Did not finish. Just couldn't get into it. Too much "telling" and not enough showing in the beginning.

A great retelling of Cinderella. I loved all the details about life 'below stairs' and the rituals and routines they have. A great read.

Review of Sneak Peek (first 13 chapters) provided by publisher via NetGalley

I have never been sadder to reach the end of a sneak peek. This new YA historical is hugely entertaining; I flew through the pages! I will be finishing this one as soon as it's available.

Recommended for teens who love Downton Abbey and historical fiction.

I have opted not to review this book as I was not enjoying it and DNFed.

I struggle with this review. I love Hyperion books and until this book I would have said everything they touch is pure gold.
This wasn't a bad book but from the beginning I struggled to love this book.
Let's start with the cover - I don't know about you but that cover did not give me the impression this was a historical novel. The book is set at the turn of the 20th century. As I started reading, I wondered if the first chapter was a backstory of some sort. To realize that the first chapter was introducing the main character shocked me. Maybe I wasn't paying attention to the synopsis of the book but I thought this was a modern day story.
That wasn't a problem but the story just struggled. 400 pages of set up and all those scandals. One would think that at the day of the industrial age meant that one had to watch themselves more closely. Everyone had something they were trying to hide and not very well. Ava, the main character, was so wishy washy. It made me crazy. Yes, I understand she's young and thinks she's in love but for being so smart she is really stupid and nearly whiney. She's tossed by those around her like a bottle in the ocean.
There are things to like about this book and I did want to know what was going to happen. The whole book is just build up to the opening of the season and when that came I thought it had already come and gone. The story just confused me, there was no clear timeline and everyone was just constantly in the aftermath of one tramatic experience after another.
Then comes the ending. After wading through all this, the story just ends. I get that it's the first part of a series but there was nearly no resolution to anything in the story. I'm not sure I want to wade through another 400 pages to find that I still haven't learned anything.
Maybe this is not a book for me but I would have thought it up my alley - the main character wants to be educated and is on the precipace of women's rights but she's not that good at it. I found myself almost hating her because she couldn't pick a cause. I get it - she's young and I am not.
I think the author picked too many causes in this book - there's women's rights, homosexuality, the conflict in India and societal pressure. Add to that a bastard child (oh and a ridiculous adoption). Everything seemed to be far too easy for these people who had nothing but problems. I could go on because the more I think of it the more I realize that this book just doesn't meet the mark.
I found the writing to be less than stellar. Makes you wonder what Hyperion saw in this book and why I wasn't seeing it.