Thank you to NetGalley and the authors for the ARC of this book.

I normally love twisted fairy tales Unfortunately I did not love this retelling of "Cinderella". Don't think the book wasn't good because it was. The plot of the book was as original as it could be for being a "retelling" and the writing was very good. This book would be a really great beach read but the ending was so awful and it left me with 20 plus questions! In fact the ending was so dissatisfying that it completely ruined the book for me because I couldn't tell if this was the ending of the book or the beginning of a Book #2.

For now, I wouldn't recommend it but maybe if this becomes a series I would be willing to change my mind.

Loved this book! This is a fun romantic romp that takes the traditional tale of Cinderella and twists it like a pretzel and then twists it a bit more. This book is funny, sweet, and just a bit wicked.

Our (Cinder)Ella loves her stepmother and stepsisters and she struggles to make sure their needs are met. Despite living on a shoestring, when the king schedules a ball to find a wife for his son, the stepsisters can't wait to attend. Unfortunately, between tickets, gowns, and a carriage, there is no way they can afford it.

A benefactor stuns them with tickets, but no good deed comes without a cost. However, the man calling himself their godfather only shares the true cost with Ella.

This is an entertaining and engaging novel that kept me hooked. It's the first book I've read by this author, but it won't be the last. Fans of the genre will love this book.

I usually don't comment on covers, but this generic romance cover, while perfectly adequate for a generic romance line in, say, 1973, couldn't be more wrong for this particular book. I only hope that potential readers will find it, because it was (mostly) such a thoroughly fun romp of a read!

I will get to that mostly, but first, in spite of the cover art that looks like the model was placed on the ugliest sheets ever, this is a sweet romantic fantasy. No bad language, and though there are a few sly references to lusty young gents, nothing beyond PG.

Instead, what we have is a Cinderella (her name is actually Prunella, but everyone calls her Ella) busy grubbing in the chimney, trying to clean it, while her step-sisters are in the parlor entertaining a gentleman caller, when a royal herald comes to the door, complete with trumpet and fancy invitation. When Ella tries to kick him out and takes away his trumpet, I knew I was in for a fun ride, turning the usual Cinderella tropes on their ear.

And I was so right! Ella doesn't want whatever invitation the king has sent because she's sure it's yet a new tax, couched in PR language. The step-sisters turn out to be sweet, if a bit dizzy and romance-crazy, the step-mother is like her daughters, and Ella has been gaining a bit of a rep for an overly tart tongue, of late, as she tries to cope with their diminishing resources and the rising taxes.

Well, the invite does turn out to be to a royal ball to meet handsome Prince Florian . . . but the tickets cost a fortune. Yes, another disguised tax!

And off we go. The story is set in a typical fairy tale setting with largely Anglo names (except for a few aristocrats with post-Norman-Conquest names), referencing fairies, pixies, trolls, and magic. Ella and the cast are fun, she keeps collecting handsome guys, and everywhere she turns there are these tantalizing mysteries: about her parents, the guys, the fairy who is also a pawn-broker, about the princes, and, well, there are a lot of them.

So to the mostly: the story is reading along, they get to the ball, it's exciting and a lot happens and even more mysteries are hinted at, then suddenly Ella's romance is wrapped up! (view spoiler) I hope this means that Carroll is going to revisit this setting, if not Ella's story, and carry on.

I'd snap sequels right up.

What a great read. I couldn't put it down. I highly recommend it

I enjoyed this twist on Cinderella but was dismayed to find that it is part of a series or at least has a second part. Ella is a very feisty "Cinderella" who actually likes her stepmother & stepsisters, which is refreshing. She is also resourceful & doesn't want the prince, who has a reputation for being vain & not so smart. She feel in love at 17 with a travelling musician & hasn't quite recovered from that 7 years later. Her best friend Mal Hawkridge seems to have feelings for her but she's not sure she returns them. Then there's Horatio Crushington who she's always disliked until he saves her & she sees another side of him. This story is a lot of fun to read as it plays out & I really look forward to seeing what happens to all of these characters!

This book was an incredibly fun read. I adored Ella and her sassiness, and the story was so creative and well-written that I was sucked in from the start. That said, I wish that this had been clearly marked “Book 1” because although there wasn't *technically* cliffhanger, there were a lot of important plot points left wide open and that made the last 15% of the book more frustrating than satisfying. I realized that there wasn't nearly enough time left to tie it all up, and that made the ending – which should have been a feel-good moment - fall flat for me. I was so annoyed by the fact that so many things were left unsettled and there was nothing at all in the book description that warned of that.

The book itself, however was great. This re-telling of Cinderella was completely different than anything I have ever read, and I really enjoyed this fresh and completely different take on a fairy tale that we all know and love. The writing in this book was fabulous: Ella was feisty and so funny, I thought it was great that her step-family were a bit clueless but they weren't evil, and even the 'love triangle' (that got even more complicated than anticipated) was brilliant. I laughed a lot reading this one, and I even got teary-eyed once, which is a tribute to this author's writing talent.

I would love to see where this enthralling story goes, but a long wait for the next book to be published and not knowing if the story will actually be concluded makes me very wary. Or disenchanted, if you will.

I requested and was graciously granted an ARC of this book from NetGalley, and was under no obligation to write this review.

I couldn't get into this book and didn't get past the third page.

New twist on an old tale. I liked it! This is one to recommend.

An extremely different type of magical romance in a fairy tale. I must say this author is very very talented. While it is not completely to my taste I must give her credit and say with a few changes this would of been a 5 star read for me. There is nothing wrong with her writing or way of telling a story! She is gifted and it shows, the only down side in this book for me was not enough depth and too many loose ends, making it very frustrating for me. The story is engrossing even with it based on a fairy tale. It has twists and plots that are unexpected and it definitely will be one series I will follow for I want to know what happens to the other characters! I was given this book in return for an honest review. Anna Swedenmom