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kriscomics's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
This book had a very interesting premise, but did very little to hold my interest once I started reading. The book's pacing is incredibly slow, and I feel like a lot of time is wasted describing scenery and actions. Ella's actions start off noble enough, but her wants and desires are pretty short sighted, and honestly, she's not the sharpest tool in the shed. I figured out the "twist" of the book pretty quickly, and couldn't understand why Ella never put two and two together more quickly. The author teases about Ella's past quite a bit, but we never actually uncover anything, though I do have a theory: The black-eyed lady is actually a figment of Ella's imagination, and she has split personality disorder. The fact that she doesn't remember acting out as a child and doesn't remember killing people or committing the crimes that result as an action of her "wishes" seem pretty similar. So if anything, it could be that she is just legitimately crazy. I respect Ella's desire to make her own way in the world when the people she trusts to keep her safe fail her, but ultimately it felt like watching a train wreck. In the end, it was an okay read, and I did want to see how it played out, but calling it a Cinderella retelling seems a bit like false advertising. If anything, it may be loosely inspired by Cinderella, but that's as far as I'd go with it.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Death, Abortion, Alcoholism, and Sexual assault
sheryl_reads's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
I was sent a free ebook copy of this book from NetGalley in return for a honest review
The Shadow in the Glass is a retelling of Cinderella - it follows the story of Eleanor, a housemaid who was once the ward of the lady of the house, who is granted 7 wishes by a mysterious dark lady. If she wishes 7 times, her soul will belong to this dark lady.
The premise of the book had a lot of promise and I think if the main character was more likeable, then it would be more enjoyable. However, I found Eleanor to be greedy, selfish and very difficult to root for.
Her intentions are meant to be good - helping her fellow servants and making a better life for herself. But all of her decisions are wrapped up in an overarching sense of entitlement. She was orphaned as a child, taken in by a rich lady and brought up to expect to be living a certain life. And she’ll go to any lengths to get that wealthy life, even when it becomes clear what the costs are. She comes over as bratty rather than determined.
The pace of the book is slow also. The 7 wishes feel drawn out and I felt that there was no great mystery as to how it was going to turn out. The characters life is fairly limited, so there’s only so many people she can affect by wishing. The end is also very drawn out and contrived to fit the Cinderella story. The last chapter has Eleanor waiting from 11.15 until midnight to make a last attempt to save her soul - it’s fair to say 45 minutes it too long to keep up any level of suspense...
Overall I give this 2 ⭐️- I finished it, but I didn’t enjoy it. I wouldn’t recommend it to others - there are better fairytale retellings available.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Abortion, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Blood, Bullying, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Mental illness, Murder, Miscarriage, and Sexual content
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