📚Book 251 of 2023📚

Such a fun read! I love anything that involves a darker retelling of a classic fairytale, and this book nailed it! I can’t wait for the next one!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Publication date- 10/20/23

If you are a fan of retellings, this is definitely the book for you. While taking inspiration from the original source, Cinderella, it also adds a twist to the story, preventing it from becoming repetitive like so many retellings of Cinderella. While it is very slow-paced, this page allows the characters and the plot to unfold with grace and a great attention to detail. It allows us to deeply understand the characters for we know them intimately. I also greatly enjoyed the fact that we had both male and female perspectives; this helped with the general context

A turn I never expected!

I’ll be honest, when I first started reading this book, it took me a few goes to get into it. Around the 3rd time I knew I had to give it a better chance and I’m so glad I did!!

The way the other describes the surroundings makes you feel like you’re there with them. You can picture the dresses that are worn. The masks the solider wear. You feel the emotions of the characters.

My favourite part about the book is that you get both POV from the male and female, we need more of that and Liv delivered!
It definitely gives Cinderella vibes and I loved it! I would of given it 5 stars but I feel like a bit more detail could of gone into certain areas as at some points I was left confused and had to re-read to see if I missed something but it wasn’t there.

The ending had me sitting up and waiting to see what happened, I was begging for the ending I wanted and I hope this happens in the next!

I definitely want to read the second book and I will be leaving a review for that too!

I love a fairytale and this is a wonderful retelling of Cinderella. I was hooked on page one. The story is face paced and well written. Loved it.

What if Cinderella was a thief, the fairy godmother evil, and the prince only wanted to marry for revenge?

The story centres around Vanya who is a street thief and Dimitri, the crown prince of Tal, who are both dealing with their own grief, betrayal and secrets.

Liv Strom does a fantastic job with setting the atmosphere of the book from the first chapter and the plot is very fast paced. It was really easy to get completely sucked into the story and I really struggled to put the book down. The city of Tal almost had a ‘city of the dead’ vibe to it with death being one of the main attributes of the city itself, especially with the spirits that float about (I actually thought they sounded quite cute). Liv’s use of descriptive imagery of the skeletons of the royal family hanging from the trees was very eerie!

I enjoyed the subtle spin on the Cinderella retelling with the evil stepsister Lana, and the ‘quest’ to steal the glass crown from the palace. I thought it was very well done and not a cringey retelling rip off.

In terms of the characters, I absolutely loved Vanya. She was so strong willed, brave & kind. She loves her twin sister Lumi fiercely and would do anything to protect her and gain their freedom. The romance between Vanya and Dimitri was definitely a slow burn, but they became each others comfort.

The book ended on a cliffhanger and I’m absolutely chomping at the bit for the next book!

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for giving me the opportunity to read this ARC!

A fantasy world where prince Dimitri and Vanya, a thief, have to face lies, secrets, betrayals and their own feelings.
A very well narrated story where Tal's world unfolds before our eyes as we advance in the reading and we get into the life of Dimitri and Vanya. Although at first they seem to have conflicting interests, they soon discover that they have more in common than they think.
The secondary characters, Lumi, Alexei, Lana, Eki... are just as interesting and full of life as the main characters.
In my opinion it's not exactly a retelling of Cinderella and I'm glad because it surprised me for the better and had me hooked from the beginning. I want more.

"Stealing Glass" is the first chapter of "Tales of Bones and Roses," a fantasy romance duology, Cinderella retelling, written by Liv Strom and currently in progress.

Captivating, sizzling, and captivating book featuring a charming setting, evocative writing, excellent plot, and well-constructed characters. A Cinderella dark retelling in which subterfuge, deception, fights, thefts, dances and mysteries are deftly combined to create an intriguing mixture, sprinkled with a good, tasty dose of slow burn romance. A read that I enjoyed a lot and left me with a powerful need to read the sequel!

I loved the writing! Evocative, lyrical and at times poetic, accompanied by vivid descriptions and brilliant dialogues, convinced me from the very first lines. I loved the mysterious and dark undertones of the story, as well as the more painful and turbulent ones. In my opinion, the author manages to beautifully paint the various settings, as well as carefully portray the different characters. I was able to clearly imagine the different places, and on more than one occasion I confess that I was moved by some of the situations narrated. In addition, the fast pace combined with the short chapters make it an easy read to devour!

The world building is wonderful! Tal, the City of the Dead, has captured me! It is a city where the spirits of the dead move in incorporeal and luminous form among the streets! Help, I found it simply stunning! In addition, I appreciated Tal's division into zones, as well as its turbulent atmosphere due to the inequality between royalty, and more generally nobles, and the poor forced into starvation and misery. As I mentioned above this is a well-developed setting, beautifully realized in its contrasts, its desperation and its oppression. Also I enjoyed the magic system quite a bit!

The plot intrigued me! Light, dynamic and effervescent, it proceeds full of action and events. Court intrigues, deceptions, subterfuges and power plays are combined with fights, thefts, riots and magic, creating a highly entertaining mixture. To which is added a hearty dose of slow burn romance that made me swoon! I admit that I spotted the various plot twists earlier than expected, but this does not affect my high appreciation.

I loved Vanya and Dimitri, protagonists with their first person povs! Vanya is a skilled thief stuck in a suffocating situation. Deprived of her mother, who died of a brutal plague, and her younger brother, who died of a disease curable with money, she has never known the identity of her father and is left alone with her beloved twin sister Lumi. Both live with their unpleasant half-sister and their cruel stepfather, an unscrupulous usurer. Deeply in debt to the man, they have been forced to turn to theft in order to pay off the debt and be free. Vanya is a character who has been through a lot. She lives in difficult conditions, surrounded by misery and wickedness, afflicted by despair and deep doubts. Yet despite her oppressive circumstances, she is unwilling to be bowed down. She hates to steal, does not want to hurt people, and usually, when she has to strike, targets the noble who have a lot. She loves to dance and longs to escape the city to build a new, better and happy life with her twin sister. She is a determined, courageous, intelligent, ironic and loyal girl with a deeply sensitive soul. A multifaceted character with an evolution that I highly enjoyed! Also, I loved the relationship between her and her twin sister Lumi!

Dimitri, in turn, won me over. Crown prince of Tal, in appearance he is a dark, proud, surly, standoffish and reserved boy. A person who under the armor of biting irony hides a caring and wounded soul, marked by a painful past. I cannot say more to avoid spoilers, but he is a well-analyzed and in-depth character who made me melt repeatedly!

The relationship between Vanya and Dimitri is mind blowing! They do not start off in the best of ways: Vanya is tasked by her stepfather to sneak into the palace, during Dimitri's betrothal ball, to retrieve the precious glass crown displayed only on rare occasions. And Dimitri ends up discovering and pursuing her, just to catch her and mistake her for his mysterious foreign betrothed, whom he has never met before. And things only get worse when Vanya, with her sister's life on the line, is forced to keep up the charade and proceed to the wedding. Too bad Dimitri has agreed to get married to carry out his revenge plans and doesn't really want a bride. I loved so much the construction of their relationship! It is a slow burn that made me sweat a lot at times! Their interactions are sizzling, the chemistry explosive, and the banter funny and teasing. Vanya and Dimitri slowly get to know each other, coming to support and talk to each other about their problems! I loved them and need to have more of them!

All in all, this is an excellent start to the series, which I recommend to lovers of fantasy romance and fairy tale retellings!

Thank you to NetGalley and Liv Strom for giving me an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Interesting take on Cinderella story. Instead of one hero we have 2 sisters tweens, instead of stepmother we we have cruel stepfather and one cruel sister. In this take few have magic most of them are belong to the nobel and royal casts. The common are without magic, neglected and rebellion is carried into evry corner. The prince is in grief on his murdered son from his childhood lover need to married political marriage to a princess from another country. Both don't want to do so. The tweens look very similar to this princess , however Lumi had been attacked and has a scar on her face so vanya has to imitates the disappered Helia . This rouse supported by part of the noble that want to take the crown... to this cautic plot we introduced to strange different magic abilities... I really can't wait for the next book.

This refashioned cinderella fairy tale is an adventure in its own right.
Stealing Glass is a thrilling adventure describing Vanya, an orphaned teenager being forced to steal riches to pay off her mothers debt.
She is sent on an impossible mission to infiltrate a royal family for reasons hidden from her, but with her and her sisters life depending on success.

The story is well written and fast paced with an enemies to lovers romance and a fiesty female main character.
I am eagerly awaiting the sequel.

If you are a Romantasy lover, I highly recommend reading this piece!

There was so much dimensions to the characters that I feel sad that it’s over!
From the moment it started, you are sucked into novel. It’s fast paced and keeps you on your toes.

Stealing Glass is the story of two dreamers: a street thief who has seen too much, yet manages to retain her love of all things beautiful, and even empathise with those a world away. A prince returned from exile, bound to his father rather than his people; who once knew love and had it ripped away because of his crown. The writer captured, perfectly, the story of Vanya and Dimitri, of two completely irreconcilable worlds.

It's no Cinderella story, but all fantasy, fantasy romance, fairytale retelling lovers etc etc should immediately get their hands on a copy of this gorgeous story. Tal is far from a kingdom where happily-ever-afters can occur, and I really adore the world that Liv Strom has built up. This is a corrupt monarchy where secrets and manipulations run deep, even when it comes to those trusted ones. Everyone has something to fight for.

This was a daring, fast-paced story that flawlessly weaved royalty, magic, binds and betrayals together. From the very start, we are sucked into the enthralling world of Vanya, Lumi and binding sigils, then brought to the palace which is essentially the core of rotting. Liv Strom may liken this to a Cinderella retelling, but she did a fantastic job of completely nullifying any coincidences and tying everything into a seamless, believable whole. Everything comes together; what goes around comes around, and words cannot express how fervent my support for Vanya was at the very end (with those amazingly ruthless streaks coming out? GO VANYA!).

I appreciated how tall, dark and handsome Dimitri was a fully three-dimensional character, too. If Strom ever came up with a prequel with him, I would be all over that. His whole character development arc was done really well with no fast-forwards, and the insights into his character rounded out the story wonderfully.

Overall, the most stunning aspect of this story was how sex was more than just sex. As Vanya and Dimitri progressed towards it, sex became a sort of sharing; a freedom, even, to seek themselves in each other. I loved how, though they never were able to fully carry it out, Vanya found confidence through having Dimitri so close. Which is simultaneously why I'm so utterly heartbroken by the cliffhanger ending... I finished this masterpiece in two days, and I'm eagerly looking forward to Claiming Glass!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!