A very cute retelling of Cinderella that I enjoyed quite a bit! But the MC's actions kinda had me rate it down to a 3 in the last chapter, sometimes one can be a little too oblivious.

I would say this is also a good younger YA read, I wouldn't hesitate to pass this onto my spawn to read!

3.5/5 Thank you so much to the publisher and NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

This was a good read which is a Cinderella retelling about Cendrillon who lives with her stepfamily as a servant and attends the ball to win the prince's heart. I'm a huge fan of Cinderella and once I found out that this was a Cinderella retelling, I knew I had to check it out. Though the story was good, I do have to say that it wasn't an original story. This book was really similar to Cinderella and The Selection series so it didn't feel special as everything was expected. The storyline was basic with not any suprists twists and turns as if you are familiar with Cinderella then you know the basic things that happen. The author's writing is still great as she tries her best to make it her own style but I felt that the story should have been better instead of taking other ideas. When it comes to retelling, I'm usually fine with either the character being the part of the retelling or the retelling having bits and pieces in the story but not all of it combined in one if that makes sense. The pacing and setting were greatly done but I wish that the story felt special.

The main character is Cendrillon and I enjoyed her character. She kind of reminded me of America Singer as she is supportive of her friends but wants a better life for herself. I can say that she represented Cinderella well and showed all aspects that I was looking for. She did have a character development in the story but it wasn't the best in my opinion. For me she wasn't annoying so I enjoyed her character. There are many side characters in this book that I enjoyed and loved how involved they were with the story. The romance is not my favorite as there wasn't much development to it in my opinion.

The ending was okay but not the best. It was very typical like most of the story. This is why I rated the book 3/5 stars because I enjoyed how much the author kept the retelling in the book but it was also too much. I just wish that the author had her own twists and turns because I have read some of her books in the past and liked them. Overall it was a good read. I think there are many readers who are a huge fan of Cinderella and The Selection that will love this book so I recommend it to them.

This was a cute retelling of Cinderella. Almost Cinderella meets the Bachelor. I found this book to be easy to read and propolsive. I wasn't the biggest fan, I thought it was fine. But I have read a lot of Cinderella retelling and I wasn't the intended audience. I think this book is a good one for younger teens.

I love me a good Cinderella retelling, and this one was no exception! Melissa de la Cruz is hands down one of my favorite authors for that Disney-type story, and I loved the world she created with this. Weaving in Versaille was an excellent choice IMO, and setting it in Paris was inspired. Definitely check this out if you enjoy fairytales!

2.5 rounded up to 3.

I didn’t enjoy this story. I was excited to receive it as an ARC since I’ve been getting into retellings lately, but this one ended up disappointing me.

First of all, I was bored for most of the story. I know that it’s a retelling, so I knew what to expect…but this just wasn’t interesting. I thought that things would get interesting when the courting competition started, but the plot really fell flat for me. Secondly, the characters are also flat. I don’t even understand why some of them are included in the story. Lastly, the dialogue is really stunted, which made a lot of the romance awkward to me. The conversations are superficial most of the time at best. There’s like one real conversation between Cinder and her love interest. Other than that, most of their time spent together takes place behind the scenes and so we don’t really get a feel for how their relationship develops, making it feel awkward.

I rounded it up to three stars because I think this book will appeal to a younger YA group. If I had read this when I was 12 or 13, I think I would’ve enjoyed it a lot more than I did. (I mean, I definitely wouldn’t have been thinking about the development of the plot and dialogue!)

Thank you PenguinTeen for this eARC!

A Cinderella retelling with a mix of selection!
Truly an amazing story! I especially love that this story shows true strong friendships between the main character {Cendrillon} and her childhood friends {Elodie and Marius} even with different social classes they were always there for each other.
I also loved the twist of not only being courted by one of the kings sons but both! Which Price Louis courting gave serious Selection vibes which I loved! It’s amazing how Melissa showed a development in Louis, too. In a year he went from being a rude selfish boy to a kind generous prince.
On top of it all the best part of the story was the romance between Cendrillon and Auguste! Even without knowing his status she fell for him. They show a cute, friends to lovers growth. Even a year apart it didn’t flatter their love for each other. Giving a sweet lovable aspect to it all!
I would truly recommend this book to others who appreciate stories like this!

*Thank you to Penguin Teen for this ARC to review!

This is a Cinderella retelling, set in Versailles in the court of Louis XIV, with a bit of a The Selection twist. Cendrillon manages to escape her horrible stepfamily for one night to attend a ball, where the dauphin of France announces that he will be selecting a group of 25 ladies to court before ultimately selecting his future bride. Cendrillon is torn when she is selected to be courted, because winning the competition and becoming dauphine could be the only way for her to escape her abusive home life, but it also means giving up on the budding love between her and the man she's truly interested in, the dauphin's brother, Auguste.

Ultimately, I thought this book was equal parts frustrating and fun. The fairy tale, the historical setting, the courtship competition, it all makes for a fun read. There are also some very cool new takes going on, such as a wlw relationship between two side characters, which I loved to see.
That being said, some things were just not executed in a way that made them particularly enjoyable. The courtship competition felt very low stakes and skimmed over, because Cendrillon never really has a reason to fully commit to it. The satisfaction of the Cinderella story of escaping a lifetime of abuse to build a new happy life for herself (I might be in the minority here but Cinderella is my favorite fairy tale for this reason) is downplayed because she has only lived with her step family for one single year, all of which was skipped over in a time jump, and the idea that there is absolutely NO WAY for her to escape seems kind of ridiculous considering her rank and position in court, as a beloved daughter of a friend of the literal king. Another thing that was very frustrating for me was how oblivious Cendrillon is. So much time is spent watching Cendrillon be confused about things that just make her seem really goofy for not getting, especially when she's seen all the same obvious clues the reader has, they're just not clicking with her for some reason.

So overall, this book had its frustrations, but it was still a fun fairy tale adventure to go on, and I think the combo of the retelling, the historical setting with real historical figures, and the modern treats sprinkled throughout the story made it an enjoyable read anyway.

Retellings usually are a hit or miss for me, especially Cinderella retellings, but I ended up enjoying this one. I thought it was close enough to the original to still feel like Cinderella, but I felt the twists it did have to the fairytale were nice. The characters definitely made this book stand out for me, but all I wanted was more from them.

The plot was super sweet and cute, and it truly made this book feel like classic YA. It never felt like it was trying to be more than what it is. My favorite change from the original fairytale was how the second step-sister was treated in this book. The second step-sister had a nice arc that made sense, and unlike other retellings, didn’t abruptly make her good in the end. The story's overall plot wasn’t anything special, but it was still a fun time.

The characters were much fun to read about; I think that this book would have benefited from multiple POVs. I wanted to know more from the central and side characters to get a better feel for everything going on in the story. I also feel that some of the characters had their stories ended way too suddenly. But despite this, I was obsessed with the main couple in this book and found their romance super heartwarming.

I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This book was a true fairytale. I was sucked in from the very beginning and had a hard time putting it down. I easily could’ve read it in a day but I didn’t want it to be over so quickly. It was a wonderful retelling of Cinderella. Even though I knew what would happen in the end, I still cried and anxiously read until the end! Also the added queer representation was a very cute surprise. I would definitely recommend this book.

A solid YA retelling. This book was fun and grabbed my attention from the get go. I will say the characters lacked depth and I’m not sure why there’s a fantasy tag since there’s not really magic. A love potion is mentioned twice but it’s also said that they didn’t know if it actually works so I doubt there’s a magic system. Overall I enjoyed this French historical retelling of Cinderella.

There were whole moments when this smacked so heavily of Ever After that I saw Drew Barrymore in my brain movie. Other times I was forcibly reminded of that one season reality show from 1000 years ago, Joe Millionaire. It isn't that I expect a story we've been telling for hundreds of years to be wholly original, but I do feel that the sum of its parts should at least add something novel to the discussion, which I'm not sure happened here.

DNF 34%

I 100% absolutely should have known what I was getting myself into when I requested this book. I <I>really</i> should have known. Because I mean...I didn’t like any of her stuff. But the pretty cover and the description called to me. It said, “PICK ME PICK ME”. Remind me to stop picking books based on covers. It seriously does not help me.

This book is going to appeal to people who love retellings and Melissa de la Cruz. This just ended up not being my thing.

I won’t say that this book was absolutely horrible (it wasn’t) but the bit I read did not encourage me to go on and finish it.

The writing style just wasn’t doing it for me to be honest. I struggled with how the pacing of the book was going as well as the dialogue. It just wasn’t working. I think that is a personal thing more than anything else. I felt everything was stilted in this book.

Also, the characters were flat too me – and our heroine was tragically dense. Dense to the point where I decided I was not going to suffer through another moment of this book. I mean...ugh. Just...I don’t mind when teens make mistakes or act young, because they are, but this girl...well, she was a whole new world.

Another reviewer said what I felt, this was a very juvenile book. And I was not the intended audience, which is totally A-okay!

When I first read the synopsis I thought... okay so this is a Cinderella retelling with a vibe of The Selection.

I LOVE a good Cinderella retelling and The Selection is one of my favorite series but... unfortunately this one did not hit the mark for me... Don't get me wrong, it was great in some areas but a little blah in others.

I loved that this was based in 1700 France because that time period is utterly fascinating to me, especially life at French Court. But unfortunately the characters fell a bit flat. Our MC was so naive that I found myself yelling at the book. But alas, some girls in that time are extremely naive so what are ya gonna do...

Overall it was a cute read and I would recommend it to some friends who I know would love it.

3.5/5

I've been reading Melissa de la Cruz since I was a teenager. When I saw this arc on Net Galley I knew that I need to read Cinder and Glass. I had lots of fun reading this book, and I would highly recommend if you've read other books by Melissa! Loved every bit of it

I was given an ARC through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Going into this Cinderella retelling by an Author of Color, I was unbelievably excited!! To me, it's always interesting seeing our twists on classic stories. With that said, CINDER & GLASS severely let me down. This book is unbelievably dry and dull. From the very first chapter, the writing puts intense distance between us readers and our characters. Without care for the characters, I had no interest in any plotlines surrounding them. I felt myself dreading picking up my kindle to continue the story. I'm sure this would do great in the hands of young adults (who are the intended target audience) who are just looking for a fun little retelling.

In 17th century France, Cendrillon de Louvois is moved from her home in the country to Versaille, the home of King Louis XIV. Cendrillon soon takes etiquette lessons at the palace and meets Prince Louis and Auguste. Her father, the King's advisor quickly falls in love with Lady Catherine and insists on marrying her instantly. Now, Cendrillon has a stepmother and two sisters, who utterly despise her. One day, her father falls ill and passes, leaving Lady Catherine to control her husband's assets. Meanwhile, she forces Cendrillon to become the house servant and sleep in the attic. One day, Cendrillon attends a royal ball, where Dauphin Louis is to pick 25 women to court before marriage. She catches the Dauphin's eye and he chooses her as one of the ladies to compete for his affection. The problem is, Cendrillon has fallen in love with Louis' younger brother, Auguste.

We have already seen, read, and heard of many Cinderella retellings, but this one was quite unique. Not only does the story take place in historical France, but many of the character names also come from real people. Cendrillon is also a girl whose story revolves around no magical carriages and mice to bring her to the ball. She also chooses to fall in love with the illegitimate son of the King instead of the rightful dauphin. I would have loved to read this story as a young teen and hope many young girls can find solace within Cendrillon's character and her struggles. The story is exciting and full of happiness all young readers will enjoy. It was especially exciting to learn that Cendrillon is the French translation for Cinderella.

Thank you to PenguinTeen for sending me an eARC of this book!!!

It’s really impressive when an author can write across genres and age groups. I was first introduced to Melissa de la Cruz when I read her adult thriller, The Birthday Girl. I then fell in love with her YA fantasy book The Queen’s Assassin. If you’re like me and love Melissa’s writing style, then you will enjoy Cinder & Glass. It is of course a Cinderella retelling, but instead of magic and fairy godmothers, it has more of a Reign & The Selection vibes, with a worldly godmother rather than the fairy kind. I didn’t love everything about this retelling. The protagonist was a very naive and oblivious to things that were very obvious to the reader. I personally didn’t buy the godmother’s excuses for staying away from Cendrillion. I didn’t think the plot was perfect. Even though I found the writing to be juvenile, I still enjoyed this quick read.

Another fun retelling of the Cinderella story. This one is set during the 1700s in France. Cendrillon is the daughter of the king's favorite advisor. When he marries a widow with two daughters, you know what will happen next. Still, this is a fun one, watching Cendrillon capture the eye of the prince and his illegitimate brother too.

This book is a wonderful book to suggest for girls who love fairy tale re-tellings. Some elements were brought together too quickly.

A retelling of Cinderella. While Cindrillon is being introduced at court, she makes a connection with Prince Louis’ younger brother Auguste. She also meets the woman her dad is going to marry and her two new stepsisters. When her father dies unexpectedly after he gets married, her stepmother turns her into a servant. When a ball is announced at the princes’ estate in Versailles, Cindrillon, with the help of her godmother, manages to attend and gets picked as one of the 25 girls to vie for Louis’ hand in marriage. At the palace, she starts having feelings for Louis, but is also in love with Auguste. Will she find a way to make true love happen? Wil she ever escape the clutches of her stepmother? The author does a great job of intertwining fantasy with historical elements while staying true to the plot. The characters are well-developed, realistic, and engaging. This is a story full of intrigue, mystery, and romance. Fans of The Selection and Cinderella retellings will want to pick this one up. 5 stars, Ages 12 and up.