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    Spelled
    Spelled
    Spelled
    Audiobook8 hours

    Spelled

    Written by Betsy Schow

    Narrated by Arielle DeLisle

    3.5/5

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    About this audiobook

    Fairy Tale Survival Rule #32: If you find yourself at the mercy of a wicked witch, sing a romantic ballad and wait for your Prince Charming to save the day.

    Yeah, no thanks. Dorthea is completely princed out. Sure, being the crown princess of Emerald has its perks-like Glenda Original ball gowns and Hans Christian Louboutin heels. But a forced marriage to the not-so-charming prince Kato is so not what Dorthea had in mind for her enchanted future.

    Talk about unhappily ever after.

    Trying to fix her prince problem by wishing on a (cursed) star royally backfires, leaving the kingdom in chaos and her parents stuck in some place called "Kansas." Now it's up to Dorthea and her prince to find the mysterious Wizard of Oz and undo the curse . . . before it releases the wickedest witch of all and spells The End for the world of Story.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherTantor Media, Inc
    Release dateJun 14, 2017
    ISBN9781541475649
    Author

    Betsy Schow

    Betsy Schow is the author of the memoir Finished Being Fat, and has been featured on The Today Show and in The Wall Street Journal. She lives in Utah, but travels the country with Color Me Rad 5k, and partners with non-profits to teach kids creative thinking and how to reach their goals. Visit her at betsyschow.com

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    Reviews for Spelled

    3.5/5

    82 ratings11 reviews

    What did you think?

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    • 5/5
      I love this book! It's whimsical and funny, and as all fairytales should, it has a moral to the story. It's a great clean read for pre-teens and teens, which is difficult to find these days, but it's still entertaining for adult listeners who love fairytales. I'm looking forward to the rest of the series!

      1 person found this helpful

    • 2/5
      This book was going along fine until about chapter 7 or so when it would suddenly start cutting off and the next chapter would start abruptly. It happened for at least 3 more chapters before I stopped the audiobook and decided that I couldn't listen any longer without spoiling the book before I could find a copy to read or listen to the entire chapters all the way through. I haven't had this happen with other books on Scribd yet, but it was something I know happened on Audible with other books. I checked the reviews here, there, and on GoodReads to see if this was an issue for anyone else, but no one else has complained about it. I'm not sure if I am the first to notice or the only one to have the problem. I may go back at a later date and attempt this book again to see if these chapters finish playing for me. I will update if I do so, but until that time, this will be a DNF for me because I can't enjoy a book when I can't read or hear the entire story.
    • 2/5
      This book was just trying too hard. I couldn't enjoy it because it felt like the author kept elbowing me in the ribs and asking, "see what I did there?" Spend more time on letting your characters show us who they are and why, not to mention cleaning up the meandering plot. All in all, it was just too heavy a hand for me.
    • 3/5
      This one is hard to describe. There is so much going on from so many different angles that it’s hard to decide if I like it or not. It started well, then midway through I was getting tired of all the seemingly senseless things that were happening. However, the plot leveled out again towards the end of the book. I realize it’s a fairytale but even fairytales can go too far. This one reaches that point in some parts.
    • 3/5
      Some funny and clever parts but it felt long. Also what was with the Wonderland references? It's been a while since I've read the original Oz series but I'm pretty sure the caterpillar smoking a pipe comes from Wonderland. But then again, this is a series so maybe there will be a crossover into Wonderland in a later book.
    • 5/5
      This book was so fast paced and amazing I can't believe it. Spelled is about a princess who is possibly doomed to a curse put on her family so she is locked up tight in a castle. When she makes a wish that ruins all the rules of fairy tales and all the happily ever afters she is forced to brave possibly invoking her curse to rescue the world and fix what she has done. What made this book all the more interesting was that the whole thing intertwines all sorts of fairy tales together and reads a lot like the Wizard of Oz. The main characters name is Dorthea, she travels with a group, there is a wicked witch after her, and there are some almost ruby slippers.

      The plot was very engaging and kept me on my toes the entire time. At about page 50 is when the mayhem starts to set in and the book really gets going and I really appreciated that since recently I have been picking up some slow starters.

      Dorthea is a great main character, there is character growth and she is just sarcastic enough to be a typical teenager but she is strong and brave and I didn't hate her, even when she was bratty.

      This whole book was a pleasant surprise. I kind of knew what I was getting into but I didn't think I would love it so much. Schow takes these worlds that we know and so beautifully adapts them into her story so that they feel familiar yet different enough to keep the reader guessing. Loved it.

      If you are a fan of fairy tale retellings, you will enjoy this one.
    • 3/5
      Love the idea of the book - what a great concept! I found it a little hard to follow, but kudos for creativity!
    • 2/5
      Sadly, Spelled fell short for me. Touted as a retelling of The Wizard of Oz there was very little in common with the original except for hastily thrown in references i.e. the protagonist name, turning someone into a scarecrow, a few mentions of a place/thing called Oz, and at the tail end, a picture of her parents in "Kansas.". Almost every fairy tale had a character name dropped, and while I think this may work in something like the TV show Once Upon A Time, here I felt overwhelmed by trying to place everyone's story, especially when Greek mythology got thrown into the mix. I also found the inventive curses (pixied, glammed, Grimm instead of God, etc) unnecessary and felt they distracted from the story.I never felt a connection to any of the characters. I saw very little growth or change in any of them and that made it hard to care. Dorthea irritated me and came across as whiny. I couldn't see what Kato saw in her, or what she saw in him for that matter. We barely get a glimpse at his personality or any of the other secondary characters. (Except Rexi, and I just wanted to punch her.)I think with so much thrown together in the story, the plot itself got lost a little along the way. I found it hard to find a purpose behind all that was happening. Unfortunately, I was not enchanted by this spell.
    • 2/5
      Review courtesy of Dark Faerie TalesQuick & Dirty: On a positive note, it does improve in the second half.Opening Sentence: ‘Stupid princes,’ I muttered as I stalked down the green-flecked quartz-and-marble hallway.The Review:I’ve seen Spelled on a number of book blogs and made the mistake of assuming that it would be an awesome read. That’s the problem with hype, it almost never lives up to its expectations. Spelled didn’t either. Princess Dorthea, aka Dot, is the most self-centered, spoiled and bratty main character I have ever read about. Her attitude about life is that because she’s the Princess, she’s entitled to a happily-ever-after, and that’s about it. So when she accidentally makes a wish on a cursed star and everything goes haywire, she hasn’t the faintest clue how to clear it up. It takes her a while to even accept that it’s her mess to clean.I’m absolutely sure I hadn’t wished for this disaster.An ill-worded wish is worse than a curse, the old adage whispered in my mind.Dot is unbelievably infuriating, her entire thought process revolves around materialistic things, so to begin with I was bored to death reading about her. Thankfully, her personality improves as the story progresses. She starts to understand that the world doesn’t owe her anything and if she wants something to change she’ll need to do something about it. She begins to think about others and ends up being a semi decent character.Denial was no longer an option. But I couldn’t remember what had been going through my head when I’d wished the world away. Had I just been spouting off because my temper had gotten the best of me again? Or had I, somewhere deep in my subconscious, known the wish would work this way? Did it even matter? I was still responsible whether it was on purpose or not. True but one makes you a monster. The other one just makes you an idiot. Which one is it?Rant over. The rest of the book wasn’t too bad. Spelled is filled with a fun miss match of old fairy tales gone wrong because of the curse, for example beauty turning into the beast. I enjoyed trying to work those out where I could.Pulling a sour face, Hydra threw her hands up in the air. “Bah! You is dumber than I thought. And I gots no use for romantic fools. Be gone, all of you. I done everything I can. There ain’t no solving stupid.”My favourite characters were Kato the beast Prince, and Rexi the thief/servant. I was half hoping that Kato and Rexi would fall in love; it would definitely have added a twist to the story. Plus, their banter was far more entertaining than Dot/Kato’s!Bob nudged me and winked. “Say no more. I was a hatchling once myself. True love is like a stalactite meeting a stalagmite. Complete opposites, but with time, calcium, and a healthy drip system, they meet in the middle. Or one crushes the other. It really depends.”To conclude, I liked the second half of the story, so if you’re reading Spelled and want to put the book down because it’s boring, just remember that it does get better, even if it’s only a tad bit.Notable Scene:I gasped sharply, and I’m sure my expression matched Blanc’s almost exactly. “This can’t be right. The handsome prince never dies. That’s not how it works.”“Oh wake up,” Rexi said, slamming her hand against the wood. “When are you going to move past your sheltered little palace mind-set and realize that your previous Storymakers aren’t real! They’re stories told to little children so they won’t be afraid of the Jabberwock under the bed and will have nice dreams of happy ever afters. It’s time to grow up. Bad things happen, parents sell their children to pay taxes, dreams only come true if you have enough money, and there’s no one up there answering my prayers. Or yours.” She stormed out of the room.FTC Advisory: Sourcebooks Fire provided me with a copy of Spelled. No goody bags, sponsorships, “material connections,” or bribes were exchanged for my review.
    • 4/5
      Spelled is a mashup of fairy tales.There are rules to being a princess in a fairy tale, and Dorthea is tired of them. She’s been spelled and cannot leave the palace. All she wants is to see what’s outside and get away from the neverending princes wanting her hand. Of course, leaving the palace could cause the world to end, which is what is supposed to happen if the Emerald Princess leaves, according to the spell. Instead, Dorthea shops endlessly and feels no obligation to her people. She’s a bit of a selfish brat. She’s entertaining, however. Dorthea finally gets out, but it’s not how she would have liked. One rule of fairy tales is “beware of strangers bearing gifts--especially little old ladies and cute kids.” Dorthea forgets this momentarily and causes magic in the world and the fairy tales to run amuck. Accompanied by a prince whom she thinks is beneath her but must marry according to her family and a maid whom she thinks is a coward, Dot has to use her head and not lose her shoes while she tries to fix a wish gone astray.At first I thought that I wouldn’t like the book. The beginning was kind of silly, but I read the book straight through and loved it. It would help if you know The Wizard of Oz. You will meet characters from so many fairy tales that you can’t help but grin at the humor. The novel pokes fun at the constructs of fairy tales, so don’t expect a fairy tale ending. It’s a good ending, but it’s not your typical fairy tale and neither is this novel. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this novel--you will, too!
    • 3/5
      I received an Advance Reader Copy from Sourcebooks in exchange for an honest review.

      Spelled follows the story of Dorothea, the Princess of the Emerald Castle. She has lived a charmed life, always getting the newest Hans Christian Louboutin shoes and designer ball gowns. Dot, as her closest friends call her, finds out that her parents have arranged a marriage for her with the gross Prince Kato. Dot gets so pixed off that she makes a wish on a (secretly) cursed star that sends her world tumbling through a tornado of changes.

      Good Grimm, you can really tell that Betsy Schow had fun writing this book. It’s full of funny and creative fairy tale puns, mixing up many different fantasy worlds to create a story where a spoiled princess must grow to be the heroine that can save her country, her family, and herself. While Spelled has some adult themes, it is written for a young adult audience. Spelled will take you on a magical adventure that will keep you on your red-ruby-heeled toes.