The time has come, folks – my first YA review on the blog! And of course, the author of said YA book is one of Romance’s most famous authors! Surprisingly though, The Evil Queen and The Glass Queen are my first Gena Showalter books, but they most certainly won’t be the last. I can’t wait to read more of her YA books, and I also can’t wait to try out her Romance books too!

First things first – before you jump into The Glass Queen, you have to read The Evil Queen first. While this story focuses on Ashleigh and Saxon, the main characters from the first book are also integral parts of the plot. The Glass Queen opens with the readers meeting frail Ashleigh, our heroine, receiving a message from her father commanding that she come home. She is currently exiled as a punishment for attacking Saxon, our hero, a few years ago. Upon arriving home and learning that there will be a Hunger Games-esque competition to wed one of her stepsisters, Ashleigh is told that she is to assist Saxon, who will be joining the competition, in any way she can. Easier said than done though, because Saxon hates Ashleigh, and he plans to make her miserable… before killing her.

Dun dun dun. A lot to take in, huh?

Speaking of the plot, prophecies play a big role in this series, and I enjoyed Showalter’s take on them. For us readers, these prophecies are the fairy tales we grew up with, but for the people of Enchantia, these prophecies are the difference between life and death, good and evil, and peace and war. Also, while the main players of each prophecy know that they’ll be part of said prophecy, they don’t know which character they’ll play. So for example, even though Ashleigh is called the Glass Queen, she won’t necessarily be Cinderella in the prophecy. Cool, right?

Now, let’s talk about Ashleigh. I cannot even begin to explain how rough Asheigh has it – her father hates her, she has no friends, and she has a weak heart (literally). Despite all of these, she remains so hopeful, always willing to take on what comes her way, and I just want what’s best for her! Also, I’m not going to lie – I hated Saxon for the first few chapters. We do learn early on why he hates Ashleigh so much, but I can’t help but be frustrated because he was so unreasonable! I hate, hate how terribly he treated Ashleigh. Instead of seeing what’s right in front of him, he was content to blame everything on her. For a second there, I wasn’t sure how I could root for him to be Ashleigh’s happily-ever-after, but don’t worry, he does redeem himself fully. In the end, Saxon proves that he is the hero, and the prince charming of this fairy tale.

All in all, I recommend The Glass Queen. The characters are fully-developed, and the story has so many twists and turns – there’s no way you’ll get bored! I’m also a fan of the lyrical writing because, lest we forget, this is a fairy tale after all. I cannot wait to see what happens in the next book!

I adore a good retelling and Gena Showalter brought it with this series. She was able to tell an age old story in a completely refreshing, new and modern way. The main characters: Ashleigh and Skylair were perfect perfect enemies to lovers with actually history behind the hate.

A lot of times, authors will introduce an enemies to lovers story with the characters being enemies because they can't or won't show their feelings to each other. And there's nothing wrong with that. I love those stories but it's even better when the characters have a history behind their hate. Gena Showalter entwined the fairytales so perfectly it wasn't boring nor was it repetitive. It was brilliant. I didn't love that it was a little slow but that is negotiable. The character development was absolutely amazing. Ashleigh became an amazing badass woman and Saxon became the perfect boyfriend. At this point, I don't even have a harem of book boyfriends. I have a whole freaking city.

And I will gladly add this one to its populace.

The Glass Queen by Gena Showalter

**Thank you to Net Galley and Inkyard Press for the chance to review this eArc.**


I am a BIG fan of Gena Showalter. I loved The Evil Queen when it bought for me for my Birthday. I devoured that one. So when I say I wanted to LOVE this one as well, know that I mean it!

The Glass Queen is sticking with the Fantasy Fairy Tale theme which is what I love the most. It closely follows the Cinderella story line. The characters were just as interesting and the plot was enjoyable and kept me wanting more.

This book did tend to get a bit juvenile from time to time. I know that it is considered YA, however there is a wide range of middle grade to hot and racy scenes. So it felt all over the place from time to time. I did not like this one as much as The Evil Queen, however with that being said it was still an enjoyable world to visit once more.

A big Thank You to Gena Showalter for providing us with this fun piece of YA Fantasy again.

Ugh....I was so excited for this book. Books like these being labeled as YA/Teen is why I will be reading books ahead of my kids when they are a bit older. This book is so not appropriate for a teenager. There were explicit sex scenes and violence. I chose to read YA books as an adult and avoid adult romance because I don't want to be reading that junk, but to put it in a teen book honestly has me really concerned about what children may unwittingly read. I spent a lot of time skimming because I certainly wasn't going to be reading it either. The girl is also only 17....so explicit content of a 17 year old really doesn't sit right for me.

I enjoyed the first book and don't recall it having anything like this in it. However, going from YA to mature content isn't the only reason I did not enjoy the book, the plot was fairly interesting, but also quite boring in comparison to the first book. The main character's voice was so convoluted. One minute she is speaking contemporary and then the next she is confused by other characters using modern colloquialisms. The characters were inconsistent in speech, personality, and even relationships.

Props for an interesting concept and dragons, but overall, this book was a nope from me.

Don't let your children read it and don't read it yourself it you don't want to read a subpar novel with inappropriate content.

The majority of The Glass Queen takes place shortly after The Evil Queen . The only real exception is the very beginning. There is a scene from Ashleigh's birth and then another from 14 years later when her mom died. And then the rest takes place in the present-day.

Ashleigh plays the role of Cinderella in this retelling. She was born with a weak heart (physically) and her father never wanted her. Only her mother's love saved her, but her mother died when Ashleigh was 14. She meets Prince Saxon at her mother's funeral and he immediately begins to glare at her with hatred in his eyes. The two have a short confrontation that Ashleigh doesn't remember involving fire being shot at Prince Saxon. Outraged, he vows she will pay reparations. Her father then exiles her to a temple where she works as a servant until called back to her father's side to work as "palace liaison" to Prince Saxon in a tournament to win her stepsister's hand in marriage. Saxon is determined to use this opportunity to make Ashleigh pay for her past sins. More sins than she even realizes she's committed.

The players of The Glass Queen were much more obvious than The Evil Queen. At least in that Ashleigh never questions that she plays the role of Cinder in the prophecy and Saxon the role of the "marriage-minded prince." The two are drawn to each other despite having a more complicated history than Ashleigh knows in the beginning and despite appearing to be doomed. I found it enjoyable to not feel 100% confident in who was who when I read The Evil Queen, but I think I enjoyed it even more in The Glass Queen to feel confident in knowing who each character represented.



One of my complaints about The Evil Queen was the maturity levels of the characters. Each of the main characters had a retaliation mindset. You hurt me now I have to hurt you worse. And Saxon had that attitude as well. At least in the beginning. But Ashleigh was leagues above this mindset. She was the type of character that endures true hardships and remains positive, remains hopeful, and refuses to attack those who have harmed her in the past. Even when she has the power to do so. I like rooting for this type of character.

Because Saxon and Ashleigh started off in such a rocky place, I enjoyed their journey very much. Hate to love relationships often turn out to be some of my favorites. Theirs was no different.

Favorite quotes:
-Noel polled a bunch of random strangers about our situation, and asked if it was all right to hurt an innocent girl in order to kill an evil phantom. Apparently, polling random strangers is the best way to make a decision in the mortal world...

-“Stop being ridiculous, boys. For the lastish time, I’m betraying you both.”

-“From my vantage point, I don’t think fate has ever helped me.” “Then you aren’t paying attention.”

One thing I did find contradictory...The characters seemed a little hypocritical when it came to their feelings about death and killing. They didn't seem to mind fighting in a tournament that including much killing. Roth and Saxon were doing a large portion of that. And the tournament was really just a ruse. Yet when it came to Ashleigh's father or even other major characters at the end, they couldn't bring themselves to kill out of punishment or justice. Yet for sport...as a distraction...didn't seem to bother them. And actually, Ashleigh comments about how attractive Saxon is multiple times after he battles others resulting in his killing them during the tournament. It just felt a little disjointed and contradictory to me.

I read The Glass Queen really quickly. I didn't want to put it down even when I had to. As a matter of fact, I had to force myself not to read a couple of times in order to get things done around the house. I enjoyed Ashleigh and Saxon's relationship journey as I tend to do with hate-to-love relationships. I also appreciated knowing who each character represented in the retelling. The Glass Queen gets 4 Stars. Have you read The Glass Queen? What did you think? Let me know!

i really enjoyed reading this book, I really liked the first book and I love the fairy tale retellings. This was a fun read with great characters. I look forward to more from the author and this series.

I liked it this story and found it highly entertaining even if it drags a bit.
I liked the characters and the world building. The plot was enjoyable and kept me hooked.
It's the second in a series but it can be read as a standalone.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

The glass queen is a Cinderella retelling and a sequel to another fairytale retelling of snow white. This novel follows the events of the evil queen and should be read in order to avoid spoilers.

I really enjoyed the glass queen, not as much as the evil queen but I still liked the overall story a lot. You are brought back to the world introduced in the first novel and get to meet a new main character who has lost her mother and is pushed away by her family all because of the fairytale prophecies.

Following in the same style as the evil queen, I found that the mix of different types of characters really sets up the future stories as well. The glass queen however focuses back onto magic a lot more and hints at other ones.

The story of the glass queen was enjoyable overall and a refreshing new take for any fairytale fans. I really enjoyed hearing more about Saxons life and history since he was more of a secondary character in the first novel.

I can't wait to see which stories will be retold next.

In the magical land of Enchantia, Saxon is the king of Avian. He knows that Ashleigh Ansklelisa is dangerous despite being called the Glass Princess for her weak heart. Destined lovers have to find their way back to each other, and everything can change at the stroke of midnight.

The Glass Queen is a Cinderella retelling, and I'm a sucker for fractured fairy tales and retellings. I hadn't read the first book in the Forest of Good and Evil series, which told the story of the Evil Queen from Snow White tales. I don't know if that book has multiple openings, but this one does. We have the Cinderella story, Ashleigh's birth, and then when she is sent away at her mother's death. The truth of the witch sharing her body is kept from her, but she soon enough learns about the spirit possessing her and trying to take over.

In this world, the fairy tales that we know are prophecies, and like prophecies can be interpreted, misinterpreted, reinterpreted, and completely misrepresented. People hope to be part of a tale, if only because it will make them important, but that doesn't mean they'll get their happily ever after. Ashleigh is picked on by Avians that know she's the reincarnation of a fire witch that had devastated their lands in the two prior incarnations she had gone after Saxon's incarnations. They're determined to prevent a third time, and Saxon is just as determined to stop her. However, he soon discovers that Ashleigh is possessed, and not truly the reincarnation of the witch. He has to fight off his own people as well as his own instincts.

Things aren't always what they seem when magic is involved, and in this story, it's no different. The Glass Princess is physically fragile, but emotionally she's as tough as any bullied girl that's determined to keep pushing through. Saxon is proud and loyal, but willing to change when he gets new information he hadn't known about and will fight for the truth. That's an admirable trait, and I understand why they're drawn to each other. Fate or not, their personalities mesh very well once the suspicion is gone, and they each hope for the best for the other's future.

The Glass Queen is a romance novel that takes the enemies to lovers trope and blends in a healthy dose of fairy tales, dragons, magic, and winged creatures fighting to the death in a competition our hero has every intention of winning. I enjoyed this book a lot, and look forward to future novels in this series.

I was unable to finish the book. I got halfway through and just felt it was way too juvenile for me. It is really strange because some of the subject matter is older teen but the writing style seems very middle grade.

The Quick Cut: A princess fights to stand on her rightful throne in this Cinderella retelling. 

A Real Review: Thank you to Inkyard Press for providing the ARC in exchange for an honest review.   
 Sequels are a dime a dozen, but the most difficult part is making that additional story as powerful as the first. How do you make that extended story undeniable? This is the scenario for the story centered around a girl named Ashleigh. 
 Ashleigh, known as the Glass Princess, has been waiting for the moment to redeem herself for a long time. However, when she ends up face to face with the opportunity to see her father the King, she ends up shell shocked with a new truth: her father remarried and now has two stepsisters (along with her new stepmother) by her side. Can she find redemption for the past or will she end up in a fight for her life? 
 I enjoyed the first book, but I could not get into the sequel. I tried, but no matter how many times I returned to this book I struggled to stay interested. In this case, I just think the writing style doesn't match well with my preferred reading material, along with a failure to connect to the characters. There is a prologue to this book that didn't immediately grab my interest, so once Ashleigh was introduced - I was already checked out. It's unfortunate considering how much I wanted to enjoy this one. 
 A book with a slow and plodding start that will only hold the most interested readers. 
My rating: 1 out of 5

I read the first book in this series and enjoyed it. The characters there made a cameo in this book too. You don't have to read the first book to understand this one though. It's a nice and fun twist on the Cinderella story. The romance is slow burn but it's great.

Thank you Netgalley for this free copy.

An oracle has said that Ashleigh is a part of the Cinderella story and Ashleigh believes that she is Cinderella. Unfortunately everyone despises her including "Prince Charming." To make matters worse she develops power to control fire and dragons, a power that only Leonora, the burner of worlds, possessed.
This a great fantasy series with The Evil Queen being the first book. I think I liked the first book better, but this one still had some good fantasy elements. I wasn't a fan of the romance, maybe because it came on a little too strong? I don't know, I just thought that The Evil Queen was a stronger book.

Welcome to the Land of Enchantia!

When Princess Ashleigh Charmaine is born with a weak and fragile heart, her Father King Philipp sends her away. She comes to be known as “The Glass Princess.” Ashleigh is despised by all, even the animal kingdom seems to detest her. Yet an oracle in the land had prophesied that Ashleigh is the one to fulfill the part of Cinderella in The Little Cinder Girl fairy tale. She will save the kingdom of Sevon one day. How can this be?

The Kingdoms are at war, and King Phillipp summons his banished daughter home. Princess Ashleigh is shocked to find that her father has remarried and she now has two step-sisters. A grand tournament is planned for the King’s step-daughter’s hand in marriage, Dior.

Ashleigh soon realized that the king she is fated to wed, according to the prophecy is Saxon, the Avian heir to the throne. A gorgeous, winged man who seethes with hatred for her; the feeling is mutual. Saxon has entered the tournament for Dior’s hand. How can Ashleigh possibly be the prophesied queen? If she only had magical powers, and why does she feel like she’s not alone inside her head?

I’m still fairly new to the fantasy genre, but this was a fun one. I loved this dark twist on the Cinderella story. There are quite a few battle scenes and the romance was more of a slow, angsty burn. But if you love exploring a world full of witches, fae, trolls, and other magical creatures you’ll enjoy this book. My absolute favorite part was the dragons, Pagan, and Pyre.

**This is book #2, and though I did not read #1 (The Evil Queen), I didn’t feel lost. Everly, the Evil Queen, does make an appearance in The Glass Queen.

Thank you to @inkyardpress @harpercollins @netgalley for this digital copy for review. Get your copy today!

I don’t usually read this type of book and I guess I know why. Parts of this book were really good and I felt like I flying through this book. The rest of it was too wordy and drawn out. I think it could have been hundred pages less.
It was descriptive and had some interesting characters
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the early copy

Thank you so much to Inkyard press for reaching out to me to read/review an e-ARC of The Glass Queen early! I read an ARC of The Evil Queen last year, and while there was so much potential in that book, I feel like execution was lacking. In this book, there was also so much potential and while it was executed better than The Evil Queen, there were still a lot of parts that gave me whiplash, but overall, I did think it was a fun read.

The Glass Queen 3.5/5 Stars


Summary from Goodreads:

Pitied.
Sickly.
Unfit to rule.

Princess Ashleigh Charmaine is known as the Glass Princess, fragile enough to shatter with a whisper of wind. Born with a weak heart, she dreams of being treated like anyone else. Unlike her headstrong sisters, she received no magical ability at birth and lives every day expecting to die. Until an oracle announces that Ashleigh is fated to play the part of Cinderella, wed a handsome royal and save the Kingdom of Sevon from the evil king and queen who once ruled the land.

As war rages, Ashleigh begins to doubt her role in the fairy-tale prophecy. Animals despise her, she can’t carry a merry tune and she has zero social graces. Worse, the king she’s supposed to enchant is the newly crowned sovereign of the winged warriors known as the Avian…and he despises her, too.

When Ashleigh develops a terrifying magical ability to commune with dragons and create fire from air—a power she cannot control—she must work with King Saxon to save their kingdoms and their lives. By the stroke of midnight, she must warm his icy heart…or forever break her own. Will Ashleigh ever become the queen she’s prophesied to be…or will she lose everything she’s come to love?

Overall, I liked the story. I liked Everly so much more as a side character in this story than I did in book one. I think the prophecy was more interesting this time with it being Cinderella and us kinda knowing who was who, but not really. Leonora being a phantom was a cool addition and I really liked that! I didn’t like how Ashleigh was supposed to be pitied for being so unloved by her greedy father but she was so perfect that so many random new people who met her instantly loved her. That annoyed me and I felt like there was no depth to any of the characters. If you’re looking for an easy book where you really don’t have to think and there might be a little bit of confusion about people’s feelings towards each other, this was great! I really enjoyed the fairy tales and them being brought up in the way they were and how multiple people could be multiple characters within it- I already know I’m going to read the next one when it comes out and if this book and book one are any indication, that book should be better than this one was! One thing I absolutely love about this book is the cover- it’s gorgeous! The Glass Queen comes out on September 29th, so check it out then!

Disclaimer: I received this e-arc from the publisher for Rockstar Book Tours. Thanks! All opinions are my own.

Book: The Glass Queen

Author: Gena Showalter

Book Series: The Forest of Good and Evil Book 2

Rating: 3/5

Recommended For...: retelling, fantasy, ya

Publication Date: September 29, 2020

Genre: YA Fantasy Retelling

Recommended Age: 16+ (violence, gore, romance)

Publisher: Inkyard Press

Pages: 324

Synopsis: Ashleigh Anskelisa may be called the Glass Princess due to her weak heart, but Saxon, king of the Avian, knows she is more dangerous than broken glass, in this Cinderella retelling that sweeps readers into the magical land of Enchantia, filled with treacherous enemies, unexpected allies, forbidden love, and dangerous magic! Can destined lovers find their way to each other, or will evil win the day? Everything changes at the stroke of midnight as one determined princess fights for her legacy, her love, and the crown that is her destiny.

Review: This was an ok book. Again, the plot and story were the driving points of the book and I enjoyed both of them. The world building was also a bit better and the pacing was still pretty good.

However, the book is full of SJM references (mates... Ugh) and the romance is really bad. The author used to write romance novels so I don't know why the romance in these books are so bad but they are. Maybe it's due to the lack of character development. The use of the word mate is also very troubling for me. In my opinion, the books would have been better as an adult series where the author could have went full SJM. I also have issue with this being called a series when it feels like just a group of books set in the same world.

Verdict: It was a good book, but a bit cringy.

I was provided a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest and fair review.

I thought the premise behind this book sounded pretty interesting, and since it's the second in a series I decided to read the first beforehand also (The Evil Queen). I read both around my birthday and I am so glad that I did! These were great stories and were just perfect for me. I love fairy tale retellings and these were SO GOOD. I liked the first book in the series a little better just because I loved Everly's character, but The Glass Queen was also excellent. I'm not sure if the author was influenced by her friend Kresley, but there are ALOT of things in both these books that remind me of Kresley Cole's Immortals After Dark series. The Glass Queen reminded me a lot of Thronos' story from Dark Skye combined with both main characters stories from Dreams of a Dark Warrior. And the oracle Noel reminds me almost too much of Nix. Which isn't a problem for me because I adore that series. There was obviously less steam because these are young adult and not romance but there was still great tension and chemistry between the main characters. I loved all the world building and details, and I can't wait for the next book to come out! I'd definitely recommend this series!

THE GLASS QUEEN is an intense and fantastically written fairytale retelling of Cinderella. In the kingdom of Enchantia, fairytales are prophecies and the roles that people will play are murky - anyone could play any role, and it is only when the dust settles that it becomes clear who was destined for which role. Ashleigh was born a princess with a weak heart. When her cruel father wished to cast her out, her desperate mother sought magical intervention to save her. In doing so, she fused an evil phantom to Ashleigh.

Years later, Ashleigh is grieving the loss of her mother when she encounters Saxon, an Avian prince whose opinion of her is already terrible. Ashleigh blacks out and awakes to him being injured, an offense that requires restitution. She is cast out of the kingdom to begin serving her sentence. It is grueling, and when she is summoned back, she has hopes that it will be over. However, her father happily hands her over to serve Saxon as he fights amongst many potential suitors in war games to win her magical stepsister's hand in marriage.

As the plot evolves, things become quite twisted and complex with magical surprises at every turn.

What I loved: The writing style here is quite compelling, transporting us to the magical realm and the many species and kingdoms there. This story has a bit of everything- magical creatures like dragons and unicorns, evil witches, vague oracles, enemies-to-lovers, fated romances, foes to hate, and so many delightful characters. I loved that we get to see the story through both Ashleigh and Saxon's eyes. With both perspectives, it is easy to cheer for both throughout the story and really understand both of their motivations, which is particularly important because of the way things happen.

Ashleigh and Saxon, as well as so many of the secondary characters, are so easy to love, and I really enjoyed hearing their stories. The reappearance of characters from the first book are delightful for those who enjoyed that one too, but I also appreciate that you do not need to have read the first book to enjoy this one.

I also really love the way Showalter can add in some sarcasm and quips in such a seamless way to infuse some humor amidst the serious. She also includes some interesting themes about believing in yourself, the value of confidence, following your goals, being true to yourself, the real meaning of strength, and finding your inner peace that make this a deeper read.

Final verdict: THE GLASS QUEEN continues a highly anticipated series with courageous characters, dashing heroes, and soul-stirring romance. Fairytales are reinvented in absolutely clever and unique new ways, making this book and series stand out. Highly recommend for fans of the RAVENSPIRE series, TO KILL A KINGDOM, and/or ELLA ENCHANTED.

Please note that I received an ARC from the publisher through netgalley. All opinions are my own.

3.5 stars!

As soon as I finished The Evil Queen, I was pretty eager to start this one right away. With this being my second read by Gena, I kind of had a sense of her writing style and expected about the same with this one.

The Glass Queen is what I'd say is a new adult fantasy romance with the enemies to lovers trope. This is a Cinderella retelling and one of the things I really enjoy about this series is figuring who is who.

I actually really liked Ashleigh and Saxon, they both go through some character development as the story progresses, but I was definitely hoping for a little bit more.

I really have to hand it to Gena, she does a phenomenal job with her world-building. I'm definitely not used to way that she writes it, but with this being my second book, I had a better idea of how she approaches everything. She hooked me in completely with this world and characters.

I loved that we got to see Everly and Roth again, I don't think I could ever tire of them.

Even though this has the enemies to lovers trope, they still managed to pull the emotions out of me. I did feel their connection and chemistry, but to me, it felt like it could have gone a tad bit deeper.

Like the first, I struggled with how lengthy the book is and sometimes felt we were just going through the motions of the story.

However, I'm completely sold on this series, I've been enjoying every bit of it and can't wait for the next book in the series.