4.5⭐️ 3🌶️

- Fairytale Retelling, like all of them
- Curses, so many curses
- Quest
- Enemies to Lovers
- Touch Her and Die
- Phantom Hands
- Breath Play

I really enjoyed this story. Scarlett wasn’t kidding when she said it wasn’t a retelling of just one fairytale. I lost count of how many I recognized and after reading the author’s note at the end I know I missed a few. It was so much fun seeing what she incorporated and what she didn’t.

I loved Gesela. She was smart, resourceful, and stubborn. I loved how she and Casamir butted heads from the very beginning and yet were drawn to each other. Casamir, AKA The Beast, was hilariously bad when it came to wooing a woman. He was constantly putting his foot in his mouth and saying the exact wrong thing that was sure to get Gesela to threaten him with bodily harm.

I loved the quest elements of this book and had so much fun struggling right along with Gesela as she tried to discover Casamir’s true name. I was ecstatic when I figured it out.

I did feel like the beginning of this book was a little slow and that is where it lost half a star. But once it picked up I couldn’t put it down and I can’t wait for the next six novellas!

The introduction to this story was SO dark and I LOVED it!! St Clair really set the stage for what she was aiming to accomplish with this novella, and I ate up every bit!

I would say my biggest critiques are the first-person narratives with a multiple POV book. The chapters didn’t denote which character POV it was addressing (due to the main plot point) so this was slightly confusing at first, but I was able to easily identify the narrator after about 6 chapters.
I’m unsure if I’m just bad at riddles or if this one was just difficult? I spent way too long trying to crack the code, even after being given many letters.

I loved how the author had the FMC verbalize her needs in bed!! We don’t see this much in erotica and I felt like it added a layer of intimacy that spicy scenes do not normally have!

What a wonderful novella! I’m very excited to see how St Clair continues with these releases.

I binged this in a day! I am a fan of the author and this book took my expectations and blew them out of the water. The tension between the main characters had me on the edge of my seat. I loved that it was a standalone. Although I wouldn’t be upset to hear more about the brothers and their curses!

I was so excited for this fairytale retelling from Scarlett St. Clair, however I just don’t think this book is for me.
I found the book to be too fast paced. Everything felt very forced and rushed. Every conflict was resolved almost instantly.

There are so many different fairytales jumbled in here that it doesn’t feel like a retelling, more like random bits and pieces thrown around. The story just doesn’t flow together well, and it was not enjoyable for me to read.

However, these are just my opinions. If you are interested in this, I encourage you to try it and see if it is for you.

Overall this book was ok. The story caught my attention at first and the beast is scrumptious hot. The heroine is good and I liked her spunk. The story could have been so much better but it was enjoyable. I liked the mix of fairytales but it kind of made it rushed and slightly disjointed. I had a little trouble following the story. I'm glad I got to read it and I hope that I get read more of this author.

In the aftermath I can say, I did have a great time, but this is not what I consider romance or a love-story.

In a world plagued by a curse of curses, one young human girl has to break the curse that dried her villages well up by killing a frog. This frog however was a fairy prince and so his brothers come seeking retribution - she is to live six years with their seventh brother, beast.

The storyline is incredibly interesting, basically both of them race against time as she tries to discover his true name so they can both be free. It sounds great. It promises a lot. However, it delivers little of what I expected. The story is an insta-lust theme. Beast treats Gesela awful and it turns her on. He is also turned on and they find they cannot imagine a life without constantly having sex with each other. That is their "love". The reader basically gets a healthy dose of mistreatment, followed by sex, followed by mistreatment. Until at the very end.... you know it.

I loved the idea behind the plot and I felt like I wanted to know more about the world we were in. As it is, our FMC being a captive we got precious little of the world she lives in. Nevertheless, the little we got was enough to make me want to know more.

Our characters were interesting, although I'm really getting tired of this type of girl. I need an elegant heroine somewhere. Maybe that would be a suggestion for one of the other books: give us a smart, elegant, charming heroine with other, much less explored flaws. One that does not struggle with speaking before she thinks, or with anger issues, or with feeling like she does not belong. Explore something different. Gesela was unremarkable in the sense that her theme has been explored too much. However, that certainly doesn't mean she isn't a treat, because she is very fun to read and most of her inner monologues make sense; yes, you should certainly not be feeling those things for the man that CAPTURED, THREATENED, CONTINUOUSLY HURT AND DISRESPECTED YOU - congratulations for the insight.

Our MMC was.... beast? only, with Gastongeish characteristics? He was the tortured, cruel, beastly male who can learn to love with the right person. I actually hated him for the first three quarters of the book, Then I loved him. It did help his case a lot that we had chapters from his perspective, I think it was a good decision and made sense for this story. I'm usually not a fan of multiple perspectives, but it was actually nice to be able to see what was going on within Casamir, so well done. However, I believe the abuse was too much. There was too much focus on the beastly part of him and too little on him being actually nice to someone, so in the end he was just a walking red flag. This could have been solved by making him more vulnerable from time to time and by showing him caring for someone else. Here, the point was made many times that he doesn't care for anyone but himself, so I don't believe that is something that will change ever - it's just unbelievable.

Overall, before I write an entire essay on this book, it was a fun read and I will definitely continue with the next brother. I hope though, that we get a better relationship. DO NOT MODEL YOUR RELATIONSHIPS AFTER THIS.

I got the book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I received an ARC from NetGalley and Sourcebooks in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Overall Rating: 3.75/5 stars
Spice Rating: 2.5/5 stars

POV: First Person, Dual
Ending:HEA
Content Warnings: Violence, explicit content

Tropes
- Enemies to Lovers
- Curse
- Bargain/Bet
- Magic
- Kidnapping

Mountains Made of Glass by Scarlett St. Clair is a fast-paced, entertaining read that I sprinted through in one night. The spin on the classic Beauty & the Beast story was done really well and I she crafted characters who had great chemistry on the page. The spice itself was well-written though it was a bit insta-lusty at times. I, personally, would have liked to see a bit more of a build-up but if you like things to get right down to business, Scarlett doesn't make you wait long for some spicy action.

Gesela is a great FMC, a real hellcat. I really liked that Scarlett was able to develop a dynamic character within a shorter novel. Casamir (MMC) has 5 other brothers, so I'm hoping this is leaving the door open for a bigger series focusing on each Fae Prince.

Again, I will say that I wished there was a bit more meat to the ending but there is something to be said for shorter novels and I know the length and story of Mountains Made of Glass will appeal to many readers.

If you have read and loved any of Scarlett St. Clair's previous works or if you enjoy a spicy romance inspired by fairytales, you will love Mountains Made of Glass.

Having lost her parents and her sister, Gesela is an independent woman who the villagers of Elk keep at a distance, until the town's well goes dry and she is called upon to break the curse. But breaking curses is not an easy task in this realm, and facing an Elven prince is not what Gesela had in mind.

The first chapter drew me in and I was excited to read a story that has that enemies to lovers vibe within an interesting fantasy world. I was quickly diverted from that notion when the characters started to take on a contemporary feel in their speech and actions. More specifically, both characters were overcome by lust, and that element quickly pervaded the story. Lust is fine when there is a nice build with some tension that develops into deeper emotions. But in this story their lusting after one another was a constant element that overtook any character development whatsoever. It also took up room where some of the fantasy elements could have shined. It made for an uninteresting read that had such potential.

I have never read this author, but I do believe that she has a talent with writing as far as structure and syntax. If she had built more dynamic characters then she would have hit this book out of the park for me.

I read and reviewed an eARC of this book thanks to Sourcebooks Bloom Books via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

This was really fun! Mountains Made of Glass is a fantastic smorgasbord of fairytale elements. There are curses, princes being turned into frogs, and prisoners who must discover their captor's true name in order to be released. As with all of Scarlett St. Clair's books, this is sexually explicit and not intended for YA readers. While I really enjoyed the fairytale elements of this story, I didn't completely buy into the love between the main characters. With the amount of detail about the attraction between them, it would have been nice to understand more why they loved each other. Yes, okay, they're both hot - what else?

All in all, a fun, easy read. I've been enjoying the fairytale kick I've been on.

Thanks so much to Scarlett St. Clair and Bloom Books for this ARC through NetGalley. Mountains Made of Glass is available as of March 7th, 2023.

A fantastic, thrilling, romantic fantasy! Scarlett St. Clair has become one of my favorite authors. If you like Sarah J Maas, you will love all of these books!

I love a fairy tale retelling and read any interesting ones that I come across. This one is more of a fairy tale compilation which I found appealing and the darkness of the story is reminiscent of those old fairy tales. This is the first of a new series and author (for me) that I plan on reading more of.

A novella, this maintained the appeal of a full story even though I found it too rushed in places. I read this in one afternoon, over two reading sessions.

The spice level is around 2.5./5.

My issues -
1) a kink - very briefly mentioned twice with zero trigger warnings
2) the more insta aspect of the relationship between the MC’s. As this is a novella, I understand but feel like the story would have been better with more details - the story really felt lacking in parts

Beyond those, I enjoyed this one and look forward to the next titles.




Thank you to Bloom Books and NetGalley for the DRC!

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review- thank you to Sourcebooks and NetGalley!

2.75/5

Gesela is forced to kill an elven prince disguised as a toad. She is then sent to the Prince of Thorn's residence as punishment. Chaos ensues as she navigates the prince's own curse and slowly falls for him.

I'm having a hard time writing this review seriously because I don't feel like this book took itself seriously in any way, shape, or form. I 100% stayed for the vibes and the head-empty-no-thoughts space it put me in. To put it simply, this book is fun, but that's about it.

Things I liked:
-It was fun picking out all of the different fairytales that were represented, and there were MANY.
-I love a good FMC who seeks revenge and doesn't bother with the "good, pure-hearted, sweet girl" stereotype. Gesela was out for blood and she got it.
-Also love a MMC who is supposed to be big and bad and scary and kind of is, but is mostly just scared of intimacy and being vulnerable and is squishy on the inside. I got strong Cardan vibes. I feel like this is exactly what Cardan might have been like if Cruel Prince was adult instead of YA.
-This book didn't shy away from the gore and horror. It wasn't extreme by any means, but was enough to make it feel like some of the more violent fairytales out there.
-There was a lot of comedic relief. I found myself laughing out loud at the absurdity a couple times.
-The magic and the world were goofy. Dropped with no explanation whatsoever, you just have to accept it and move on. Normally I need magic systems to be explained to me in great detail, but this was a genius move. It worked so well for the type of story that was being told.
-It was short. I don't think I could have read a long book like this, it would have gotten repetitive very quickly.
-The spice was... Fine. I'd say pretty average.

Things I didn't like:
-We got absolutely no backstory for the prince. Not one little crumb. I think she could have given the prince a backstory and did some world building at the same time and it would have helped give some context and draw me in a little better.
-Come to think of it, we didn't get much backstory or context at all. It felt like the book started but I had missed the first couple chapters.
-The pacing was all over the place. Immediately throwing in the spicy thoughts they both had during their first interaction was a bold choice, I remember thinking "damn, already????" Then, they both did the "do I or do I not desire/love this person" back and forth for forever. After all that, the ending felt rushed. It was just all of a sudden over.

I would recommend this book with caution. I think romantasy readers who enjoy vibes-only reads will really like this, but readers who require a solid plot and character development will find it lacking and too silly. It is super short, definitely something that can be read in one sitting. For me, it wasn't one that I loved but I also didn't hate it.

Thank you NetGalley and Bloom Books for this ARC!

Of Scarlett St. Clair, this is my favorite of her books thus far. Not only am I drawn to a fantasy romance, but retellings are always my kryptonite. The chemistry between the characters, as well as the inclusion of fairy folklore, pulled me in. I read this impossibly fast because I was so invested. I'd definitely recommend this to anyone looking for a quick absolute snack of a book.

Can't wait for the rest of the series!

A fairytale retelling... and some spice??? Well... I had to ask for this book on Netgalley and damn I was happy I got it (thanks to the publisher and the author)!!! I loved it so much!!! The characters are so stubborn (just how I love them) and the mix of many different fairytales makes the story so exciting! I definitely recommend this book if you like fantasy, fairytales, spicy romance and enemies to lovers trope!

Thank you to Bloom Books, NetGalley, and Scarlett St. Clair for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This was a solid fairytale retelling. I found the initial premise very interesting and I loved that the ending left the world open for more visits in the future. Gesela was quite annoying to me, especially throughout the middle of the book. I had a really hard time connecting with her. Casimer was a really interesting character, who also made idiotic decisions so many times. However, by the end of the book they both had grown on me a bit. I do wish we had had more of a development to their love that didn’t involve sex, because I feel like the couple needed more of a foundation. I love that this story took and drew inspiration from so many fairytales to create a new and interesting story. The way the pieces were woven together were unique and fun for read!

3.5 ✨

Mountains Made of Glass was an enjoyable and fast read. As a retelling of Beauty and the Beast, Scarlett St. Clair kept some common themes but truly put her spin to this and even incorporate some parts from other stories while she also did her research.

There's a lot of spice 🌶️🌶️🌶️ and this is a short book so it was pretty much everywhere and as with some smut some of the scenes were pretty ridiculous but still enjoyable.

I do usually enjoy retellings a lot and will plan to read the other 6 books the author is planning to publish for all the elven princes. 🧚🧝‍♂️

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!

Thank you to Bloom Books for this ARC of Mountains Made of Glass for this ARC in exchange for an honest review. This was easy to read. It is a twist on Beauty and the Beast, with our main character, Gesela, forced to live with the seventh Elven prince, who they call the beast, after killing the toad that lives at the bottom of her village of Elk's well, which turned out not to be a toad at all, but a cursed prince. In Beauty and the Beast fashion, Gesela has to figure out the beast's real name in order to be set free, and if she can speak his name with love, he can be set free, too.

I like St. Clair's twist on this book, as additional elements are included. This book was short, so I shouldn't be surprised at how rushed it felt, but I honestly feel like the pacing was just so hard to keep up with. I really had to force myself to enjoy what I was reading. The spice scenes honestly made it worse, being everywhere. There's enemies to lovers, but again it was so rushed, it was like 0 to 100 instantly. It is dual POV though, so you get both sides but I don't know, it just didn't leave me satisfied but it all around felt clunky.

thank you to netgalley, the publisher and the author for this arc.

3 stars.

man. this is the third book i have read by scarlett st. clair, and the third book that i don't really like all that much– yet also don't hate. i just think her writing isn't for me, which is fine, i'm sure we all have those authors.

i liked the overall concept. i just didn't enjoy the execution too much. and again- i *am* a sucker for slow burn, so it's probably just that, but this felt so rushed. and don't even get me started on the unnecessary spicy scenes– i don't usually mind them but too much is too much okay. 😭 there has to be a balance between storybuilding and spice and the balance in this book was OFF. like dude!! give me the lore!! give me the legend!! the environment and the scenery and the atmosphere!!! i think she described this dude's looks in more detail than she did the actual world. which is a shame because there was such potential. 🥲

(and btw, i had correctly guessed his name by chapter 15, so i don't think gesela was really trying all that much, lol)

if you're looking for a quick, romantic fantasy read, you're into fast-paced stories and fairytale retellings (and don't mind smut every other page), then this is probably for you. 🫡

I was so excited to read the synopsis for this and see that Scarlett St Clair had a book available on Net Galley! I really love the Hades x Persephone series so far and absolutely adore Beauty and the Beats retellings (thanks ACOTR!) Anyway, when I saw that I was accepted to review this I gobbled it up in two days.

What immediately struck me is the writing style. It was extremely drab and unimaginative. The characters would just "do" things and it was written in such a way that was absolutely boring, nothing was every really described in detail - there was just no heart anywhere in this book. The characters (especially Casimir) were not developed enough. He lived in his realm for 10 years with piece of a magic mirror and a brownie as his closest friends (as far as I could tell), but they were just side characters meant to carry a scene along - no dive into why the mirror or the brownie (I forget her name) were eager to have Casimir break the curse. It's mentioned how much he loves plants which is why his castle is overrun but it's literally never discussed again - I want to know why damn it! Explore that more!

Immediately the book starts with a glossary of creatures in the book and how St Clair perceives them. I wish this had been in the back of the book as it was less exciting when the selkie was revealed and the red caps, etc. I had already read all the things I was going to see so when they were introduced it was not special.

Overall, a disappointment since my hopes were high from loving Hades x Persephone so much but since this is a one-off character story and it won't extend any further, it was just very dry for me and missed the mark.

However...I will read the rest...!

Mountains is an intriguing fantasy, but feels like it doesn't quite know where it's going.it was a quick and easy read with all the elements of a beauty and the beast retelling, but for some reason just didn't work for me.

Thank you to the publisher for providing a review copy.