I absolutely adore fairytale retellings! Thief Liar Lady is a take on the classic Cinderella story. The twist to this one is the Cinderella-inspired character is actually partnered with her stepmother and sisters. They want her to seduce the prince so she can take over the country. I did enjoy a new take on the classic Cinderella. A Cinderella who isn't exactly an innocent woman. There is magic and romance as well as manipulation.
Thank you NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thief Liar Lady is a readable and fresh reimagining of Cinderella by debut author D.L.Soria. Released 11th July 2023 by Penguin Random House on their Del Rey imprint, it's 416 pages and is available in all formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout.

This is an upside down retelling of Cinderella, except in this version, Cinderella is in cahoots with her stepmother and stepsisters to con the prince and take over the magical resources of the kingdom. She's a sort of anti-hero and grows/develops a conscience along the way.

The writing was surprisingly uneven, and there are some areas of "love magic" which are fundamentally iffy and problematic. That being said, it's an entertaining, romantic, sarcastic tale, and would find a ready audience with fans of Sarah J. Maas and Leigh Bardugo.

Four stars.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

This one took some time to grow on me. I wasn't sure at first that I liked such a cold, scheming, conniving main character. She really grew on me though as the story continued. She grew as a character as well, learning to care for the people she had originally planned to simply con.

It's very much a "long cons don't always work out as planned" sort of story. It's incredibly faithful to cinderella, hitting all the plot points, while still being completely different. This cinderella is not a damsel in distress.

The prince himself was a little bit of a blank (partly because she was using magic to ensnare him the whole time) and I didn't like the parts of him we did see very much, but I think that was intentional. The hostage prince, meanwhile, was such a lovable character. I was very much rooting for their romance.

I've never really liked the cinderella story because it and the characters have always felt sort of blank and empty to me. I really liked this reinvention of Cinderella as a very clever girl who has been taught to survive by conning her way into whatever she (or more accurately, her stepmother) wants but has to learn that life doesn't always work out like we plan.

The audiobook performance was well-done and kept me captivated.

*Thanks to NetGalley and Del Rey for providing an early copy for review.

The premise of this book was such a winner for me and it drew me to this book with such promise and hope, but it took a while for the magic to get to me. i'm glad i stuck with it because, eventually, the book proved itself to be worth the time and I was glad I read it, but I have to admit i was a bit let down at the beginning. Maybe I was in the wrong mood or something, but it was a bit of a struggle for the first third. The payoff was well worth it. But I don't like having to wait for it.

Ugh I tried really hard to like this one but I just couldn't. I love retellings so this seemed right up my alley, but it just didn't' do it for me. I found it rather slow and I didn't feel a connection to any of the characters.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Tried hard to get into this book but just couldn't it was a DNF for me. I really wanted to like it I usually enjoy retellings but this just wasn't for me. I'm sure others would like and encourage people to still give it a try just a miss for me. Want to thank NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

As a fan of the Cinderella fairytale, I was very intrigued by this book. It did throw me off a little in that the names were changed, and there was a major difference in how the story evolved, but I really enjoyed it. The story took a little bit for me to really sink my teeth into it, but once the action kicked up a notch, the story took off and I was enthralled to see where it headed. There are curse words scattered throughout, and some sex scenes later in the book that some readers of a "Cinderella" story might find objectionable, but I felt really added to the grit of the heroine and made the story more real even while being set in a fictional land. I am disappointed that my library system has chosen to skip this title on purchase, but will be submitting a request for them to look at it again..

D. L. Soria's "Thief Liar Lady" surprised me in the best way. Going into it, I expected a lighthearted, fluffy Cinderella retelling, but there's nothing fluffy and lighthearted about this story. It's a complex, dark, and feministic take on the classic fairy tale, and this Cinderella doesn't need a prince to rescue her. She saves herself and grabs the future she wants with her two hands.

I enjoyed Soria's debut far more than I ever expected to. The story made me forget all else, it's so engrossing. I sure hope she has a second novel in the works.


My sincerest appreciation to D. L. Soria, Del Rey, and NetGalley for the digital review copy. All thoughts and opinions herein are my own.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine Del Rey for the ARC of this novel. I am a sucker for fairytale retellings so this one hooked me with Cinderella, or Aislinn in this story, manipulating the prince into marrying her. Ash has done what she needed to survive but been manipulated by all of her parental figures into doing what they want. It felt very logical on how she missed certain plans and did enjoy how Seraphina, her stepmother, does get her comeuppance. I was not pleased with the ultimate ending but it is a minor gripe over enjoying the rest. 4 stars.

This Cinderella retelling is longer than it needs to be, and an unclear premise and confusing character motivations make the first third or so feel like a slog. I think the issue here is all the backstory the reader has to receive before being able to actually enjoy the story.

This book breaks a big rule of fantasy for me. It doesn't explain the magic at all. The characters in trouble? Poof - we can fix that. Need to know something quickly? Oh, here's a super power for no other reason than to advance the plot.

I appreciate a Cinderella spy/anti-heroine and had high hopes, but I didn't much understand or care about her. And I really think the magic dust was cheating. Not for me.

This Cinderella retelling turns the original on its head and replaces my major gripes with the standard fairytale by some of my absolute favorite tropes: bad-ass female lead, political machinations, hidden loyalties, enemies to lovers. I’m obsessed.

Though told in 1st person, it does take a while for all of the facts to be shared, switching back and forth between present and past until all the details have trickled in, giving the feeling of a slow start while simply providing all the pieces from which to build.

Ash is a woman after my own heart, and I wholly sympathized with her character and her struggle to fit her mission into her inner moral compass. Everett is a prince through and through, his grayness fighting through the less complicated black and white of the world in which he’s grown up. Rance is . . . everything a romantasy reader could want him to be; complicated, devoted, and gorgeously heartbreaking. I love him. Ash’s unique relationships between her stepsisters and her stepmother fit into the Cinderella mold while standing on their own, both predictable and not, devastating and beautiful.

Outside of the obvious fairytale-retelling, it’s hard to diagnose the exact subgenres of this one. Romance, definitely, a bit of political fantasy, though there are some lighthearted moments that defy the overall darkness of the material. It’s a mish mosh that defies classification.

This is the tale of Cinderella AFTER she gets swept away by the prince and makes a home in the palace. There’s importance to what comes before, but what is yet to come is even more fascinating.

Content warning: physical abuse, kidnapping, animal abuse, torture, murder/death, unwanted (but consensual) intimacy, mention of suicide.

This is probably more of a 3.5 since my mind wandered a bit, but I liked it more than my 3 star reads so I'm rounding up.

I liked this premise for a Cinderella retelling - a grifting Cinderella with two partner-in-crime stepsisters who report to an actual evil stepmother complete with love triangle. I also liked the magic/luster added component. Just added a little something extra.

The thing I liked most about this story is that the stakes were real. She didn't escape the wedding at the last second, children were not immune from evil, etc. Uncomfortable things happened. It's not that I want to sit in discomfort, but I liked that things weren't wrapped up neatly with a bow.

I do think it was a touch too long and some of the middle could be chopped, but overall, I enjoyed it.

Although a retelling, I never knew where this book was going to go. I was enchanted and pulled into this world. I have a soft spot for con artists, and I never would have thought this Cinderella retelling would become one of my favorite ones. This book has fairy tales, espionage, politics, con artists, forbidden love, court intrigue, magic, and so many things that shouldn't work together, but do and make this wholely unique book that is unlike anything I've every read.

Both Ash and Rance are beautifully written characters and I am obsessed with both of them. The plot filled with layers and layers that make fascinating twists to the story and are my favorite kind (when you learn more and then think back and its like it was right there!).

For all the books that get "Knives Out" comparison this is one of the first books I would recommend - you think you know the players and the plot and you have no idea where this is going to go and there is always another twist/secret/layer that you don't see coming.

I will say there is a TRIGGER WARNING for Sexual Assault/Rape so please please be mindful of what you want to read. It's not violent, more the very very lack of consent, but it is on page and was hard to read - it happens twice and the pages can be skipped over, but be mindful that they are there.

What an amazing twist on Cinderella. Love every minute. I’m a sucker for a strong female lead and Ash is exactly that. The roller coaster of the plot and character arcs just makes this unforgettable and made it hard to put the book down. If you are a fan of Wicked this is the story for you.

The unbelievable story of Lady Ashilyn and the Prince is the thing of fantasy. That is what Ash wants everyone to keep believing as she trying to save not only her self but the people she comes from.

While I have to admit that this one isn't for me, I can't wait to recommend it to fans of fairy tale retellings, particularly fantasy readers who can really appreciate the world building and magic in this story. It's charmingly written.

An intriguing take on Cinderella that casts the well known princess as a political spy. I ultimately found this to be slow-going with the most interesting passages taking place in the last quarter of the book. Recommended for fantasy readers who enjoy retellings.

This book was a surprise for me, as I haven't seen many reviews, and I really enjoyed it! This is a Cinderella retelling where, of course, there's more than meets the eye. Cinderella on its own is a tale without a ton of agency, so of course Soria makes some strong changes here to give "Ash" her main character, more control over the situation.

The plot combines court intrigue, romance, and family drama. Nothing here is necessarily incredibly new, but the characters and the worldbuilding here feel fresh and fun. Overall I just found it really enjoyable and among the many many retellings in both YA and Adult fantasy spaces now, I think this is a top tier creative and fun Cinderella retelling.

Definitely worth checking out if you are someone who loves a retelling!

Book Summary:

We've all heard the story of Cinderella. But how often do we get to hear the story from Cinderella herself? This Cinderella has a lot to say about her story – and what they got wrong. For example, it wasn't a magical metamorphosis but a carefully planned con.

She and her stepsisters had one specific goal. Capture the prince. Unfortunately, they may have gotten the wrong prince. What now?

My Review:

It's been a hot minute since I read a fairy tale retelling (read: more than a week, gasp!). So, I decided to pick up Thief Liar Lady. It's a Cinderella retelling, which I feel like have become less common as of late.

I love the overall concept of Thief Liar Lady. The idea that our leading lady is working on a complex plot, which may or may not involve prince-napping, is pretty fun and cool, right? It would have been so much fun if the story had stuck closer to that premise.

As it was, this book does get a little bloated. There were political layers that may not have been necessary, and that's coming from me! However, if that's my biggest complaint about this book, we're doing okay.

Highlights:
Cinderella Retelling
Fairy Tale Vibes
Romantic Fantasy

Thanks to Del Rey and #NetGalley for making this book available for review. All opinions expressed are my own.

This was a very fun retelling of Cinderella with an even better fantasy twist. I love good grifter in my books, and this anti-heroine did not disappoint. There were dark misunderstood princes and inventive cons. I can’t wait to see what D.L. Doris brings us next.