After Happily Ever

De: Jennifer Safrey

Narrado por: Heather Wilds

Princesses Neve, Della, and Bry are sisters-in-law, having married into the royal Charming family, and for the last thirty-plus years, they've been living a coveted happily-ever-after life in the idyllic kingdom of Foreverness.

But royal life isn't what it seems. Bry's people-pleasing is exhausting her, Della's exquisite and renowned beauty is fading with time, and Neve dreads the prospect of becoming queen one day, because power makes one a target, and she doesn't want to be killed . . . again.

Then the king's sudden death thrusts each princess into a personal quest that shows her the truth behind the kingdom's "perfection" and challenges her sense of purpose.

Will each of the royal women take her rightful place, build her new legend, and create her own new happily-ever-after, in midlife?

And with all these drastic changes happening at once, will the kingdom of Foreverness survive it?

©2025 Jennifer Safrey (P)2025 Tantor Media

What fun!

The premise is brilliant: Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, and Cinderella are middle aged princesses, their lives are pretty meaningless and each one of them grapples with her own form of PTSD. This story of how they find their own voices and take hold of their own power is just so much fun.
The narrator takes some getting used to. She’s got a lovely voice, but it’s almost robotic. I wondered at times if it was AI. But the story is worth it. I was sorry when it ended.

Obsessed!

“After Happily Ever” by Jennifer Safrey was pure dopamine. It’s been a while since I’ve finished a book and could honestly say I wouldn’t change a thing. I was hooked within the first 30 pages. So much so, I bought the audio book on a month-long trip to Florida, since I had left my paperback copy at home in Mass. It was a blessing in disguise because the voice actress, Heather Wilds, was phenomenal. She really brought the story to life (1.2 speed)!

The plot, pacing, characterization, character arcs, side characters and animals (Rowen aka Little Red, the huntsman, the Cheshire cat, the snakes, the mirror 😍) and resolution were all brilliantly crafted. This book is a beautiful, captivating take on feminism, with the perfect balance of social activism and magic! Other themes include self-discovery, second chances, socioeconomic inequality, patriarchy, workplace discrimination, freedom of speech, infidelity, protecting trans youth, equality, embezzlement, etc.

I picked up this book on the title alone. As a former princess performer and big fan of Disney princesses, I appreciated the honest take on Neve (Snow White), Della (Cinderella), and Bry (Aurora aka Briar Rose). This book helped soothe my love/hate relationship with these classic fairy tales, due to their misogynistic history, by correcting their sexism in a believable, yet whimsical manner.

It would be impossible to mention all the things I loved about this book, not only because it’s literally the whole thing, but because it would require spoilers, and I don’t want to risk losing a potential reader. Anyway, I highly recommend “After Happily Ever” to everyone of all ages—we could all learn something from it. Thank you for sharing your magic with the world, Jen! I look forward to more.