Lucinda is 15-years old and living and working with her aunt and uncle. She is an orphan and was taken in by them, but her aunt (not the blood relative) hates her and does not treat her well. Her aunt and uncle run a jewelry store where she helps and has two unusual customers in a row. One is a woman who brought in what is obviously an expensive jewel, and the next turns out to be the prince. Lucinda is very charmed by him. When Lucinda’s uncle dies, though, her aunt accuses her of stealing and throws her out. Where to go now?

I really enjoyed this Cinderella-like story, with a few extra things thrown in. It was a very fast read with short chapters. I also loved Dog (a goat!). And Peter (a thief turned friend) was fun, too. Lucinda was very very quick to become best friends with Beryl and to fall for Gregor, but oh, well. It was still fun. ( )

This was a nice little book that I found just randomly.

It has magic and tragedy and romance and adventure all together in the story. Best part was the happy ending - I always enjoy the typical happy endings where they get married and live happily and the bad guys get their punishments as bad/evil guys do. ( )

There are some really good elements in this book---strong characters, an interesting cityscape, a touch of magic and romance---and the fact that it’s a quick and easy read will appeal to much of its teen audience. But The Amaranth Enchantment is also very definitely a first novel. The story’s pacing is at times jerky and uneven, and Berry introduces several characters and plot elements that seem more convenient than purposeful. Overall, I found a few too many coincidences when I was hoping for a bit of mystery or complexity, and yet when I desperately wanted an answer or a resolution, not a coincidence was in sight. An enjoyable effort, but not really one of my favorites. Still, I’m looking forward to seeing how Berry’s talent progresses. ( )

's
Pretty good characters, especially Peter (who was thoroughly enjoyable!). The fantasy was carried off well enough, no glitches there. The plot, although based minimally on a fairy tale, was quite original. The pacing was mostly very well done (especially in the beginning).

-'s (these tend to be more personal preferences)
I didn't very much care for the name "Lucinda." Sure, use that as a name, but shorten it. It seemed so formal and old. I would forget that she was supposed to be young. Also, there were some glitches in the plot. Things that turned out to be of a bigger significance in the wrapping up weren't mentioned earlier (or if they were, it didn't grab my attention enough).
However, I still enjoyed it. It made for good light reading and amusement. ( )

Fairy tale spin off, that's a bit confusing. ( )