Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange of an honest review.

I found the concept that Cinderella is the evil one and not her sisters extremely exciting. I also found the way the chapters were divided really exciting. At the beginning there are chapter rules that the family must follow towards Cinderella.

The writing style is great and it is super easy to read.

You are in the story from the very start and it is immediately exciting so that you want to stay with the story.

However, the story unfortunately did not develop well enough for me. Many emotions were rather superficial or only mentioned briefly.

I also found the ending extremely unsatisfying. Unfortunately, "We kept her in the cellar" is one so far that I cannot rate very highly. Interesting idea that had so much potential - but in my opinion it was not exploited.

Thank you to NetGalley & Crooked Lane Books for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 stars, rounded up

I expected to LOVE this story - I'm a real sucker for a well-written fractured fairytale retelling- but this missed the mark for me in a few areas.
While the premise was fantastic, imaginative, and full of gory body & cosmic horror; I found that Eunice as a character fell flat for me.
The first 25% of this book read entirely like a YA story would have. If it weren't for the scenes of brutality, the entire story would've followed suit.

Overall, I'd recommend it to anyone who enjoys brutal body-horror with a touch of Lovecraftian horror.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of We Kept Her in the Cellar.

I'm always game for a fairytale retelling and the premise of We Kept Her in the Cellar had me hooked from the first line.

First, there's plenty of blood, horror, violence, and limbs flailing around so if you're the queasy type, look away.

Second, why is her name Cinderella since she lives in the cellar? Another reader mentioned that, and that reviewer is absolutely right.

Third, I would have liked more exposition on Cinderella; is she a product of witchcraft? A demon? Is she only bent on destruction? Where did these rules come from? How did her father figure them out?

Fourth, Eunice is the narrator, but she's a dullard and an unremarkable character. She's not witty or charming or smart.

She's portrayed as knowing how to 'handle' Cinderella and they have this bond, but only because Eunice hasn't renounced their sibling bond through marriage.

Fifth, the narrative isn't suspenseful or as dramatic, even with all the violence and gore. Those scenes break up the monotony of the narrative of Eunice going about her day, keeping her youngest sister safe, feeding Cinderella, etc.

We spend a lot of time in Eunice's head and it's not interesting.

I expected the ending, but it was anti-climatic. A bond between Cinderella and Eunice? Why?

Also, why didn't Cinderella fly away a long time ago?

I do like a twisted tale. I feel like there is great creativity in making an old tale a new one, taking hold of something well known and adding a personal shine to it.

In this case the shine is fresh blood in the case of this book.

It is horrific, gruesome and creepy all in the best of ways.

"There are always two sides to a story. This dark and twisted reimagining of Cinderella, told from her stepsister's POV, is perfect for fans of T. Kingfisher and Naomi Novik."

This is one of my favorite retellings. Instead of Cinderella being the victim, she is the stuff that nightmares are made of! It’s a truly spine-tingling story with lots of gore. I would love seeing it made into a movie. This author will be an auto-read going forward. Thanks so much for the opportunity to read in advance!

"We Kept Her in the Cellar" by W. R. Gorman whispers a tale that winds through the shadowed corridors of the unknown, casting a chilling new light on a story you thought you knew. In this eerie reimagining, Cinderella is no mere damsel; instead, she wields dark, formidable powers that lurk beneath her innocent facade. Eunice, her stepsister, knows the truth that has been cloaked in secrecy and bound by three ironclad rules: treat Cinderella as kin, deny her the company of rats and mice, and never, ever meet her gaze in the haunting hours between midnight and three.

For Eunice, childhood was a ghostly whirl of nightmares and fearful shivers, safeguarding a monster that dwelled in their cellar. Now, with a glimmer of hope sparked by her friendship with the dashing Prince Credence, Eunice sees a path to liberation at the royal ball. But as fate would have it, Cinderella escapes. Harnessing her eldritch abilities, she crashes the ball, leaving chaos in her wake and Prince Credence utterly bewitched—her malevolence marked by a single, sinister green glass slipper.

As horror seeps from the pages, Eunice stands at a crossroads, faced with the harrowing decision of how much of herself she's willing to forsake to cage the horror she helped nurture. "We Kept Her in the Cellar" is not just a novel; it is a haunting exploration of the true darkness enshrouding the Cinderella tale, a story lost to the ages until now. Dive into this macabre masterpiece, and you might find yourself double-checking the locks on your own cellar door.

Thank you, W.R. Gorman and NetGalley for the ARC. I leave this review voluntarily and happily. Also, thank you publishers for your hard work!

Wow, just WOW! This book completely wasn't what I was expecting it to be. It definitely was well worth the read and just the gore and other things involved in this book. i seriously wasn't expecting it. This book makes me think of the brothers Grimm telling of Cinderella and a just twisted even more. Yet you would think it be about the stepsisters when, in fact, it's Cinderella who's the real evil all along. I truly enjoyed reading through this and getting to experience a different take on Cinderella.

What's to say that the Stepsisters were good and in fact Cinderella was the one who was evil? What if everything we were told was a complete lie? What if there is so much more to the story than we know? Eunice knows everything and delt with Cinderella her whole life. Read and see what truly happened and who's the real evil.

The gore, death, violence, and just details in this book will have you gagging at it. You can al.ost literally smell the scenes happening, and you can definitely feel the fear and desperation these characters feel. You want so much for them and want only the best for them.

I do have to say their is a mention of cats being killed, so if that's nor OK with you, don't read. Of course, there are other things like deaths, body disfigurement, etc. A lot happens throughout this book, but if you're ok with that, it's truly well worth the read.

This is a fascinating take on a fairytale classic.

It's genuinely impressive how
manages to convert Cinderella into a logical eldritch horror with rules that play on the tropes of the original fairytale.

It's imaginative horror! How I missed it!

Although there are a few overused phrases used in descriptions surrounding Cinderella, that's a nitpick that most readers probably won't notice.

In a rare cover-based comment for me, I think the artstyle reflects a much younger and more YA-like brand of horror. I cannot overstate how much that cover underestimates the written horror in this book.

It's brutal. Between body horror, mutilation, and the unfathomable eldritch being, there is so much to be appalled by. It's been awhile since I encountered text that made me IRL gag but this book has a scene that I would never like to read again (in a complementary way of course). The revulsion Cinderella evokes is evidence that Gorman truly wrote horror.

The premise of this fairy tale reworking interested me and having read it now I can say the plot was creative and original and certainly full of horror, ticking several boxes for me. But the gory and gruesome aspects went too far for me, making me feel ill.

With the main character being a child for the first part of the book, I thought it might be aimed at middle grade readers, but as the story progressed it became obvious that the content was quite adult.

I received this arc from netgalley and Crooked Lane Books in exchange for my honest review.

We kept her in the cellar- W.R Gorman
5✨
Oh my, this is a re-telling like nothing I have ever read before. It kind of reminds me of Heartless by Marissa Meyer, a fairytale told from the perspective of the evil ones. I was hooked from the first chapter, I was not expecting this type of gore, but I am here for it! Cinderella is not just a monster, she is a gosh damn nightmare. Our MC Eunice is amazingly written, and I loved her dedication to her “work” taking care of Cinderella. Eunice grew more and more brave as the years went by, never showing her fear.
The ending, I’m not sure what I was expecting but it sure wasn’t what I got. Even though I know this is not a series, I still want more! I need more. I would definitely recommend you get your paws on this book when it gets released in September 2024!

Thank you NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for this e-book. I am leaving this review voluntarily💕

Honestly not what I expected... horror fairy tale retellings that make the good guy the bad guy. Love seeing the imaginative take!!!.

This was fantastic! I loved everything about this dark and unsettling, twisted Cinderella retelling. I loved the writing style; it was compelling and full of intrigue that had me hooked from the first page. The pacing was excellent and kept everything moving along at the perfect speed. The world-building was terrific. I loved how she used the original tale and built upon it. And the character development was absolutely superb. I highly recommend this to horror fans, and I think this is perfect for fans of T. Kingfisher, more specifically their retellings.

3 stars

What a dark and unique take on Cinderella!
I found the writing to be only subpar, but the imagination of this story was fantastic! I’m not much for the gruesome body horror, but it works here.
This is kind of what I’d like to see more of when people decide to reimagine our favorite fairy tales.

This book was fabulous. A dark and grotesque take on the tale of Cinderella, where instead of being the heroine, Cinderella is the worst sort of monstrous villain. This story is told from the POV of Eunice, one of Cinderella's stepsisters, who's dedication to her family forces her to take care of Cinderella and keep her hidden, until the point at which that is no longer possible.
This story was so gory, the characters were wonderfully written, and it kept me hooked from start to finish!

This book was so good. I could not put it down. This is a retelling of sorts of Cinderella. I have read quite a few "Retellings" and this is probably one of my absolute favorite

This was a super interesting take on Cinderella. I love fairy tale retellings so I had fun reading this. You can get a feel for the stepsisters and how they think about our Cinderella. Definitely would recommend

The writing in this book was technically correct but mediocre. The first third of this book had no action really, no plot, just the repetitive routine of Eunice taking care of her stepsister, Cinderella.

The gruesome parts of the story were indeed gruesome, and I love that Eunice maimed her foot as the stepsisters did in the original story, but we never learn anything of Cinderella’s origins or see her defeated. So the story seems to have no purpose or closure.

And why is her name Cinderella? She should be Cellarella.

Brilliant concept, disappointing in execution.

Eunice tells us about her life since she learned that her mother would remarry and that she and her sister Hortense would become Cinderella's stepsisters. What seemed like happy news will soon turn into a nightmare.
W. R. Gorman manages to make the story seem new and all the more interesting with that Lovecraft touch.
I read with appalled delight this terrifying retelling of the famous Cinderella story, always waiting in suspense for the moment when something would go horribly wrong.
I'm sure horror lovers will adore this story.

This is a gruesome, bloody retelling of Cinderella. In this case, Cinderella is a cosmic monstrosity, appearing as a beautiful young woman in her human form but what lies beneath is horrific and terrifying.

Told from the perspective of Eunice, one of her stepsisters, this story pretty much follows the fairytale but we are privy to what's going on behind the scenes. Upon arrival, Cinderella must be locked in the cellar. Her father explains about the rules they all must follow so she cannot escape.

And we'll witness what happens when those rules aren't followed. There's going to be blood and a lot of it when Cinderella changes to her true eldritch form. Her thirst for pain and violence is unquenchable.

Everything you think you know about this child's fairytale will be forever changed after reading this novel.

It's beautifully written, has lots of body/cosmic horrors, and is absolutely frightening. I highly recommend it.