A Court Bright and Broken by Amy Patrick is a charming fantasy romance that blends slow-burn tension, forbidden love, and classic fairy tale elements. The story follows Raewyn, a peasant desperate to save her family, and Stellon, an Elven crown prince. When Raewyn makes a deal with a witch, she’s thrust into Stellon’s world, where their chemistry is instant, even as they resist it.

The book excels in its character dynamics, especially the royal siblings’ genuine bond. Instead of backstabbing, their loyalty to each other adds depth and warmth. The magic system, centered around glamours, is fascinating and integrated seamlessly into the plot, adding layers of intrigue.
Raewyn and Stellon’s slow-burn romance is compelling, though the pacing could be more consistent at times. Their relationship evolves naturally as they move from distrust to respect. Stellon’s flaws make him a well-rounded and intriguing love interest.

While the plot focuses on romance, there are enough twists and political tensions to keep things engaging. The cliffhanger left me eagerly awaiting the next book. Overall, A Court Bright and Broken is an enchanting romantasy ,and I’m excited to see where the next book takes these characters.

Thank you to NetGalley and Publisher for the ARC!

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book! Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book.

I was fortunate to read the ARC of this book through NetGalley, and I do indeed feel lucky! From the beginning Raewyn was an exciting character and as her story intertwined with Stellon’s I found myself eager to read on and know what was coming next! At times I did feel as if the story lacked momentum, but the last 70 pages or so had me glued again, I’m looking forward to the sequel after the way this book has ended! :))

I felt like this had so much promise, and the first 25% I really enjoyed. However after that, it fell a bit flat for me. I could not get on with the MMC at all, and the FMC frustrated me that she just forgot what her motivators were for making a deal in the first place. I persevered to the end… but left feeling disappointed.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

Sinister Cinderella Retelling
Assassination Plot
Forbidden Romance
One Bed


If you enjoy fresh takes on old fairy tales then this is perfect for you.
You won’t find a sweet old fairy godmother in this book but a conniving Earth Mother with dark motives set on the assassination of the royal Elvin family.
This is a quick read that is easy to follow if you are new to fantasy. I can easily recommend this book to romantasy lovers and I have a sneaky suspicion that book two will be even better as the book leaves you on an interesting cliff-hanger.

A huge thank you to NetGalley, and Xpresso Book Tours for a free copy of this e-ARC in exchange for this honest review.

Cinderella, if the prince was the son of a corrupt elven king and Cinderella was at the ball in disguise as part of an assassination plot.
Raewyn and Prince Stellon are both sweet, genuine, and attractive, so of course they develop feelings for each other.
Stellon is adorable but naive for a crown prince. He quickly reaches a point where he would give up everything to be with Raewyn, with no thought for how that would work long-term.
Raewyn has a hard life with nothing but bad options, and she understands too well that her decisions have consequences for everyone she loves.
The author puts her into a difficult situation that gets more and more complicated, and I was curious to see how she would get herself out of it. She really...doesn't? Through no doing of her own, things just happen in such a way that she and her entire family aren't dead by the end of the book.
The book ends in a cliffhanger, and I can't tell where the author will go with the next book except that it feels like Raewyn's mother will be significant and Stellon's younger brother will get to know Raewyn better. Who knows where that will go?

I thought this was very good and I will have to add this to the shop shelves. Thank you for the chance for us to review.

This was such a great romantasy! From the world building to the character development, I really enjoyed it! Yes, it does have similar tropes to other romantasy novels, but that is common! The slow burn romance was done SO well in this book and I loved the FMC and MMC. Very Cinderella-esque with fun twists. Definitely recommend!

If you're new to romantasy books and looking to dip your toe in then this is the book for you!
- Cinderella retelling
-fae/human
-rich boy/poor girl
This is a Cinderella retelling with lots of twists and turns.
It's fast paced with not a lot of world building so it's a fun quick read.
The cliffhanger at the end makes me want the next book in my hands immediately! Can't wait to see how her relationship with Pharis plays out!

I liked the premise of this book and the Cinderella retelling vibes. The main characters were lovely, and the dialogue was quite comical at times. However, it fell short for me, the story line didn’t pull me in like I thought it would have and seemed almost like it was written for as a young adult novel instead of a romantasy novel. The ending was very abrupt and almost seemed rushed compared to the pace of the rest of the novel. The cliffhanger was a little anti-climatic and didn’t make me want to read the next book.

I will be submitting my review on my instagram page and storygraph but do not presently have the links handy!

Thank you netgalley and the publisher for this ARC. It's a good easy read for those just beginning to get into the romantasy genre. It's a Cinderella-like retelling like ACOTAR is to beauty and the beast. I thought it had an interesting premise but the characters and their chemistry just fell flat for me personally.
There wasn't enough banter and character building. I didn’t feel connected to or invested in the characters.

Come enter a forbidden love story that is very Cinderella esque, but instead of a fairy godmother there is a witch with an evil plot and an unsuspecting commoner who is pulled into it.
I couldn’t put it down, I devoured it in a day. I loved Raewyn and Stellon’s characters and following the start of their story. I can’t wait to read what happens next.

Wyn may be a poor human living in a kingdom dominated by a ruthless Elven king, but that doesn't mean she is without pride and honor. So, when she saves a young elf in the marketplace, she refuses his charity and invitation to the approaching elite elven ball, not knowing his true identity. However, with her family on the brink of starvation, she makes a deal with the local village healer. She will attend the ball in return for doing the healer a favor. In exchange, the healer will help her father and make a bountiful garden grow to feed her family. Poor Wyn has no idea what is in store for her or the steep cost the bargain will take.

With subtle hints of Cinderella bleeding through the story, you are left with a cute forbidden romance. Stellon is the sweet prince that you can't help but feel sorry for and love simultaneously. Wyn is the perfect strong FMC, she is the set-in-her ways heroine who thinks she has all the correct answers. Can these two set aside their differences when forced into close proximity, or will the differences between their kind forever keep them apart?

Personally it wasn't for me. It wasn't anything special and I honestly feel like it copied a lot of tropes from popular books. The characters fell flat, the title was unoriginal and the plot was so copy paste I couldn't stand it. Overall this book felt like a money grab, although I can see how some people would like it if they wanted books that were exactly like others that they liked

Really wanted to like this but sadly it was far to simple for me.
Cinderella re telling with really basic and predictable plot.
However I'm annoyed because actually it could have been fantastic. The bones were there to build on and create a real fantasy realm with drama and forboding and really deep characters but instead the author went down the easy route of telling us rather than showing us the story and just keeping it basic.
I won't be reading the next one however if you like cozy fantasies and Fairytale re telling you'll probably live this! I am more of a high fantasy, tension building, twisty and deep story kind of girl and was hoping this would fit into that xatagory- sadly/ regretfully it fell miles short.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

A fun fantasy romance based on Cinderella. It was enjoyable and fun. I did find some of the fairytale stuff a bit over the top and I wish there was a bit more world building. I'm curious to see what happens in book 2!

WAIT WHAT. No no no no no no no no no. I need book two asap.

Also I knew it hahahaha this book…. It was good and kept me hooked except for two things 1) the Cinderella aspects were a bit cheesy and took it down a notch for me. I even thought maybe it was YA at one point and 2) Stellon is just cheesy himself and I honestly feel sorry for him.

Alllllllsssssooooooo. I have suspicions about the King’s bonded mate. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I struggled to finish this one.
I honestly, really wanted to enjoy this, but it just fell flat for me.
The premise sounded so interesting, but I felt that the characters lacked depth, the world-building needed to be expanded on, and the writing could have been more engaging.
Overall, an okay read.

From the first pages, I was immersed in this Cinderella inspired romantasy. This story is very easy to dive into, because there’s little world building in the actual story. There’s more information about the world at the end of the book.

I really like the unique magic system (glamour) and the dual POV. This endearing story has forbidden love, treason and of course faes, so if you are looking for a new enchanting romantasy, this is the book for you!

I received an ARC copy from Net Galley, but the review is my own. This is more of a 3.5 rounded up because of the FMC. This is a Cinderella-esque retelling between a human female and a fae male. I loved how strong Raewyn, our FMC was. She was fiercely independent and a stark advocate for eliminating the tithes that keep humans destitute and impoverished to their elven lords. She doesn’t take any kind of excuses from Stellon, the MMC, to his blindness of the conditions.

Stellon though an absolute cinnamon roll of a MMC, was super flawed in allowing his father to impose the tithes and be complicit with how humans are treated. He goes and watched them all the time yet he doesn’t see their suffering? I found the at a bit hard to believe and I love that Raewyn calls him out on it.

Beyond that, there is magic, a Cinderella feel, and racial divides that makes the story compelling to read. I did enjoy my time reading it despite Stellon’s ignorance. I will definitely read the next one.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/7339014969