Oh my gosh, I wish I had written this novel. But I am so glad that Julie Abe did.

You have got to put this on your TBR shelf. You have got to pre-order this. Yes, it is that good.
This has all the pain and heartache of a good Cinderella story, but with dragons. Isn’t that what you always wanted in a Cinderella story, well, other than space ships, I guess.

The basic story is of Alliana who lost her father when she was six years old, when he went to the abyse which is an area where magical creatures live, but are kept back from the general public by a magic barrier. However, there is a gap near the inn where Alliana and her father live by, and adventurers go there in search of riches.
And like any good Cinderella story, there is the cruel step-mother who she is left with after her father dies, who uses her like a scullery maid, at the inn.

And instead of mice, this Cinderella character befriends a night dragon, saves his life, and they bond.

And yes there is a “ball” that Alliana wants to go to, but not to meet a prince, per se, but to gain entry to the royal academy.

This book pulled at my heartstrings. I kept wanting to finish, and yet not finish, because I loved Alliana so much. So much heartache, so much pain. This book had me in tears, I as I raced to read it, staying up into the wee hours.

<em>Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review. </em>