I wanted to like this book, really and truly. But it threw me in so suddenly with so little world building that I had a hard time connecting with the story or the characters. While I understood that it was a Cinderella retelling, I felt confused about the way magic worked and the rules around it. This made me really struggle with the book. When we did get explanations, they were info dumping, and that made things more tricky for me. By the end, I liked the plot, but didn't care much about the world or the characters.

A very enjoyable retake on the Cinderella fairy tale. I definitely found our protagonist far more fascinating and well developed as a character than the original Cinderellas. I strongly recommend this novel to anyone interested in femist fairy tale-retellings!

Thief Liar Lady by D.L. Soria
So what happened after the Prince tracked down Cinderella and proposed marriage?
Not what you might expect in this fantasy that mixes romance, magic, and harsh reality.
For a start, Ash finds herself increasingly attracted to someone else as she waits for wedding preparations to be completed, and that someone else is also a prince. But a hostage from a conquered nation.
Then the magic which helps her dazzle Prince Everett is a two-edged sword which has negative as well as helpful effects, and they can be dire indeed.
Finally, the reality of life beneath the glittering façade of the aristocratic court is disturbing. Not only the self-serving political maneuvering and danger at court, but also the suffering of the lower classes and the discrimination they experience, particularly refugees from the conquered kingdom Eloria.
The familiar fairy tale has been transformed into a scathing indictment of patriarchal oppression of women, ruthless exploitation of the lower classes, and bigotry stirred up against foreigners for political advantage; the passive heroine has been replaced by a tough, resourceful, and independent-minded young woman, determined to fight for her beliefs despite intimidating challenges; and the plot emphasizes the increasing danger she faces.
The fairy tale has always provided a warning, especially in earlier, pre-Disney versions, but this fantasy weaves in current social concerns to darken it still further.

While I received a copy of this ebook in exchange for my review, all opinions remain my own. Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read this story.

I was captivated by just the description of this book. It was just a twisty story that I loved to follow. I love how the magic isn't just "there" but requires something to make it work. I love that love found Ash, regardless of what she had planned (or what was planned for her).

Things I didn't love about this book included the pace. I felt like it went on and on. Felt like it could have been better if it were just a little more concise.

Overall this book gets four stars from me. A great story and one I would recommend to friends.

4.5 stars. You know the story of Cinderella, the classic rags to riches fairy tale. A poor overworked maiden gets trussed up in magic accoutrements and snags a prince at the ball, and they live happily ever after. But what if Cinderella was using that magic to con the prince into falling for her instead? Ash Vincent has been planning this deception with her stepmother for ages, and she’s so close to pulling it off as the wedding date approaches. But a second prince has thrown a wrench into their schemes, and Ash must decide how to maneuver and where her loyalties lay.

I loved this Cinderella retelling! Ash and her motivations are such a unique twist on the story we all know by heart, and I enjoyed her character immensely. Rance and Puppy are also great characters, though I wish Everett had been a bit more complex. The political unrest and magical components contained in the story really help to carry the plot forward, even though we don’t delve too deeply into either one. The pacing was perfect for me and I found myself unwilling to put the book down. The romance is light but expertly crafted, and I was definitely rooting for a happy ending!

Thank you to DL Soria, Del Rey, and NetGalley for my advance digital copy.

This retelling of Cinderella is completely magical! I loved that all the classic moments were there, just with a contemporary twist. This was so much fun to read!

""Happily Ever After" is a total scam, but at least this time the princess is the one controlling the grift - until her true love arrives and threatens to ruin the whole scheme. Intrigue, magic, and wit abound in this Cinderella fairytale reimagining, perfect for fans of Heather Walter and Naomi Novik.

I'm not who you think I am.

My transformation from a poor, orphaned scullery maid into the enchantingly mysterious lady who snagged the heart of the prince did not happen - as the rumors insisted - in a magical metamorphosis of pumpkins and glass slippers. On the first evening of the ball, I didn't meekly help my "evil" stepmother and stepsisters primp and preen or watch forlornly out the window as their carriage rolled off toward the palace. I had other preparations to make.

My stepsisters and I had been trained for this - to be the cleverest in the room, to be quick with our hands and quicker with our lies. We were taught how to get everything we wanted in this world, everything men always kept for themselves: power, wealth, and prestige. And with a touchingly tragic past and the help of some highly illegal spells, I would become a princess, secure our fortunes, and we would all live happily ever after.

But there's always more to the story. With my magic running out, war looming, and a handsome hostage prince - the wrong prince - distracting me from my true purpose with his magnetic charm and forbidden flirtations, I'm in danger of losing control of the delicate balance I've created...and that could prove fatal.

There's so much more riding on this than a crown."

Cinderella grifter? Tell me more!

I was very curious about this one especially because I haven’t read many Cinderella retellings. Although I liked some aspects of the story I just couldn’t fully get into it.

The book is told from one point-of-view and it comes from Ash who is pretending to be Lady Aislinn. This was an interesting premise since she is hiding her true identity which is something that I usually enjoy. She wasn’t a bad character and does have personal growth throughout the book as she starts to have a voice of her own and trying to make her own decisions versus doing what others want.

The other characters were fine, but my problem lies with not being able to connect to any of them. There were nothing wrong with them, really. I just didn’t find myself caring about them and even when intense plot twists would happen they didn’t have the shock factor for me.

I think that this book was very original when it came to a retelling, especially one for a Cinderella retelling. The world needed a bit more work though since I didn’t understand the magic system. They just did magic and that was that. There is political turmoil but I still wasn’t sure the reasons. I also felt that the book would have been better to start from the beginning versus start at an abrupt place and then fill in as it goes.

Overall, this was okay but it didn’t work for me.

**I was provided an electronic ARC from the publisher through NetGalley.**

DNF at 42%

Actual rating: 2.5

DL Soria makes the transition to adult fantasy with Thief Liar Lady. A reimagining of Cinderella where the Cinderella character, Aislinn, is running a long con with the assistance of her stepmother and stepsisters. With looming war between countries and the attention of two different princes as an added distraction, it's going to take Aislinn a lot of focus and a lot of magic to pull this off. And that's if the king doesn't imprison her for freeing the leader of the rebellion.

I will begin by stating that this was not a book for me and I did DNF at 42%. The problem was that I wanted to DNF around 15%, but I kept wanting my experience with the book to be better or worse to decide. Ultimately, the deciding factor was the fact that nothing this book could do by the point of my stopping would have earned it higher than three stars. I was deciding between a two or three or in between and figured I could save myself the time by simply discontinuing.

The writing for this book was not in a style I enjoyed. Readers are thrust into the story after the events of the Cinderella story, but then have to experience those events through characters flashing back or referring back to them. It might have been more effective to let the events play out in order and have the world established up front. Aislinn's motivations are unclear both to her audience and to the reader. This is a deliberate choice, but it also meant I couldn't get behind her choices since they were coming from this driving place of subterfuge. Combine that with the softest of soft magic systems where the limitations and rules associated with lustre use are never actually established. As such, lustre can be a limitation or solve-all throughout the book. The magic can also be a point where a random rule can just appear and the reader must adapt like it was always in place.

The only character I was remotely interested and invested in was Verance, the hostage prince. He was an easy character to love and to get behind even when he made disagreeable choices.

Ultimately, I think this book needed another round of editing to clean up a lot of plot points and establish a solid foundation to build off of before taking on the rest of the project. I hope this work finds its readers and wish the author all the best.

Thief Liar Lady is a nuanced retelling of Cinderella. I love a good fairy tale retelling and this book did not disappoint. What if the story of Cinderella that we all know gave Cinderella more agency? What if she knew what she was doing all along? Ash did grow up with two stepsisters and a scheming stepmother- but their plan was always for Ash to leave a shoe behind. Enchanting the prince of the kingdom to fall for her was all Ash’s idea. After the engagement, Ash must decide just how far she will take the treasonous scheme.

Thief Liar Lady has elements of classic fantasy, mixed with a hint of YA and imaginative world-building. I liked how much agency Ash had and how ambitious she was. I also appreciated her relationship with her stepsisters and how it was far more complex than the original tale. The magic system was creative, yet at times it felt overly convenient due to the flexible rules. The morally gray nature of lustre was definitely a strong choice and I think some readers will enjoy how it was used and others will not. This book seems torn between trying to be YA and adult, with the romance pushing it into adult and the plot/characters reminiscent of YA.

Overall, this was an entertaining and fun fantasy. I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys fairy tale retellings, morally gray magic, and strong characters who refuse to wait for a prince to rescue them. Thank you to D.L. Soria, Del Rey, and Netgalley for a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

For publisher: My review will be posted on Instagram, Goodreads, Amazon, Storygraph, and Barnes & Noble etc

The time jumps without warning, the lack of explanation on why anything happened and characters that were incredibly unlikable. No thank you.

3 ⭐️

The premise of this book was super intriguing and fun. A different take on a retelling of Cinderella, where Cinderella has ulterior motives and it's all an illusion to get the Prince to fall in love with her. I really was excited for this book concept, but on delivery I just couldn't connect with it. I really struggled with the writing style for this one. It's a super slow beginning, that never really took off and sucked me in.

Although this book was not for me, I do believe others will enjoy it. The characters have depth and connecting the dots to the original story was fun. The cover of this book is also just absolutely gorgeous.

Thank you to NetGalley, Del Ray, and Random House Ballantine for this advanced read copy. My review is voluntarily my own.

A worthy retelling of the Cinderella story. Though Aislinn, the novel’s Cinderella, has tricked the prince into marrying her, it wasn’t thanks to her fairy godmother, but her scheming stepmother. This novel has what the fairytale lacked, intrigue, political machinations, humor, and romance. Well worth the read.

I was both excited and nervous when I first picked up this book. On one hand, I love fairytale retellings, and it seems like it’s been a bit since I’ve read one lately. On the other hand, “Cinderella” has always been a particularly hard nut to crack, as far as I’m concerned. There’s just so little “there” there. I mean, she meets the guy for three nights and then they get married. Kind of a tough sell for modern audiences who want a bit more foundation to their romances. “Ella Enchanted” did it well. But that book is also middle grade fiction and decades old at this point. And this one is not only not middle grade, but it’s not even YA (the usual haven of fairytale retelling). Nope, straight adult fantasy! But wow, was I impressed with this book!

There were a lot of really smart choices that I think the author made right off the bat that got this book off to a good start. For one thing, the story opens up after Cinderella/Ash has won her prince. After the balls. After the glass slipper. From there, we also swiftly learn that this fairytale romance is not what it seems. Ash herself is not what she seems. Instead of the picture perfect maid-turned-princess, she’s a spy with her own agendas. And I say agendas, plural, because there are layers to the schemes behind her journey to the palace. As the story progresses, we have a few jumps backward in time, so we do see some of the actual ball and events seen in the traditional fairytale. But even here, there are twists and turns behind how these events played out and what was truly going on behind the scenes. All of this gave the story an incredibly fresh, unique feel. Yes, you can clearly see the influences from the original. But 90% of the book is its own story.

This leads to the second choice the author made that I think was incredibly smart: changes to our main characters. Ash, of course, is no Disney princess. Her history, while containing many of the same bullet points from the original story, is one that has shaped a very different woman. Indeed, she’s partly aligned with her “evil” stepmother to further their own hatched plans. But further, she has her own political motivations, fighting for her mother’s homeland, a country that has suffered greatly under the pressure and power of this realm’s king. She’s brave, brash, and a truly morally grey character. She makes no excuses for the fact that she is bespelling and using the prince for her own ends. I enjoyed her entire arc throughout this story. It is a journey of accountability, of compromise, and of understanding just what sacrifices she is willing to make for the sake of a cause.

I also really enjoyed the fact that the romance was changed around. Instead of the prince (who is both sympathetic for being manipulated by Ash but also incredibly unlikable at different points), the love story is shifted to a different character. I really loved the slow burn nature of this romance. And even more than that, I enjoyed how the development of this romance forced Ash to confront some of the realities behind the choices she was making and the people she was working alongside. Beyond the shifts to Ash and her prince, I really like the roles the evil step-sisters played in the story. We don’t get tons of page time with them, but I think there was some really interesting commentary to be found there about sibling relationships, especially those formed in abusive households.

The writing was also incredibly strong. The book both made me laugh out loud, but was also incredibly sad at various points. Indeed, my one complaint about the book comes down to a bit of a dissonance in tone. I like the fact that the book went to some dark places (honestly, way darker than I was ever expecting). But then the switch in tone from light, funny, and action-packed to incredibly tragic, and back and forth…it became a bit hard at times to fully make that switch when the story took a sudden swerve one way or the other.

But even with this minor quibble, I was so pleased with this book! I had a blast reading it, and it’s definitely the sort of story that I can see myself re-reading many times in the future.

Rating 9: Fresh, vibrant, and bringing us a morally grey “Cinderella” who you can’t help but root for!

(Link will go live July 7)

4.5 - For me, Thief Liar Lady was reminiscent of The Prison Healer series with a hint of Little Thieves and a tiny bit The Cruel Prince.

The concept of “what if Cinderella was a con artist” was a great way to get a foot in the door. From there, the plot developed into a political intrigue espionage story that managed to surpass my expectations.

I loved Rance immediately.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Del Rey for providing me with an advanced copy in exchange for my unbiased review.

I am not usually huge on fairytale retellings, but this was really enjoyable! At first I didn’t connect with the main character and it the story felt simplistic, but it didn’t take long for it to dive deeper into the characters and for the plot to thicken. I absolutely loved Rance! I loved their connection so much. The way loose ends we’re tied up definitely wasn’t the most believable and parts of the end felt a bit rushed, but I still found myself smiling as I read the last page, so I will call it a fulfilling ending despite the flaws!

Great retelling if Cinderella-with a multi dimensional heroine. Ash shines as someone caught up in multiple plans and trying to figure out how to do the right thing. The plot kept twisting and turning, keeping me guessing, while ultimately wrapping up in a way that was satisfying but believable.

This book was sadly a DNF for me. I love the premise. The idea that there's a little more to Cinderalla's story and her goals outside of meeting a prince who saves her from all of it. That this story is one of her own making. It's just the using magic to enchant the prince into loving her and the racial ambigiousness of the people she's supposed to be saving via helping the rebellion that's bothering me. And the more I read the less answers I felt I was getting, while I had so many more questions because Ash didn't feel like this badass in control character that she was supposed to be.

I'm not a big fan of fantasy, especially fairy tales, so I'm not sure why I picked up this ARC, but thank you NetGalley for the opportunity.

Most retellings of Cinderella stick closely to the original and are thus predictable but D.L. Soria created a more unique concept than I'm used to seeing. Our Cinderella, Ash (or Lady Aislinn as she pretends to be) was a double agent, sent to the ball by her stepmother to snag a rich husband. But instead, Ash seduced the King's brother, Prince Everett, using magic dust (or lustre) that was mined by her country and had caused wars to be fought over due to its rarity.

Ash's stepmother trained her and her two step sisters to be the best thieves, the best liars, and to get what they needed whatever it was. They learned to use lustre's magic to influence people, and to be immune to its effects. She also beat her and was a genuinely evil stepmother after her father's death.

Ash is also half Elorian, on her mother's side and her grandmother has another reason for her to be at the Court - to help the revolutionaries free their people. Years ago, Solis won the war with Eloria and enslaved its "golden" people (think: non-white). And the Elorian prince has been a hostage in the Solarian's King's court for 20 years.

This book was much more than a rags-to-princess tale; it gave power to women, even the stepsisters. It had moral dilemmas that explored bigger topics, such as war, what's right, and what's wrong. It also had a lot of areas where it could have been improved, and hopefully, this young author's novels will reflect that as she gains experience. I look forward to seeing more from DL Soria.

I loved the story, the world building and meeting the different characters. I felt completely immersed in the story and couldn't stop reading it.