From the first chapter I knew this book would be right up my alley! It’s Cinderella after the glass slipper fitting, with a Little Thieves twist! Can happily-ever-after survive the aftermath? Definitely will be picking up this book from my local indie bookstore at the earliest opportunity.

This book sounded so good and the cover is gorgeous but I just could not get into the story or the characters at all unfortunately. Maybe it was a me thing or wrong mood wrong time. I'll have to give it a go another time. Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for a chance to read an early digital copy in exchange for my honest review. I ended up DNF'ing at around 15%.

This is such a unique retelling of Cinderella! It was full of some interesting characters who I adored. I thought the storyline was fun and intriguing. There was a little bit of romance, but it didn’t overshadow the plot.
If you enjoy a fun retelling with a morally grey mc, you will enjoyed this!

Thief Liar Lady is a retelling of Cinderella in a way that I’ve never seen before or imagined. In this version, every part of the original tale was just a long con set up by her family. Magic is also involved, but not by way of a fairy godmother this time.

I really enjoyed the layers that this had, with political intrigue and a large cast of characters with questionable intentions. The magic system was unique and interesting. The romance aspect was there, but certainly did not overshadow the other plot lines.

I would recommended this to lovers of fairy tale retellings, especially those looking for a different than usual take on things.

Thank you so much to Del Ray and NetGalley for this arc in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

Unfortunately I DNFed this book. I found it to be extremely slow and couldn't continue reading because it was dragging so much. The concept was super interesting so I'm sad! I would definitely give this author's books another try, but this one wasn't for me.

I voluntarily read an advanced copy of Thief Liar Lady by D.L Soria. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for this ARC.

This was a fun retelling of the Cinderella story. I loved the concept that the romantic meet-cute between Cinderella and the Prince was contrived by Cinderella for political reasons. The mix of politics and spy hijinks (with a dash of magic) was exactly what I wanted in the story, and I give this book a solid 3.5/5 stars.

Y'all know I love a good fairytale retelling, so I was very intrigued when I first saw this one. It turned out to be a fun and unique twist on Cinderella. I did have a few issues with it, but I ended up enjoying it.

This had a slow start. In fact, there were a couple of times I thought about DNFing it because it just wasn't holding my interest in the beginning. But I'm glad I kept reading because things started to pick up when Rance showed up. He turned out to be my favorite part of the book. He was so interesting and mysterious. I wanted to learn more about him. There ended up being a lot of palace intrigue, which really piqued my interest and kept me entertained. I will say that it took a while (well over half the book) before I started liking Ash. She wasn't a sympathetic character at all, but I enjoyed watching her growth. There was more cursing than I expected, and it felt out of place to me. Also, I could've done without the open-door bedroom scenes.

All in all, this was a mixed bag of a read. But despite the issues I had with it, I had fun and am glad I read it.

I received an advanced copy of this book via NetGalley and voluntarily reviewed it. All thoughts and comments are my honest opinion.

If you like fairy tale retellings with a twist and morally grey heroines, a little romance but more as a side thing, and subtle socio-political commentary…pick this one up. I thought it was fun, a little longer than it needs to be but I loved the twist on Cinderella and once it gets going I was really invested in the characters.

Ash (better known as Lady Aislinn) knew what she was doing when she met Everett at his birthday ball and used magic to have him fall in love with her. Under her stepmother’s tutelage, Ash had learned to lie, use her body, and use illegal magic to capture a man. Now that she has the prince, she needs to make it to the wedding, and she will be in the clear. Ash is marrying the prince for his money and title, and so much more is riding on her wedding. But, when she meets the hostage prince, the dashing Rance. Then everything she has worked so hard for is shaken. Ash cannot let Rance distract her from her plans. But when the unthinkable happens, and Rance is implicated, Ash must decide: Will she stand by her Prince Charming? Or will she follow her heart?

When I saw this would be a retelling of Cinderella, the book caught my interest. For some reason, I have seen many fairy tale retellings on my Goodreads home page, and when I saw that Random House had this as a wish on NetGalley, I decided to wish on it. I wasn’t expecting it to be granted, and when I got the email, I was thrilled. I was glad when Random House granted this wish because I enjoyed the book (even if I had a few quibbles about it).

Thief Liar Lady is a fast-paced book. Because it is a fast-paced book, the plot line lags slightly towards the middle (around the wedding and the events after). It didn’t affect how I liked the book or my ability to stay focused on it(I have outside influences that do that).

Thief Liar Lady takes place entirely in the country of Solis. Solis didn’t seem like a place that I would like to live. If you were a native Solisian, then you were alright. But there was much hatred and mistrust if you came from the kingdom that Solis had been at war with. I could go on about genocide and religious suppression, but I won’t. Just remember that it happened in this book and was heartbreaking to read.

Thief Liar Lady’s storyline centers around Ash and the various activities that she is involved with. I loved that the author took the Cinderella fairy tale and had it take such a turn. I loved its what-if factor (What if Cinderella had an agenda). I also loved the backstory that the author built up for her. Ash was mistreated by her stepmother, there is no doubt about that, but she and her stepsisters were equally mistreated and trained, just like Ash. I did have a quibble with how Ash’s story was laid out. I wouldn’t say I liked starting the book in the middle of the story. It left me feeling off balance while reading. Also, I felt off balance while reading Ash’s backstory (how she got engaged and why). It was thrown in with no lead-in. This book’s use of magic (or lusture) was interesting, but Ash relied too much on it. Also, if Rance trained Puppy to detect lusture, why didn’t anyone pay attention when she started going nuts everything Ash was around?

I liked Ash. She was very straightforward with her intentions and why she was marrying Everett. She showed early in the book that she wasn’t easily manipulated. By the middle of the book, I liked that she decided she wouldn’t let people walk on her. That scene with Ryland was gold. I did worry for her when she started caring more for Rance than she should. I knew she was head over heels for him by the cottage scene. That’s what made everything that happened afterward so bittersweet.

I liked Rance but didn’t know what to think about him. He was an enigma and remained an enigma until the end of the book. I did have questions about his feelings for Ash throughout the book. I questioned how he felt until the end of the book.

I liked Everett, but I couldn’t tell if what I was seeing was the actual prince or the prince that had been repeatedly dosed with lusture. So, reading his scenes with Ash made me a little sick. Here is what seems to be a nice guy forced to be in love with someone he would have never looked at. The author focused his entire character on Ash, so I wonder if the guy I was seeing when the magic wore off was real.

The romance angle of Thief Liar Lady was well written. The central romance between Everett and Ash slowly leads to a love triangle between Everett, Ash, and Rance. And that slowly gave way to just Ash and Rance. As I mentioned above, the romance between Ash and Everett was forced because Ash had Everett under magical control. I didn’t get to see the build-up. Instead, the author highlighted the downfall. The romance whose build-up was highlighted was Ash and Rance. It was a prolonged build-up. It seemed to stall out there until the rebels kidnapped Ash and Rance. After that, it got going.

The storyline with Ash, her grandmother, and the rebellion was sad. Ash believed what she was doing was for the best. But, I feel her grandmother used her for information and didn’t care about her. The scene at the cottage only cemented that for me.

The storyline with Ash, her stepsisters, and her stepmother made me angry. The author gave little information about Ash’s childhood, but the glimpses were abusive. Ash and her stepsisters went through hell growing up. I wondered when the control Ash’s stepmother exerted over those girls would snap. It did towards the end of the book, and the fallout was explosive.

The end of Thief Liar Lady was not what I thought it would be. I loved how Ash fixed everything. It was unconventional, but it worked. The author was able to wrap up and end all of the storylines in ways that satisfied me.

I would recommend Thief Liar Lady to anyone over 16. There is no language, but there is violence and sexual situations.

Many thanks to Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine, Del Rey, NetGalley, and D.L. Soria for allowing me to read and review Thief Liar Lady. All opinions stated in this review are mine.

First of all, I’ve read all of this author’s YA novels, and I was so excited to see she was releasing an Adult Fantasy novel. I’m happy to share that I was not disappointed. This book lives up to all my expectations and surpasses them.

I love Soria’s take on a con-artist Cinderella. That character development was my favorite feature of this novel!

Whether you’re familiar with Soria’s previous work or not, this is a must-read!

This was an absolutely enchanting and surprising read. A retelling of Cinderella where instead of a doe-eyed scullery maid, Lady Aislinn is a spy working for her stepmother, worming her way with magic into the prince’s heart and palace.

I will always love a good antiheroine story and Thief Liar Lady did not disappoint. Ash, although a liar and a cunning spy, is remarkably likeable and relatable. Where the fairy tale version is one of love at first sight and running after true love, Soria’s novel is one of survival and the things we all do in order to live another day, even if it means deceiving those around us.

Beautifully written and full of romance, magic, and enough political intrigue to keep things interesting, there is enough packed into this story for lovers of fairy tales and Court drama alike. Highly recommended and I cannot wait to see what the author comes up with next.

Thank you to NetGalley, Del Rey, and D. l. Soria for an advanced reader’s copy in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley, Random House, and the author for the opportunity to read an ARC of this title. An honest review was requested but not required.

This book was basically marketed as a Cinderella retelling, if Cinderella was a thief and a liar, full stop. I think that strategy did the story a bit of a disservice. I sat down to read expecting Disney's Cinderella to be subverted into basically a con-woman, a grifter with ulterior motives and false charm. In my opinion this might have been better received if the reader figured out for themselves it was loosely based on Cinderella and gone from there without the preconceived expectations. There's a LOT more going on here than just the Cinderella mythos. The country is on the brink of war, with tertiary countries waiting in the wings to choose allies. The fairytale prince is the younger brother, not the son, of the King; and Cinderella (literally named Ash here; a nod towards the original Grimm?) wasn't supposed to have hooked up with a prince (any prince) in the first place. Her target was supposed to have been a regular lord of the court. There's magic, all right, but it has less to do with a fairy godmother and everything to do with politics and religion. Factor in a hostage prince, a dwindling supply of lustre (the magic that serves to infatuate Ash's prince and smooth her way), a suspicious King, hazy motives, and constant pressure from the stepmother, and it's a much different story than I was expecting.

This is not to say I didn't enjoy it. I certainly did. I love fantasy and this was both original and captivating. I would have preferred coming into it with unbiased expectations but that's not a huge problem. My only real quibble was that it was a real slow starter. It took me several tries to really get into the story, but once Verance made his entrance things got good. Recommended to those who like fantasy and romantic fantasy. Very much looking forward to Ms. Soria's next.

Ash and her twin stepsisters were trained since childhood in magic, deception, and combat. They're tools to be used for political gain, with a carefully constructed plan. On the three nights of Prince Everett's birthday balls, Ash was doing her best to charm the prince into choosing her. Once he did, she had to keep up the charade. Unfortunately, she fell in love with the wrong prince.

Prince Everett is a relatively nice and innocuous prince, and Ash was supposed to care for him and not the hostage Prince Rance. Ash and Rance grow closer even as Ash's position at court is being used by the revolutionaries to try creating a new country. Magic is used as a tool to coerce and confound, to get past the thorny issue of autonomy and consent. Ash is conflicted about this, but doesn't do much to try to change the situation in the beginning. While she has a history of abuse, she also has unclear motivations and does a lot of aimless wandering for someone who likely would have been watched very closely leading up to the wedding. All of the characters are flawed and human, at least, making this a very compelling read.

Thief Liar Lady is a captivating fairy tale that presents a delightful twist on the classic Cinderella story. Prepare to witness Cinderella like never before - cunning, rebellious, and far from being demure.

A Cinderella retelling but she is running a con. Yes, absolutely fell for this description. However, I wasn't sure I wanted to keep reading once I got past the first few chapters. It just wasn't drawing me into the character.

Our main character is Lady Aislinn, or Ash to those who really know her. She is the fair maiden rescued by the prince to live happily ever after or so the rumors claim. Really Ash is very good at using luster and manipulation. Ash and her twin stepsisters were trained since childhood in magic, deception, and some combat. On the three nights of Prince Everett's birthday balls, Ash was wearing charms to infatuate, along with a mask for mystery. Once moved into the palace though she is constantly having to keep up a façade. This was most of my issue with the book. Constantly her thinking has to respond as Lady Aislinn not Ash, or this is an old me response. Like this is your life forever now we don't need to keep seeing that refrain and you should just accept this new thought process.

The plot I was expecting to be different too. Mostly as I thought we would go through the ball with her snagging the prince. We did get there eventually but only in flashback chapters. Most of the book takes place a few months after the ball but before the wedding. Everything did not go according to the carefully prepared plan. First Ash caught the eye of a prince more than a lord. Second, the "evil" stepfamily cover story seems to be working too well to bring her sisters to court without raising suspicions. All the while there is a struggle in the background as a rebellion starts to rise.

Thief Liar Lady is a take on a classic Cinderella story that asks, what if that fateful meeting with the prince was actually carefully orchestrated as a part of a massive plot? And then it follows that question through to all its complex ends, acknowledging the frustration and precarity of being a pawn in a bigger game while still wanting to find your own path.

Ash Vincent is the talk of the kingdom for the way she captured the prince's heart, but in reality, she's a piece in her stepmother's game for power and wealth AND a pawn in a greater revolutionary conflict for a home country she's never known. It's a lot to take on, especially when she grows less certain of her desire to be a princess every single day. The prince is fine - sweet and idealistic, even - but she's drawn to his best friend, the hostage prince Rance, who could ruin everything for her but still fascinates her.

There's a lot happening in this book and it mostly works. The romance between Ash and Rance grows naturally and has plenty of banter, with both of them risking dropping their masks as they get to know each other more. Then there's Ash's stepmother - a mastermind striving for power who helped Ash get to where she is and yet filled her past with abuse. And finally there's Ash's grandmother and her rebellious cohort, trying to start a revolution using Ash's position inside the castle. Because the book only reveals the plot threads bit by bit, it was sometimes frustrating to figure out what was going on and why Ash was doing what she was doing. I felt that the stepmother plot ultimately landed better and had a more satisfying ending, while the revolution story ended up muddying the waters a little, even as it provided tension between Ash and Rance.

I couldn't entirely get past the thorniness of the consent issues in this book, though. Ash uses magic to ensnare Prince Everett and while she does consistently feel conflicted about it - and never uses it to coerce him into sex - the whole thing made me a little uncomfortable. The way magic was only really ever deployed as a tool of manipulation, too, was interesting but underexplored. A frustrating note in an otherwise gripping story.

Ultimately, I enjoyed a lot of what Thief Liar Lady was doing, but found myself underwhelmed and frustrated by other parts.

4/5

Myth: 3.5/5

A quite unique Cinderella reimagining. This story takes the classic Cinderella tail and pretends that its part of a con. A con which Ash is a part of, along with her evil step mom and step sisters. This unique take thrusts us into the crux of the story, what is Ash really there to do if not marry the prince?

Magic: 3/5

The magic, or lustre wasn’t totally clear. It was kind of a coverall magic dust, used both to control, beguile and self inflict state change. There also seemed to be more powerful magics in the world, but they weren’t really explained. Overall these didn’t truly impact the story. The hardest part to follow was the blurred line of Ash’s true ‘sins’ with the prince, though I think this was quite intentionally blurry.

Overall: 3.5/5

A unique spin, though I had a slightly difficult time with the way the lustre was used and the way that Ash’s wedding night was portrayed. While you do get a HEA, you really have to go through some darkness with Ash and the choices she made before you can get there.

I honestly loved this! It was a cute, clever retelling of Cinderella (kind of, ish?), but the winning plot line for me was a tie between the family bonding and the romance plot line. I was pretty invested in it too, it was a gripping fantasy with solid prose, and a well-thought out plot. I docked a star because the magic building could use some work, but all in all, great read.

Highly enjoyable, like a piece of lemon candy on a hot day. I like where Soria took the narrative and how the characters were explored through the plot. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for time with the ARC.

Free e-ARC provided by the publisher and NetGalley for reviewing purposes!

We all know the Cinderella story- this book reimagines the story as if Cinderella's whole goal was to end up with the prince, and the stepmother was the brains of the operation, raising her along with the stepsisters to lie and manipulate noblemen. There's also a somewhat convoluted magic system- it's all tied up with the politics that make this a little more complicated than the typical romantasy, especially because the Cinderella character is secretly working with the rebels of the country they're at war with. This book has quite a bit going on, and the ending wraps up really quickly but overall this was a pretty good time. I would recommend it to fans of The Shadows Between Us - very similar vibes, with the protag willing to lie and manipulate her way up.