I always love fairy tale retellings, especially ones with a twist, and The Shadow in the Glass delivers just such a retelling. Just the right amount of creep gothic elements. And the writing style is beautiful!

'The Shadow in the Glass' by JJA Harwood has all the classic Gothic atmosphere of Poe's The Tell-Tale Heart, delivered in the wrappings of an elegant, dark modern fairytale.

Putting a delightfully morbid twist on the age old Cinderella story, the book follows a lowly maid named Eleanor.. 'Ella'.. as she struggles in the wake of loss. Having fallen into service after the passing of the only person who looked out for her after her mother's death, Ella's left with a licentious man who she once called stepfather.

Secreting herself away in the late Mistress' library whenever she can manage, Ella escapes through the stories tucked along the shelves. One night, a fairy godmother hears her pleas and makes her an offer that will change her life immeasurably. Ella gets seven wishes, but each comes at a price.. and the cost is steep.

Honestly, the retelling is such a strong story on its own that it was easy to forget its origins. Though there are obvious connections like the main character's nickname and a distinctive detail at the very end of the book, it just doesn't really read like a Cinderella story unless you go in looking to match things up.

From a presentation standpoint, if I hadn't known the premise.. the fairy godmother and evil stepfather are almost unrecognizable. I was so caught up in the familial logistics and the defining traits of the author's creations.. that for much of the book if the synopsis hadn't told me who these people were, I probably wouldn't have seen the correlation until the end.

The storytelling is gritty and magnificent. From the opening pages, there's an undercurrent of something bad on the horizon. It isn't spelled out right away, but like a classic Poe story.. your instincts pick it up and you can just feel the tension building with dreadful slowness. You can see what lies in the road ahead once things get going and it feels like it just might swallow you whole.

There's something special about an author who can make you feel like you're slowly marching to your own end, while simultaneously keeping your hope alive that just maybe you'll be wrong. That someone or something will avert the crisis in your path.

Harwood has just such a gift. If you're a fan of eerie Gothic tales, don't miss this one. Since it's only her debut novel, I'll be eagerly watching to see what else she might have up her proverbial sleeve.

A gothic retelling of Cinderella, The Shadow in the Glass follows Ella - working her youth away under the icky eye of her former stepfather - a girl who's longing to escape, even if the only opportunity she gets to do so is in the pages of her favorite books. Until her fairy godmother arrives, with seven wishes for Ella in tow. But the wishes come with a price - and Ella has to decide how much she's willing to pay for the things she desires the most.

A delightful retelling with a twist!

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper360 for advance access to this title!

This version of the cinder girl's tale is more dark and realistic than most. Without the wishes, the story would be one of a black widow, without marriage before the widowing. I liked the rhythm of the tale too.

The Shadow in the Glass
by JJA Harwood @jjaharwood
@harpervoyager_
Pub Date 04 May 2021  
.
’Wishes were supposed to be nice things. They were granted by smiling fairy godmothers and left everyone living happily ever after. They couldn’t leave her like this – lost in horror and disgust that was deep enough to drown in.’

A delicious twisted gothic style fairytale.
.
The Shadow in the Glass by JJA Harwood is a darkish fairytale.
Set in a Victorian setting made this twisted, fractured Cinderella fairytale very unsettling. With that being said it was a perfect read for me, one that I devoured.
.
Victoriana ✔️
Gothic ✔️
Poverty and Desperation ✔️
Dark Godmother ✔️
A Blood Payment / Soul ✔️

I loved this book and I excited to read more from this very talented author !!!

Fractured Fairytale ✔️

@jjaharwood @harpervoyager_uk @rosen.michael @penguinukbooks #books #teaandbooks #bookish

I was so intrigued by this plot story. A new take on the classic, fairy-tale Cinderella. What I did not expect was the mash-up with Doctor Faustus. What was immediately frustrating is Eleanor being so aware of the Doctor Faustus story and saying that those bargains alway end bad, and then doing it anyway despite knowing it is a mistake.

I also hated her stepfather, which you are supposed to but I hated so the women around him served up young girls to him, and no one did anything. I understand the feelings of the day, but it wa upsetting for him to be such literal garbage and everyone else around him knowing and doing nothing about it.

Ultimately, I had a hard time with this story. It was described as this expansive story, but I couldn't get past the first 4th part.
.

Super creepy but in a good way. I am a SUCKER for fairytale retellings -- especially CInderella. If you're a fan of Erin A. Craig's House of Salt and Sorrows you would definitely love this one! The dark victorian environment -- total love.

I love seeing what’s considered a twist on a fairy tail, which ends up being truer to the original story than the Disney-type version so the book blurb drew my interest to this book.

Set in Victorian-era England, Ella’s position in her household falls to lowly maid and she’s subjected to the whims of the house’s widower. A sorceress offers her seven wishes in exchange for her soul, Ella takes. The chance.

We watch Ella’s transformation from good to morally grey. I knew this was going to be a bit of a creepy book, but I wasn’t expecting it to be quite so dark (with trigger warnings galore). I’m not a huge fan of light and fluffy books without depth, but I had to come back to this one a few times before finishing it. Ultimately, it just ended up not being my cup of tea, so to speak.

I grabbed this book because the summary was interesting and I am really glad I did!

Ella is an orphan who is essentially living by the grace of the man who is now her guardian. When her mother died she was under the care of Mrs. Pembroke and lived a life she never imagined. She was protected, had nice things, and even was close to Mrs. Pembroke's son. What she didn't plan for was when Mrs. Pembroke died, her circumstances changed and now Mr. Pembroke has essentially turned her into a servant. While that wouldn't be the worst thing that could happen, her guardian also happens to take advantage of the younger girl servants and when his latest victim is found to be pregnant and then put out of the house, Ella becomes his focus.

The only thing that Ella has these days that allow her to escape her troubles is reading and when she comes across a book in the Pembroke library that grants her wishes, things take a turn for Ella. The thing about these wishes though is that there are always repercussions for choices we make and Ella has to come face to face with not only the life she has but the wishes she makes in order to get the life she wants.

This was an interesting read and I thought Harwood did a fantastic job of building Ella's story and taking the reader along with her journey. It was hard not to sympathize with her early on but then as things started to get out of control for her, I was pulled right along with her into the swirl of what was right versus what she wanted or felt she deserved / needed.

If you're looking for a story with interesting characters and a story that will pull you in, consider picking this one up. I'll definitely be keeping an eye out for the next book by Harwood.

The Shadow in the Glass by JJA Harwood. Wow what a story, felt similar to a retelling of Faust mixed with a smidgen of Cinderella. If you are a fan of strange deals and weird stories, this book is for you!

Dreading writing this. The blurb I read compared it to The Night Circus, which has become an all-time favorite. For me, it did not deliver.

I went into it thinking it to be a Cinderella retelling that plays out like an episode of Downton Abbey. The Downton-ness delivered, for the most part. The Cinderella part felt like an afterthought after a certain point, though.

I couldn't get behind the heroine. It was strange...as she learned more about her world, she made worse and worse choices. I kept waiting for a clever redemption or a shocking twist that would make it make sense. I got a bit of that, but then it just....ended. I will say, however, that I enjoyed the writing style and it was easy to follow.

To be honest this book felt pointlessly dark and I didn't like the twists. The main character starts off thinking of others and she disintegrates from there.

This book had a lot of potential, but has missed the mark for me in a number of ways

Eleanor is a maid in the Pembroke household where she was once regarded as an adopted family member by Mrs. Pembroke before her untimely passing. Prior to this, Eleanor loses her Mother to consumption. Now, she is still a Ward of the Pembroke household in the eyes of the law, but is employed as a maid nonetheless by Mr. Pembroke. What’s more, Mr. Pembroke has a lengthy history of acting improperly with his young maids (read that: Rape, under most if not all circumstances), which has led to a line of them being dismissed from work after becoming pregnant. Eleanor finds herself the focus of Mr. Pembroke’s attention after a friend is dismissed. Fortunately, a mysterious woman appears in the library offering Eleanor 7 wishes which she can use for anything she pleases in exchange for one thing... her soul.

I’ll start off by saying that the writing style is quite pretty at times, and I can see why it is described as good for fans of Erin Morgenstern in this way. However, I would definitely say that this quality is prominent in the beginning and then drops off quite rapidly as the book goes on, leaving only the occasional like or two that continue to remind me of this style.

The idea is interesting, but not ground breaking as far as fairy tale retellings go. And the story dragged quite a bit in the first 2/3 of the book. My biggest frustration, however, is with the character development, or lack thereof. If someone asked me to name a single character trait that Eleanor or Charles possess, I would not be able to give them much of anything. In fact, I don’t feel as though these characters, including the main ones, have much personality at all. They are really just... there.

A more specific qualm I have with the writing of Eleanor is that she isn’t terribly consistent in her opinions or the things she cares about. The best example of this is in how she sometimes talks about people of lower class and status, using language to basically paint them as the castaways or bottom of the barrel in society, which wouldn’t be terribly inaccurate given the time/ the treatment of people of lesser status, if it weren’t for the fact that she’s sometimes quite pointed and prejudiced about it. Then, in other moments, the author paints her as a person who cares deeply for all people, especially those who are similarly less fortunate to the ways she is. I can understand a girl like Eleanor fantasizing about material things she wishes to possess, and daydreaming about what she can do with her wishes, especially given how cruelly and unfairly she is treated. I don’t see how her entire view on social classes would flip this frequently. It seems like a major character inconsistency, and only adds to how poorly her character seems to be fleshed out.

All this being said, the last third of the book moved quickly and was much more interesting. It ended in a way that was unexpected. The overall darkness of this novel was also quite well done and immersive. If a dark, eloquently written, historical fantasy retelling is something that REALLY appeals to you, It is probably worth picking up. Otherwise, I would recommend going without.

Thank you J.J.A. Harwood, NetGalley and HarperVoyager for giving me the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Ella’s life was going places, until her caring benefactor passed away and left her with her uncaring husband who makes her part of the household staff rather than keeping her as part of the family. When Ella finds a mysterious book in the library that produces an even more mysterious woman offering her wishes for a price, Ella must make tough decisions to get the future she wants.

This is a loosely based retelling of Cinderella that spins into darkness and disaster. What I most enjoyed about this retelling was the darker tone and mystery elements that were present. The “fairy godmother” character is twisted and evil and was a welcome addition to a unique retelling. The dark, punishing wishes provided a fascinating twist compared to the original story with an ending that I loved, though I am sure others would not enjoy.

Ella is a hugely flawed character who was well developed, yet I wanted to shake for making repeatedly idiotic decisions that buried her deeper and deeper into danger. At the same time, the author does a great job providing few other options for Ella to reach for, other than continuous bad decisions, so I sympathized with her dire situation even if I didn’t like her. I also struggled with the pacing in the novel which was a slow start and sped through too fast in the end. There were several points in the plot where I lost interest due to a feeling of repetition or predictability that had me hesitant to keep reading what felt like a very depressing story.

If you want a darker take on a classic story that will leave you pondering what would give up to find happiness, check out The Shadow in the Glass. Thank you Harper Voyager for the review copy in exchange for an honest review.

The Shadow in the Glass by J.J.A. Harwood is a dark, gothic retelling of Cinderella set in Victorian England. After Eleanor Hartley’s wealthy benefactor dies, Mr. Pembroke, her new guardian, relegates her to service as a maid in the same household where she was being trained to be a lady. Now she spends her days doing grueling, thankless work while also protecting herself and the younger maids from Mr. Pembroke’s drunken advances. The library is her only respite, where she finds comfort and hope locked inside books. One night while reading about Doctor Faustus, a mysterious figure appears to offer Eleanor seven wishes to change her life. The price? Only her soul. What could possibly go wrong?

Despite the fact that Eleanor delights in the magic, mystery, and escape her favorite fantasy novels offer, her real life simply does not compare, so she’s understandably hesitant to believe her wishes might actually come true. She tests the waters by wishing for the fabled glass slippers first, and in doing so, discovers each wish has a price: life. Horrified by this revelation, Eleanor wants to back out of the bargain, but it’s too late. She decides not to make anymore wishes, but a number of unfortunate events force her hand. Instead of making extravagant wishes that might truly change Eleanor’s circumstances, her wishes end up being relatively small, focused only on individual aspects of immediate, arguably temporary problems.

One of my favorite parts of reading this novel is critiquing Eleanor’s wishes: Should we fault her for her surgical approach to wish-making? Would it have been better to make one giant wish that might truly help Eleanor to rise from her station? Maybe. But these questions reveal far more about the reader. Eleanor’s sold off her soul in pieces, and we’re compelled to wonder how she might have done it better. How deliciously horrifying to implicate us in her descent!

Eleanor rationalizes her actions, even as they hurt innocent people, and she’s repeatedly stunned to learn people don’t actually like her much once they get to know her true nature. She claims all she wants to do is protect her friends, liberate her fiancé from those wishing to control him, and make her way in society as a respectable lady, but she never actually manages to do any of it successfully, in spite of all her wishes. She constantly insists she’s a good person who deserves good things, especially as her decisions become increasingly chaotic and morally ambiguous. In proper gothic fashion, other events that occur over the course of the story can explain the wishes granted, so at certain points, I wondered if there was even a fairy godmother at all. Perhaps the dark spirit that appears to Eleanor is actually a reflection of her own soul.

They say the best villains view themselves as the heroes of their own stories, and without even realizing it, Eleanor transforms into a villain. This forces us to reassess our read on her: Can we still root for her? Are we obligated to hope for her redemption now? Certainly, Mr. Pembroke is a vile character, and a couple young women in the novel are despicable enough to be wicked stepsisters, and the fairy godmother isn’t sweet and doting at all, but what does it mean when our hero can be lined up in their ranks? And what does it mean when we want her to triumph anyway?

A twisted fairy tale told in seven parts, The Shadow in the Glass is a fast-paced fantasy with familiar characters and themes cast in a dark new light. Enjoyable, surprising, and engaging, Harwood’s spin on Cinderella is sure to stay with you. Eat your hearts out, Brothers Grimm!

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperVoyager for sharing an advanced reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

THE SHADOW IN THE GLASS is a clever rewriting of CINDERELLA into a tale considerably darker than the original. Author JJA Harwood has taken the skeleton of the famous fairy tale and twisted it up with a Faustian bargain. This Cinderella is no shy, retiring daughter abused by a stepmother. This one has considerable demands and will do whatever it takes to fulfill them. Be prepared for a Twilight Zone version of Cinderella; twisty, creepy and oh so familiar. I received my copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

I really really wanted to enjoy this book. The beginning wasn't too bad but then it went completely sideways. I can not relate to this character at all. She lost every scrap of morality that she had by the middle of the of book. I was hoping for redemption but it never happened. I was hoping for a moral lesson (I could only get never sell your soul to the devil.) This book was a horrible mash up of Vanity Fair and the Santa Clause, and Once Upon a Time. The "all magic comes with a price smacks of Once Upon A Time. Just missing a "dearie" There was no happy ending, no good triumphant over evil. Just blah.. Sad to say not impressed with this book. I was hoping for better.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley and am voluntarily posting a review. All opinions are my own.

The Shadow in the Glass piqued my attention with the promise of a Gothic take on Cinderella. I didn’t go in with much in the way of expectations, and that turned out to be a good thing, because it’s definitely more classic Brothers Grimm-esque with a darker twist (and that one is already quite dark) than Disney, and culminating in a more bittersweet ending as opposed to a happy one.

Eleanor as a heroine deeply resonated with me. She has dealt with so much, from the backbreaking work to the constant fear of sexual assault from her former stepfather, for whom she still works. When she’s given the power to better her life by wishing, I could understand her motivations, even as some of these wishes lead to dark, unintended consequences. As the story goes on, I also enjoyed seeing her develop into someone with more moral ambiguity, so she’s no longer this passive abuse victim, but one who fights back, in ways you can understand even if you don’t condone the methods.

And I also liked how her character development is aided by the other characters. The black-eyed woman tempts Eleanor, and there is a great balance with her character in terms of moral ambiguity as well, as sometimes you do want to appreciate her, but other times, given all that passes, you loathe her. And Charles…he’s such a sweet and pure love interest, and my heart truly broke for him as the story went on, especially at the end.

The one flaw is with some of the structural choices. The story did ultimately pass fairly quickly, due to my own investment, but I found the choice to separate the story into long “parts,” without breaking them up into chapters within them, a bit jarring, and it impacted my focus at times. There are subtle breaks in the text within the “parts,” but I can still see how someone with a short attention span might struggle with this book, at least initially.

I really enjoyed this book, and think others who are interested in a dark fairy tale retelling which is unflinching in its depiction of grim topics.

CW: sexual assault, abuse, alcoholism, drug use, abortion, miscarriage, murder

4.5 stars for me!
I am in love!!! It's been such a long time since I have fell head over heals for a book and felt the need to desperately find out what happens next but The Shadow in The Glass delivered! It is by far my favorite retelling of Cinderella now. If you love dark and twisty books with phycological undertones and mysteries to solve...plus retellings!!!!! Then this is definitely a good read for you!
(Look for a more detailed review on my blog www.justlikegilmoregirls.com)

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and the author, for an ARC of this book, in exchange for an honest review.
The synopsis of this book sounded interesting to me so I requested a copy to read.
Unfortunately, I have tried reading this book on 2 separate occasions and during this 2nd attempt, I have
decided to stop reading this book
and state that this book just wasn't for me.
I wish the author, publisher and all those promoting the book much success and connections with the right readers.