Not Your Average Fairy Tale by Chantele Sedgwick

Publisher: Crescent Moon Press
Pages: 224

(Released: August 1, 2012)

From the Cover:

Ash Summerland has it all-good looks, popularity, and the best grades at The Academy of Magical Beings.

Ready to complete his last assignment in order to graduate, Ash is confident he will get the apprenticeship he wants. but when he opens the letter from the Council, he is shocked to discover he has been assigned to apprentice Lady Shenelle, Keeper of Happy Endings - aka the head fairy godmother.

Ash is forced to grant three wishes to a troubled human girl named Kendall, and ultimately give her a "happy ever after". But Kendall turns out to be more than he bargained for. Still grieving over her father's death, she doesn't want anything to do with Ash. And worst of all, she doesn't believe in happy endings.

Ash Summerland thinks he's going to have it all, graduating at the top of his class, his dream job as a Sandman... until it all crashes down, and he can't believe his luck. When he rushes to see his mentor, the head Sandman, he's told it's all for his own good. But, how can being a fairy godmother be a good thing? And what's worse are the gossamer wings that suddenly want to sprout from his back. Now, he's forced into becoming... a fairy... with wings, a wand, and everything, and not only is he a fairy, but a fairy godmother (or whatever you want to call the only guy fairy godmother... what would that be? A guy fairy wish granter?) Lady Shenelle forces him into facing a challenge he doesn't want, granting wishes, giving a happy ending. It can't get any worse. He'll just hurry through this final hurdle AND then all his dreams will be realized. But, he isn't counting on Kendall.

Kendall wants to hide from the world, it's all her fault that her father died. And she survived, she doesn't believe in happy endings, having wishes come true.... not since she lost her father. Now, she had to deal with her mother's depression, her sister's forced cheerfulness, and everyone in the school knows what happened, and she has the scar to prove it. She can't believe in fairytales anymore, not even when some gorgeous guy pretends to be a genie or whatever, a fairy godmother, her fairy godmother, and determined to grant her three wishes. If he would just go away and let her be.... but Ash has other plans, and one of them is getting Kendall to believe him and what he is, and now. He somehow starts to change her life...even if she doesn't want it to. Kendall wasn't counting on Ash either or his wish granting or maybe even what her heart feels.

Not Your Average Fairy Tale by Chantele Sedgwick is just as the name implies, it isn't your average fairytale... Ash Summerland isn't counting on how becoming a fairy godmother and everything that goes along with it. This one crazy assignment has ruined his chances of stepping into a Sandman apprenticeship, and his worst enemy, Dax, has his dream job, at least temporarily. Kendall Corrigan has closed herself off, she doesn't hang out with friends, she isn't on the drill team anymore, and she's self-conscious of the scar that trails down her cheek to her neck, another reminder of the accident that took her father's life. Mostly, she hides in her bedroom, hoping it all goes away and hiding. Then, Ash walks (or flies) into her life, trying to change everything. Kendall isn't what Ash is expecting either, he recognizes the pain in her eyes, and he wants to protect her, as well as get her to speak her three wishes... the soon the assignment is over the better.... or is it?

Chantelle Sedgwick tells an engaging story, a top notch tale of what might be and what is. I could not put her book down! Ash can't believe he's being forced into being a fairy godmother, and Kendall can't believe there's really anything like a fairy godmother, but she sees it with her own eyes. I love the twist of fate that Ms. Sedgwick brings to her story, a guy fairy godmother who's mad about his whole situation and a girl who's slightly fractured, but maybe she can be 'fixed' with a little help from her new friend. If you're looking for a Not Your Average Fairy Tale story, you might want to pick this one up, it's anything but average. Five out of five fairy kisses for this reader.

I received my copy of Ms. Sedgwick's ebook, Not Your Average Fairy Tale, for review. All opinions expressed are my own.