Reviews with content warning for Drug abuse - The Shadow in the Glass

The Shadow in the Glass tells the story of a young, mistreated maid in Victorian era London who seizes a dubious opportunity to improve her station in life. It’s loosely based on ‘Cinderella,’ but besides the main character’s diminutive and status—along with a few corresponding symbols which appear at the beginning and end—the narrative takes a large departure from the classic fairytale. In this retelling, instead of accepting a gift bestowed by her fairy godmother, Eleanor makes a Faustus-like deal with a mysterious ‘black-eyed woman’ only she can see. In exchange for seven wishes, Eleanor signs her soul away to the creature. As she needn’t deliver until the last wish is made, she intends to stop at the sixth. But Eleanor’s wishes always result in complications she thinks she needs more to fix.

Although this is listed as a fantasy, to me the story felt more like a cross between a historical novel with Gothic elements and a psychological thriller with supernatural factors at play. It’s more harrowing than thrilling, though. While I’d say it’s medium paced, long sections and spots where the writing gets dense can actually make it feel pretty slow.

Told in third-person from Eleanor’s point of view, it isn’t always clear what is or isn’t real. She’s experienced quite a bit of trauma by the time we meet her and the limitations of her life have her feeling claustrophobic. Some people might interpret Eleanor as an entitled character, but I don’t think it’s fair to imply she doesn’t deserve better. Of course she does. No one deserves to endure the twisted conditions she and her co-workers must. So personally, I’d say Eleanor starts out with good reason to feel bitter. If not for the life she almost had, for all the other loss she’s experienced, and for the torment of working in Mr. Pembroke’s household. It can surely be said that Eleanor goes on to make some selfishly cruel, misguided decisions. But as I mentioned, she’s a desperate and deluded protagonist… and each wish she makes corrupts her character further.

While I understand the dire environment the author sought to create, it was difficult to read through all of the instances of physical and sexual abuse. Women turning against women is also not something I enjoy reading about. Honestly, I think violence might taint every part of this story. Even the romance, as the love interest is oh so distraught to find Eleanor being abused in a position he arranged, but all he does is get her in trouble and leave her there…

As you might have guessed, this is not a book with a neat, feel good resolution. Although I mostly prefer to read HEAs, I don’t think I would have minded the conclusion if it had been fleshed out further. But towards the end, some of the events that play out seem a bit too convenient. And worse, we are left with a number of essential questions.

All throughout the story, the author drops little hints that Eleanor herself may have a history of violent behavior. And multiple times, the night after a wish is ‘granted,’ Eleanor wakes up in a disheveled state, suggesting her involvement in carrying out said wish. For a while, I thought the black-eyed woman might just be a figment of Eleanor’s imagination—a way for Eleanor to distance herself from the brutal acts she commits. And although the ending makes it seem as if the black-eyed woman is indeed real, it still isn’t clear whether the woman has been carrying out the wishes on Eleanor’s behalf, possessing others to do so, or goading Eleanor to take matters into her own hands.

The only other criticism I have is about Eleanor’s self-talk regarding the wishes. Her decision making process is so repetitive. Every time, she starts by says she’s not going to make another wish—she is NOT—because the last time she did, something terrible happened. Then she flips her position and says no, that wasn’t really a consequence of the wish—it can't be. And she needs to make another wish right now because: insert justification. Maybe that’s a more realistic thought process than I’d like to believe. But I found it rather annoying…

All the same, with themes of desire, greed, power, and revenge, this is an intriguing read on the consequences of flirting with evil. It’s a much darker narrative than I typically like to get lost in, so I can’t say I loved it. And I probably won’t be giving it a re-read. But it is captivating and I’m sure it’s *the* book for somebody else out there.

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