DNF at 27%.

I'm so disappointed. I really wanted to like this book, and was so excited by the premise. Cinderella is actually an undercover assassin protecting the prince? Okay! Sign me up.

But this was just...bad. The writing felt very juvenile to the point of, had you told me this was a teenager's first foray into writing fanfic, I'd have believed you.

The writing felt basic and repetitive in places. Basic in a way that felt like a middle grade level book, but then the themes in the story are clearly for a YA audience. So the whole thing feels very off. And I know who the intended audience is MEANT to be (as it's clearly labelled YA), but the language just doesn't reflect that.

We're thrown into this story with no real world-building, and things just keep...happening. But with no real focus on any of it, and all laid out with very little depth or description. Pacing is a mess, and feels as though the author didn't know how to get us into the meat of the story they wanted to tell.

At over a quarter way through a book I expect to at least be able to differentiate characters and start to know them a little, but there's just no development happening. Everyone is very cardboard-cutout, bland, generic-fantasy-character 1, 2 and 3, you know? So it's hard to care about any of them, or any of what's going on.

Tried to continue in the hopes things would get better, but at 27% in I just couldn't do it any longer. It's a no from me, sorry.

Thank you to Netgalley and Robinson Sword & Pen Publishing for sending me an advanced reader copy in return for an honest review.

Perfect for fans of Cinderella retelling and Throne of glass.

Ella left court and her friends to become an elite assassin and protect the crown and never intended to return. But when her protege is killed the same night as an assassination attempt is made on the Prince, she must go back to solve her murder. She learns things that make her question what her stepmother has told her and must decide whether her oath is more important than her heart.

I gave this book 4 out of 5 stars. I really liked the setting and how the author connected the fairy tale of Cinderella and the world of assassins together. The reason I didn’t give it 5 stars was because parts of it felt very predictable. Other than that, it was a good story and I would recommend it to others. The characters in this story were good. I really liked the main character. She is a strong character who is determined to do what is right. The other characters were good as well, but they didn’t stand out as much. I am excited to read the next book in the series and see what happens.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

My rating:⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

This is a Cinderella retelling where the heroine exchanges glass shoes for glass daggers. Ella is a trained assassin who has sworn to serve and protect the crown from the shadows. And she’s just gotten her most important assignment of all. Protecting the Prince. But the more time she spends with the Prince, the more she starts to question everything she thought was true.

This is a cute YA fairytale retelling. The author has created an interesting world with a unique magic system. There were a few moments in the book where I struggled to follow, because it seemed to jump scenes without much explanation. There were also some elements of the plot that felt a little too young for me. (Which is understandable, I’m mid 30s and while I’m able to enjoy a good YA novel, I’m not exactly the main demographic for the book. And with a 17yr old heroine it’s not surprising that I wouldn’t always relate to her)

Overall I still found it to be an entertaining book that I wanted to keep reading to find out what happens. This is the first book in a series and ends on a cliff hanger.

DNF at 31%
Unfortunately, I cannot finish this book.
So we follow Ella, 17 yo trained killer who's working to protect the King and his son. SHe's been training since she was 8, after being kicked out of the palace by the queen. When she decided (at 8yo!!!!!) to become a trained killer... (I mean come on... at 8??? ) After the prince is being attacked, Ella is going back to the palace to protect th prince from up close.

So yeah... cant say more than that, there are teenage assassins, potions, enchanted objects... And it's the first in a serie. If that sounds up your alley, go for it.
I don't care about the characters, the story sounds too young for it to make sense... There are things which just dont add up in my opinion....I went to 30%, which is more than 100 pages in, but it just doesn't call me. Maybe I should stay away frim that kind of stories in YA versions... Just didn't do it for me! Too bad really.

*Thanks to Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op for an arc against an honest revew.*

I love fairytale retellings so I was so excited to read this Cinderella retelling. The beginning was really slow paced for me and I had a hard time getting through it, but once I hit about half way it started to really pick up and I couldn’t put it down.

I really loved the concept of a group of our favorite fairytale heroines being assassins, it’s such a unique idea. I think this book fell a little flat for me overall but I am really excited to see where the series goes from here. I would love to see more character development from Ella, she has so much potential. There were moments that were a little hard to read as her character would make some questionable decisions, but in all fairness it is predictable for a character raised by an evil stepmother to not make the best choices.

Ella and David’s relationship is sweet but I have to say I kinda hate David’s character and how he treats Ella, especially toward the end of the book. I was rooting for Luca throughout the story and wanted to see more of his relationship with Ella and his character!

Now for some of my favorite details of this retelling! I loved the glass daggers an Ella’s weapons!! Such a cool way to sneak in some classic details. I also was a big fan of Ella’s best friends being other fairytale characters, such as Raven assassin code name Snow White (self explanatory) and Mira assassin code name the Siren (I’m assuming since Mira has red hair she is an Ariel reference). Some other characters I enjoyed were Jaq and Gus. I also really liked Drea and am dying to know more about what exactly happened to her. I hope she is present in future books!

Some not so favorable details or lack thereof. The magic system was interesting but hard to follow, I wish there had been a little more detail on that. Ella’s extremely close relationship with Queen Charisse was confusing, I need to know more. Ella was so consumed by guilt and grief that all flashbacks involving the queen were very limited and short lived. Lastly, the ending with Lady Tremaine was predictable. I was hoping for some unique twist but was disappointed.

Overall I enjoyed this book, I wanted to like it more and give 4 stars but I think there were just too many faults for me. I am looking forward to seeing how the story develops and hopefully get more characters pov in the next books.

Strong female assassins in a dark twisty story of magic and intrigue, this story might have been written just for me.

Firstly I have to say how excited I am for this to be a series and how badly I already want book 2 to be in my hands!!

I love a strong self possessed female character, and I love that Ella just wanted to protect the people she loves and serve the way men do, no matter what. I enjoyed the subtle call outs to all of the classic fairytales, there were a lot of them but the way they were included meant that they didn't feel overwhelming or forced, which is often the case.

The pacing was great and allowed me to read this one in long bursts, honestly if I had the time I probably would have read it all in one go. We got great character and plot development, and for once the romance elements were nicely included and not suffocating the plot of the story!! There were times when I felt that some of the characters were being childish or over dramatic, but I then remembered how old they actually are, and honestly if I had to go through this trauma as a teen I'd be annoying and childish at times too.

The combat scenes, the weaponry, the magic, the code names, everything about the assassins I loved, I just wanted more!

I can't wait for book 2 to be with us one day, I have so many questions and we have so many side characters I want to see more of!

First, thank you so much, NetGalley for the eARC to read this retelling story. I really do love retelling and fantasy is my favorite genre. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this. Turning Cinderella into a ruthless assassin really made for an enjoyable story.

To my review: Goodness! This retelling of Cinderella is amazing! I enjoyed the characters, the plot, the tropes, and the twisted fairytale! I believe this story has potential for the upper YA audience who are very interested for action, fantasy, and it involves two characters a slow-burn. However, I appreciate the author for focusing the character developments. The author really did a great job to portray Ella as her growth through the story. I wouldn't think this is a full romance, but this is promising for easy read due of the plot!

*2.5 stars rounded up*

The premise of Kelsey Robinson’s “The Glass Dagger” has so much promise: A Cinderella retelling featuring trained teenage assassins, thrilling mysteries and far less problematic plot devices than the original fairytale? Sign me the hell up.

Everything started off strong in Robinson’s debut. Ella is our fearless MC, who executes enemies of the crown and has spent her adolescence hidden in the shadows, devoted to protecting the royal family she once knew — and the prince who was her childhood best friend. Until the unexpected loss of her mentee sends her smack dab right back into the world she willingly gave up, where everything she thought she understood is challenged (including her heart).

I adored Ella, but the other characters fell flat and came off rather unlikeable. Prince David, Henry, Lady Tremaine and Luca all seemed like caricatures of real people; largely in part due to a lack of character development for each. “The Glass Dagger” falls into the fiction trap of telling versus showing — this takes place throughout the book during pivotal scenes and even in exchanges of dialogue. Outside of Ella, the motivations fueling each character are never made clear, leaving readers to engage in a guessing game over why people do what they do, and more importantly, why it even matters to the story. That’s another element that is missing here — somehow the stakes never feel high enough, even when it’s supposed to be moments of life or death. It made it difficult to stick around to the end of the book, as I found myself less and less invested as the story progressed.

In spite of that, Ella as a protagonist had interesting dimensions to her, and as the story unfolded I did find myself wondering at times what would happen to her next. I also enjoyed the brief interludes we got with Raven, who I expect readers will get more of in the sequel. If I had to guess, based solely on her tumultuous location in this book, I would bet Raven could be even more of an intriguing MC than her predecessor.

Although this book wasn’t my favorite, that doesn’t mean it won’t appeal to other readers. If you like fairytale retellings that really switch things up, “The Glass Dagger” could be a good fit for you.

*Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for a review.*

Let me start off by saying I really enjoyed this book. This was the best ARC I've read and I finished it in less than a day. I enjoyed all of the characters and the plot was extremely well executed. Also this review does contain spoilers.

Characters:
Ella was definitely what I look for in my favorite book characters. She was tough, but not the toughest, which made her relatable in a way. I liked her background and her relationships with the assassins and the people in court. Other than Ella and Jaq though, I felt like there wasn't much depth to some of the others. Something felt missing from David, I'm just not sure what. Also, it would've been great to get some background into Luca and Ella's past relationship. This felt kind of brushed over and it never really explained what happened It also never brought any conflict in other than when Ella was frustrated that he would be helping with her assignment. Lastly for characters, I found myself forgetting about Gus, who I wish had more of an appearance, and Sophie.

Repetition:
Repetition seemed like the main issue I had with this ARC. There was a lot of reminiscing when they were eight years old. I would totally prefer this to boring flashback chapters, yet it seemed like Ella genuinely thought that David would be the same child she once knew and he thought the same of her. Horseback riding was overused.

Other Comments:
There were a lot of character names that were thrown into the story that had no effect on the plot whatsoever (like Rose, Henry's intended). Also, we never got to see much of David's reaction. At the end it would've been nice to see him get fired up about Ella's scars/Lucifer. One last note worth talking about would be I wish there was more of the "Cinderella" element. I did appreciate the daggers being glass, but that didn't register until closer to the end when they were talking about who killed the queen.

Thank you so much to NetGalley for the ARC and giving me access to this beautiful story. I really do love retelling and fantasy is my favorite genre. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this. Turning Cinderella into a ruthless assassin really made for an enjoyable story.

The Glass Dagger by Kelsey Robinson is the first book of the young adult fantasy series the Kingdoms of Assassins Chronicles. This is a Cinderella retelling where the FMC is an assassin in her late teens in service to her Kingdom. There is a fair amount of violence and torture in the book and I would not recommend this for those on the younger side of young adult.

The Lovely: The plot was engaging and the story kept moving (although a bit predictable at times). I liked the different threads of stories being woven together and a lot of events and storyline was fit into the approximately 350 pages.

The Mundane: For being a fantasy series, there really was much world building. The magic system was intriguing and I think holds a lot of possibility in the series going forward. I hope that is developed more.

The Dreadful: The teenage main characters in this book come across as being young teenagers and not being as smart or as mature as they would be expected to be for their roles. For example, towards the end of the book the FMC knows something is seriously wrong with another character but she still accepts tea from that character, leading to her poisoning. Why? Why would you do that as a supposedly top notch assassin with a strong understanding of poisons. It made it hard for these characters to be believable as who they were supposed to be.

Rating: 3/5 Stars

Recommendation: I received an advance review copy for free from NetGalley and I am leaving this review voluntarily. This is a hard book to narrow down for whom I think this book would be well suited. Given the level of maturity of the teen characters I would say this would be better suited for those on the younger side of the YA spectrum, but given some of the graphic content, I would then say this is only for those on the older side of the YA spectrum. It’s a fun, and fairly short, read that I think will be well suited to young adults who want to see a female main character that can stand in her own and take care of herself.

This was my new favorite Cinderella retelling!

Here she is an assassin, an amazing one at that. It’s like when Cinderella meets black widow. The way the author here incorporated the different aspects to the original Cinderella story drew me in. It never took away from the new retelling.

Ella and Prince David’s interactions did not live up to what I excepted. I am hoping /assuming they grow closer together in the next book as I am assuming they do. The banter between them though was so good!

But I am dying for book 2!!! I need it now. The ending amazed me and I need answers.



What to expect:
* Retelling
* Violence
* Torture
* Fantasy
* Slow burn
* Some language
* Poisons


Thank you NetGalley and the author for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own!

The Glass Dagger really surprised me! I liked the concept of a fairytale retelling that features Cinderella as an Assassin! I loved the concept and the characters, just wish the plot was just a bit less predictable

A kingdom in trouble, a secret society of female assassins, and a dash of romance Glass Dagger is a twisting story with many surprises. On an assignment to keep the prince alive Ella, code name Cinderella, realizes she is not only fighting those attempting to take the princess life bit also the feelings she thought were long dead. Who will win in the end?

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. At times the pacing felt off, however, the descriptions were well written. It's a great young adult romantacy.

I’ve been a bit obsessed with fairytale retelling lately and this one was great. A story where the “princess” isn’t the damsel in distress but instead the knight in shining armor? Sign me up.

I loved the premise of this book, and the plot delivered. My sole qualm would be that the book was off to a slower start with not enough explanations of the world-setting we were in.

The writing itself was fantastic, the authors love for her own story is palpable, and I did push through the book pretty quickly (took about a full day to get through).

The banter between Ella and David? Loved it.

Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

I just reviewed The Glass Dagger by Kelsey Robinson. #TheGlassDagger #NetGalley So so good!! It’s diving into another world that leaves you wanting more. It’s such a cool premise and the world building is entrancing. I cannot recommend this book more and wait to see what is coming next!

The Glass Dagger by Kelsey L. Robinson was a masterfully crafted adventure novel. I had a fantastic time following Ella’s story, and I was on the edge of my seat as she uncovered the truth behind her training and as she struggled to find her purpose within the world. As I mentioned earlier, Ella is the main protagonist of the series, and the story follows her through a magical world full of lies and deceit. The Glass Dagger was well paced and well written. This book is for the people who wish they could escape reality and live a life similar to Ella’s, with the power to do whatever you choose. I definitely look forward to following Ella’s story unfold in her future adventures and quests. This book is not one to snooze on and I recommend it to everyone within the genre.

A fun fairytale retelling of Cinderella as an Assassin. I loved the characters and the dynamic between Ella and Prince David.

I loved the concept but not 100% of the execution as the plot was a little predictable, enjoyable nonetheless.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an arc on exchange for an honest.

Read if you like:
Strong FMC
Fairytale retellings
Assassins

Synopsis: It’s your classic Cinderella story, if Cinderella was a deadly assassin and Prince Charming was the damsel in distress. All Ella wanted when she was young was to serve and protect her kingdom Rairene. As a daughter of the duke, it would be unseemly for her to train as a knight. So, when the opportunity arises, Ella does not hesitate at the chance to protect the kingdom by becoming a deadly killer. Codename: Cinderella.
Disclaimer: This is not a romance with an HEA where the prince and Cinderella get married.

“You’ve never needed anyone to tell you what to do, or who to be. You’ve always been strong enough to do that on your own, El. You just need to believe it too.”
The Glass Dagger by Kelsey Robinson was a fun read, and it will take me a day or two to process that ending. A suspenseful and action filled story carried by Robinsons eloquent and descriptive writing style. This is not a happy-go-lucky story and please be sure to check for trigger warnings before beginning the book.
I loved reading the glass dagger and giggling at the subtle references like, oh the assassin named Siren must be based off the little mermaid. In fact, almost every Disney princess is now a vicious killer. I enjoyed every minute of it. The plot progressed smoothly and I felt like there was never a dull moment. Now I will say it was a bit dark at certain moments.
The main character Ella was well thought out and I’m glad she had character development because at one point I could not stand her (sorry). Ella’s stepsister Drea had to be my favorite, she was thoughtful but had depth and dimension and I wish I could read the story of what happened to her. Finally, the love interests. This is not a romance novel, there is barely any romance written and the most we get is maybe a single kiss. I really like how the author choose to focus more on character development and self growth over which boy should Ella fall in love with. Pretty much, there were pretty boys but they were not needed. Appreciated, but not needed.
A super unique take on the classic story! Well written and a fun read! I will say that I am now upset that I must wait for the sequel to be written. I cannot wait to continue reading Ella’s journey.

Thank you so much to the author for letting me voluntarily read and review a copy of this title! All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I could not put this book down, Cinderella turned to a badass spy is amazing!!! Definitely my fave read so far.. cant wait for more!!!

🗡️ARC Review🗡️

I didn't really know what to expect going into this book, but it was definitely a fun ride! Little twists and turns and well-rounded characters.
A couple minor typos but nothing glaring and nothing that would effect the overall premise. I will be keeping an eye out for Book 2!