DNF'd 46%

Another childhood fairytale retelling, but this time not so great. I had some what high expectations for the one thanks to social media but unfortunately it just didn't hit the mark.

I want to thanks NetGalley for the arc. This is my honest opinion about this book.

This book was a great surprise. It is a good story, a retelling of Cinderella but with Fae and much darker themes. I really liked the characters and worldbuilding, because both parts are very well developed.

The main characters are fantastic, very realistic and interesting. Loved to watch the dynamic between the couple, the way they fell for each other and how they conquer their fears in order to rise as something better. The other characters are also great, even the villains.

The Cinder Fae, all their story and fight is very well written and I could feel their feelings through the story/writing. It was very well done!

About the worldbuilding, it is very rich, with beautiful descriptions and a good background story. The character's past and the realm's past itself are very convincing and well developed, in order to create a very strong plot. Well done!

Also loved the plot! The action is constant, with lots of tender and sweet moments in between. There ar lots of intrigue, betrayals and plot twists that made me always want to keep on reading.

So I recommend this book to all of you and I hope you will love it too.

I am a big fan of a good retelling, This is a slow burn, but its good. We need more backstop on the Fae. Overall it was an enjoyable read. A bit longer than it needed to be but I would recommend!

Rise of The Cinder Fae by Whitney Dean was a stay-up-til-2am-to-finish read for me, but I certainly had some notes.

"Rise of The Cinder Fae" by Whitney Dean is a sexy romantasy novel that draws inspiration from the classic tale of Cinderella. Set in a world where the Cinder Fae are forced to produce coal for the human kingdom, the story follows Elora, a young woman determined to save her Fae friends from their cruel fate while also striving to protect herself from a tragic fate.

Dean's world-building is immersive, and the tension between the humans and the Fae is palpable. Elora's journey to seduce Prince Finnian to ensure the Fae's safety is filled with unexpected twists and turns, as their relationship evolves from enemies to lovers.

The writing style is accessible, making it easy for readers to dive into the fantasy world. Think YA writing with NA romance. The characters are engaging, and the banter between Elora and Finnian is a highlight. The book also features spicy romance, drama, and betrayal, keeping readers page-turning.
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While the pacing may be slightly uneven in the latter half, the ending ties up most loose ends while leaving room for further adventures in the sequel. "Rise of The Cinder Fae" is a promising start to a new series.

While I have a few editing remarks (although I read an ARC), it was a fun reimagined Cinderella retelling with From Blood and Ash vibes in the banter. It was very spicy.

Received as an ARC from Netgalley*

The Good:

This is what a fairytale retelling SHOULD be in my opinion. So many "fairytale retellings" are so loose in their retelling that even calling them a retelling at all feels generous. This really was a Cinderella retelling, complete with several little nods to the original work. It made it fun to read, picking up on little easter eggs here and there.

All in all it was a very fast-paced, exciting, action-packed fantasy story. The characters were very intriguing and well-written. From the absolutely despicable, to the characters we loved, and wanted to protect so badly. My emotions were all over the place. I was on the edge of my seat worried for Irina, Elora, Finn, and Honora throughout this entire book. The author did a really good job in making us care for these characters.

The Medium:

I don't really consider it necessarily a good or bad thing, but I just thought it was an odd decision to barely include any magic or fairies in the plot. This world has MAGICAL PUMPKINS and FIRE FAIRIES. But for some reason, these are 2 details that are very minor in the background. I was kind of hoping for more magic, but felt fulfilled in the end at least.

Also just my personal preference but this definitely had a LOT of romance. I found myself skimming over whole chapters. But again, that's nothing wrong with the book, just my preference. It is DEFINITELY romantasy.

Also, I saw a lot of people claim this book has too immature of a tone to be considered adult fantasy. I agree with that statement, however, I like YA so this fact didn't bother me.

The Bad:

I wanted to give this book 5 stars because of how much I enjoyed it. However, there were just so many not necessarily plot holes, but just some of the plot points and details about the world seemed very flimsy or not fully thought out? Additionally, a lot of the reasonings for characters' actions also seemed not realistic or well thought out. E.g. The king making Irina wear red because it's a bright color, so she'll stand out from the rest of the family. But the king wears only orange?? How is that not considered a bright color? Another example was when the literal future princess was sexually assaulted in front of a whole crowd at a royal gathering, and the prince got mad and fought him. People were horrified and disgusted. Like hello it's his fiancé AND the future princess?? The fact that he wasn't beheaded seems weird let alone people being afraid of him for fighting him. My last example is Irina and Finn following Elora EVERYWHERE to make sure nothing happens to her, but the one time they decide to be lax about it is when she goes to meet with the most dangerous person in the realm??? Then everything falls apart, and they're all so shocked. Well yeah????

Also, the last thing I wasn't totally crazy about was the art. It wasn't TERRIBLE. I just feel like there's so many better artists out there. It's also a pet peeve when people do fan art of fantastical medieval lands, and the characters look like Kardashians. But that's just my two cents!


Anyway, in all, I really did enjoy this book so much. Will definitely be reading the sequel when it comes out. Can't wait to see The Phoenix rise :))))

This was my first Whitney Dean book and I enjoyed it a lot. However, I found it very long. The title is Rise of the Cinder Fae but they don't actually work towards the rising part until 70% of the book. The part we build up to over 686 pages ends in 100 and just overall I felt it could have been much shorter and still been a decent story. I found the world building very confusing in the beginning and didn't care for the unanswered history of the fae. Other than that, I really enjoyed Elora and Finnian's story. I love Elora's fire and insults and Finnian's possessiveness but also romantic heart. He said the sweetest things. I'm looking forward to seeing more of them in book 2.

Thank you to the author for a copy of this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

𝙄 𝙧𝙚𝙘𝙚𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙙 𝙖𝙣 𝘼𝙍𝘾 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙖𝙪𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙧 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙉𝙚𝙩𝙂𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙮 𝙞𝙣 𝙚𝙭𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙖𝙣 𝙝𝙤𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙩 𝙧𝙚𝙫𝙞𝙚𝙬

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I really hate to DNF an ARC but I just can't do any more. I really wanted to like this one and I did enjoy some parts but not enough to continue.

This is a Cinderella retelling with sort of ACOTAR vibes but not in a good way, reading about Rhysand 2.0 was one of the main reasons for my officially DNFing.

I really didn't enjoy the writing and the characters felt very immature. This is supposed to be NA but read more like YA with spice. And it definitely needed more editing. There was absolutely no need for the info dumping, unnecessary over the top spice and dragged out scenes and there is honestly no reason for this book to be 700 pages. And someone needs to go through and check the tenses because they were always changing, even in the middle of paragraphs!

The world building was so weird with so many different random things that felt like they were thrown in for no reason at all. Like what is with the kings obsession with pumpkins? He likes to own cool things? That's it? The whole Aphrodite and Hades thing was very random and a magic spring that gave her confidence what even is that? And the confidence didn't even seem to actually happen, she was a bit bitchy the first night and that was it.
It felt like you were dropped in the middle of a story and should have already understood everything because even when there was info dumping it made no sense.

I actually really liked Elora and especially Irina and honestly this book should have just been about them and it would have been so much better. Finnian was god awful, like genuinely what a misogynistic, arrogant wanker. He gets all high and mighty about his dad being an ass yet he's awful himself. And if he called Elora doe or pristine or porcelain one more time I'd actually have thrown my kindle out the window. Very weird "being an innocent virgin means you're clean" vibes which was especially grating coming from someone with a reputation to have sex with the whole kingdom (?) (see I don't even know if it's a kingdom, are there other kingdoms? Who knows). Maybe it's just me, I'm just done with people using "morally grey" or "dark romance" to try excuse that the love interest is just a horrible person.

This book is called Rise of the Cinder Fae yet we hardly ever see the Cinder Fae and eventually they're rarely even brought up anymore. I actually assumed they had left because of an earlier conversation in the book and then they just appeared again. Could have just called it "nice girl forced to marry an asshole" and been done with it because the Fae ended up being even less than side characters. Like in all seriousness how are you going to name it Rise of the Cinder Fae and have them in maybe 5% of a 700 page book??

I would usually give a DNF 3 stars because I feel like I can't comment on it fully but there is enough in what I did read for me to feel confident in my rating.

I really do appreciate the opportunity to read this ARC, unfortunately it just didn't work for me.

Rise of the Cinder Fae was a book that had lots of highs and lows for me. There were parts of the story I really enjoyed, and others not so much. At the heart of it, I think the style just wasn't for me. However, I did still enjoy the plot. The world building was wonderful and fully immersive. Elora and Finnian's characters were multi-faceted and likeable - others not so much.

For me, I think there was simply too much going on in one book. I felt overwhelmed at times but that's probably just personal preference. I think you'll love this story if you enjoy the writer's style. For me, it just didn't quite hit the mark!

*I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*

I don’t even know where to begin this review, so I apologize but this will be kind of all over the place. :)
Honestly, this has been my absolute FAVORITE and ONLY 5 star read of 2024 so far.
I got an ARC from Netgalley and it admittedly took me a while to get through due to my grueling work schedule, but let me tell you this book is incredible.
The tropes in this book are EVERYTHING so if you like Enemies to Lovers, Touch her and die vibes, forced proximity, spice 😘, one horse, arranged marriage, fae, and found family… this book is for you!! 💗The book itself is a dark Cinderella retelling.
The characters and world are written so, so, so, soooo nicely and were well thought out!
The spice was SPICEY and I was not expecting that! But it is written really well. 🥵🥵
I often found myself kicking my feet and giggling like a young school girl! 😂
Elora reminded me a lot of myself, honestly so I connected with her on a deeper level and that always makes a book more special to me.
Like Elora, I put the needs of others over my own needs and I am working to improve on that.
I was in awe of Finnian’s character arc, though I did struggle to like him when he was drinking.. but that’s my own personal trauma. I cannot wait to see how Finnian and Elora fair as newly made Fae!

Some of my favorite quotes:

“No,” I murmur. “I’m not. I was stable until you barreled into my life like an angry, uncaged, miniature beast.”

“And I hold her with the terrifying realization that I will stop at nothing to keep her safe- that the loyalty beat into me for this kingdom, for my father, was all for nothing. I belong to Elora now.“

“I should go. I’m getting married today. I’d invite you, but the man I’m marrying is slightly predatory.”

“Maybe I should refer to you as my little toad instead.”

“My enemy by birth- my heart by fate.”

“One day!" he shouts, "One fucking day, and you're already back to being a venomous little-"
"Toad?" | try to shove him away.
"You were going to call me a fucking toad again, weren't you?"
"I wasn't not going to call you a toad." He opens his arms wide.
"But if the fucking shoe fits...."

“l looked up at the sky at a star shooting past, but I realized I had nothing to wish for when my dream was in my arms.”

this book reads like YA fantasy, with adult spice mixed in? I was constantly getting whiplash from the elora & finnian. their relationship felt very juvenile to me.

the hints to cinderella were fun, but the plot left A LOT to be desired. there was just so much more that needed to be explained regarding the fae, magic, the pumpkins somehow being magical, and more🥴

there’s great potential with this series. i’m just not sure if I’ll be continuing or not!

3⭐️s / 2🌶️s

Rating:
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️
By Kayla of TGIF


I really enjoyed this book! This Cinderella retelling caught my interest from the start. Though there are undertones that follow Cinderella, there are many differences too that keep things interesting and engaging! The banter between Elora and Finn had me smiling the whole time. The suspense had me on the edge of my feet. The cliffhanger has me so eager for the next book!

Tropes:
Enemies to lovers
Found family
Fae
Forced marriage

Spoilery review below:
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I am a complete sucker for some good banter between a MFC and MMC. So when Elora starts their relationship by telling Finnian how much he sucks, I was here for it. Once that banter turned flirtatious, I was a goner. It had me grinning every time they interacted.

I am also here for a found family. So Elora relationship with Irena and even Honora was so sweet. Especially when all of the above have such a hard time letting people in for fear of them getting hurt by the king.

Finnian is a little obsessive aggressive for my liking at times, but I know a lot of people are into that. And with him turning at the end and now being mates (swoon) I know that might just get worse. Hopefully Elora puts him in his place.

Oh and the spice? It is spicing. The heat was unreal between these two.

The entire last part of the book had me on the edge of my seat. Finnian and Elora turning fae. Finn is a Healer? Elora is the Phoenix?! The Heart dove?! I mean the possibilities for where this story goes is now endless. I cannot wait to get my hands on the next book.

Amazing job!

I love a retelling, and this one did not disappoint! The strength of this story lies with its characters, because they are so relatable. Their backstories are raw and real, and makes you wholeheartedly root for them. Elora is such an amazing character and her determination to save her people makes her the perfect fmc. The tension and banter between Elora and Finn was top tier, and the spice was perfect! There was enough little clues along the way to hint at where the story might lead in book two, which kept me on my toes and guessing. Can’t wait to carry on with this series!

I tried very very hard to like this book. I attempted to start it 3 separate times. The world building in the prologue is very confusing. Reading became a chore because of the poor writing. After my 3rd attempt, I had to DNF. The premise of the book is great, but I can’t bring myself to read something that I, as someone who isn’t even a writer, see as poorly written. I’m glad to see others enjoyed it, but it wasn’t my cup of tea.

Thank you to Undying Raven Press for an eCopy of Rise of the Cinder Fae!

Wow, this was a really fun read! I absolutely love a romantasy with high stakes and two MC’s that absolutely drive each other bonkers falling in love. I absolutely can’t wait for the second book because I totally wasn’t expecting that little twist at the end!!!

My jaw is on the floor. I absolutely LOVED Rise of the Cinder Fae! A beautiful, emotional Cinderella re-telling. The slow burn, the beautiful friendships, the action and fighting for what’s good…I couldn’t put it down. I am so excited for what’s to come and can’t wait to read more of the story! There is a bit of a cliffhanger but I promise you will love this book! Fae, royal family, enemies to lovers, arranged marriage, found family…add this to your TBR immediately. Thank you so much to Netgalley and Whitney Dean for this ARC!

This novel is a retelling of Cinderella with Fae, fallen princesses and a corrupt royal family. Though I like the setting, I wasn’t entirely convinced of the importance of pumpkins in the story. I know they are cherished by the royal family but besides the King being obsessed I wasn’t sure that there was any purpose in their frequent mention. The village that our FMC, _ comes from has been conquered by the King and stands at the base of the mountain where Fae mine coal from the kingdom. _ is the peacemaker between the fae and the villagers, holding intense friendships with the mythical creatures, protecting them to the extent that she possibly can from the cruelty and poverty of the kingdom.

_ lives a Cinderella existence, with the evil twin stepsisters and stepmother trying to marry her off to the prince for their social and financial gain. The stepmother's evil characteristics fit perfectly within that storytale trope of a disadvantaged girl being pressed on by the evil second wife. She was an easy character to dislike and the stepsisters just seem plain stupid and vain.

We meet our MMC, Finnian, at the ball where tension arises between him and _. Their dislike for each other is obvious and they hold much animosity towards each other’s perceived upbringing. While staying at the castle, _ goes through the push and pull of her attraction to Finn and their courtship is turbulent to say the least. I thought this relationship was authentic though at times a bit trivial. They constantly are fighting and then making up and it seems as though communication is not an important part of their relationship. They’d much rather keep things from each other and not admit their feelings out of a false pretense of protecting one another, which at times felt a bit formulaic. Their lack of communication leads to several arguments and issues that could have easily been avoided had they communicated clearly.

Finnian is a complex character, whose father is an absolute toad and his mother is the poor wife in a loveless marriage. His loyalty lies clearly with his mother and sister but he begins displaying behaviors of his father’s manipulative ways. I get that the morally gray MMC is a hot trope right now but his wishy washy-ness is at times annoying.

What I liked: I liked the setting, the fallen princess action, and the sexual tension between the FMC and MMC.

What I didn’t like: There were too many storylines going on here, it was hard to keep up. I was confused with the King’s plot and why he was motivated by what he was. I was also confused by the Dark Fae who is hunting them. The story felt disjointed at times.

Overall, I’d rate this book 3 stars.

3.5 stars

Listen, for what this book lacks in plot it makes up for in character depth. The Finnian, Irina and Ellie are all well fleshed out, intriguing characters. Great banter. Even with occasional info dumps you get a good idea of everyone's history, with an interesting world.

This is more of a character driven book because the plot is a bit looming instead of present, and a little all over the place. I was confused at times with how <spoiler>the confidence from drinking from the well of magic was supposed to manifest. It seemed to give her the boldness to speak her mind, but she was nervous during sex? It felt inconsistent</Spoiler>.

Check the trigger warnings before reading. There is a particular sex scene that is a bit... intense.

Justice for Ellie! A girl should not have to <spoiler>lose her virginity on the floor.</Spoiler>

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book.

Thank you to Netgalley for an ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this story. It has a part Cinderella retelling, faeries, a magical world, a little bit of rumplestilskin, and other famous fairytales intertwined with an immersing love story.

Elora is a wonderful fmc. She is kind, loyal, and a victim of circumstance. Finnian is a swoon-worthy mmc. He is the crowned prince of a wicked kingdom, and although he is morally ambiguous, he is desperately loyal to those he loves.

One thing that prevented me from rating higher is that the story is a little bit long. There is a lot of information and events that occur. The ending is fast-paced, but there were definitely moments where I felt the story could've been cut back a little bit.

Despite the length and sometimes larger information loads, I thought the premise was brilliant. I can't wait for more of this series.

This story was absolutely amazing. Might be my favorite retilling ever. I am so excited to read more of Elora and Finnians story....

I also need more back story to the fae!

I loveeee a good retelling story! And Cinderella has always been my fave princess. Even though this is a slow burn I do feel like I wanted more banter! We got a little taste at the beginning and then it started dying down. Overall it was an enjoyable read. A bit longer than it needed to be but I would recommend!