This is a Cinderella retelling, in this you start with Prince Bayard searching for the owner of the glass slipper that was left behind at the ball. Here you meet Ell who finds that she happens to fit the slipper. After Ell finds herself getting whisked away by the prince to the palace. One problem though, Ell never attended the ball, nor has she ever met the prince until now, she's just a girl who happens to fit the slipper. What follows is Ell trying to keep up with the lie and trying to fit within this new royal life.

This was a fun and interesting twist to retelling Cinderella. I thought it was interesting to add the detail that Prince Bayard can't remember faces to explain why he wouldn't recognize the girl he met at the ball. I enjoyed the interactions between Ell and Bayard's friend Maxim, who knew from the beginning that Ell was lying. Their interactions are rivals in the beginning, exchanging heated dialogue and threats, evolving as the story progresses and you learn more about Maxim and the secrets he too is hiding. Ell finds herself trying to keep up with the lie or risk being found as a traitor.

This was a fun, quick read and a new take on Cinderella that I enjoyed reading.

I think there was a lot of potential for this story, and I can see how it tried to get there. I think that it maybe tried to combine too many things in the story, and ultimately they all fell flat. The romance story was confusing… to say the least. We were supposed to be happy that Max and Ell ended up together even though he treated her terribly throughout the entire first 80% of the book. It didn’t come across well. The entire story takes place really within less than a week, and you could feel the fast pace. It didn’t line up with the rest of the story and how significant all the pieces were supposed to be. I liked the retelling of Cinderella and the notes to the original version, with the step sisters cutting off pieces of their feet to try and fit into the slipper. It was a nice nod to the Grimm’s version. I think trying to combine the fae, the enemies to lovers, and the classic storytelling just felt like too much. At least for a shorter YA book.

In Liar’s Kingdom, Christine Calella presents the scenario of Cinderella lying about being the girl at the ball. After all, a noble girl abused by her family and forced into the role of a servant…a prince who’s obviously not able to recognize the girl he danced with…if she fit into his “magical” shoe, why wouldn’t she lie to escape? And perpetuate the lie by building a huge fairy tale to cover her tracks?

This retelling of Cinderella has a great premise, made more real by the prince having prosopagnosia or an inability to recognize faces. It also has great, dynamic characters including a morally gray Cinderella, potentially redeemable stepsisters, an evil not-godmother, and a maybe-treacherous heir to the throne. It’s a really fun story.

Liar's Kingdom is a grand adventure that takes the story of Cinderella and throws it on its head. Ell is sick and tired of being the abused drudge of her stepmother. When her foot unexpectedly fits the glass slipper, she lies and says she is the missing girl that Prince Bayard fell in love with at the ball. Once at the castle, pragmatic Ell realizes that there are big troubles in the kingdom and she sets out to make things right. There are fairies, evil machinations behind the royal scenes and unexpected romance waiting. This is a happily ever after book appropriate for all ages.

I received an advance reader copy from Netgalley. All opinions are my own.

What a lovely spin on a classic fairytale! I wasn't always a big fan of the books which spin classic stories, but recently have become a big fan (if it is done correctly). This was such a fun read, and I enjoyed the strife that was added and the political intrigue. The main character was enjoyable, and I enjoyed the change from damsel in distress to female heroine. Would definitely recommend!

In this retelling of Cinderella, Ell is whisked away to live happily ever after by Prince Bayard after fitting perfectly in a glass slipper that was left behind at his ball. There's just one small problem: Ell never went to the ball and has never seen the prince before in her life. In order to escape her stepmother and horrible situation, Ell plays along and goes with the prince. However, once she arrives at court she discovers escape isn't an option, the king is a tyrant, and Prince Bayard's best friend Duke Maxim seems to know that Ell is lying and is also keeping secrets of his own.

This was such an enjoyable read and fun spin on a classic story. I thought that having Ell not be the girl who attended the ball was a great way to change things up. Also having the reason the prince didn't recognize her be because he doesn't recognize faces I thought was clever. The only things I would probably harp on would be the characters of Bayard and Maxim. Bayard is very kind and sweet but very weak. He's also a little fickle which I didn't much care for, but at the same time it made sense with where the story went. Now when it came to Maxim, even though I get what his story arc was supposed to be, I still am not 100% on board with him. They really tried to push how sexy he was, but being a jerk for most of the book docks you points. Now having said all that, this was still a great boo and I would highly recommend it.