Absolutely devoured this, I can't wait for the next book I am bouncing off the walls.
Amy did a fantastic job setting up the story, making her characters lovable and enjoyable.

A Court Bright and Broken was an absolutely surprising great read. This is my first book from this author, and I was excited to read this story. It did not disappoint, and it left me excited to read the next book in this series. I devoured this story from beginning to end and was not ready for that cliffhanger ending with Raewyn, Stellon, King Pontus and then Pharis. Raewyn and Stellon characters will have readers interested in them from their very first meeting and leave them wanting more however, there are more characters in this story that will have readers hooked. I don't want to give much away, but I will say that there was never a dull moment in this story. This slow burn romance story was funny, interesting, has a bit of mystery, suspense, anticipation and ends with a cliffhanger ending that left me wanting to not only read the next book in this series. This is definitely a great start to what I hope will be a fantastic series. I'm definitely looking forward to checking out other completed books/series from this author.

I really enjoyed this! This was everything I like in a romantasy book. i was so excited to have received this and given it a try!!! So thankful

This was an intriguing retelling of Cinderella, where Raewyn, a human, is coerced into attending the ball by a witch, and Prince Stellon is the Elf Crown Prince of the Sixlands, tasked with choosing a wife. The mix of familiar fairy tale elements and a magical, Elven world made for a refreshing and creative premise.

That said, I wish their relationship had been more developed. Some of their choices felt a little puzzling, which made it harder to fully connect with their journey. Even so, there were moments of tension and sweetness that I appreciated, and the story kept me turning pages to see how it all unfolded.

Overall, while it didn’t completely hit the mark for me, it’s still an enjoyable read for fans of fairy tale retellings with a fantasy twist. Definitely worth checking out if you love magical worlds and royal intrigue!

I appreciate the opportunity to read this but I will not be finishing.

I liked the Cinderella vibes but for being categorized as New Adult it read a little YA to me. There also didn't feel like there was a ton of world or character building which is something I love to see in a fantasy.

📚A Court Bright and Broken by Amy Patrick📚

Overall Rating:⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice Rating:🫑

✨Tropes✨
⚔️Forbidden Romance
⚔️He Falls First
⚔️He Falls Harder
⚔️Cinderella Retelling
⚔️One Bed
⚔️”She’s Mine”

✨Initial Thoughts✨
Wow. Just wow. I went into reading this book with the vague notion that I would enjoy this book. I was blown away. I loved this book so much! There’s just something about this particular Cinderella retelling that combined the comfort of a well known story with enough of a fresh twist that really hooked me. This book has single handedly pulled me out of a reading slump.
Raewyn is a human who is on the verge of starvation when she happens to meet and help a young man, Stellon, in a market place. She later finds out that he’s fae when she escorts him home. Stellon invites Raewyn to the royal ball because he’s both captivated by her and grateful for her help. Raewyn isn’t planning on going, but her village’s witch convinces her to go. She is glamoured to look like Elven Fae and attends the ball. However things don’t go quite according to plan.

✨Pros✨
* Logical and mature FMC
* A cinnamon roll of a MMC
* Enjoyable twists to a familiar story
* The ending!! I need the next book now!! I need to know what’s going to happen.
* Romantasy - there was no spice in this, but I feel like the tension and longing more than made up for it. I don’t necessarily need spice in my romantasies as long as there is enough tension which there was.
* Great pacing. For me, I thought the pacing of this story was perfect.

✨Cons✨
* No real notes except I wish I had the next book in front of me.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for the gifted copy and the opportunity to review this book.

A Court Bright & Broken is a fun and sweet NA Romantasy based on Cinderella, set in a kingdom ruled by the Fae. It is well written and fast paced, with a unique twist on the Cinderella story. If you are a fan of NA Romantasy, badly behaved but handsome Faerie princes, and court intrigue, I think you will love this book!

Thank you to NetGalley for the arc!

What a compelling and well fleshed out world Amy Patrick has created in A Court Bright and Broken.

This book starts by introducing us to Stellon, a fae royal who likes to masquerade as a human at a local market and then Raewyn, who is a human girl trying to feed her family and look after her father. In this world humans and fae live in the same kingdom but are in completely different classes. Humans are at the bottom and have limited interaction with the fae. After a chance encounter and an invitation to a royal ball, our two main characters are forced to spend a lot of time together.

This book was entertaining, the writing was compelling and had a really nice setting that I was able to imagine while I was reading along.

Fun tropes and romantic tension left me in a position where I was rooting for Stellon and Raewyn. The pacing was pretty good but I felt like the ending was a little rushed and I could have done with another 30 or so pages.

Very excited to see where the story goes.

This was super fun and a great take on Cinderella. I absolutely love fairy tale retellings and this one hit all the boxes. Great characters and great plot.

4⭐️
🫑 (no explicit scenes. Tension based)

Thank you NetGalley and Oxford South Press for an e-arc of this book!

I was intrigued by the blurb of this story. A Fae retelling of Cinderella but throw in plots, magic, secrets, and betrayals.

We have Raewyn and Stellon, who first meet at a local human village market. Stellon, the fae crown Prince, in disguise to watch and draw the human interactions as a way to escape his royal life. Raewyn, a human, desperate to get money for her family to survive. After helping save his life, Stellon invites Raewyn to the ball being held at the royal estate. The problem? The fae and humans are sworn enemies that despise each other. Raewyn is determined to forget her interaction with the handsome fae but fate has other plans. Desperate to help her family, she turns for the local earthmother (witch) for help. The earthmother however, wants something in return. For Raewyn to attend that ball to complete a task she’ll find out later. Disguised as fae woman, Raewyn attends with naivety, not realizing her task is to assassinate the royal family. The pull between her love for her family and fondness of the not so cruel crown Prince becomes her ultimate battle, not knowing what to do.

I enjoyed this story. Stellon, man is a green flag! He’s artistic, genuine, and rational. I was honestly surprised how well written his character was. He has multiple depths.

I really enjoyed the sibling dynamic between Stellon and his brother and sister. I love when writers actually write good sibling relationships and love instead of the typical jealousy and competition. I’m interested to see where the next book takes them.

My one complaint, is this is marketed as a NA book and it felt more YA to me. I was looking forward to even a little spice (the storyline I do agree wouldn’t call for a ton so I’m ok with that). But, I felt a bit wanting for more when I finished. The connection between the FMC and MMC is there but I needed it to be pushed juuuust a bit more. I’m hoping the next book kicks the spice up more.

Overall, an interesting story and I’m excited to read book 2!

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is a very sweet and fun twist on Cinderella with elves and other types of Fair Folk along with humans. I was pleasantly surprised that it takes place in a sort of alternate history North America where the various territories are divided up amongst the Fae nobility (Marinus/East Coast gang represent). There's a really pretty map at the beginning in full color to show all these divisions, and more illustrations to come later after publication. I'm really curious to see the rest of the art at final release, plus there's a very handy glossary in the back for the terms if you really need it, but I found the magic self-explanatory through context (a GREAT thing, more authors do like that please!)

Stellon's probably going to be everybody's favorite; a sweet artistic type who likes to draw. Who doesn't like that? His brother Pharis might be a harder sell, but I liked the both of them as well as our plucky heroine Raewyn a whole lot. This book is very character driven and dialogue heavy, fortunately Patrick writes really nice dialogue. Courtly romance, a little bit of intrigue, lavish descriptions. This is a really nice book to come out on Valentine's Day and I think fans of series like A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas and The Cruel Prince (The Folk of the Air) by Holly Black will find a lot to love here.

☆ Fun Factor 4/5
☆ Writing Style 4/5
☆ Characters 4/5
☆ Plot 3/5 (not much happened here, it's more about the characters interacting with each other)
☆ Setting 5/5
☆ Feels 3/5

Ultimate verdict ☆☆☆☆/5

☆☆☆Best Character Award goes to:☆☆☆ Stellon!

In Amy Patrick's created a magical and yet realistic world, where Fae and Humans existed with full awareness of one another. The High Fae utilized their influence and "glamours" to exert control over Humans and lower Fae folks. Humans were left to suffer annd fend for themselves. Aside from the Fae, we have characters known as Earthwives…only “humans” who seem to have magic.

Things I enjoyed about this story:

*Well paced throughout the story
*Some of characters felt awkward yet relatable
*Intrigued by the concept of an EarthWife
*Pharis, he was just entertaining and I love the interactions between him and everyone else.

*There was tension between Raewyn and Stellon, but for me they didn’t feel like they should be “together”

*Raewyn blinded by her need to help her family, she walked into a situation fully unprepared.

Stellon (our crowned fae prince) would rather escape his castle and spend time watching humans at the market than fulfill his princely duties. Stellon doesn’t have much of a backbone due to his father’s belittling throughout the years. Along with his “lesser” glamour, Stellon admits he has done shameful things in the past. Stellon did demonstrate a good heart in wanting to help Raewyn (our FMC). However, I felt like he was too sheltered to understand the full extent of the world and the wrongness that happened under his own roof. His obsession/feelings with Raewyn could easily be twisted into a villainous character twist. I’m intrigued to see what happens with him.

Raewyn (Human) has spent her life taking care of her family. She provides food when possible, teaches them to read (an unheard of skill for the lower class), and still shields them from the horrors of the world. Personally, I feel like Raewyn has a strong foundation and I’m interested to see how she develops. She is still young and naïve when it comes to social interactions and actions of the heart. Her inability to hurt others regardless of the threats against her family, showed me the strength of her heart.

Pharis (fae, second son of the king) He is portrayed as his evil and cruel being. Not unfamiliar with the ladies and has quite a reputation. However, you can see when he interacts with his siblings his is truly the protective type. He does strike me as more morally grey than anything, so naturally I want to find out more about him. His actions to protect Raewyn solely because he loved his brother made me love this character more.

I have so many questions after reading this book, I don’t want to give any spoilers away though.

*I’d like to know more about Raewyn’s mother. There were a few things that made me question Raewyn’s background as well as lineage.
*At one point, Pharis communicates with Raewyn in an unorthodox way…which again makes me question not only her but their connection together.
*How did Earthwife’s come to be?

Overall this was a strong start to a series. I look forward to seeing where it goes as well as hopefully getting some answers.