REVIEW: Mountains Made of Glass
Author: Scarlett St. Clair

Overall Rating: ✨3.75/5✨

Plot Summary: This novella is a fairytale retelling that focuses on Gesela, a woman who is kidnapped by eleven princes to be their brother's (Beast) prisoner. Gesela is not your regular heroine and this is definitely a dark fairytale retelling. Beware of triggers.

My Thoughts: I enjoyed this book, understanding who wrote it and what it is. If you're looking for spice with no deep plot, this is for you. If you're looking for a deep, interesting plot that had twists and turns...then this isn't your book. The characters never really change who they are, but how they view love evolves. I actually really came to enjoy Beast's POV because Gesela is a pretty unreliable narrator due to her bitterness and distrust. The only thing I can really poo on is the instant lust. Like it's instant. And that drop me up the wall. Again, it's in the field of a dark romance so be prepared for some low level bdsm.

Favorite Quote: "At some point, if you do not love her, someone else will.”

“What do you know about love?” I countered. “All your advice has only made my creature hate me more.”

Recommendation: Yeah, if you're looking for spice and nothing too deep with a stomach for a little rough s3x, then go for it.

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for fans of fairytale retellings and st clair’s other series a touch of darkness, this book will suit you perfectly.

the world is immersive, the romance is engaging and it’s nice to read a enjoyable fantasy romance again after being disappointed by the last few i’ve read.

what a great book. I LIVE for retellings and this one was soooo good. the second I picked up this book… there was no putting it down. I loved the premise of this book and the idea that there were so many recognizable Grimm fairytale story features combined to make this story come to life. I really enjoyed the themes written into this book as well and what I enjoyed even more than that, was the spiceeee! 🫠 hate-filled lust is just 🔥🤌🏼 I truly wish this book was longer! I would have loved to see more of these characters and experience more of the thoughts and actions and even just more in-depth word-building! with that said… i was by no means disappointed with this book. I was fully immersed from page 1. overall, I was really pleased with this read! not only did I love this book… I am SO thrilled that there will be more!

Oh dear, I think I am obsessed with you Scarlett St Clair.

This is a very dark, very dirty re-telling of Beauty & the Beast. Mixed in with a little Snow White and Rumpelstiltskin I enjoyed every moment of this story and will be re-reading.

Gesela is tricked into settling a curse. She must kill a toad to save her village. Except that toad isn’t really a toad, and now she’s the 7th son’s prisoner - unless she can guess his real name. But can she stand Casamir long enough to gain any clues at all? Or will she just avoid the Beast and seal their fate??

“She makes me feel like it won’t matter if I have a name or not. So long as I know her, I will know myself.” A choked cry erupted in the silence, and I looked toward the mirror. “Are you … crying?” I asked. “Of course not,” he said, voice quivering. “I am only a mirror.”

When I read the synopsis, I was interested in reading a Rumpelstiltskin/Beauty & the Beast retelling crossover. However, I was not expecting it to be an erotic fantasy. The description does not prepare readers for the graphic sex scenes.

The pacing was fast and engaging, and I read it in 4 hours. Although it is a mishmash of other fairy tales and mythology, this is an original tale of its own. This was my first time reading St. Clair's work so I very much appreciated the Author's Note at the end that details her inspiration, process, and imagination for this book. If this does become the first in the series as mentioned in the note, I'll be intrigued to read more.

I think the romance part moved a little too fast; I would have liked a little bit more of a build up towards the characters being drawn to one another. I really liked trying to figure out which fairytales St. Clair drew from throughout the story. Very creative!

I am forever grateful to NetGalley and Bloom publishers for this beautiful heart wrenching story.

A sexual, dark and painful retelling of beauty and the beast. And he is a beast. This is the epitome of enemies to lovers. At its absolute finest. The tension, the dark raging emotions, the emotional unavailability. It all makes sense. The only thing I thought could be improved was the length of this book. I would have been perfectly happy if I had 1000 pages of this. It wouldn’t have been enough.

The story is as easy as breathing but the way Scarlett constructed this story is beyond my comprehension. It was epicccccccc and you must read it and the seggsy stuff is good. I promise.

Mountains Made of Glass is horrific, fantastical and sexy as h***. Scarlett St. Clair packed a ton into a rather small book. So many different fairytale’s and myths went into this one piece of literature, that it is hard to comprehend. By the end of this book I wasn’t sure what to think, which just left me thinking about it more and more. In my estimation, a book that you can’t stop thinking about is an excellent book indeed.

This novella is DARK. So if you are not in a place to read about death, murder, blood and some very light BDSM then this will not be the book for you. The two main characters are the definition of morally grey, they are not the most lovable, but that is what makes them interesting to me.

I ended up really enjoying this book, far more than I expected. It was so different, well researched and had exquisite writing. I will definitely be on the lookout for the next books in this Fairytale Retelling series!

Smut lovers rejoice this is a short book for you. While the plot seemed rushed at the end, the spicy factor was 5 stars.

Thank you to Netgalley, Sourcebooks Bloom Books, and Ms. St. Clair for the opportunity to read an ARC of this title. An honest review was requested but not required.

I actually really enjoyed this.

I am a big fan of the darker – almost morbid – original fairy tales. The ones with wackadoo premises and very little explanation, where strange things happen with even stranger endings. They sort of seem like the stories somebody would make up around the campfire, to thrill or chill an audience, without much preparation, and with an abrupt ending when the teller runs out of inspiration or steam. This was a lot like those stories. Gesela, our female protagonist, is forced into a well to kill a toad to end a curse. (How this should accomplish anything is a mystery and well in line with traditional fairy tales.) She doesn’t wish to kill the toad but does it anyway and is punished by being sent to live with the toad (actually an elf prince)’s youngest brother, who is ALSO cursed.

Inexplicable things happen because, well, they just do (ALSO in line with traditional fairy tales) and along the way Gesela has hate- or resentment-fueled lust for the nameless cursed elf prince. Really, this seemed exactly like one of the dark old fairy tales if the author had added a serious amount of steam/spice/sex (whatever) to it. It even had a nice gruesome happy ending. I enjoyed this a lot and look forward to reading about the other princes.

⭐⭐⭐⭐

At this point, suffice to say that I will willingly devour anything that Scarlett St. Clair writes. Whether her stories are based in Greek mythology, vampire lore, or a mash up of every fairy tale and fairy folklore that I enjoyed as a child, I'm always enraptured by her storytelling and characters.

I am so glad that Mountains Made of Glass is the first novella in a series and that we're going to get a story for all seven brothers, because I definitely need more stories set in this world. The forest is dark, it's dangerous, it's exciting. And it's where Gesela and her Elven Prince will discover the ends to a curse that plagues them both. After brief introductions to the other brothers, I'm excited to see what their kingdoms are like.

Several things kept me on the edge of my seat while reading MMOG. Trying to figure out her Elven Prince's true name right along with Gesela definitely kept me turning the page, combing through every interaction for possible clues. Despite all the hints and clues, though, I truly could not come up with the Prince's true name until Gesela did. I have to applaud St. Clair for crafting a riddle that wasn't too obvious nor frustratingly complex. I was also constantly intrigued by the back and forth between Gesela and the Prince. It was scintillating and steamy and I couldn't help but root for them from their very first interaction.

St. Clair pulled from quite a few different fairy tales for this story, and I thought she did an excellent job at combining them into one cohesive story. With so many different stories to pull from, it was impossible to know where the story would head next or what new character or creature we may encounter in the next chapter. The source material may be familiar, but the way St. Clair wove it together is not.

Overall, I loved Gesela's story of love, hope, and revenge. This was a great story on its own, but it also serves as a great introduction to the series as a whole. Once again, Scarlett St. Clair created a world I will happily return to again and again.

Thank you, netgalley, for the ARC! Unfortunately this book was not my cup of tea. I like enemies to lovers but this felt like they were enemies and lovers and then one day they woke up and loved each other. The character and plot development was lacking, which I guess happens when the book is only 200 pages. I also felt like our main character just became evil. Overall, this book was not for me.

** spoiler alert **
Character Story - 8/10 (I felt like Gesela's character evolved because we knew more about her) / (Casamir/Anguish was pretty stable till the last second, I felt like that could have been told better)
Overall Story - 10/10 I loved it !! It was fast-paced but had amazing story-telling, great descriptions, incredible hate-love tension going on. Honestly, I read it in a day, it was sooo good!

Now, do i wish it had more of a story towards the end? Yes.
I actually wish this was an entire series because I can see these two characters being unstoppable. Conquering worlds, Casamir becoming the King of the Enchanted Forest with Gesela at his side. The quest to find all the pieces of the broken mirror. Maybe one day...

The author is unapologetic with the way she writes. She will use all the nasty words, all the vivid imagery you can imagine, to tell this story. It is the only way this story can be written and for that I am incredibly grateful.

Finally, the ending scratched an itch Ive had for a long time. The now future princess Gesela returns to enact vengeance on those that have harmed her. Which to me is refreshing from the Do-Gooders in other books. I feel like just because she found her match and found love that doesnt mean the characters should become softer, in fact if they started out as fierce then they should retain it throughout the entire book. So thank you for that Miss Scarlett.

3.5 stars!
Short, fast read, love fairy tale readers, this one is for you!
Honestly I enjoyed this one, specifically, the fairytale retelling! Usually fairytale retelling is cliche or it falls short, but this one really did a fantastic job :) The magical and dark vibes from the retelling was spot on.
However, the story overall felt rushed and there was some parts of the story where I was confused especially some of the spice scenes.

Thank you Netgalley, author Scarleet St. Clair, and Sourcebooks bloom books for this e-ARC in exhchange for a honest review!

I absolutely enjoyed every aspect of this story. It gave the appeal of a fairy tale but with the horrors of Grimm. This was a quick easy read that I finished in one sitting. The struggles Gesela went through and in the end to be victorious and ruthless, absolutely amazing. There was an erotic dangerous feel to this story and my only complaint is that it wasn’t longer.

Thanks to NetGalley and Bloom for the review copy of this book!

Absolutely devoured this book. Loved the blending of different fairytales. You can tell Scarlett a fun with this book and it was a delight to read. It's a very fast read and feels familiar but new. I love fairytale retellings and I have no idea what was going to happen. Very much looking forward to more retellings from Scarlett. Make sure to read the author's note.

If you were the type of reader who, while reading Holly Black's The Folk of Air trilogy, was so excited when Cardan and Jude finally *wink wink*, yet was left slightly disappointed at the briefness of the scene....BOY HAVE I GOT GOOD NEWS FOR YOU!!

Folk of Air, ACOTAR and The Veil come together in this sexy, scintillating gem from Scarlett St. Clair. I was already a fan of her work, having read her Hades & Persephone series as well as King of Battle and Blood, and her foray into the world of the fae is not only welcome, but a triumph. I love how versatile St. Clair is, taking traditional Greek myths and old tales like Dracula and giving them a fresh, zesty spin. She does it again with Mountains Made of Glass, taking inspiration from various Grimm fairy tales and making them darker, hotter and unspeakably more delightful. I loved picking up threads of stories I read as a child, now blended together in a landscape on St. Clair can create, spiced up by witty dialogue, unforgettable characters and hot romance.

Usually when I write reviews I give little synopsis of the story, but this book is so short (only about 200 pages), I really do not want to give anything away. Suffice to say, I could not put this book down and was both happy at the HEA, but also devastated there wasn't more. I want to know more about the other brothers! And Winter! And the MIRROR! Oh. my gosh I was laughing out loud! Please Scarlett St. Clair, a new series?! One for each of the brothers and their own curse?

If I had to find something to critique, it would be that like most of Scarlett St. Clair's books, the relationships are not, well, let's just say they aren't based on the strongest of foundations. But heck, we read fantasy to escape the mundanity of the human world and frankly, I'm fine telling my logical mind to shut up for a few blissful hours.

Thank you so very much to NetGalley and SOURCEBOOKS from Bloom Books for the ARC. I wrote this review without compensation and of my own volition.

Also, thank you to Scarlett St. Clair for finally exploring the world of the fae. I can't wait to see what you come up with next!

Can Scarlett rewrite a dictionary and make it sexy? Yes. And I would read that dictionary.
When she first announced she was going to do a Grimm fairy tale retelling, I already knew it was going to be something I'd read immediately. Once it came out, she'd noted that it was just a Grimm retelling. She encompassed fairy tales and their translations within this first one. She has noted there will be six more. And I have no doubt I'll love them as much as I've loved this one.
As with Grimm fairytales, this one goes dark. She put her own unique ideas and characters while using the elements from other tales woven in. And then she did what she is know for. She added spice.
She mastered full length novels and series. And I wondered how she would do with a novella. She nailed it. The story of Casamir and Gesela unraveled with each turn of the page and I almost thought their story may need to continue on in a second, but she has a gift for story telling and wrapping up the storyline the way she did while leaving the next novella open to another eleven prince was done well.

Firstly, thank you NetGalley, Scarlett St. Claire, and the publisher for this eARC in exchange for an honest review. This one comes in at 3.5 stars.

I wanted to love this, especially since I've been working my way through the Persephone x Hades Saga. With that being said, it just fell a little short.

There was a lot of fairy tale packed in these pages and it just seemed like it was coming from everywhere. I usually live for her Author's Note but this was was drawn out giving details from so many fairy tales that it was overwhelming. I do appreciate the amount of research she did, but it felt like a lot to pack into a novella.

Because there was so much going on, I do really wish it had been full length. Another 100 or so pages would have really brought it to life. I get where the author is coming from, in fairy tales things just happen and you accept it. But, she, as our author, hasn't really molded her readers that way. I'm used to the intense draw, the explanations, the small things that make up the big picture from her and I feel like the shortness of this book didn't get it a chance.

If you've never read her other works, you may totally not feel this way.

Also, as a big Persephone x Hades fan, please don't go ve away "Are you well?" PLEASE. I'M BEGGING YOU.

All this to say, I still totally enjoyed this, especially for a novella. I will read the other six. Scarlett really knows how to write a dirty pleasure book. The spice was good and the plot kept the pages turning quickly.

She manages to introduce a lot of characters and ideas in a way that seems....normal (even though it's like....curses and elves) and easy to follow. She also manages to get you connected to characters, and their feelings, quite quickly, which is totally necessary in a novella.

Overall, a quick and fun read!

While I am not the biggest fan of fairy tale retellings, I wanted to give this one a try as it seemed like it would be significantly different from what I am used to. I enjoyed the world-building and the darker setting and creatures that I feel a lot of authors miss the mark with, but this book was rushed to me. I also felt like the dialogue at times was so repetitive and forced. While the MCs had a ton of tension (understandably), the chemistry just always felt off to me. I also had a hard time liking Gesela's and just found her irritating - other than his constant pet names, "The Beast" was more enjoyable.