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3.79 AVERAGE
3.79 AVERAGE
Raewyn, a human girl, meets Stellon, the fae Crown Prince at the markets when trying to sell her mother's locket to feed her little sisters and father. Stellon invites her to the upcoming ball, and she enlists the help of an earth witch to attend. At the ball, things go wrong and Stellon must hide and protect Raewyn from his family.
This was a quick easy fantasy read, with simple world building and a well paced plot. The fae magic in this story was unique but easy to follow.
Raewyn's character only thought of saving her family, to her own detriment, and she was roped in to a twisted plot by the earth witch in order to feed them and support her father's health treatments. Stellon was the classic spoiled prince who doesn't really know what happens in his kingdom and is shocked to hear about Raewyn's life.
There is a Cinderella aspect in Raewyn's attendance of the ball and the way the earth wife dresses her and sends her off.
This book was listed as enemies to lovers - I didn't really feel like that fit the story. Raewyn and Stellon are from different worlds and might fit the star crossed lovers trope, but they weren't really enemies at any point.
Overall, I enjoyed the story and will look for the next one when it is released.
This was a quick easy fantasy read, with simple world building and a well paced plot. The fae magic in this story was unique but easy to follow.
Raewyn's character only thought of saving her family, to her own detriment, and she was roped in to a twisted plot by the earth witch in order to feed them and support her father's health treatments. Stellon was the classic spoiled prince who doesn't really know what happens in his kingdom and is shocked to hear about Raewyn's life.
There is a Cinderella aspect in Raewyn's attendance of the ball and the way the earth wife dresses her and sends her off.
This book was listed as enemies to lovers - I didn't really feel like that fit the story. Raewyn and Stellon are from different worlds and might fit the star crossed lovers trope, but they weren't really enemies at any point.
Overall, I enjoyed the story and will look for the next one when it is released.
A fae romantasy retelling of Cinderella featuring a golden retriever-esque fae prince who falls for a poor human girl who makes a bargain with a witch that will change both their lives. The story follows Raewyn, a human girl who's family is poor and she needs to find a way to feed her sisters and find medicine for her father, and Stellan, a fae prince who dreams about marrying for love. When they meet and Raewyn saves Stellan, he gives her an invitation to the ball his father is hosting. The very night Raewyn goes to the local witch to try and sell her something in order to make ends meet but the witch gives her a new bargain: if Raewyn attends the ball (which she never intended to in the first place) and do a service for the witch (which she will tell her at a later time) then said witch will plant a garden to feed her sisters and cure her father. The bargain is too good to turn down and Raewyn immediately agrees.... yet when she arrives at the ball she realizes too late that she has been enchanted and that she is enchanting both the prince and the entire royal court. Raewyn must keep up the act but finds herself thrown in a love triangle between the two princess. Unfortunately I did not care for this story at all. I love a fun retelling of a classic fairytale but I just found myself so bored by this take. I didn't care all that much for the characters and wasn't all that invested in the slow burn romance. I didn't feel any chemistry and the story just felt kind of dragged on. I wish i could like the story more but I won't be continuing the series as it isn't for me but I do think maybe other fantasy slow burn romance readers might have a fun time with this.
Release Date: February 14, 2025
Publication/Blog: Ash and Books (ash-and-books.tumblr.com)
*Thanks Netgalley and Oxford South Press and The Nerd Fam for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*
Release Date: February 14, 2025
Publication/Blog: Ash and Books (ash-and-books.tumblr.com)
*Thanks Netgalley and Oxford South Press and The Nerd Fam for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*
adventurous
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
lighthearted
fast-paced
**2.5 stars**
This is a light and fluffy romantasy with Cinderella vibes which I thought was cute and wanted to see played out. And I like that the “fairy-godmother” is kind of the villain. It’s a quick read though because the world-building is so light. It’s a world of Fae, Elves and humans with the High Fae ruling and humans being the lowest rank. I do think the world-building was too light for me, I just wanted more.
I also wanted more depth from the characters. They were just okay and I didn’t connect much to them. The romance is insta-love with no spice so I wasn’t quite into that because I wanted Stellon and Raewyn to get to know one another better, not just a week or whatever timeline it was in the book. Pharis, Stellon’s brother is the most interesting character probably because he’s loyal to his brother and protective and super suspicious of Raewyn.
Final Thoughts:
This was a very light romantasy read with insta-love and Cinderella vibes which kept it kind of interesting but I don’t think I’ll be continuing the series. I wanted more from the book and maybe that will happen in book two. If you don’t like heavy world-building romantasy books, then you might like this one.
This is a light and fluffy romantasy with Cinderella vibes which I thought was cute and wanted to see played out. And I like that the “fairy-godmother” is kind of the villain. It’s a quick read though because the world-building is so light. It’s a world of Fae, Elves and humans with the High Fae ruling and humans being the lowest rank. I do think the world-building was too light for me, I just wanted more.
I also wanted more depth from the characters. They were just okay and I didn’t connect much to them. The romance is insta-love with no spice so I wasn’t quite into that because I wanted Stellon and Raewyn to get to know one another better, not just a week or whatever timeline it was in the book. Pharis, Stellon’s brother is the most interesting character probably because he’s loyal to his brother and protective and super suspicious of Raewyn.
Final Thoughts:
This was a very light romantasy read with insta-love and Cinderella vibes which kept it kind of interesting but I don’t think I’ll be continuing the series. I wanted more from the book and maybe that will happen in book two. If you don’t like heavy world-building romantasy books, then you might like this one.
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Loved the writing and pace of this story that was touted to me as a "Cinderella retelling". However, this story is so much more....
The good are clearly good, and the bad are clearly bad, or are they? There is much more political intrigue lurking under the surface than first thought.
The feisty Raewyn has her head in a twirl at the paradoxes that arise during her story, but she fights for what she believes in despite the twists that come her way.
The quintessential bad boy of the plot has some seemingly redeemable features - to be explored in the next book??
This was a bright spark in my day that I couldn't put down and I would recommend to anyone who likes feisty females, potentialy morally grey male characters, and the overbearing presence of an evil overlord.
The good are clearly good, and the bad are clearly bad, or are they? There is much more political intrigue lurking under the surface than first thought.
The feisty Raewyn has her head in a twirl at the paradoxes that arise during her story, but she fights for what she believes in despite the twists that come her way.
The quintessential bad boy of the plot has some seemingly redeemable features - to be explored in the next book??
This was a bright spark in my day that I couldn't put down and I would recommend to anyone who likes feisty females, potentialy morally grey male characters, and the overbearing presence of an evil overlord.
The vibes were dreary and off. I went into this expecting a beautiful fantasy world and instead found a sad and grey one. It was more reminiscent of a historical romance than fantasy romance -- I don't know how to explain it -- except nobles are actually just fey, and weird, evil ladies in the woods are actually just witches.
I received this book as an eARC from The Nerd Fam, and oh my gosh it was AMAZING!!!
It is a slow-burn, enemies-lovers, Cinderella inspired romance with a touch of forbidden love and layers of hidden identities.
This epic fantasy romance had me on the edge of my seat just devouring chapter after chapter. I will definitely be having some withdrawals until book two comes out
It is a slow-burn, enemies-lovers, Cinderella inspired romance with a touch of forbidden love and layers of hidden identities.
This epic fantasy romance had me on the edge of my seat just devouring chapter after chapter. I will definitely be having some withdrawals until book two comes out
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
2 stars
Tropes:
• instalove-ish
• forbidden romance
• touch her and die
• cinderella-esque retelling
• closed door-ish, maybe the door is cracked?
Really wanted to like this but sadly it was far to simple/cozy for me.
Cinderella re telling with really basic and predictable plot.
However I'm annoyed because actually it could have been fantastic. The bones were there to build on and create a real fantasy realm with drama and forboding and really deep characters but instead the author went down the easy route of telling us rather than showing us the story and just keeping it simple.
This book had great potential and the plot sounded exciting and promising. i was pulled in by the forbidden love trope and the description includes mentions of “enemies-to-lovers, delicious romantic banter, toe-curling tension and sizzling chemistry” and truthfully, i didn’t feel any of this to be true. the entire book felt like I was waiting for it to start, every new chapter I thought- oh OK, here we go now... nope! I didn’t feel like we had enough world building and the glamours felt like they went mostly unexplored. The characters weren't flushed out, The book just plodded along without really moving the plot forward in an enjoyable way.
I won't be reading the next one however if you like cozy fantasies and Fairytale re telling you'll probably live this! I am more of a high fantasy, tension building, twisty and deep story kind of girl and was hoping this would fit into that xatagory- sadly/ regretfully it fell miles short.
Tropes:
• instalove-ish
• forbidden romance
• touch her and die
• cinderella-esque retelling
• closed door-ish, maybe the door is cracked?
Really wanted to like this but sadly it was far to simple/cozy for me.
Cinderella re telling with really basic and predictable plot.
However I'm annoyed because actually it could have been fantastic. The bones were there to build on and create a real fantasy realm with drama and forboding and really deep characters but instead the author went down the easy route of telling us rather than showing us the story and just keeping it simple.
This book had great potential and the plot sounded exciting and promising. i was pulled in by the forbidden love trope and the description includes mentions of “enemies-to-lovers, delicious romantic banter, toe-curling tension and sizzling chemistry” and truthfully, i didn’t feel any of this to be true. the entire book felt like I was waiting for it to start, every new chapter I thought- oh OK, here we go now... nope! I didn’t feel like we had enough world building and the glamours felt like they went mostly unexplored. The characters weren't flushed out, The book just plodded along without really moving the plot forward in an enjoyable way.
I won't be reading the next one however if you like cozy fantasies and Fairytale re telling you'll probably live this! I am more of a high fantasy, tension building, twisty and deep story kind of girl and was hoping this would fit into that xatagory- sadly/ regretfully it fell miles short.
✨ARC Review✨
I just finished this book and wow. I couldn’t put it down.
From start to finish, it was swoony, fun, magical, and gave me such warm feelings. It had Cinderella vibes, enemies to lovers, fae, magic, and an MMC who falls first and hard for the FMC which I am a huge sucker for. And the ending? What a cliffhanger! I cannot WAIT for book 2 to find out what happens with Stellon, Raewyn, Pharis and the rest of the characters. I absolutely loved this read.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I just finished this book and wow. I couldn’t put it down.
From start to finish, it was swoony, fun, magical, and gave me such warm feelings. It had Cinderella vibes, enemies to lovers, fae, magic, and an MMC who falls first and hard for the FMC which I am a huge sucker for. And the ending? What a cliffhanger! I cannot WAIT for book 2 to find out what happens with Stellon, Raewyn, Pharis and the rest of the characters. I absolutely loved this read.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes