Thief Liar Lady is the first adult book by author D.L. Soria, who has published at least three YA novels under the name "Destiny Soria". I've rather liked Soria's YA work, especially the very underrated Beneath the Citadel, which took what seemed like a classic premise (group of teens fight against fascist government which beat their parents) and took it in very wild directions, complete with a shocking to me ending choice by one of othe characters. Thief Liar Lady, despite being adult fic, is similar in that it is also taking a familiar premise - it's a Cinderella adaptation- and trying to take in very different directions. Here, Cinderella is a con artist using magic to attract her prince as part of a scheme by her greedy stepmother and also attempting to use her position to help her actual grandmother, who is a leader in a resistance movement of a people/country subjugated by the royal family. And so the classic dynamics of the Cinderella story change greatly.

The result is a story that is often compelling and got to the point where I found myself 60% through unable to continue for a while, for fear of what would happen to the protagonist and major secondary character I really liked. The conflicts in the setting, and the themes of power, of oppression, of what one should do for a people so oppressed that one only has a tenuous connection to, of heritage and sacrifice, and of how much use of power and control is too much...are well done and interesting, but the book kind of cops out in its last few acts as its protagonist Ash has to respond to events going seriously out of control, and the book's happy ending almost feels like a cop out. Worth a read, if one can handle the trigger warning (see below).

Note: Prior Soria books have featured a mix of straight and queer romances; this book however deals solely with a straight romance and I don't think any queer characters exist, so fans who enjoyed the queer parts of Soria's early works should know they aren't present here.

Trigger Warning: NON-CONSENSUAL Romantic/Sexual relationships. There isn't any traditional rape or sexual abuse on page, but the protagonist begins the book using magical power to entrance the royal prince....and as things get worse, there comes a moment she uses a stronger enchantment resulting in what can only be considered non-consensual sex or rape (with neither party really giving consent). It's very morally dark and while the book never pretends it's okay at all, it may be too much for many readers and the book isn't compelling enough in its themes for me to advise people to push past that anyway.

Plot Summary:
The story of Lady Aislinn is the talk of the Kingdom of Solis. She's the serving girl, of noble blood but stuck working for her evil stepmother, who caught Prince Everett's eyes at the ball and who he searched for after she disappeared, with only a glass slipper as a clue to her identity. And now she's betrothed to the Prince with the whole kingdom looking forward to the magical royal wedding.

Too bad the story isn't real. Ash used the magic of lustre to attract the Prince's attention, and the slipper was left behind deliberately to create that magical story. Now that she's in the Palace, her greedy stepmother Seraphina intends for her to keep using lustre to keep the Prince entranced while Ash arranges profitable marriages for her stepsisters. But what Seraphina doesn't know is that Ash has another secret agenda, given to her by her maternal grandmother: to help the people of Eloria, the country taken over and oppressed by Solis for their supplies of lustre, by providing support to the Elorian resistance. Ash is playing a dangerous multi-faced game, trying to maintain her good standing and hold on the Prince while also serving a pair of agendas no one can know she is acting towards.

But Ash's plans didn't count on one major thing: the hostage prince - the Elorian Prince Rance, known for being a lazy lout who hangs around the palace as a friend of Everett since he was taken hostage as a mere child. Rance's lazy and sarcastic demeanor is infuriating, but Ash soon realizes there's more of a depth to him, as he keeps popping up more and more in her way, potentially jeopardizing everything she has planned....
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Cinderella adaptations or takes are hardly uncommon in fantasy (it's a super popular Disney fairy tale, so of course) and more cynical or dark Cinderella takes are also not uncommon. That said, the Cinderella is a con artist using magic to entrance the Prince take is a new one to me, and Soria's layering of that by adding Ash's connection to an oppressed people through her forgotten grandmother makes this tale very different from what you'd expect. The result is obviously going to be very dark - after all, we know from the start that the Prince's actions in falling for her are not fully consensual, which tells you a bit about this world, where we're going and the protagonist herself.

Despite the dark implications of how Ash uses Lustre, and she at least at first tries to limit its usage to less fully mind controlly applications, Ash is in fact a good person trying to do the best she can to do what she thinks is right....even if that involves using some rather dark means. Ash doesn't really care for Seraphina - the wicked stepmother here is still abusive and obviously greedy and evil, so Ash's dealings with her are more to try and avoid exposure and to get her off her back. But Ash does care about the cause of her grandmother, the cause of Eloria, and the people she knows to be suffering. She even cares for her stepsisters to a smaller extent and is kind of jealous of the camraderie they share, even as they follow their mother's orders and mess with her plans. The result is a character who is very compelling: who is well versed in the suffering that exists in the world and yet hopes to use the lessons of that suffering to do better...even as she remains naive in some of the ways of the royal court.

For the Royal Court is filled with important characters whose views and actions don't quite match how Ash expects. Everett, the prince she enchanted, is actually already, even before Ash gets to him, trying to renegotiate the treaty between Solis and Eloria which currently results in Eloria's full oppression....even in ways that are detrimental to the economy of Solis itself (a lever that Everett does try to use for that good). At the same time, he's not a purely good hearted Prince - he can easily be swayed to believe that the Elorians are going too far in resistance and is extremely dismissive of Ash's attempts to help him or get in a word policy wise. The royal king is a cruel suspicious bastard who has skeptical eyes on Ash immediately, and who may have inherited his father's cruelty in a way that really scares the hell out of Ash. And yet his wife is kind and caring and tries her best to help all the women in the castle. And of course, there are the servants throughout, who Ash notices even as the nobles don't, like her own maidservant, an Elorian girl who is more astute than others might realize.

And then there's Rance. Really Rance is himself kind of a pastiche - the lazy prince who acts as a hostage who doesn't really care about anything, who is good friends with Everett but would prefer to lounge about with his dog "Puppy".....but who secretly is far more astute and caring and active than people would imagine. You've seen this type of character before many a times, but well Soria makes him work really well, both as a love interest and as a person to himself who finds himself in the impossible situation of being among those who subjugated his people and took him from home and left himself someone who is thought useless and lost by the patriots of his own country.

These characters come together in a plot that works generally pretty well for the first 2/3 and will have you gripped on the edge of your seat as to how the various agendas and conflicts will trigger upon each other. But the final act, beginning with one heinous act (see the Trigger Warning) by Ash and then a clear villainous act by Seraphina, the evil stepmother, kind of oversimplifies to a great extent and sort of throws away a lot of the intrigue that was setup: like the ideas of how to resist and help the oppressed nation (rise up and fight? terrorism? peaceful politics?), what's worth sacrificing for people you don't even know, and what means really justify the ends. Instead, the book kind of settles on finishing with a surprisingly happy romantic ending. But, it's worth noting, that romance is done pretty well and the sex scene we do eventually get between Ash and Rance is excellently done.

In short, I liked Thief Liar Lady and am excited to see what Soria will do next, but I hope her next work will nail the landing a bit better - she's done so in the past, but here it seems like she might've bit off more than she could chew.

This is an interesting reimagining of the Cinderella story. What if Cinderella's ball wasn't a whirlwind night of magic and romance, but rather a night of her plotting and using some magic of her own to make her prince fall in love with her? In Lady Aislinn's case, that is exactly what happened. With the help of some luster (some magic dust?) she is able to cast an infatuation on Prince Everett and catch his eye. Over the course of a 3-day celebration she continues to use luster to have him fall for her, and it all ends up with him proposing to her. Lady Aislinn is under instructions from her stepmother to be at court, but unbeknownst to her stepmother, Aislinn has some plans of her own. Politics, magic, and a bit of a forbidden-ish romance are all within this story and it was a pretty quick read.

Now the reason I didn't rate it higher is for a few reasons. One being that there was little to no world-building happening within the story. We are told that there are a few neighboring kingdoms, Solis, where the story takes place, and Eluria. Eluria produces most of the raw form of luster and is mostly under the rule of Solis as a result of a war that took place prior to the story starting. Elurian characters face a lot of discrimination from the citizens of Solis. I would have liked to learn more information about both countries, but most of the story is contained within the palace walls.

Another reason that I rated this at 3 stars is because of the relationship between Aislinn and basically any other character in the book. She refuses to trust anyone, including her own stepsisters, thanks to the teachings from her stepmother. So she spends a lot of time building up lies to everyone around her, and it's hard to tell what her true motivations are for a lot of the book. You don't find out much of anything about why she went after the prince until about a third of the way into the book, so until that point she skirts around mentioning what her mission truly is.
I also would've liked to see a little bit more time spent developing the relationship between Rance and Aislinn.

Overall I did like this book, and I thought it was a pretty quick read, but I would've liked it more if a few aspects were different.

Thief Liar Lady is a Cinderella retelling full of court politics and slight magical elements.

The story follows Ash, who has conned her way into the castle and into the heart of Prince Everett. Ash’s evil stepmother has trained her well and has purposefully put Ash in the castle for her own gain, namely to get her two daughters wedded to powerful and wealthy men. What Ash’s stepmother doesn’t know is that Ash has her own reasons for infiltrating the castle.

Thief Liar Lady is based on the Cinderella story we are all probably familiar with, but Soria makes this story her own. I love that this story was mostly court politics. I love the setting of a castle full of royals and a main character that doesn’t quite belong. This story was slow moving at times, but it held my attention. I loved the dynamic between Ash and Rance, a prince of Eloria held hostage by the court. There are twists and turns that did shock me. I have to say, when I was close to finishing this book, I was sad that it was almost over. I was also sad to learn that the story would not continue with another book.

I would highly recommend this if you like:
-Cinderella
-slower moving political stories
-slight magical elements
-forbidden romance
-stand alone fantasies

An inventive twist on fairytales, this one pulled me in with clever worldbuilding and a protagonist I could root for. Some parts dragged a bit due to heavy exposition, but overall the story was bold and satisfying. Perfect for fantasy fans craving something fresh.

I really loved the concept of this book, but unfortunately, it didn’t really work for me in the end. It felt very long and drawn out and I didn’t love the characters. I would like to give it another chance, but I just had a difficult time with the political side not meshing well with the fantastical

A Cinderella retelling with more intrigue and and magic, this was a fun read! It doesn't try to be anything more complicated than that. It reminded me of My Lady Jane and Naomi Novik's works. Clever, fun, and engaging. I would read more of this kind of book from D.L. Soria.

i loved this spin on Cinderella. She's a thief! It was brilliant how the story flowed and how it moved. there were some great plot twists too. this is a win!

This was a very imaginative retelling of Cinderella. I like how the stepmother and stepsisters worked with Cinderella to give her a happy ending. It was also very fun and humorous! Overall, it was a light hearted read! I recommend this for fans of Rump!

I really struggled to get into this book, and once I was invested enough to continue reading, I found it a passable Cinderella retelling.

I usually don't enjoy retellings of fairytales, but this one was different enough that i felt it was worth reading.

I would recommend it to certain readers.

This was a very average book overall. I feel the story suffered from pacing issues, which made the experience not very great. A lot of the action happens in the last 25-30% of the book, which while expected, also leads to a very slow pace for the first 75%.

DNF at 46%

I liked the idea of this and wanted to love the book. However, I did not care for the main character, self described as smart, strong, and good actress, but I saw none of that.

This fairytale retelling was ok in my opinion. It wasn't great, but it wasn't terrible either. It took a little bit to get going, but then it kept going and going when it could have cut out some slow places.

I was just so confused throughout the whole book. I didn't think the world building was that well explained as the magic system. I just couldn't understand what was the plan or the motivations behind Ash's actions. Everything was really muddled.

Thank you Netgalley, author, and publisher for the ARC.

This was a slow starter. So slow that I was still considering whether I would put it down about a third of the way through. But once it got going, I was well and truly hooked. This is the Cinderella story after the wedding. The narrative plays with the fairytale we all know then goes in a completely different direction for a unique story with a sprawling world.

Aislinn has just been proposed to by her handsome prince. Now she needs to figure out how to navigate his older brother, the king, who doesn't like or trust her as well as the hostage prince who is suddenly everywhere Aislinn looks and getting in her way more than not.

Because the thing is, Aislinn hasn't managed to get herself where she is because of love. There is magic in this kingdom, and Aislinn has utilised it to get the prince's interest and keep it. There's an espionage plot that's tied to both her stepmother and her grandmother and just... so much that needs to be set up that it does make sense that it was a very slow starter.

One issue that's hardly addressed, however, is that the whole time Aislinn is manipulating the prince within an inch of his life. And then disliking him whenever he doesn't act the way she'd like him to. I felt as though it was an interesting choice to pin her as the sympathetic main character. She was interesting, to be sure, but she was doing incredibly questionable things for the sake of her own country.

Because this is a first person narrative, none of the side characters really stood out. I did enjoy reading it once it got going, but it was definitely a more difficult read that had been oddly executed.

An enjoyable stand-alone book! I appreciated the multiple layers of her intentions for getting engaged to the prince, and there were some really great side characters. I felt that things wrapped up a little too easily in the end, but enjoyed the hourney nonetheless.

I am all for a retelling of fairy tales. I grew up loving Cinderella for her courage, novelty, and strong self-identity, which was missing in the main character. Why give up the core personality of Cinderella, which represents a strong female character who can be herself despite the circumstances? The writing was great but I just...couldn't quite agree with the characters.

I liked this retelling. Sometimes I found the new context a little laboured, and the story does take quite a while to get going. Still, the characterization is strong. The plot after 80% takes several sharp turns, which I didn't mind, but found the overall pacing a little uneven as a result. Not a bad book, but not great.

Rebooting classic fairy tales has become a whole genre of fiction. In Thief, Liar, Lady, D. L. Soria re-tells Cinderella with an Ocean’s 11 twist. Cinderella and her step-sisters are high levels thieves, high level con artists who fleece men for what they need. Raised by her step mother to believe men are for fleecing not for romance, Ash, the Cinderella character, has a warped sense of the world.

When the group tries to make the Prince believe Ash is a princess, the plan goes sideways. Ash begins to fall in love for the first time and want something more. Can she get herself out of this mess and get the Happily Ever After?

With a slow build to enforce character background development using flashbacks, the reader can get a good picture of how Ash grew up. How she was shaped by her experiences into the woman she is today. This isn’t Disney’s two dimensional Cinderella!

I found this confusing and hard to get into. Because of this, I did not end up finishing it.

Thank you for the opportunity to give this a try.

This was a interesting fairytale retelling that I would recommend to those who think it sounds good!

I received an e-ARC from the publisher