I was a bit disappointed in this one. Normally I adore fairytale retellings, but I had a hard time getting into this book. I think it was because I had a difficult time connecting with Ash, the main character. She was sassy and quick witted, which I love in a character. But I also had a hard time truly believing her motives sometimes. The pacing was also a bit uneven for me. I feel like the beginning was really slow and then the end jumped a little too fast.

That being said, it was still a fun read and an interesting twist on Cinderella. I'm glad I was able to read it.

I've been sitting with this one for a while. I've always been a sucker for the retold fairytale trope (see: Ella Enchanted when I was a kid), so in theory, this should be incredibly up my alley. But this just doesn't hit home for me unfortunately. The idea of Cinderella as a conwoman is actually a pretty neat one, and what drew me in. However, the complex political maneuvering that Soria tries to do against the fairly hand wavy setting doesn't quite sit, and it feels like this was meant to be more of a romance (she's fallen in love with the prince's foster brother!!) than anything else, and I wish that it'd been framed more like that. It feels like a bit rough of a debut, but there's some interesting, solid stuff here (give me more of Cinderella and her relationship with her step sisters!).

This one has to be a DNF for me.

I found the story telling oddly paced - it was all telling, not showing. If this was a movie, it may have worked better, but having the narration as it was felt like I was so far removed from everything.

Additionally, the MC is apparently so well trained, so ready to do what she needs to do for her mission. Then she does something dumb and is like, "my stepmother always said ABC would be my downfall." Except it seems like everything she does falls under ABC and it was becoming frustrating to read.

This was such a disappointment. Hopefully this book finds it audience though, cause it really does sound like fun.

eARC gifted via NetGalley by Del Rey in exchange for an honest review.

Thief, Liar, Lady is an imaginative retelling of the life of Cinderella after she marries the prince or at least moves to the palace. Instead of being a damsel in distress, she uses her magic to weave a spell to liberate and improve the lives of mother people. Ash is supposed to be a princess and sometimes slips up, like when she speaks a language she shouldn't know. The magic in this book is called luster, and I think our Cinderella could have relied on it a bit too much and should have leaned on her strengths more. I found that the plot dragged a lot in places, and I was drawn to more of the story than I should have been. I saw that world-building needed more development; I wanted to know more about the political drama between the two kingdoms that Ash is trying to get back on track for this winter treaty. I felt we lacked much information and were supposed to accept certain things without an explanation.

This one was a little bit of a let down for me. The story was good, but it felt a little long and I was hoping our MC would be a little more cunning.

This was definitely not the book I thought it was going to be, but it was a fun - and very unique - Cinderella retelling. It's full of women who know what they want and are going to do whatever it takes to get it. It has a bit of a slow start, but after the halfway point picks up into an exciting faced-paced read.

One Sentence Summary: This novel reimagines Cinderella as a spy caught between her stepmother’s ambitions and the fate of an entire country.

Growing up, Cinderella was my favorite Disney movie, and I’ve always been a bit obsessed with the story, the idea of a lowly maiden magically winning the heart of a prince. Though I do prefer a lot less mutilation than the Grimm version offers. So, when I came across Thief Liar Lady on NetGalley, bearing a cover that just made me think of the Disney movie, I was quite excited by the idea of Cinderella actually being a spy. It turns out that idea and the stepsisters were the only things I actually enjoyed, though there are some reviews that absolutely loved all the things I hated.

Let’s start with our Cinderella character because this story is told from her perspective and the reader does spend an awful lot of time in her head as she tries to carry out her spy duties, but often tends to act as someone a bit too young and maybe a little too impulsive. Ash doesn’t always think things through. I liked the duality to her, what with her being Ash, the poor girl trying to get away from her evil stepmother, and Lady Aislinn, a dignified young woman worthy of being a princess, while actually being a pretty headstrong spy who let her heart lead her more than it should have. It was actually very easy to tease the three parts of her apart, but that might be because we’re in her head. There were times when the three slipped into each other, and that was fun, but, as a girl who had been so well trained by her stepmother and her grandmother, I felt like she made a few too many slips and just had problems keeping in character and not letting what she wanted take the lead. And things only got worse when she met her true love interest.

I liked Rance, the hostage prince from Eloria, even if he name kept making me think of a more unfortunate word. He grew up in this court, but was never loved or wanted in any way, even if he did call the younger prince, Ash’s betrothed, friend. I actually really liked him, but sometimes he just made me sigh. He has a soft, gentle soul and a razor sharp mind. He plays his chosen role in court to perfection and everything perfectly masks what he’s actually trying to do. He also has a dog he absolutely adores and will do anything for. Their bond was quite lovely. But he’s a little too noble, which tended to come into conflict with Ash’s plans. I think it would have been interesting to get into his head, because I always wondered how much he actually knew about Ash.

I had a lot of problems with their romance. Oh, it was sweet and a fun slow burn, but Ash is engaged to a different prince, Everett, who spends his entire relationship with her being manipulated with magic. Ash makes so clear how much she doesn’t love him and is using him for his status that I felt far more sympathy for him than any other character, so much so that the actual romance really bothered me. He tries so hard with court matters and with taking care of a lady he believed to have been highly abused, which makes her interactions with him sometimes annoying because she felt like she was mad for him believing the wrong thing about her even though that’s the story she gave him. Anyways, Ash and Rance’s romance just didn’t work for me. I could see how they’re kindred spirits and want the same things, but it bothered me because she’s making everyone believe she’s in love with Everett. It just rubbed me the wrong way, so I didn’t care for the way they fell in love as well as how their story ended. It made Ash feel too selfish and kind of mean to me, and it made the ending fall flat with how convenient it all was.

Thief Liar Lady is about more than the romance; it’s about Cinderella actually being a spy. It was fun getting to go back in time and see how she was trained both by her stepmother and her grandmother, but not together. Her stepmother only wants to marry Ash and her own two daughters to men who will essentially hand over control of the country’s resources to her. I actually really liked the stepsisters in this story. They’re not evil or particularly mean; they’re just a little self-interested and raised poorly. I loved their growth by the end, and theirs is a story I really liked. Ash was also trained by her grandmother, who came from the neighboring country, Eloria, that’s basically in tatters. She works with a secret group that’s trying to take back their country and care for their people, and they’re depending on Ash becoming a voice in the court through her marriage to the king’s brother. But Ash has her own interests, and she kind of lost me and my interest in her when she chose the more selfish route. She spent years being trained for all of this, and she just lets it all fall apart because of a guy. I do have to appreciate how steady she was in her decisions, but it made all of her training kind of pointless in some ways. It made the ending quite convenient and a bit anti-climatic. It also made me feel like I was crying for Ash to really use all of her spy training. She was far too unaware of too much for the position she was placed in.

I wanted to love this story, but it really just dragged on and on for me. I didn’t particularly like Ash. The world and politics felt a bit too removed, so I kind of filled in the world with my own imaginings of what it might look like. The magic was interesting at first, but quickly lost its luster after it was used, more or less, about the same way most of the time. The politics were interesting, but Ash kept getting thrust out of it all. I did enjoy some of the twists, but most of it felt fairly predictable, especially by the end.

Thief Liar Lady has a fantastic premise. I love the idea of Cinderella being a spy. Sadly, this story just didn’t do it for me, but is by no means a poor story. I didn’t like several aspects of it, but did absolutely enjoy others. I wish there had been more meat in the world building and less of the sticky web Ash wove for herself that she got mad at despite being its architect. I love Cinderella stories, but this one was just not for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a review copy. All opinions expressed are my own.

This book is loosely based off the concept of Cinderella. While this story is completely different retelling there are sprinkles of small things from the original. This is mostly a completely new different story. Ash (Cinderella) is after power and fortune. She is actually working with her stepfamily and step sisters. Like I mentioned this follows a completely different path than the original Cinderella story there are political tensions, the uprisings and rebellions, and a magic kingdoms are willing to wage war to obtain. Ash seems to be a very deep character that we get to really see she is much more than what her stepfamily wants her to be. The last half of the book flew by. It was enchanting. Many thanks to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Del Rey and NetGalley for the digital review copy of this novel. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

This was a bit of a struggle to get through. The premise of "imagine if Cinderella were actually a rebel spy trying to infiltrate for her country by marrying the prince of the neighboring country" had me hooked... but the execution was less than ideal.

Everything felt like it was going on for far too long, but things that actually needed explanation (why are the countries at war, what are the backgrounds of these countries, how did Ash and Grandma become part of the resistance, etc.) were left high and dry.

Rance was just an okay character, Everett was annoying, and Ash herself was getting to be too much for me to handle by the end of the book. When I got to the final 15 pages, I thought "there is going to have to be a sequel because there is no way this can be resolved by then end"... and I was proved wrong. Fade to black and skip ahead in time, and all troubles can be solved.

It wasn't a bad book, but there's no need to waste your time if you weren't planning on reading it anyways.

Thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for providing me this Advanced Readers Copy of Thief Liar Lady by D.L Soria!

Loved the Cinderella vibes of this book, especially the mixed emotions and plot! It was clever to wove magic into the story, made everything much more magical and exciting. I really enjoyed the double identity, court intrigue and all the political side-plots!

Fast paced, entertaining read!

DNF at 45%

I wanted to love this. The concept is incredible. Cinderella is a thief. I mean, how cool is that? However, I had heard the first half was slow, and that it picks up after that. Those reviews were not wrong. I was so bored for the first 40% that I no longer cared to find out. This book is way too long for me to read 200 pages for it to pick up finally. Also, the worldbuilding left a lot to be desired. The magic was poorly explained and the characters' motivations were underdeveloped.

Thank you to NetGalley, Random House Publishing Group, and Del Rey for an opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thief Liar Lady by D.L. Soria is an adult fantasy retelling of Cinderella with a new twist... she's a thief with a rebel agenda.

Zura Johnson has such a soothing and emotion-laced voice that takes hold and leaves you captivated. I did feel this was a bit longer than I'd expected. It ties in the fairytale we all know with political intrigue, a unique magic system and a side romance.

Some items didn't fit the era and the background of the magical aspects could've used a bit more history but I really enjoyed this overall. The background of the characters contains a lot of well thought out depth that targets growth throughout the story. My favorite part is the chemistry, banter and almost forbidden love that blossoms. Such a fun twist on a classic. There's a little bit of steam in this one that was pleasantly surprising if you're a bumchicawawa lover like me.

If you're a Cinderella retelling lover checkout the synopsis and reviews and see if its for you too!

This book wasn't everything I expected. I thought I was getting a story about a con-woman who wanted to take the crown.

This book ran a little bit longer than I expected. The story lingered a little too long on politics. I felt like it could have been shortened in some areas.

All in all, I enjoyed this book and had fun with the characters.

creative, readable, magic, if a teeny bit too long. refine that pacing even a little bit and it would’ve been utterly spectacular. but very good anyway

A unique take on the Cinderella story. Truly an adult fairy tale.
Many thanks to Random House and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

I was all-in on this Cinderella retelling until I got 3/4 of the way through the book. I was ready to forgive the underdeveloped magic system and the confusing political plot because I was thoroughly enjoying Aislinn/Ash as a badass protagonist and loved seeing her relationship with her stepsisters and other side characters change and develop. But after one particularly momentous occasion--which I won't list here, because spoilers--the plot started to deviate wildly, and there's some romance that seems like it's trying to emulate a certain series from Sarah J. Maas (though, I'll admit, the chemistry is solid and both characters suit one another really well).

It's still a fun read, and the narrative drive is powerful enough to have made me ignore those plot holes, but...it still irked me.

I wish this was book one in a series, there were a lot of really interesting worldbuilding tidbits and plot points brought up, and I wish they’d had more time to develop. I think this was a really fun take on the Cinderella story but things felt a bit rushed.

I’m usually not a fan of retellings (which admittedly, is odd considering I’ve requested a bunch of retelling ARCs. I digress.). But a Cinderella retelling that is also a political minefield? Sign me up.

In this story, Cinderella (Ash) isn’t innocent and doesn’t need a savior. She’s a tenacious player in a political long game and working with her stepmother, using magic to bend others to their will.

While Ash is in the palace at the beginning of the book, there are dual timelines of the present and how she got there via the ball.

Ash’s family includes lineage from neighboring Eloria, a country conquered by Solis, the country where she resides and of the Prince she is betrothed to. While in the palace, she has plans to try to change treaty negotiations between the two countries while also trying to seem innocent to her betrothed. Throw in the “hostage prince” from Eloria and it makes everything that much more complicated and dangerous.

While the beginning half of the novel we the setup and a bit too long, the second half picked up. I enjoyed this twist on the fairy tale. Thanks to NetGalley and Random House for this eARC. Thief Liar Lady is out now.

I quite enjoyed this retelling of Cinderella. In this book, Cinderella is not an innocent young girl, victimized by her stepmother and stepsisters, who is only saved by marrying the handsome price. Here, Cinderella is a con artist who works with her stepmother and stepsisters to use magic to manipulate the prince into marrying her.

The plot has lots of twists and turns, interesting characters, political intrigue, romance, magic--my kind of book! I like a nice complex plot, but I think my only complaint with this book is that it's maybe too complex, resulting in some inconsistencies and being a bit too rushed in some parts.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for a free e-ARC of this book.