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giamsanchez's review
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I honestly liked that it wasn’t actually similar to the story of Cinderella but gave enough tiny comparisons. At first the story was very hard to want to keep reading. Eventually once the devil woman “fairy godmother” comes into play that’s when the story is way more compelling. I was surprised that there was a love interest/plot line. It would’ve gotten a higher rating if it wasn’t so demonic. It started to become very obvious that it was never gonna be a fairy godmother but it did get the rating of 3 because it was compelling and like I said an interesting twist on Cinderella. I also didn’t appreciate the ending, it ended on a cliffhanger. Considering the book isn’t a series I didn’t quite understand why leave it off that way. I decided to interpret the ending as the demon lady having to give Eleanor her wish of being above all laws and letting her live happy ever after. But most people interpret it as her killing herself before the demonic lady even has the chance to take her soul
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Child death, Emotional abuse, Miscarriage, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Blood, Grief, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Alcohol, and Classism
nonotyoshi's review
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
The mc is so stupid it physically hurts this isn’t a gothic Cinderella retelling I pulled up my thesaurus and still couldn’t find the right words to describe how infuriatingly godawful this story and this fmc is I’m going insane it could’ve been so good but crashed harder than the Titanic
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, and Pregnancy
amalyndb's review against another edition
3.5
I need to remember that I do not enjoy Gothic novels in November with SAD.
This is very much a Gothic novel, the slow descent from reality into unraveling. It is well done, just not my cup of tea
This is very much a Gothic novel, the slow descent from reality into unraveling. It is well done, just not my cup of tea
Content Warnings
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Death, Gore, Incest, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Blood, Vomit, Kidnapping, Grief, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, Sexual harassment, and Classism
rachaelvo4's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
The ending was expected but also disappointing nonetheless. After awhile I just thought Eleanor was irritating but she is a great character to analyze, I do understand that she had so much going on w her circumstance, and it’s hard to have self control when you’re given the option between your greatest dreams and living hell. She does not deserve any of the love that Charles gave her. I love the historical time period accuracy. The relationship w the characters was a little hard to see how they reflected on the main character, felt like it was mostly to give more storylines and keep plot moving. Probably wouldn’t read again.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Death, Gore, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Rape, Violence, Blood, Grief, Car accident, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
secre's review
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
The Shadow In the Glass is marketed as a dark re-telling of the Cinderella fairy tale. And whilst I can certainly agree that it is dark - trigger warnings include off-page rape, child abuse, abuse of power, physical abuse, miscarriage/abortion, alcoholism and drug use - I'm not so clear on the link with Cinderella. Faustus yes, but not really Cinderella. There's a tenuous link with a pair of shoes and that's about it.
Ella was once destined for greatness. Adopted by a wealthy couple when her parents died, she is brought up as a bonus daughter, moulded into what society expect of young women. But when her benefactor dies, Ella is left with the lecherous widower and finds her fortunes much changed. Thrown into the life of a servant, Ella spends much of her life trying to avoid Mr Pembroke's attentions, knowing all too well what happens to the girls he sets his eye on and inevitably gets pregnant.
So when a strange and forbidding woman appears out of a book one night - and of course it's Faustus - Ella finds herself offered a deal. She gets seven wishes. But once that seventh wish has been granted, she loses her soul. Talk about a deal with the devil. But Ella soon discovers that every wish comes with consequences, few turn out exactly as she would have wished and a trail of dead bodies soon litters her life. You'd have thought she's have got the message by the second wish. But nope, Ella is clearly not particularly good at using her brain cells.
Whilst I was interested in seeing how the story would pan out, I couldn't help but get frustrated at the characters - particularly Ella. There's a whole lot of 'I can't make a wish because someone might die', followed by 'I have to make the wish and someone might die', the guilt of her being responsible for these deaths is overshadowed by the fact that she just keeps on bleeding doing it! The first time she didn't realise the consequence, the second time it was made abundantly clear to her. After that there's no excuse and yet she is full of every excuse in the book.
I did enjoy how the historical context was woven together with the supernatural fantasy elements. Harwood does an excellent job at describing the stark and abject misery of a young serving girl under an abusive Master. It did help to round out the dilemma's that Ella kept finding herself in, but never quite justified the means.
I suspect my main complaint with the book comes down to the lack of subtlety. We all know that Ella is going to keep on making wishes, we all know - including her - that those wishes come with steep and tragic consequences. There's no grey area here. For Ella to continue behaving in the way she does, for her to keep using the wishes despite witnessing the cost, is frankly unforgivable. And so she's a difficult character to empathise with. If the consequences had been a little more grey scale and less absolutely horrific, maybe there'd be some wiggle room... but there isn't.
Either way, I did quite enjoy this and would be interested in reading the authors future works. But it lets itself down by making everything so starkly black and white. I also wasn't a fan of the ending, which felt like a cop out.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for my free review copy of this title.
Ella was once destined for greatness. Adopted by a wealthy couple when her parents died, she is brought up as a bonus daughter, moulded into what society expect of young women. But when her benefactor dies, Ella is left with the lecherous widower and finds her fortunes much changed. Thrown into the life of a servant, Ella spends much of her life trying to avoid Mr Pembroke's attentions, knowing all too well what happens to the girls he sets his eye on and inevitably gets pregnant.
So when a strange and forbidding woman appears out of a book one night - and of course it's Faustus - Ella finds herself offered a deal. She gets seven wishes. But once that seventh wish has been granted, she loses her soul. Talk about a deal with the devil. But Ella soon discovers that every wish comes with consequences, few turn out exactly as she would have wished and a trail of dead bodies soon litters her life. You'd have thought she's have got the message by the second wish. But nope, Ella is clearly not particularly good at using her brain cells.
Whilst I was interested in seeing how the story would pan out, I couldn't help but get frustrated at the characters - particularly Ella. There's a whole lot of 'I can't make a wish because someone might die', followed by 'I have to make the wish and someone might die', the guilt of her being responsible for these deaths is overshadowed by the fact that she just keeps on bleeding doing it! The first time she didn't realise the consequence, the second time it was made abundantly clear to her. After that there's no excuse and yet she is full of every excuse in the book.
I did enjoy how the historical context was woven together with the supernatural fantasy elements. Harwood does an excellent job at describing the stark and abject misery of a young serving girl under an abusive Master. It did help to round out the dilemma's that Ella kept finding herself in, but never quite justified the means.
I suspect my main complaint with the book comes down to the lack of subtlety. We all know that Ella is going to keep on making wishes, we all know - including her - that those wishes come with steep and tragic consequences. There's no grey area here. For Ella to continue behaving in the way she does, for her to keep using the wishes despite witnessing the cost, is frankly unforgivable. And so she's a difficult character to empathise with. If the consequences had been a little more grey scale and less absolutely horrific, maybe there'd be some wiggle room... but there isn't.
Either way, I did quite enjoy this and would be interested in reading the authors future works. But it lets itself down by making everything so starkly black and white. I also wasn't a fan of the ending, which felt like a cop out.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for my free review copy of this title.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship and Murder
Moderate: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Death, Drug use, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, and Abortion
Minor: Rape
pertlek's review
dark
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.25
I really wanted to love this book. I tried so hard to honestly the whole gothic twist on Cinderella is what drew me in but in reality it’s this poor girl who just wants some basic human needs like safety and shelter and the only possible way she was able to get those things was by trading in her soul. <spoilers> I honestly really wanted her to be happy in the end not necessarily with Charles but to see her go and travel with her friends. But instead her want of basic needs left her dead after she used her last wish and she was never able to be truly happy. I k ow that not all books end happily but this book truly didn’t have a second of hope attached to it. <\spoilers>
Content Warnings
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Blood, and Classism
wordswitwonder's review against another edition
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Alcohol, and Classism
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Grief, Abortion, Murder, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Religious bigotry, Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, and Gaslighting
kriscomics's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
This book had a very interesting premise, but did very little to hold my interest once I started reading. The book's pacing is incredibly slow, and I feel like a lot of time is wasted describing scenery and actions. Ella's actions start off noble enough, but her wants and desires are pretty short sighted, and honestly, she's not the sharpest tool in the shed. I figured out the "twist" of the book pretty quickly, and couldn't understand why Ella never put two and two together more quickly. The author teases about Ella's past quite a bit, but we never actually uncover anything, though I do have a theory: The black-eyed lady is actually a figment of Ella's imagination, and she has split personality disorder. The fact that she doesn't remember acting out as a child and doesn't remember killing people or committing the crimes that result as an action of her "wishes" seem pretty similar. So if anything, it could be that she is just legitimately crazy. I respect Ella's desire to make her own way in the world when the people she trusts to keep her safe fail her, but ultimately it felt like watching a train wreck. In the end, it was an okay read, and I did want to see how it played out, but calling it a Cinderella retelling seems a bit like false advertising. If anything, it may be loosely inspired by Cinderella, but that's as far as I'd go with it.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Death, Sexual assault, and Abortion
kaitlynnnng's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
This review contains spoilers.
This is yet another book that’s difficult for me to review. I listened to the audiobook and followed along in the physical book. If it weren’t for the audiobook, I don’t know if I would’ve been able to finish this book as quickly as I did. It was very slow-paced (except for the last 80 pages or so), and I definitely got bored more than once. The writing style was not my favorite for when I’m reading for pleasure. However, this is a great example of gothic literature, and, as an English teacher/former English major, I can appreciate that. I can definitely see the Gender and Literature classes I took in college reading this book!
I’ve read many reviews where people said Eleanor, the main character, was a terrible, selfish person who made terrible choice after terrible choice. For most of the story, I completely disagreed with those reviews. While unfortunate things did happen as a result of Eleanor’s wishes, and while I didn’t necessarily connect with her, I completely understood why she made her choices/wishes she made, I felt bad for her, and I recognized that she tried to take care of those she cared for. However, in Parts Six and Seven, Eleanor was undeniably more selfish, and, at the very end, she refused to take any responsibility for her own actions, which I didn’t like.
The Epilogue creates a strangely satisfying ending, though it’s far from happy.
This is yet another book that’s difficult for me to review. I listened to the audiobook and followed along in the physical book. If it weren’t for the audiobook, I don’t know if I would’ve been able to finish this book as quickly as I did. It was very slow-paced (except for the last 80 pages or so), and I definitely got bored more than once. The writing style was not my favorite for when I’m reading for pleasure. However, this is a great example of gothic literature, and, as an English teacher/former English major, I can appreciate that. I can definitely see the Gender and Literature classes I took in college reading this book!
I’ve read many reviews where people said Eleanor, the main character, was a terrible, selfish person who made terrible choice after terrible choice. For most of the story, I completely disagreed with those reviews. While unfortunate things did happen as a result of Eleanor’s wishes, and while I didn’t necessarily connect with her, I completely understood why she made her choices/wishes she made, I felt bad for her, and I recognized that she tried to take care of those she cared for. However, in Parts Six and Seven, Eleanor was undeniably more selfish, and, at the very end, she refused to take any responsibility for her own actions, which I didn’t like.
The Epilogue creates a strangely satisfying ending, though it’s far from happy.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Pedophilia, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Death, Miscarriage, Rape, Blood, Car accident, Abortion, Death of parent, and Alcohol
soundlysmitten's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
The Shadow in the Glass tells the story of a young, mistreated maid in Victorian era London who seizes a dubious opportunity to improve her station in life. It’s loosely based on ‘Cinderella,’ but besides the main character’s diminutive and status—along with a few corresponding symbols which appear at the beginning and end—the narrative takes a large departure from the classic fairytale. In this retelling, instead of accepting a gift bestowed by her fairy godmother, Eleanor makes a Faustus-like deal with a mysterious ‘black-eyed woman’ only she can see. In exchange for seven wishes, Eleanor signs her soul away to the creature. As she needn’t deliver until the last wish is made, she intends to stop at the sixth. But Eleanor’s wishes always result in complications she thinks she needs more to fix.
Although this is listed as a fantasy, to me the story felt more like a cross between a historical novel with Gothic elements and a psychological thriller with supernatural factors at play. It’s more harrowing than thrilling, though. While I’d say it’s medium paced, long sections and spots where the writing gets dense can actually make it feel pretty slow.
Told in third-person from Eleanor’s point of view, it isn’t always clear what is or isn’t real. She’s experienced quite a bit of trauma by the time we meet her and the limitations of her life have her feeling claustrophobic. Some people might interpret Eleanor as an entitled character, but I don’t think it’s fair to imply she doesn’t deserve better. Of course she does. No one deserves to endure the twisted conditions she and her co-workers must. So personally, I’d say Eleanor starts out with good reason to feel bitter. If not for the life she almost had, for all the other loss she’s experienced, and for the torment of working in Mr. Pembroke’s household. It can surely be said that Eleanor goes on to make some selfishly cruel, misguided decisions. But as I mentioned, she’s a desperate and deluded protagonist… and each wish she makes corrupts her character further.
While I understand the dire environment the author sought to create, it was difficult to read through all of the instances of physical and sexual abuse. Women turning against women is also not something I enjoy reading about. Honestly, I think violence might taint every part of this story. Even the romance, as the love interest is oh so distraught to find Eleanor being abused in a position he arranged, but all he does is get her in trouble and leave her there…
As you might have guessed, this is not a book with a neat, feel good resolution. Although I mostly prefer to read HEAs, I don’t think I would have minded the conclusion if it had been fleshed out further. But towards the end, some of the events that play out seem a bit too convenient. And worse, we are left with a number of essential questions.All throughout the story, the author drops little hints that Eleanor herself may have a history of violent behavior. And multiple times, the night after a wish is ‘granted,’ Eleanor wakes up in a disheveled state, suggesting her involvement in carrying out said wish. For a while, I thought the black-eyed woman might just be a figment of Eleanor’s imagination—a way for Eleanor to distance herself from the brutal acts she commits. And although the ending makes it seem as if the black-eyed woman is indeed real, it still isn’t clear whether the woman has been carrying out the wishes on Eleanor’s behalf, possessing others to do so, or goading Eleanor to take matters into her own hands.
The only other criticism I have is about Eleanor’s self-talk regarding the wishes. Her decision making process is so repetitive. Every time, she starts by says she’s not going to make another wish—she is NOT—because the last time she did, something terrible happened. Then she flips her position and says no, that wasn’t really a consequence of the wish—it can't be. And she needs to make another wish right now because: insert justification. Maybe that’s a more realistic thought process than I’d like to believe. But I found it rather annoying…
All the same, with themes of desire, greed, power, and revenge, this is an intriguing read on the consequences of flirting with evil. It’s a much darker narrative than I typically like to get lost in, so I can’t say I loved it. And I probably won’t be giving it a re-read. But it is captivating and I’m sure it’s *the* book for somebody else out there.
Although this is listed as a fantasy, to me the story felt more like a cross between a historical novel with Gothic elements and a psychological thriller with supernatural factors at play. It’s more harrowing than thrilling, though. While I’d say it’s medium paced, long sections and spots where the writing gets dense can actually make it feel pretty slow.
Told in third-person from Eleanor’s point of view, it isn’t always clear what is or isn’t real. She’s experienced quite a bit of trauma by the time we meet her and the limitations of her life have her feeling claustrophobic. Some people might interpret Eleanor as an entitled character, but I don’t think it’s fair to imply she doesn’t deserve better. Of course she does. No one deserves to endure the twisted conditions she and her co-workers must. So personally, I’d say Eleanor starts out with good reason to feel bitter. If not for the life she almost had, for all the other loss she’s experienced, and for the torment of working in Mr. Pembroke’s household. It can surely be said that Eleanor goes on to make some selfishly cruel, misguided decisions. But as I mentioned, she’s a desperate and deluded protagonist… and each wish she makes corrupts her character further.
While I understand the dire environment the author sought to create, it was difficult to read through all of the instances of physical and sexual abuse. Women turning against women is also not something I enjoy reading about. Honestly, I think violence might taint every part of this story. Even the romance, as the love interest is oh so distraught to find Eleanor being abused in a position he arranged, but all he does is get her in trouble and leave her there…
As you might have guessed, this is not a book with a neat, feel good resolution. Although I mostly prefer to read HEAs, I don’t think I would have minded the conclusion if it had been fleshed out further. But towards the end, some of the events that play out seem a bit too convenient. And worse, we are left with a number of essential questions.
The only other criticism I have is about Eleanor’s self-talk regarding the wishes. Her decision making process is so repetitive. Every time, she starts by says she’s not going to make another wish—she is NOT—because the last time she did, something terrible happened. Then she flips her position and says no, that wasn’t really a consequence of the wish—it can't be. And she needs to make another wish right now because: insert justification. Maybe that’s a more realistic thought process than I’d like to believe. But I found it rather annoying…
All the same, with themes of desire, greed, power, and revenge, this is an intriguing read on the consequences of flirting with evil. It’s a much darker narrative than I typically like to get lost in, so I can’t say I loved it. And I probably won’t be giving it a re-read. But it is captivating and I’m sure it’s *the* book for somebody else out there.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Bullying, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Violence, Blood, Grief, Abortion, Murder, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Animal death, Drug abuse, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual content, Vomit, Religious bigotry, and Death of parent