Fairy Tale Fail by Mina Esguerra
Amazon & Goodreads
Of all the twenty-something women who are hopeless romantics, Ellie Manuel is more “hopeless” than “romantic.”
Even after her Prince Charming broke up with her, she just won’t give up … because fairy tale heroines don’t live “happily ever after” right away, silly, they’re tested first!
Determined to pass the test, she spends the next year restoring herself to the girl Prince Charming had fallen in love with in the first place.
Until she discovers that life without him might not be so bad after all: her career is taking off, her confidence is back, and the cute guy at work is no longer a stranger.
So when is it okay to quit on a fairy tale?
image via marketmanila.com
First off, belated happy birthday to this book’s LI, Lucas! I planned to publish this blog post on his birthday – November 23 – but, life, work, and sleep got in the way. However, here it is!
Let’s backtrack
(Spoiler alert!)
Fairy Tale Fail is the first Mina Esguerra and #romanceclass book that I read. I read it back in 2013 for my Eng 198 class. (Hi, Ma’am Lorie!). And Lucas is my first #romanceclass book boyfriend. Tattooed, witty and Mr. Rockstar made my heart flutter, and fast forward to 2017, he still does.
I also remember hating Don, along with my other classmates. And along with them, I also felt frustrated with Ellie for continuously defending the guy.
However, after re-reading it after four years- after graduating, after going through a job and holding one right now… I have to say, I don’t hate Don as much anymore.
(Yes, I’ll get to the Lucas parts later but, hear me out.)
Is Don an asshole? Yes. Is he insensitive? Yes. Did he break up with Ellie at her favorite church? Yes. Did Ellie defend him to the point of frustration that if I was her friend, I’ll probably stop hearing her out? Yes.
Do I still prefer Lucas over Don? Hell yes.
But, Ellie had a point. A point that frankly, I don’t want to admit. We’ve probably met a Don at our workplace, in our circle of friends. Don is that one friend who has it all together, his eyes on the prize and is probably judging you why you’re not doing more.
However, he’s probably also that friend that pushes you to be better. Maybe even inspires you to be better – if you have the same interests OR if you just take his enthusiasm and apply it on your own terms.
The thing was, the Don is such a don when he or she starts imposing his own plans, his own say, schema to a person’s life. Just like what he did to Ellie. It’s worsened by the fact that they seem to have these ideas of each other and when they slowly realized that neither is living up to that, their relationship – and in her case, Ellie’s self-confidence – came crashing down.
Still, this is not a defense for Don. I’m just saying, love him or hate him, we all probably know a Don. And there’s a chance we admire that Don – when he’s not being a tool.
Lucas, Ellie & “It’s just a paycheck.”
I could gush over and talk about Lucas all day. He’s such an interesting character, he’s not a martyr but he’s not insensitive either. As seen in the fact that he’d rather keep the fact that Patty cheated on him than correct rumors about him abandoning his illegitimate child.
I could talk about how relatable Ellie is too. With her passion for travel, her complicated feelings for Don and her belief in the monomyth of a fairytale.
However, I want to talk about Chapter 9. Fairy Tale Fail is a relatively short novella, just short of 150 pages – at least with the version that I have. But, I think, this is the turning point in the novella, aside from Chapter 11 (THAT KISS!)
In Chapter 9, Lucas and Ellie seek refuge in Lucas’ aunt’s home. Stuck together, they talk about their exes, and -this is the important part- how fulfillment is different for everyone.
As a working millennial, I’ve heard so much about how we couldn’t settle. What with the job jumping and all those extracurriculars. GASP. Where do you find the time? The money? So wasteful! Focus on your career!
(In case you’re curious about the answer (at least, mine?), here it is: we try and create them. Out of thin air.)
And isn’t that just so familiar? Some people, like Don, find their fulfillment in the work they do, the one that they get paid for. And that’s great! Fantastic even! You’re fulfilled AND you get paid, that’s the best of both worlds.
However, it’s not like that for others, like Ellie and Lucas. (And me) Their fulfillment is elsewhere- traveling, building libraries. The 9 to 5 is just something to fund the passion. It may sound sad to some, but, sweetheart, some passion don’t pay that well – at least, not yet. We gotta survive!
It spoke to me because as a marketing associate, I love my job. It’s challenging, it’s fun and I love learning about it. However, it’s not my whole life. Yes, I want to get better at it but I have an entire list of interests I pursue too! This blog for one, being a #romanceclass author is another, learning Japanese is another one.
Life isn’t limited to that 9 to 5.
While the kiss happened in Chapter 11, we see the likeness between Ellie and Lucas in Chapter 9, and the contrast between Lucas and Don. It’s beautifully and concisely done by Mina.
(And it made me want to have bulalo!)
Attention: There’s a new version of this book out on Amazon! Just click the link above. I hear it has an extended steamy version.
