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madisoncameryn's review against another edition
1.0
This book was literally just...porn with no plot lmfao. So if that’s what you’re looking for then go for it. I’m usually a fan of this author’s work, the book Saint is in my forever fav bookshelf and one of my all time favorites! This was just bad. I think had there been an actual plot I would’ve liked it? The heroine was weak and also completely ridiculous but I didn’t HATE the hero (tortured and psychotic is my type remember?
vivizinha's review against another edition
3.0
More like 3.5! It was going to be a 4 star read but the last 50 pages or so the story became meh for me. I liked the characters but I didn't connect with them and they felt bland at times. It was just a regular read and this book wasnt as dark as the other ones this author has written.
sakeenah's review against another edition
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
_sylviareads_'s review against another edition
4.0
Stealing Cinderella is a retelling of fairy tale with a dark twists. I love this kind of stories! This book shows the devastating and heart-crashing story of Ella and Thorsen's journey full of suffering and desire. It was very well written and thanks to fast-paced plot I finished it in one day. Thor and Ella were very different characters and at the same time so many things they had in common, and the chemistry between them was so intense and passionate.
Oh God it was so hot! I warn you, this book contains sensitive topics such as child abuse, bdsm and violence. If you are not a fan of such threads, you probably won't like this book, but I highly recommend it to all lovers of dark romances who are not afraid of such topics.
Oh God it was so hot! I warn you, this book contains sensitive topics such as child abuse, bdsm and violence. If you are not a fan of such threads, you probably won't like this book, but I highly recommend it to all lovers of dark romances who are not afraid of such topics.
75_sweetestbook's review against another edition
5.0
Wow what a hot and steamy dark read that has you on the edge of your seat throughout this story. This story is a very hard book to put down.
rellimreads's review against another edition
2.0
I listened to the whole thing… but I have very mixed feelings about it. It’s dark romance, but not just morally grey characters. There’s dubcon/noncon scenes which I struggled to get past and an implication that this was BDSM, but without the consent, respect, or care required in that kind of relationship.
I liked the set up of a fairy tale retelling, but felt some parts were just too convoluted and the story as a whole could have been streamlined a bit. I would have liked for Ella to have an actual reason to be in love with Thorsen - not just insatiable attraction/desire. They could have had at least one meaningful conversation between bouts of (coerced consent) sex.
I liked the tension caused by Ella’s stepmom & stepsisters and the big twist near the end. I think the suspense parts were the stand outs to me.
Narration:
I specifically chose this looking forward to James Anderson Foster & Kelsey Navarro narrating together. There are a lot of accents in this book and while I’ve loved everything I’ve heard from them in the past - it took me a long time to get into it here. Instead of enhancing the story, it detracted. Maybe they were just too strong for my personal taste. Eventually I found a groove, but it never moved beyond OK.
I liked the set up of a fairy tale retelling, but felt some parts were just too convoluted and the story as a whole could have been streamlined a bit. I would have liked for Ella to have an actual reason to be in love with Thorsen - not just insatiable attraction/desire. They could have had at least one meaningful conversation between bouts of (coerced consent) sex.
I liked the tension caused by Ella’s stepmom & stepsisters and the big twist near the end. I think the suspense parts were the stand outs to me.
Narration:
I specifically chose this looking forward to James Anderson Foster & Kelsey Navarro narrating together. There are a lot of accents in this book and while I’ve loved everything I’ve heard from them in the past - it took me a long time to get into it here. Instead of enhancing the story, it detracted. Maybe they were just too strong for my personal taste. Eventually I found a groove, but it never moved beyond OK.
smartinez9's review against another edition
1.0
1.5 stars
Let me start by saying that I generally enjoy A. Zavarelli’s work, but this book and Hate Crush were hard passes for me.
At first I was able to withhold my doubts (how a twenty-year-old woman who has friends she can live with would voluntarily stay with people who throw her into fire and bash her over the head with a tea kettle is beyond me), but the numerous plot holes and senseless violence really put me over the edge.
While I don’t necessarily take issue with violence/dark themes in books, I like a dark romance where the heroine has some semblance of agency or a personality, with a plot that makes sense. Many things seemed pointless in this book. The detailed description of child abuse could have been alluded to without such graphic detail, the scene with the ecstasy and the brother was disturbing and served no purpose, and much of the later conflict could have been avoided if anyone at all had thought to simply talk to the others. I understood the mother’s ultimate exaction of revenge, but why did they not just have Lavinia arrested?!? The barn confrontation wouldn’t have happened if Ella had just implicated her in the first place, and even after that, no doctor wouldn’t recognize the signs of recent strangulation and assault on a poison victim. The fire at the end felt pointless and hypocritical when they could have held them accountable for their clearly illegal actions.
The story was intriguing and I felt compelled to finish, but overall did not enjoy.
Let me start by saying that I generally enjoy A. Zavarelli’s work, but this book and Hate Crush were hard passes for me.
At first I was able to withhold my doubts (how a twenty-year-old woman who has friends she can live with would voluntarily stay with people who throw her into fire and bash her over the head with a tea kettle is beyond me), but the numerous plot holes and senseless violence really put me over the edge.
While I don’t necessarily take issue with violence/dark themes in books, I like a dark romance where the heroine has some semblance of agency or a personality, with a plot that makes sense. Many things seemed pointless in this book. The detailed description of child abuse could have been alluded to without such graphic detail, the scene with the ecstasy and the brother was disturbing and served no purpose, and much of the later conflict could have been avoided if anyone at all had thought to simply talk to the others. I understood the mother’s ultimate exaction of revenge, but why did they not just have Lavinia arrested?!? The barn confrontation wouldn’t have happened if Ella had just implicated her in the first place, and even after that, no doctor wouldn’t recognize the signs of recent strangulation and assault on a poison victim. The fire at the end felt pointless and hypocritical when they could have held them accountable for their clearly illegal actions.
The story was intriguing and I felt compelled to finish, but overall did not enjoy.
sromain's review against another edition
2.0
The writing was good, but the sex wasn't consensul enough for me and it felt too stockholm syndrome for me. I knew going in there was a strong possibility I wouldn't like it.
It's just not for me.
It's just not for me.
lifeinthebooklane's review
4.0
I'd started to have my doubts about this series, but Stealing Cinderella has certainly turned the tides favourably.
The book has a nice swirl of darkness to it, and is certainly fits the billing of 'Sinister' perfectly. Ella and Thor's story is set in modern times, which made a few elements at the beginning seem a little far fetched, and I did find myself having to let several things 'go' at the beginning, hence the loss of half a star. However I can appreciate that not only were they necessary for the story, they strongly echoed the fairy tale on which this book is based. Though this prince is very more devillish than he is charming.
Stealing Cinderella has an excellent plot, well thought through, nicely paced and with some unexpected twists along the way. There are possible triggers in the book, more alluded to than truly experienced, though there is one brief flashback scene that occurs. Ella and Thor have both experienced abuse and neglect, though it has shaped them into very different characters.
Ella is very much the sweet natured, caring and loving Cinderella of the fairytale. Thor, however, has a much darker, bleaker nature and is very much an antihero - to the point that it took me quite a while to warm to him. However as we, and Ella, get to know the true man, as his secrets and hurts are gradually revealed and as he warms towards her, so I found myself warming towards him.
Whilst the Sinister Fairy Tales series has been very hit and miss for me, and mainly miss if I'm being brutally honest, this book has made the whole experience worthwhile. Ashleigh Zavarelli took the brief and very much stuck to it, producing a story that closely paralleled the original on which it is based. At the same time she modernised the tale, threw in a good dose of all things dark, add a generous helping of steam to create a really great story.
This is one Sinister Fairy Tale I am more than happy to recommend.
The book has a nice swirl of darkness to it, and is certainly fits the billing of 'Sinister' perfectly. Ella and Thor's story is set in modern times, which made a few elements at the beginning seem a little far fetched, and I did find myself having to let several things 'go' at the beginning, hence the loss of half a star. However I can appreciate that not only were they necessary for the story, they strongly echoed the fairy tale on which this book is based. Though this prince is very more devillish than he is charming.
Stealing Cinderella has an excellent plot, well thought through, nicely paced and with some unexpected twists along the way. There are possible triggers in the book, more alluded to than truly experienced, though there is one brief flashback scene that occurs. Ella and Thor have both experienced abuse and neglect, though it has shaped them into very different characters.
Ella is very much the sweet natured, caring and loving Cinderella of the fairytale. Thor, however, has a much darker, bleaker nature and is very much an antihero - to the point that it took me quite a while to warm to him. However as we, and Ella, get to know the true man, as his secrets and hurts are gradually revealed and as he warms towards her, so I found myself warming towards him.
Whilst the Sinister Fairy Tales series has been very hit and miss for me, and mainly miss if I'm being brutally honest, this book has made the whole experience worthwhile. Ashleigh Zavarelli took the brief and very much stuck to it, producing a story that closely paralleled the original on which it is based. At the same time she modernised the tale, threw in a good dose of all things dark, add a generous helping of steam to create a really great story.
This is one Sinister Fairy Tale I am more than happy to recommend.