twist at the end of the book was so shocking! Abigail Manning truly is the queen of plot twists!

Charlotte and the Cozy Cottage is a unique Rumpelstiltskin retelling with cons and romance!