This book definitely gave me more Maleficent / Sleeping Beauty vibes than Cinderella. Besides the step sister and Fairy Godmother aspect there were more similarities to the other Disney story in my opinion. This was an ok quest of new found families. I enjoyed this one but I think I enjoyed the beginning dynamics more than the middle and end.

A Spark in the Cinders is a creative reimagining of the Cinderella story. My opinions about the book are mixed. To give a few positives, the story is creative. In this story, you get to see Cinderella living out kindness to her sisters, but she also shows how she loves her realm and the prince with whom she fell in love. The main character may be out to help herself in the beginning but changes and matures. The main character's fairy godmother makes me laugh.

This was a nice fairytale swap/continuation of the Cinderella story. I liked that there was some insightful backstory on the stepsisters and why they were driven to act the way that they were. The adventure that ensues throughout this book was generally exciting and was written with descriptions that made the foreign setting clear in the readers mind. The characters had a pretty good depth to them and even the minor characters seemed to pop a little. This was a fun book that I look forward to recommending to my teens right away.

One of Cinderella's stepsister carves out a story for herself in a kingdom at the brink of destruction.

A fantastic story arc for a misunderstood villain of my childhood! I love seeing meek characters become battle-fighting lead character taking control of her own story.

Looking for a fresh take on the classic Cinderella story? Look no further, this retelling from the point of view of a (formerly) wicked stepsister ready to redeem herself and find her own happy ending where she can be the prince is ready to captivate the audience.

Set in a magical realm, the story follows Cinderella after the glass slippers helps her gain her happily ever after and she discovers the challenges of ruining a kingdom that is falling into the hands of a treacherous traitor, and plots. Overwhelmed with her lack of solutions for her new role as the princess of a failing kingdom, she turns to her evil stepsister, Aralyn, who did received training on how to rule for help. Against every judgment she has been taught by her mother, Aralyn decided to help Ellarose (Cinderella) avoid the plans to overthrow the throne and goes on a quest to retrieve a long-lost blade that will not only save the Novador from its misery but stop the neighborhood kingdom, Valley Banomel, from invading it.

One of the highlights of this audiobook is the narration by Caitlin Davies, who does an excellent job bringing the story to life. I recently got another audiobook from Netgalley and I had to request the ebook because the AI narrator was horrible. Ms. Davies did a wonderful job, she made voices for every character and made the emphasis, and everything through her voice was in vivid colors. I truly loved her narration.

In addition to the engaging storytelling, the book also tackles important themes like abuse and the struggle to break free from toxic family dynamics. Aralyn a strong character whose biggest weakness is her desire to please her mother, and her mother being the wicked stepmother that she is, is not afraid of manipulating her own daughter to fulfill her desire to escalate. Vee's father is the other treacherous villain that is trying to overtake Novador, but his villainy also extends to the torturing of his daughter whose only wish is to become the best guard captain; because of this, Vee expends her entire career trying to prove to her father that he doesn't need to marry her off and that she can fulfill her wish without ridiculing her family.
Through their journey, those two girls whose idea of selfless love and happiness is non existent, discover their inner strength, the importance of breaking free from the cycle of abuse imposed by their parents, self love and learn that true happiness sometimes can be found in the most unexcited place/person.

Free ARC provided via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I love fairy tale retellings with a twist and I absolutely love them with a fairy godmother in the midst. Jenny Elder Moke does a fantastic job with character development and pacing. Ellarose's (Cinderella's) sister, Aralyn, gets her story and adventure while trying to regain her mother's favor. Middle grade students should love this unique spin on the Cinderella story. The audiobook would be great for those readers that struggle with vocabulary.

A Cinderella retelling from the point of view of one of her stepsisters in a super magical realm on the break of war.

Cinderella has married her prince, but there is no happily ever after in her future. There's a kingdom on the break of war, a coup within her own palace AND meddling fairies. To combat the ruin of her kingdom, Ella Rose (Cinderella) enlists the aide of one of her stepsisters Aralyn. Aralyn is not surprised that Ella Rose is in over her head, but she had no idea things were so bleak and when her own fairy godmother shows up to aide her on a quest only she can complete to save the kingdom, Aralyn can't back down. So Aralyn finds herself on a quest to find pieces of a protector's blade to save everyone against her mother's wishes and teamed up with a charming knight Vee and her quirky godmother Lyra. Can Aralyn defy fate and magic and unite the blade? Read on to find out.

What I loved: hints at romance, but totally more focused on friendship and helping others, evil to good arc, evil to more evil arc, quirky characters who really don't know what they are doing, but try their best, Cinderella stays true to her nature in the face of destruction: kind and compassionate, totally female centered plot, a lady knight.

I adore fairytale retellings and Cinderella is one of my favorite classics.. The chararacter growth throughout this series were great - especially the growth we see with the break from abuse. So much happens throughout the story that it keeps you on the edge of your seat the entire time.

This was a cute LGBTQ retelling of Cinderella, where at least one of the step sisters doesn't turn out to be evil. This reminded me a little bit of one of my favorite movies, which is also a Cinderella retelling, Ever After.

The adherence to the concept of a historical fiction was a little slipshod, but I don't think this is intended for the hardcore historical fiction fan. In this telling, Aralyn, the non-evil stepsister, is now having to take over Ellarose's chores now that Ellarose has married the prince. Aralyn, Ellarose, a guard, and Aralyn's own fairy godmother have to work together to retrieve the three pieces of a magic sword to save the kingdom. This is really a tale of sisterhood, cooperation, and finding your own family. This does seem to skew towards a younger audience, so I think middle grade & YA would both enjoy.

This wasn't great but it wasn't bad either. I do think that, while this is marketed as YA, it reads like a very young YA novel. Which isn't bad! But, it is just on the younger side of YA which isn't always my favorite. I didn't really enjoy many of the characters--I did like, though, that the characters used their combined strengths to accomplish their goals/save the kingdom. I can see why people will love this, it just wasn't quite for me
For the audiobook specificaly: I enjoyed the narrator, but because I didn't super enjoy the story itself her reading of it didn't do much for me. A clearly capable voice actor (voice artist? What is the right term here?), and I did enjoy the audiobook slightly more, if only that I was able to move around and get chores done while listening.
4 Stars for the audiobook, 3 Stars for the physical reading of the story.

This story picks up where Cinderella (Ellarose) lets off. Ellarose's stepsister, Aralyn, must fight to save the kingdom with the help of Ellarose's guard, Vee. The only problem is that Vee and Aralyn do not get along.
Opinion
I was fortunate enough to listen to the audio book and have a copy of the e-book to read along. The narration was magical. The fairy godmothers had voices you would expect of the fae. Vee, a soldier, had a tough sounding voice and Aralyn's voice was also perfect. I believe the audio book was done with perfection.
The plot of the story follows the hero's journey. (If you don't know what that is, google it.) I was kept captivated, wondering what was coming next. I believe this book to be perfect for middle grade students and life long fans of fairy tales. Moke's ideas of what could have happened next were both magical and if possible with fairy tales, logical.
Many thanks to Net Galley, Disney Publishing and Disney Audiobooks for providing me with an ARC of this book.

What might seem like another Cinderella story, actually turns into a delightful fantasy surrounding Aralyn, one of the “evil” stepsisters. Cinderella, now princess Ellarose, has married, and is a secondary part of the story, while Aralyn has been left to fend for herself since her mother took off with the other step sister, Divya. Aralyn discovers a prophecy, is granted a somewhat inadequate (and comedic) fairy godmother, sets off on a quest to find the missing pieces of the magical sword, tries to stop her mother from destroying the kingdom, and meets the girl of her dreams. This story is full of adventure, heartache, twists and turns, and did not disappoint!

What a unique and fun way to continue the Cinderella story. This is such a different take on what may have happened after Cinderella left for her happily ever after that I am living for it. There are two sides to every story. Yes, Cinderella still has found her prince and is living in the castle but what of the step sisters. Those who were left behind. Their story continues. This was such a beautiful way to show Aralyn’s journey on finding herself. Acknowledging who she is outside of her mother’s influence, what she truly wants, and who she truly is. Each different task helps her become more of herself and I think it is such a beautiful transition. Readers are going to be swept up in this new world. One where even the worst of enemies can learn how to rely on those they least expect to. Also, I adore her fairy godmother. Overall, I think that readers are truly going to enjoy this new journey into the world of Cinderella.
Thank you to Disney Worldwide Publishing and Netgalley for allowing me to read an advance copy of this title.

I unfortunately had to stop listening to this pretty early on. I've read and listened to Jenny Elder Moke's previous two novels and truly loved her last one. Sadly, this narrator was too much for me when it came to giving voices for some of the characters - particularly Ella. It was so high pitched and child like that it just became distracting from the entire storyline. I'm sure my experience would have been different if I was reading versus listening.

Such a fun retelling of Cinderella. I loved the characters. The story is told from the perspective of the step sister. I loved it! So fun. Quick read. The story takes place after the Happily Ever After and is action packed.

This was such a great spin on the fairytale of Cinderella and what happens after the “happily ever after.” Aralyn is a strong female lead & her growth throughout the story is wonderful to see. She is faced with adversity after adversity and she learns from it and grows as a person. Her relationships with both Vee and Ellarose help her break through the psychological abuse she has lived with her entire life and finally see her own value.

The action is intense throughout the story and nothing slows it down. The girls are placed in intense, life-threatening situations and have to use their skills & wits - of course a bit of fairy godmother magic - to survive.

I will definitely be purchasing this one for my library!

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#NetGalley #2023reads #bookstagram #audiobookstagram #ASparkintheCinders #YAfantasy #YAromance #lgbtq 🏳️‍🌈

I LOVE a good villain redemption arc and I am a SUCKER for a fairy tale retelling. This Cinderella retelling was a delight.

The book opens with one of the evil stepsisters forced to take Cinderella's place as maid because she was unable to catch the prince's eye. After a period of time eating humble pie, Aralyn is approached by Princess Ellarose to help save the kingdom, Planning to use the opportunity to change her fortunes, Aralyn sets out on a quest with Ellarose's personal guard, the lady-knight Vee, and her bumbling fairy godmother Lyra, to retrieve an artifact that will change everyone's fate.

This is a typical hero's journey story with just enough fantasy to feel "different". There's an ample amount of humor and the story moves quickly.

I listened to this as an audiobook and found it entertaining. The narrator did a nice job of differentiating voices and I was able to listen to the book on my preferred 1.25x speed with no problems.

I don't know if I would put this into a curriculum (it's not that deep) but there is a lot of character growth and characters (especially Aralyn) have to deal with parent-related trauma. I would get it for a classroom library or my school library.

This is a book that would likely appeal to younger YA audiences. It's a quick read with an interesting take on the Cinderella story. It's a sapphic enemies (ish) to lovers romance as the two characters go on a quest to save the kingdom. That characters were interesting, especially our heroine, one of Cinderella's evil step sisters. The plot and worldbuilding were light and didn't generally capture my attention.

Thanks to NetGalley and Disney Hyperion for an early copy for review.

Aralyn could have had it all if she had been able to grab the attention of the prince. Since Cinderella did that instead, she must take her stepsister's place. When Cinderella comes to her to ask for help, Aralyn is given the chance to grasp power. On a quest with Cinderella's Lady knight, she is able to bring a magical solution to several different problems facing the country. The idea behind the retelling is great, but the characters came through pretty stereotypical. Aralyn's coming into her own is a good storyline, but it didn't feel unique. Davies' narration is ok. The way she voiced the side characters made them feel shallow even when they weren't meant to be. I have listened to Davies' work before and enjoyed the varied voices, but this reading felt more like it detracted from the story than added to it.

I absolutely loved Curse of the Spector Queen! So when I saw Moke was writing something new, I just had to read it. But I’m sorry to say that this did not live up to my expectations in any way. I could not get into this. It feels very much on the younger side of young adult. And it was a really weird retelling. I’m not even sure how to put it into words, but the whole thing just felt off to me. Like, Cinderella is now an airheaded bimbo? Idk y’all but this just ain't it. And the stepsister, who is the main character, is really annoying and petty. I think I like it when retellings are more loosely inspired by certain things, rather than trying to stick so closely to the original with only a slight twist. I’m really disappointed because I have been eagerly awaiting something new from this author. I really liked the darker aspects of her previous book, and this one just felt too light and whimsical. And I want to be clear, this is just my experience in relation to my own personal reading tastes. I’m not at all saying this book is bad, but you know I’m always gonna be honest with my feelings, and it wasn’t great for me.