The design and UX isn't done, Rob and Abbie, okkurrrr! 😌
bookishlynomes's review against another edition
4.0
Several months ago I found out that A Zavarelli was writing a story as part of the Sinister Fairy Tales Collection and since then, I've been eagerly counting down it's release! Zavarelli is such a brilliant author and writes dark romance fantastically, plus I adore fairy tale retellings, so I just knew I was going to love this one!
Stealing Cinderella was such a mind trip and emotional rollercoaster. Ella has the typical Cinderella experience of living with, and catering to, her demanding and horrible stepmother and stepsisters. However, this heroine also uses what little spare time she has volunteering at an animal shelter and it's this part of her life that draws the attention of a foreign prince. Ella secretly attends a masked ball to seek assistance in securing funding for the animal shelter but mistakenly speaks to the wrong prince and instead her entire life is turned upside down.
Zavarelli has put such a creative and unique spin on this classic tale and from the first page, I was hooked! What I really loved about this one was that it was predominantly a Cinderella retelling but it had minor elements of other fairy tales like Beauty and the Beast (again, with a twist).
I also loved the characters! Zavarelli really knows how to write compelling, complex characters with intense backgrounds/pasts so I loved getting to know each of the characters and seeing their dynamics play out. The relationship growth between the hero and heroine felt realistic too, despite the craziness of their meeting and subsequent situation.
There was just one thing that kind of stumped me in this story was the time period. Sometimes while reading this, I felt like it was in that weird "ye olde" period just from some of the dialogue, behaviour and wording; but then the characters would have cell phones and the internet so I'd sit there scratching my head confused. Overall though, it didn't bother me too much and I just tried to skim over my confusion and keep reading because I was enjoying the story immensely! Other than that minor detail, I loved this book and can't wait to read more by Zavarelli.
Stealing Cinderella was such a mind trip and emotional rollercoaster. Ella has the typical Cinderella experience of living with, and catering to, her demanding and horrible stepmother and stepsisters. However, this heroine also uses what little spare time she has volunteering at an animal shelter and it's this part of her life that draws the attention of a foreign prince. Ella secretly attends a masked ball to seek assistance in securing funding for the animal shelter but mistakenly speaks to the wrong prince and instead her entire life is turned upside down.
Zavarelli has put such a creative and unique spin on this classic tale and from the first page, I was hooked! What I really loved about this one was that it was predominantly a Cinderella retelling but it had minor elements of other fairy tales like Beauty and the Beast (again, with a twist).
I also loved the characters! Zavarelli really knows how to write compelling, complex characters with intense backgrounds/pasts so I loved getting to know each of the characters and seeing their dynamics play out. The relationship growth between the hero and heroine felt realistic too, despite the craziness of their meeting and subsequent situation.
There was just one thing that kind of stumped me in this story was the time period. Sometimes while reading this, I felt like it was in that weird "ye olde" period just from some of the dialogue, behaviour and wording; but then the characters would have cell phones and the internet so I'd sit there scratching my head confused. Overall though, it didn't bother me too much and I just tried to skim over my confusion and keep reading because I was enjoying the story immensely! Other than that minor detail, I loved this book and can't wait to read more by Zavarelli.
kpixy's review
4.0
Good steam but h fell for H too quickly given the set up and both of their pasts.
nyx_is_reading's review
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
reading_with_2_book_lovers's review against another edition
4.0
This is a fab re telling of Cinderella. Very Highly recommend this story
sraab's review
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
kaijahc's review against another edition
3.0
A little bit too dark even for someone like who loves dark twisted fantasy, I feel like they glamorized abuse. although I really liked the character development.
caseybottiger's review
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
nttl's review against another edition
1.0
1 ALMOST THREW UP star! This book should be renamed as trash and sent to fucking jail
eden317's review against another edition
1.0
1 ALMOST THREW UP star! This book should be renamed as trash and sent to fucking jail