Originally posted at: http://longandshortreviews.blogspot.c...If Mr. Disney and director Ron Howard could team up to update and tweak a live action story of Sleeping Beauty with more twists than a Twizzler, they’d probably choose to base it on Utterly Charming. Nora is the skeptic who has a dash of the magical believer in her courtesy of her father. It’s that balance of independent woman with a white knight tendency and a strong moral and ethical back bone, and the little girl dreaming of princesses, magic and the power of love hidden inside that made her a delightful heroine. She confounds the hero but delights his sidekick. She annoys the villainess yet challenges her too. Nora also has to deal with her mother and an ex-husband. Add to that the responsibility she takes on when she not only wakes up the sleeping beauty but decides that the men in the story are so daft, only another woman could successfully help the poor girl. Nora had no idea what she was getting herself into. Blackstone is the hero. He’s not a very hands-on type in this story nor is he a major player. He’s supposed to be but his role for the most part is pretty passive. He is on stage to create some flash and fire and to bewilder and confuse Nora with thoughts of interest and attraction but he is not a mover and shaker of the plot. He sets the story in motion initially but then steps back to let Nora have the spotlight. When he does show a reaction to the heroine, it’s not very dramatic or pointed. It’s more a mystery to me and to the heroine. Blackstone is confused a lot during the story because the man has to face a huge reality – he’s a man of the 21st Century with magic steeped in the past and who has a frozen ideal about Emma, his sleeping beauty, and her place in his life. How he faces his actual wants and needs and what he does to change things was interesting. The hero can be romantic and he enjoys the grand gestures of romance but he has a lot of growing to do when it comes to courting the woman destined to be his. I actually liked Sancho, Blackstone’s buddy and partner in crime. Being mysterious worked well for his character and I liked his twisted sense of humor. In fact, most of the giggles and chuckles I got were from whenever he was in a scene. I also enjoyed his knowing things that Nora and Blackstone were too clueless to notice or realize. I got a greater sense of internal emotional pain from Sancho than I did for any other character. I actually would like to know more about him. Ealhswith is the villainess. I can’t even begin to figure out how to say that name. It drove me a bit batty. Then again, she drove everyone nuts with her evil plots and tendency to use magic to create chaos at her whim. I never got the impression that people were truly fearful of her -- just annoyed, bothered and accustomed to her petulant ways. Sure, she is a force to be reckoned with but for all her machinations and dastardly actions, her character seemed traditional and anti-climactic. There were other secondary characters, that being Nora’s mom, and the surprise helper for Emma, the catalyst for this tale. The other character I won’t disclose is a cute touch and made Nora’s mother more interesting. I certainly liked the affect it had on the heroine. The Fates put on a brief appearance and once they got to the business at hand, they were alright. The initial scene where everyone first came upon them was unnecessary to the story and it could have been omitted. The wrap up of the book was pure romantic fairy tale and it embraced the elements that make those stories timeless. There was the amazing revelation about the heroine, the hero’s realization of what true love really is and who has captured his heart, the evil lady vanquished for now, and even one of the cats gets its own kind of purrfect ending. The happily ever after between Nora and Blackstone is as sweet as a vanilla cream puff and just as satisfying. Utterly Charming is a delightful and endearing tale. For readers who look for stories to read as they cuddle amongst pillows in comfort, and want to enjoy an uncomplicated romance that is entertaining and cute, they will find that and more with Utterly Charming. I credit Ms. Grayson for surprising me with this fresh and fun interpretation of one of my favorite fairy tales.
I enjoyed this book probably more than it really deserved. It's an urban fantasy version of sleeping beauty, though with liberal twists on the plot (like that the kiss is what got her into the situation, rather than what gets her out). Oh, and Emma, the sleeping beauty, has been out for 1,000 years.The fun parts of this were that the actual central character was Nora Barr, a Portland attorney hired to watch after Emma and help her once she wakes. Nora was a fantastic heroine. She stands up against the supernatural antagonists in a fight that has been waged off and on for 1,000 years with nothing but her legal training, raw nerve, and determination to do what she feels needs to be done. I liked her immediately and cheered for her throughout.The weakest part of this story was the romance. Blackstone and Nora have a vacillating professional relationship as she acts on behalf of a couple different clients—sometimes including Blackstone, himself. In addition, Blackstone has obviously misread a prophecy regarding his destiny (this is not a spoiler as at least one side character says so outright pretty much from the start), preventing him from pursuing his obvious inclination to get to know Nora better on a personal level. So there's a romantic slow-boil, and they really don't have much opportunity to explore their mutual attraction. Once things tumble together, they tumble fast and the fade to black happens barely before the end of the book (and note the lack of the steamy tag, here).While the romance was a weak element of the story, it was present enough that I wasn't disappointed with it in the final analysis. And since the story was so good and the action both well-paced and with enough urgency to hold your attention, I was never impatient… or willing to put the book down, for that matter. I'll definitely be picking up the next in the series and hope they all hold up to this promising start.
What do You think about Utterly Charming (2000)?
Nora Barr manages her own law firm. Only business is really slow. So slow in fact that if Nora does not get some clients soon than she will be forced to go out of business and work for another law firm. This is Nora’s lucky or maybe unlucky day. Aethelstan Blackstone is a mage or a wizard. He and his associate Sancho Panza ( I know but this is really his name) are in need of an attorney. Blackstone and Sleeping Beatuy aka Emma (hey, this is not your classic fairy tale) are suppose to be together but Emma’s guardian will have no part of the arrangement. Thus, this is why Blackstone needs an attorney. He wants to fight Emma’s guardian. Utterly Charming is a fun, unique twist on a classic story. The only bad thing I had to really say about this book is that I was craving a little more romance between Blackstone and Nora. For a romance book, there was not much going on in that department except for some eye glazing and some kisses. Other than this, I enjoyed this book. I thought Santo kind of stole the show. I liked his brass attitude and he was not afraid to say it like it was. I felt a little sorry for Emma. I can not imagine being in a coma and than waking up in the 21st century.
—Cheryl
Nora Barr is a young attorney who decided to open her own practice instead of joining a big law firm out of law school. Money's running short because she doesn't have a lot of clients, so when Aethelstan (Alex) Blackstone shows up in her building looking for an attorney, she agrees to talk to him. It turns out he's trying to contact a dear friend in a coma, but the friend's guardian won't let him near her. He is not related to this friend, nor does he have any sort of custody, so Nora tells him she can't help him and sends him on his way. A few days later, Nora gets a call from Alex's friend telling her he's in desperate need of an attorney and to come right away.What follows is a story about true love and what happens when you get what you think you want.My thoughts:I kept expecting this story follow Sleeping Beauty and that's not at all what happened....Nora is a tough attorney, even though she looks like a cheerleader. I like that she doesn't let anyone walk all over her - even magical beings who could turn her into a frog, lol. She's practical, except where Alex is concerned, something about him just keeps Nora off-center. But not so off-center that she doesn't continue to do what she thinks is right.Alex did not grow on me as much as he could have. His blind infatuation with Emma (the close friend in a coma), I think, in part was responsible for this - how can a romance grow and develop with Nora while he is pursuing Emma?I loved Alex's friend, Sancho - he was funny and vividly written; I loved the scenes he was involved in! Sancho was the kind of wise but irreverent secondary character who lights up the page.Utterly Charming was a fun, modern twist to a traditional fairy tale, full of magical characters learning to navigate life the 20th century. A cute, light read.
—Patti TheLoveJunkee
I'm still not sure how I feel about this book even though I finished it a day ago. I was really excited about it at first, the concept of the book was so cute to me and I love Fairy Tales. But then as I started reading I wasn't able to really submerge myself into the story like I usually am. I found myself thinking that Nora and Max talked to much and had to force myself not to skip stuff because it could have been important. I also felt that Max even though he was mentioned before he came into the story was so Random. I felt confused after reading the part from his point of view. oh and I really disliked that Nora for being so ethical would take that large sum of money. I did think the Bickering between Nora and Blackstone was cute and I like how Sancho kept calling intervening . By the time i got to the NOW page I was having a hard time liking any of the characters, except for Sancho, I liked him. The Story was about Nora Barr (which I did find ironically funny, of course I think that was the point) yet the only thing I found that I thought I could connect with was her strength, determination and compassion for Emma. I also thought it was cute how proud she was of Emma she she said no to Blackstone. I did not hate Blackstone just because you were able to see underneath all the magic and man stuff to see his vulnerabilities but i did not like that he granted Nora 3 wishes and one of those wishes was MAX, and then it was never clarified that her desire was not for MAX but for him. I mean I guess in a way it was but to my liking. I did like the idea that he had a table reserved for her and that no ever set there until them. That was very cute. I didn't get a feel for Emma except that I thought the author did a great job explaining how confused and angry and scared she was. I didn't like that she acted at the end of the book either, I mean yes I get the temper but the over dramatics of it all just didn't fit into a character I would like. I also found the book to be a little to PG for me. Yet I think for the Authors first attempt at writing Contemporary Romance it wasn't bad, I am going to read Emma's story.
—Amanda
