Ashes to Glass

by Carmen Black

One upon a time there was -
A charming prince.
Two wickedly cruel step brothers.
And a pair of magical glass slippers.
But this isn’t the story you know.
Because in my story, love comes at a price.
And when it comes time for that price to be paid,
I find out that the prince, as well as my step brothers, all want a piece.
A piece of me.

Genres: Fantasy, Dark, Retellings, Enemies To Lovers, Why Choose, Fantasy Romance, Romance

362 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 3, 2023

Reviews

[Jessica G · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okayyyy. So I really liked it. Well, I liked most of it, was not a fan of the reverse harem when it got to the point because of the set up around it. So I was kinda okay with the first encounter that included Henrik and Charles because I could kinda see that they were competing to see who would make her orgasm… men… ya know? And then the part where they basically Eiffel Tower her, I can kinda see it. Especially after there was a mention of Henrik being voyeuristic.

At first when the penetrative part started, Charles begging to let him fuck her, I was like “okay, he already said he cannot marry her, so it’s like his goodbye” which is something even Rosella’s thoughts mentioned. And then Henrik saying “only if Rosella says it’s okay,” I kinda swooned a bit. Then Henrik was watching for a bit before deciding to join in the tower 😉. Which makes sense at this point as we find out Henrik enjoys being a voyeur.

Now, I wanna go back to where it was kinda set up to get to this point and why I wasn’t too much of a fan with the foursome after this…

The set up:

So basically, it starts with Rosella being locked in a cellar during Charles’ (the prince) visiting her house for a party. Charles and Henrik are apparently besties. Rosella ends up escaping the cellar and gets caught then locked in her father’s study. Turns out Charles was locked in as well as he was hiding out in there. This was a good start to her thing with Charles as they got to know each other and found they have a lot in common. Then Henrik and Edmund (the stepbrothers) come in to taunt her but stop in their tracks when they see Charles is there then they take him out with them back to the party.

Charles leaves a note for Rosella, saying they can’t be together even though he has feelings for her. I love this set up, and I thought it would be interesting as a reverse harem. I figured it would be maybe a 1 time thing with Charles and the step bros…

So then after this, Edmund’s turn… so I knew from the beginning that Edmund wanted to fuck. The way she describes his body language as well as the mischievous smirk and how he followed her around and sometimes seemed a bit concerned. But also, he was SUCH a dick. She never mentioned his looks or any kind of attraction. It was always annoyance and hatred there. So I figured, this wouldn’t happen and it would be a shared experience between the besties….?

The set up for Henrik went like this: Rosella sees a weird creature in the window that called her name so she freaks out and runs to Henrik to tell him about it, (there was a whole thing about livestock dying and she kept trying to convince him it wasn’t a wolf) Henrik thinks she’s crazy and then loud noise startled her and she jumps in his arms. The way he held onto her waist and the reaction after this… I was like “okay, Henrik is attracted to her but seems like it might be more than that”. Rosella kinda notices the intimacy of the way he held her, and how he went to check out what she saw, then the way he was looking at her in the morning after he was exhausted from being on the lookout all night. She noticed that. Then he dropped the teacup she handed him when their fingers touched, becoming embarrassed/angry and storming out after it… typical he-has-feelings-for-her move.

From there, Rosella started noticing and mentioning how handsome he is and mentioning some foreign-to-her (horny) feelings for Henrik. Henrik’s actions toward Rosella also change. He becomes softer with her. And that part where she begs him not to sell her horse saying she would do ANYTHING. He was like “I want you alone in my bed” I was like I FUCKING KNEW IT!! His reaction to her obvious discomfort when in his bedroom made me actually swoon (the bar is that low), he didn’t let her go through with it, and kicked her out instead of SAing her. Then he acted so embarrassed after.

She bumps into Charles when they go to the capital to sell some shit and Charles whisks her away then takes her home hours later, later we find out that while step mom and Edmund went home, Henrik stayed at the capital desperately looking for Rosella. As in, she only mattered to him and not the others. Charles and Rosella kiss. Edmund mentions that Henrik will not be happy that she kissed the prince. And I started to realize that Edmund knew Henrik has feelings for her 🫢!!

Edmund and step mom wanna punish her, Edmund takes her to the stables and insinuates that he’s gonna SA her. Henrik steps in, Edmund tries to convince him by spilling she kisses Charles. Henrik locks her up. (They apparently like doing that).

The best part of the plot happens with the ball and the fairy godmother and the glass slippers which is honestly my fav part of the book, aside from the Henrik/Rosella dynamic. During the ball, glass slippers change Rosella’s face to where she’s unrecognizable, Charles, who apparently loves her doesn’t recognize her and neither do the step family. Henrik asks her to dance then she mentions how his face changes.

After the ball, this is where I started shipping Henrik and Rosella. He KNEW IT WAS HER because of her signature scent (Fire and earthy smell), and many of her mannerisms and nervous habits. That’s where I was like this guy has loved her for a lot longer than the startled jumping in his arms thing.

When, Edmund tells her he knows it’s her at the next ball, because of how Henrik reacts to her. The he tells her Henrik is in love with her. Bruhhh, then Henrik confesses his feelings for her and they make out, about to fuuuck til they’re interrupted. Soooo all this leads to a whole feud between Charles and Henrik. Which leads us to the Eiffel Tower, which again, rivalry to see who gets her to cum.

I thought that would be a one time thing, since Charles makes it seem as tho it can’t happen again as he can’t marry her and I felt she should end up with Henrik, not a reverse Harem. The rest and how she ends up fucking all three of them just didn’t sit well with me. Like how was she okay with Edmund if there was no attraction. She kept fucking Henrik without the others, while he kept repeating that he loves her, Rosella only ever said “I love you” to Charles, but not once do we see her fuck Charles alone. Nope. Just Henrik. See where my confusion comes from?

The sexual encounter where Edmund gets added was just so weird and did not make any sense to me.

The plot was good. The romance with Charles should’ve ended at “we can’t get married, sorry” and it should’ve been a romance with Henrik, instead. That man knew her better than she knew herself. Then for her to end up Marrying Charles anyway? And the. Fucking Henrik right before the ceremony, IN HER WEDDING DRESS!! He’s still telling her he loves her during this, does she say it back? No. Does she mention having these feelings for him? No. But she fucks him alone only? Her future husband only gets fucked in a threesome/foursome? You’ve got to be kidding me! Edmund really shouldn’t have been added to the mix because it doesn’t make sense with the build-up and how much she was just not attracted to him.

I kinda wish those parts weren’t in the book, it would have been better without the foursome and just the one-time threesome. Or better yet, just the confession from Henrik that should’ve ended with only them fucking and getting together. Her father played barely any role and should’ve died so Henrik and Rosella could marry and live happily ever after. That’s how it should’ve gone. Plus the whole plot twist with the fairy godmother and the shoes. All the non-romantic/sexual parts, were great, plus the exclusively Henriella sex scenes.

[Bee · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love Cinderella stories, always have, since I was a kid. Rosella’s story pulled me into the fantasy from the first page. The story was told from Rosella’s point of view. Her thoughts and emotions were clearly on display throughout her trials as the oppressed stepdaughter. She did pull at my heart strings. I found the twisted retelling with stepbrothers and a very strange fairy godmother refreshing and interesting until it became disappointing.

I was pulled out of the fantasy when Rosella had her first intimate encounter with Charles, the prince, and Henrik, her stepbrother. At that point, it started to read more like a parody. I was not able to wrap my head around the fact that Rosella was supposed to be an innocent and unsophisticated young woman when this happened. I was surprised that she went from innocent ingénue to being down with anything she was asked to do. At first, the two men were pitted against each other as if in a competition, then that was glossed over to leave us with three male characters (Henrik’s brother, Edmond, was added to the mix) without much, if any, character development. Charles and Henrik were supposed to be friends. That relationship was not explored. It became a reverse harem story where Rosella instantly became the shared love interest between three men whose opinions, wants and desires were never explored. Any shared intimacy was superficial, meaningless and rather underwhelming.

Reverse harem stories can be tricky to pull off. How do you get a bunch of possessive men to want to share the one object of their desire like it’s no big deal? And in this story, how do you get a prince to want to share his one true love with his friends without worrying who’s baby she is going to end up having when that happens?

This story had a lot of potential. I wish the author had taken more time to develop the male characters. I liked the stepbrother twist and the weird fairy godmother twist.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Rebekah Doss · Rating 4 out of 5]

I went into the story fully expecting a rehashing of the usual ways a Cinderella retelling goes, there are only so many ways to spice up the same base story. However, that being said, the unique and creative way that the classic story was approached was interesting. It sucked me into the story and I was thoroughly looking forward to finding out what was going on.

The twists made were refreshing. For it to be a why choose/reverse harem was also done pleasantly - for the most part.

There wasn't much of a bridge made to make the stepbrothers, or at least one of them, seem legitimate. They're horrible, then the one is shown as maybe not being as horrible as it appeared. But, the other was horrible and then made to believe he actually cared for her - there wasn't anything to get to that point, other than basically being told.

The prince, when our Cinderella is at the ball - it's hard to believe that he genuinely loved her when he's groping a stranger (to him). It's brought up later, but not actually addressed.

So, while I did enjoy the story and think it's a good read for lovers of retellings - especially why choose mixed-in - the romantic portion didn't seem as smooth or convincing as it could have been.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Holly · Rating 4 out of 5]

liked it

Fun story. Did feel like the conversion of evil stepbrothers to lovers was a little abrupt, more so with Edmund, since the step family was so cruel for so long. Stepmother was a cruella de vil character. Insta love (but not) with the prince felt a little golden retriever ish but still good. Interesting choice (in a good way) in the villain and how the shoes played in.

[Heather Kruczek · Rating 5 out of 5]

First time reading a book from this author and I am hooked! I've read a few retellings of Cinderella before, but this is by far my favorite dark version yet.

Rosella lives with her wickedly awful stepmother and her two cruel stepbrothers. She catches the attention of the prince at one of her stepmother's parties, and she dreams of the next moment she might have with him. One day, misfortune falls upon the family and Rosella is forced to live the life of a mistreated servant. The royal family hosts a week of festivities for the prince to choose a wife. Rosella desperately wants to go see the prince, but her stepmother is a step ahead in preventing Rosella's attendance. That first night, Rosella is given the magical chance to go to the ball and dance with her one true love, the prince. She finally realizes more than one man has his eyes set on her. The use of the glass slippers sets off a chain of events where Rosella questions her feelings for the men in her life, her naivety with the fairy godmother, and what she wants if she could have her HEA.

This book has the perfect balance of RH spice, character development, and an engaging story. I felt emotionally invested in Rosella and the tragic life she was enduring. The stepmother's constant cruel words and actions will have you hoping she gets her karma.

I cannot wait for the next Wickedly Grim story!

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ashes to Glass is a Cinderella retelling and the first book I've read from this author. It's a darker retelling, so you should be aware of your triggers. They aren't too bad, but everyone is different.

Rosella is the daughter of a wealthy merchant. She lives with her father, stepmother, and two stepbrothers, Henrik and Edmund. Her father is often gone due to being a traveling merchant, leaving her with her vicious stepmother and cruel stepbrothers. Despite being part of Rosella's "family," they treat her terribly because she is below their station. Henrik and Edmund often ignore her presence and talk down to her. When their livestock starts dying from wolf attacks, Henrik ignores Rosella's claims that the attacker isn't a wolf.

During a party held at their manor, Rosella is asked to retrieve more wine from the cellar but ends up locked inside. She manages to climb out of the window, though she dirties her dress in the rain and mud. Before she is able to sneak upstairs to change, Rosella's stepmother finds her and locks her in the office. It's in her father's office where she meets Charles, the prince. They become enamored with one another, but also understand nothing can come of their relationship as Charles must marry someone worthy of his station... and a merchant's daughter is not that someone.

Throughout the story, Henrik is hot and cold with Rosella. There are times where he says intentionally cruel things and others where we see a softer side of him. Their relationship easily fits in the enemies-to-lovers trope. Edmund, on the other hand, steadily taunts Rosella from the moment his character is introduced. He begins to call her Cinderella when he sees her with cinder ash on her face.

Despite having three male characters, Ashes to Glass didn't feel like a why choose romance. It felt like a menage. Charles and Rosella develop a relationship, although it's based mostly on a handful of interactions. It's very close to insta-love with those two. Henrik and Rosella's relationship develops slowly, and I actually appreciated the growth I saw in Henrik. I do wish we had gotten more of his backstory and why he is the way he is with his mother. Edmund doesn't appear to show much interest in Rosella outside of his taunts. He has probably two moments where he seemed like he wanted more, but that was it. He admitted to wanting what his brother wants, and his brother wants Rosella... not quite the romance there. Edmund wasn't a likeable character for me. I could've done without him.

I absolutely enjoyed the twist with Cinderella's shoes and her "fairy godmother." It's so easy to spoil the story when talking about this, so I'm going to refrain... but really, chef's kiss with that twist.

[Kristina Waible · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very dark retelling of Cinderella. Forget any of the other ones you have read. It’s very hard not to spoil it for you. Even the blurb doesn’t really prepare you. Take Rosella a girl whose father is in the beginning a wealthy merchant. Who remarries Rosella hopes to finally have a mother. Whet she gets is pure capital E evil. Thru have a party for the prince who has come back to town. The step mother makes sure Rosella doesn’t get to meet him or so she thinks. Locking her in the cellar rosella crawls out a window gets caught and is locked in her fathers study. Where the Prince is hiding out from all the girls throwing themselves at him. As they talk it seems they have lots in common with the exception of their station in life. He tells her he hopes they will run into each other again. Rosellas is torture. Her step brothers Henrik and Edmund treat her horrible. Their mother raised them to look down on those if less station. Funny since without her fathers money they wouldn’t have all they have. She is treated like one of the servants. Add on that sone one or something is killing the live stock she sees the creature one evening in the kitchen window and it calls her name. When her father comes home after a disaster happens with his last purchases to make money go fine with a ship and he is Ill money gets tight. More work is out on Rose as staff is fired. No one conduits her as they sell her things. The Prince sends a invite to a ball that last a week. He even sends a dress for her to wear which somehow gets outside and the wind gets mud in it and it’s torn so instead of getting to go her step mother gives her a list of chore You winder where the fairy Godmother is. There isn’t one. But there is someone who resembles her mother who she has to invite into the house notice has to be invited in to enter. Who gives her the glass slippers. They transform her dress hair etc. by glitter dust circling her. Next she turns a wagon into a carriage. The woman tells her she has two rules shoes must come off before midnight and no one else can wear them. She goes to the ball. The prince is drawn to her but doesn’t know who she is. Good thing since the step mother doesn’t either. I will not go farther in the story better for you to see it unfold except I will say even at the end I detest Edmund I received a arc copy for a honest review

[Krista Rose · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good lord I don't know what to say about this book but I really did like it haha.

So I read a few reviews here before listening to this book so I had a pretty good idea what was going on. I do have to say that I agree to a point with what I did read.

This is a taboo dark why choose retelling of Cinderella.

The story starts off with our Cinderella locked in the wine cellar by her stop mother or step brothers. She has to crawl out of a window ruining her dress in the rain and mud. When she gets to the kitchen she is trying to sneak her way to her room when her step mother sees her and drags her to her fathers office locking her in there. Unbeknown to her step mother the Prince was there hiding from the party that was going on in her home.

From there a lot of things happen.
Her step mother is horrible, I mean truly horrible. I've never like a character so much in my life.
Her two step brothers were complete trash.
The youngest brother was just vile. He only cared about causing Ella pain and using her.
The oldest brother, he was still trash but had like a moment when he started to care about her but he was going back and fourth with his feelings.
The prince, well he was the prince haha. He cared about her but theirs was an instant type of love of course.

Things got spicy near the middle of the book and after that things went pretty fast with the storyline. The one thing I didn't expect was the twist with the fairy god mother. Now that was really and the new take on her glass slippers.

All in all I give this a 3.75 star.
I liked this book and I really wish there was more of a back story with the brothers because I would have loved to know why they acted the way that they did. I feel like there was a good story behind them and I wish that was explored a little bit more.

I still stand my opinion of the mother haha. If there was ever a time that i wished death on a character in a book, she would be at the top of the list lol.

Thank you Scarlett Lantern Publishing for the audiobook

[Maria Martins · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was the first book by Carmen Black that I've read and it took me on quite the journey. Ashes to Glass is a dark retelling of Cinderella with a wicked twist, so you should be aware of your triggers. They aren't too bad, for me, but everyone is different.
Instead of wicked step-sisters, Rosella has two wicked step-brothers, Henrick and Edmund, who torment her daily along with her evil step-mother.
I really liked the plot and the storyline but the personality and interaction between the characters had many flaws:
Rosella was frustratingly naive at times and her logic to do things was really cringe sometimes
For me, a believable RH needs to establish a bond between all its members and this book didn’t manage to do that. Henrick was the closest to being a fully formed character with some depth, Charles and Edmond only existed in the story to say that it was a RH book, there’s no depth in them, no personality at all.
The relationship between Rosella and Henrik seemed to be the focus and was developed the most. Charles and Rosella meet and are instantly in love despite knowing essentially nothing about one another. Edmond just kind of shows up at the end and decides he wants her too.
Also her father, whose relationship with Rosella was very close despite him working a lot, he doesn't even go to his own daughter's wedding? He was a very poorly utilised character and not developed at all.

The Narration:
I enjoyed the narrator’s voice, it was pleasant to listen to. The biggest issue was her not always using the correct character voice for dialogue. She would frequently use the Rosella voice for the male characters, which quickly became confusing.

Overall it was a very interesting take on Cinderella that will keep you entertained from beginning to end, but could have been developed a lot more.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Serena · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.75/5⭐
4/5 🌶

This was the first book by Carmen Black that I've read and it took me on quite the journey. Ashes to Glass is a dark retelling of Cinderella with a wicked twist.

With the classic fairy tale Cinderella is tormented by 2 horrible stepsisters and a extremely cruel vein and greedy stepmother this retelling Rosella aka Cinderella has two cruel and bullying Step Brothers and an absolute horrid stepmother her father is still alive but is often gone because of his travels for work as a merchant buying finding and selling Goods to provide for his family.

Take what you know about the classic fairy tale Cinderella Fold It Up stick it in a box and set it off to the side because you're going to go on a wild dark and twisted ride with this story.

Rosella is a Spitfire but also is completely tormented by her family especially when her father is gone her stepmother diminishes the coffers of the family by throwing extravagant parties to try to fit in Rosella is the classic Cinderella neglected verbally and physically abused stepdaughter and it shows on paper all the emotions that she's going through the confusion the confliction the way Henrick stares at her with different emotions in his eyes Edmund torments her and has a dark Sinister side and when she meets Prince Charles there is Sparks there even though she didn't know who he was at first this story text Cinderella to a whole new level the tropes that Cameron threw into this story are incredible you have Forbidden Love dark bully Romance reverse harem suspense and Supernatural Romance all wrapped up in a nice package.

If you're interested in a dark Twisted retelling of your beloved fairy tales this would be one to read of Cinderella please check all of your trigger warnings because there's a few!

What Fairytale Dark Retelling will Cameron Black come out with next??

[Lacey · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

This dark RH retelling, is an interesting and unique take on the Cinderella story everyone knows. Overall I enjoyed my time experiencing this story. There was a lot of potential. I just didn’t feel like the execution was where it needed to be for me to rate it higher. It was certainly a compelling read, and I was invested in the story very early on.

Rosella was frustratingly naive at times.The male characters could have been fleshed out a little better. Henrick was the closest to being a fully formed character with some depth, Charles and Edmond were pretty one dimensional.

We spent a decent amount of time exploring the relationships between Rosella and the servants that would have been better spent building the relationships between Rosella and her love interests. A believable RH needs to establish some kind of bond between all of its members. This book didn’t quite manage that. The relationship between Rosella and Henrik seemed to be the focus, and was developed the most. Charles and Rosella meet and are instantly in love despite knowing essentially nothing about one another. Edmond just kind of shows up at the end and decides he wants her too.

The spicy scenes were hot, but it was a little jarring how they would come about at times. It was like a switch flipped in Rosella and suddenly she was so attracted to the men regardless of everything we know about her and their relationships up to that point.

The Narration:
I enjoyed the narrator’s voice, it was pleasant to listen to. The biggest issue was her not always using the correct character voice for dialogue. She would frequently use the Rosella voice for the male characters, which quickly became confusing.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Latrice Patterson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I listened to this by audiobook and I don't mind that it was one narrator reading all the parts, I liked that she tried to change her voice between characters but I felt that she missed up the voices sometimes.

The story line was pretty good. Rosella lives with her stepmom and two stepbrothers, who treat her like crap. In the start of the book the Prince comes to visit and her stepmom locks her away but she ends up escaping, but then her stepmom finds her again and locks her in her father's study not knowing that the Prince is in there. The Prince likes her right away and she likes him too.

Rosella's father finally comes home from his trip and tells his family that they did not make the money that he though he would, due to losing merchandise. They are now poor. In the meantime, the stepmom starts poisoning him with tea, which Rosella founds out about but it takes her a long time to do something about it. Since they are now poor they fire almost all their staff but the stepmom doesn't know who to live as a poor woman and is still spending money and her sons allow her to do so.

They all get invited to the Prince's Ball but of course the stepmom sabotages Rosella. Crying at her mother's headstone, the "ghost" of her mother appears and gives her magic slippers telling her that she can go to the Ball but she can not let anyone wear the shoes and she has to take them off at midnight. She goes to the Ball and dance with the Prince and she doesn't know who she is but her stepbrothers know its her. Oh the stepbrothers are in love with her too!

Anyways, founds out the mom ghost isn't really her mother, but some type of monster! Her stepmom steals her magic shoes and they have to defeat the monster at the end and it ends with a 4some!! What an HEA!!!

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Dia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a dark reverse harem Cinderella story, where all the characters were flawed in one way or another.

The dark tone of the story, with the magic and all, was very intriguing. I like how detailed the narrative was — we get to see all that chores Rosella had to do, for example, and that really helped me feel for her character. Hence why, personally, I felt like the male characters didn't deserve her.
I don't like how the stepbrothers treated her, letting her stepmother ordering her around like a servant and turning a blind eye to it all. And Rosella was very naive and acted like a doormat too — essentially being way too kind, but maybe that's necessary to set the foundation for the fairy tale magic after all...

The characters, they were flawed but also very complex at the same time. Henrik turning a blind eye to what happened to Rosella but showed tender affection at times; Edmund had a more cruel streak and seemed heartless compared to his brother but somehow also protective at times; Charles, kind and brave but also fickle at times. I wouldn't list them all out but it's the same with the other characters too. Somehow, it's what made this an interesting read for me.
The ending had a decent happy end for all characters, even the stepmother, believe it or not — or it might just be me thinking the stepmother didn't get enough retribution after everything that happened so that counts as a decent happy end for her to me.
Give this a try if you love Cinderella and like to analyse stories like you're doing a literature analysis assignment like me.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Becky Dreyer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Carmen Black did a fantastic job of retelling Cinderella in a dark and twisted way. Instead of wicked step-sisters, Rosella has two wicked step-brothers, Henrick and Edmund, that torment her daily along with her evil step-mother. With her father away most of the time for work, Rosella has no one to turn to for help as even her friends, the servants, will not stand up for her for fear of punishment or being fired. By chance one evening Rosella comes face to face with Prince Charles without even realizing it until it's too late, however the Prince finds her charming even though she is considered a lowly servant instead of the daughter of a merchant. As conditions continue to worsen with her father returning and becoming ill, the mysterious creature that keeps killing the livestock, the servants being let go and the harsh treatment she receives becoming even worse, Rosella is desperate for a change and a chance of happiness even if only for a day. Rosella is so desperate that, unbeknownst to her, she befriends a demon that gives her magical glass slippers that transform her into the most beautiful woman. The slippers come with conditions that unfortunately are not met due to circumstances beyond Rosella's control. The story takes an unexpected twist and turn, I loved every second of it. Can't wait to see what Carmen comes out with next!.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Shellie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ashes to Glass, a wickedly grim tale by Scarlet Lantern Publishing, presents a twisted retelling of the classic Cinderella story. Set in a world where love comes at a price, this enchanting narrative introduces readers to a captivating cast of characters.

In this version, there is a charming prince, two wickedly cruel stepbrothers, and a pair of magical glass slippers. However, the familiar tale takes an unexpected turn as the protagonist, whose voice guides us through the story, realizes that love in her world comes with a heavy cost. As the plot unfolds, she discovers that not only the prince but also her stepbrothers desire a piece of her, metaphorically and perhaps even literally.

Scarlet Lantern Publishing expertly weaves a dark and alluring tale, delving into themes of desire, sacrifice, and the price one must pay for love. The author's imaginative storytelling draws readers into a world where the lines between good and evil blur, creating a sense of anticipation and intrigue.

Ashes to Glass presents a unique twist on the Cinderella story, inviting readers to explore the complexities of love and the sacrifices one may be forced to make. Prepare to be enthralled by this wickedly grim tale that challenges conventional notions of fairy tales and offers a captivating and thought-provoking reading experience.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Courtney Humphreys · Rating 4 out of 5]

This review is for the audiobook version.

Audio experience: there were a number of places where the narrator modulated their voice for certain characters, but used the wrong pitch for the character. This made listening to conversations difficult. Also there were certain places where the narrator used the wrong word for the context (such as down instead of gown, price instead of prince, etc). I don’t know if third is a result of typos in the text or if it was just misread, but when you’re listening without a reference text, it can kind of trip you up. When reading, your brain can rather quickly substitute the correct word without doing much to disrupt your processing, but when listening it is more difficult.

Story: I wasn’t exactly sure how I felt about this story until the end. I say this first because it takes a very good portion of the book before the good stuff happens. But once it did I wasn’t mad at it. I read other reviews that either didn’t enjoy or understand the relationship dynamic between the FMC and her RH, but I thought it worked. The thing about the RH stories I’ve most enjoyed is that the F has unique and different relationships with each of her M. So what if her relationship with Edmond from her relationship with Henrik and her relationship with Charles is even more so? It should be.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Rachael M · Rating 3 out of 5]

I needed a palette cleanser after reading a splatterpunk book. Judge me if you wish lol I went into this knowing it would be smutty but not expecting much of the story. I really liked the fairy godmother re-imagining even if it wasn't very fleshed out and the cave collapsing on her seemed random and TOO coincidental. I also liked the brothers characters even though there wasn't enough background with them. They all hate each other and then suddenly they're b*ning?? There wasn't enough development there. Especially with Edmund who was straight up mean all the time.

Sometimes the writing didn't make sense in the s*x scenes which I know you're like, who cares? But it distracted from the story. If someone just came in you and then you're immediately sitting on their face after then they're definitely getting j*zz dripped on them. Lol And sometimes the f*replay parts with all three of them was disjointed, like he's touching her t*tties but the other guy is also??? The same words were used every time- batted hands away, gripped my bottom and other phrases I can't remember now. You can use Google for free and look up synonyms! There were at least 5 editing errors in there- multiple commas, misspelled words....

I'm not hard to please, but this didn't do it for me like I hoped it would!

[Taylor Pratt | The Bashful Bibliophile · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've been reading *spicy* retellings of fairy tales lately! So when I saw a Cinderella retelling I was stoked.

This one... this one felt a bit strange to me. Don't get me wrong - it was a quick, fairly easy read... things just happened a little strangely imho.

At the end of the book my thought was that was... weird


So - Rosella lives in her childhood mansion with her Father (who is almost never home) evil Stepmother, and her mean step brothers Henrik and Edmund.

and from here we are going to have spoilers...

Turns out Henrik loves Rosella and the prince Charles loves Rosella - and then Charles catches Henrik ... kissing and heavily petting Rosella.. so the two boys get into an argument and decide "oh em gee why don't we just both start making out with her and see who does it best." and we learn that Edmund loves Rosella because Henrik does...



Whatever. I'm not mad. It's not a super deep, "makes you want to throw the book across the room because it hurts your feelings" read - but it's quick, cute and fun.

[Victoria · Rating 2 out of 5]

I know it's supposed to be a dark romance but you know... it should still be a romance. One of the love interest shouldn't even be one. He (Edmund) is absolutely not redeemable, he doesn't even show he supposedly likes the FMC until the very end (the last two chapters maybe?) and suddenly we're supposed to forget everything vile he did to the FMC? Hell no! The other love interest (Henrik) is barely passable and the third (Charles) insta-loves her after barely having interacted with her and compared to the other two appears in the story so little there is basically no development of an actual relationship with the FMC.

The other part of the plot with the stepmother basically has no resolution. While she becomes disabled (because she stole the magical shoes) there is no other consequence of her actions to basically everyone in the story. The father of the FMC doesn't even learn the truth! Like... what?! What's then the point of having him alive in this retelling of Cinderella? Also Rosella/Cinderella is in plain words a Mary Sue.

Frankly the plot is meh. Only in the last third it becomes slightly interesting but still not enough to convince me to read the next installments.

[Ellie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was the first time I've read a Cinderella why choose or dark romance. So I was excited to see how it was going to be twisted darkly. And the why choose I figured would come in a different way and it did.

Our FMC Rosella lives with her awful stepmother, and her equally jerkish stepbrothers. While working at a party her stepmother throws, she attracts the attention of a prince, while shes taking a reprieve from the party itself. When something goes wrong she is forced to live as a servant and treated poorly. Unbeknownst to her the prince that she met briefly is the same one who's family throws festivities for a week to him to find a wife.

After her stepmother thwarts her plans to go to the ball, she is handed a magical chance, with a few rules. The glass slipper must remain with Rosella, and the magical effects will wear off at midnight for her.

Unfortunately, not everything is as it seems, and things go a bit crazy, quickly. Rosella has a few things to clean up and figure out, with the help of 3 possible love interests. Crazy.

I wish the ending was a bit more extended, I wanted to see a little bit more of her HEA.

[Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ashes to Glass is a retelling of Cinderella, with a few changes. This is a rather dark retelling of the story. This is a reverse harem that includes the handsome prince, and instead of evil step sisters, we have step brothers. Rosella is the daughter of a wealthy merchant father, who is away alot for work. Leaving her with her evil step mother and step brothers. As money problems start affecting the family due to bad business deals by her father, her step family wanting to keep the life they are accustomed to, start selling their possessions, including mementos of Rosella's deceased mother. Of course Rosella meets the prince, and her step mother does everything she can to keep her from seeing him again, but this story had a dark fairy godmother that "helps" Rosella, and the reason for helping is not like the other stories. Very interesting take on Cinderella that will keep you entertained from beginning to end!

[R · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fairy tales are my absolute favorite trope/sub genre of fantasy. There were two problems I had with this book. First, the first half of the book was very slow and hard to drag through. After that it picked up and was a fun read. Second, one of the bedroom partners felt very forced and only in there to make it a Why Choose book. There were also a few questions that were never really answered but majorly affected the story and some cringe-y, that shouldn't happen that way, moments during the bedroom scenes.

Now what I did like because there were things to like about this book. I absolutely adore that the father is still alive in this book! I also absolutely adore that there is a little bit of a darker aspect to the ending of the story similar to the Brother's Grimm version. Overall it wasn't a horribly done version and I would recommend it to those who love the fairy tale retellings.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Sydnie Nova · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love retellings and was excited to read Ashes to Glass, a creative, why-choose, reimagining of the classic Cinderella story. While many aspects of the story were thoroughly unique and told in an interesting way, I found it a little difficult to get my head fully into the story at the start. It began so slow and much of the drama and romantic aspects didn't take off until well into the story. While some parts flowed naturally and fit well with the character's personalities, certain aspects of the story felt a bit forced. The writing did a great job of setting up great visualizations of scenes and world building, but the characters motives weren't as flushed out. All in all, it was a decent retelling, but one I felt could have moved quicker and been more clearer with character's intentions and feelings/personalities. I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Sue · Rating 4 out of 5]

A unique and dark spin on Cinderella. Rosella lives with her greedy stepmother and her two adult sons. Her father travels for business, leaving them home to await his return. Rosella meets the prince, and feels there is hope for their relationship. Step mother does what she does. One of the brothers takes every chance to torment her. The other stepbrother is selling off everything to support greedy stepmother’s lifestyle. A week long celebration occurs for the prince, where Rosella shows up wearing glass slippers. Overtime, she is developing feelings for one stepbrother, while still lusting after the prince. The story was entertaining, and I enjoyed it. I felt the narration was lacking. The reading was smooth, but there was no distinction between the voices. The different tones used slipped between all the characters.
I received a free copy of this audiobook and am voluntarily leaving my review

[Jamie Bee · Rating 1 out of 5]

When Is Dark Too Dark??

Audiobook Review:
I've been enjoying speculative fiction audiobooks lately, so when this one came along at a book review site, I thought I would check it out. Unfortunately, I just didn't enjoy it. I actually stopped listening a couple of hours in because I thought the retelling was simply too dark. It was just minute after minute of a depressing story of Cinderella who is treated horribly by everyone except for the prince, whom she meets only briefly at the start of the book. I got several hours into the audiobook, but he didn't show up again in princely form. Things just went from bad to worse to way worse, and I just saw little merit in continuing to listen to this story of someone who's just treated so awfully. If you have more of a stomach for very dark retellings of fairy tales with little hope or light, you might enjoy this audiobook more than I did.

I received a promo code for this audiobook, but that did not affect my review.

[Booklover83 · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m am going to review the story and the audio separately. For the story, it is like a dark retelling of Cinderella and it sucked me in. I enjoyed the characters…well most the time I wanted to drop kick her step brothers and the step mother is a real piece of work, but the were all well developed. I didn’t see the twist of the glass slippers coming but I thought that was such a great addition. If there were more in this series of retellings by the author I would definitely read them.

The audio recording of the book was not good, the narrator would practically shout parts that did not call for it, would do a man’s voice then change back in to her woman voice for the same male character and some times within the same paragraph. It was off putting. It definitely could have used better recording and editing, but I did enjoy the actual story so I stuck with it.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[AshReads · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ashes to Glass

Roselle is the daughter of a merchant. Her father marries her step mother. Her step mother has two sons. The stepmother is mean and abusive to her and her step brothers are no better. She meets a prince one night at her step mothers party. They have an instant connection. The prince becomes infatuated with her and the step brothers are still mean but they started doing little things that tell her they are jealous. Things are not as they seem at the estate. Cows and chicken are being torn apart. The estate is also hemorrhaging funds because of the step mother and brothers spending.

This is a Cinderella retelling with a twist. There is an HEA and I really enjoyed this book in general. The spice was hot. Overall, I enjoyed this book and would recommend it to anyone. Keep in my mind the spice happens a lot later in the story.

[A. Adams · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a darker and more twisted version of Cinderella and a small part Little Red Riding Hood. It has a supernatural aspect, reverse harem, stepsibling romance, rich boy/poor girl, forbidden romance, and fantasy romance. Rosella is essentially Cinderella in this version. Rosella has two stepbrothers, Henrik and Edmund, and a wicked stepmother. The glass slippers in this story, along with the fairy godmother, are where you will find the supernatural twist. I can see the relationship between Rosella, Charles, and Henrik but with Edmund it seemed like that like that relationship came out of nowhere, personally. Rosella is a pure spirit because I wouldn't have felt sorry for her stepmother after everything she put Rosella through. Interesting take on this very traditional story.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Fiona · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! This was a very dark version of Cinderella. Rosella is the daughter of the house, but instead of the stepsisters, she has stepbrothers who treat her terribly just like their mother, Rosella’s stepmother. There is a dinner party where Prince Charles is a guest, Rosella is locked in her father’s office, but her stepmother doesn’t realise that Charles is also in the office. Before Rosella realise is it, there is a fight between all three men, Charles, Edmund, and Henrik s to wants her the most. The fairy godmother is not a good person, she is someone who has nefarious intentions towards Rosella. There is a happily ever after, but there’s a lot of action before this happens.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Patricia · Rating 4 out of 5]

'Ashes to Glass' is a dark retelling of Cinderella. Rosella has two step brothers rather than sisters that treat her horribly. Her mother and step brothers see her as beneath them regardless that her father's money put they in a better position in life. The trope isn't so much a reverse harem but comes off as more of a menagé in which she has two individual relationships. Rosella and Charles have an instalove type romance whereas her relationship with Henrik is more gradual. I do want to read more about Edmund and his strange situationship to Rosella possibly in the followup book. It's a good take on the old fairy tale with a slow burn between characters.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.