Reign of Cinders and Glass by Linsey Hall, Veronica Douglas
Fated Fairytales #1
Rating: 4/5
Spice: 2
Primary Genre: Romantasy
Trigger Warnings: Violence, gore
Favorite Quote: “Touched by the Fates?” Aamon scoffed. “She’s a drunk. She’s touched by whiskey, not prophecy. You know as well as I do that there’s no magic beyond these walls.”
Plot 4.5/5: Fairytale retelling of Cinderella but with Vampires! Human Ella’s kingdom is ruled by vampires, leaving the humans living in fear and squalor. The humans start up a resistance to overthrow the vampires and when Ella’s sister Belle goes missing, she joins up as a means to get into the castle and search for her sister. But wait, there’s more. Once Ella’s in the castle, she realizes that she has magic! While she’s working in the castle she must hide her magic, endure the abuse of a pair of psychotic vampire sisters, suss out secrets for the resistance, search for her sister Belle, and try not to fall in love with Prince Cassius - ruler of the vampires.
The Good:
* Even as a fairy tale retelling, the story strayed far away enough from the original that it stands on it’s own. All of the Cinderella story characters and elements are there but the story is completely reworked into something new, refreshing, and entertaining.
* I liked that the story had a touch of darkness and a morally gray/touch her and die MMC. Not S&M morally gray, more like total asshole morally gray. It’s so opposite of any Disney prince, it’s refreshing. This is NOT a dark romance, for anyone who may be thinking that based on this bullet point.
* I loved the strong female MC, the opposite of most Disney princesses waiting for a man to come and save them. Ella is a very “grab life by the balls” type of girl, rather than sitting around waiting around for something to happen.
* The story held my attention really well, there was never a dull moment. And just when I’d think I had things figured out, BAM! Plot twist. It made this book very hard to put down.
The Meh:
* I know Ella is a kind and compassionate character but I really would have liked to see her exact some revenge on those rotten sisters after everything that they put her through.
* I also would have liked to see Ella square up with her stepmother at the end, it didn’t feel like the loose strings of that tension got tied up. And if my stepmother did the type of stuff hers did, there would be a confrontation.
* There are two spice scenes in this book so if you’re someone who likes lots of spice, you may be disappointed. However, the spice on the page is well done. It’s not overly vulgar and integrates well into the storyline.
Bottom Line:
Linsey Hall is one of my favorite authors so she could publish a 25 page short story and I’d read it but I truly enjoyed this book. The plot was unpredictable in all the right ways, which is important in a fairytale retelling. The story strayed JUST far enough away from the original to be absolutely fascinating. The Bloodvale world is immersive and complex, with an intense vampire vs humans feud that fuel the plotline. The love story is forbidden and fated. I’d highly recommend this book to anyone who likes romantasy, vampire books, fairytale retellings, fairytales and/or happily ever afters. I’m going to need a physical copy for my trophy shelf!
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