A dark, steamy retelling where one's true name holds all the power.

Gesela has been cursed her entire life and has taken everyone she loves from her. When her town of Elk is cursed with no water, she is volunteered to go into a well and get rid of the frog causing the curse. In her attempt to move the toad and spare it's life she accidentally kills it. In the next instant five fae princes of the forest whisk her away and doom her to being their final brother's prisoner. Being a prisoner is not as she expects and in doing her all to escape she may find she is where she is meant to be.

The idea for this one was fascinating and although the main fairy tale it follows has been overdone and retold way too much other tales were woven it to keep it interesting. This was just way too short, everything felt rushed and the world building needed more.

2.5 stars

I know I read an ARC, but this book feels like a really rough draft of a book proposal that has yet to be fleshed out, edited, and made whole.

You can see the faint outline of so many fairy tales and some wonderful aspects of folklore from around the world, but the focus is forced upon two deeply unlikeable characters instead of digging deep into the rich possibilities that St. Clair sprinkles throughout the background. Too long to be a novella, but too short to feel like anything was given the depth it deserved, Mountains Made of Glass feels unfinished and juvenile.

You really do get the fairy tale vibe from the story. Things happen one after another with little logic, and magic doesn’t have to make sense; it just exists. But what complicates this is the romance. Because the smut isn’t written like a fairy tale, it’s fantasy romance to its core (faes, instalove, and curses abound), and the juxtaposition between the romance and the narrative clash so awkwardly that I felt like I was reading two different books.

This is, sadly, my first St. Clair read. I’ve heard such good things about her writing, but I may have to hold off a bit before trying again. I doubt I’ll continue with this series unless the next book has a much higher page count, hopefully signalling that more depth and complexity are worked into the narrative to develop a richer experience.

I can’t believe that I waited so long to read this! Scarlett wring is so amazing. I absolutely loved how this ended.

YES 1000 TIMES YES. Thank you Scarlett for gracing me once again with your writing, because I loved this.

Review in progress and to come.

I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review

Scarlett has done it again!! How she comes up with these stories I have no clue. I fell in love with her Hades x Persephone series when she was still indie publishing! Each book that she publishes she tops herself! I am bloody obsessed and I cannot wait to see what she comes up with next

Loved this mixed up fairy tale. You had to pay close attention to how surroundings shifted and changed or you could get easily confused. You could tell the author wrote this book purely for fun and her love for writing. I really felt her personality really came through. The characters had great development, tension, and personalities.

Scarlett St Clair does it every time with the amazing stories and wonderful, glorious spice.

I really loved this story. Our characters, Gesela and the beast, were amazing. I really enjoyed how real the beast felt to me, like with the convos with the mirror. He did seem childish at times though. The side characters were wonderful and quite possibly my favorite part. Gesela was a bit of a dummy and brash at times getting herself in sucky situations that had me going "Oh my God you absolutely idiot" but she was pretty badass. I think that this has a really solid basis for a series with the other brothers. Like with most novellas, I wish that it was longer to help me connect with it more. I'm very eager to read more of the series!

*Thank you NetGalley and SOURCEBOOKS Bloom Books, Bloom Books for providing me this arc in exchange for an honest review*

This book was really good. The plot was excellent and the story overall was beautifully weaven. Aside from the insta-love and a lot of spice which I don't like, overall you will enjoy this beauty and the beast retelling.

Haunting, enchanting and nostalgic, Scarlett St. Clair blends the allure of romance and horror to create a bewitching story reminiscent of magical fables and cautious fairytales.

In a village overcome with tragedy and misfortune, Gesela must save her town from an unfortunate curse and face the grim consequences. Once the curse is broken, the dark forces of the otherworldly fae arrive on her doorstep and seek retribution by banishing her to a kingdom riddled with monsters—the lands of the mysterious, beastly fae prince without a name or soul.

Straight from the beginning, I was immersed into this cursed world full of fickle creatures, tricky bargains, and uncertain fates. I loved all the nods to old fairytales and folklore—from the wicked cast of characters to the eerie forestry castle setting and all the enchanted riddles and quests in between.

The strong hate-to-love romance mixed with the themes from Beauty and the Beast and Rumpelstiltskin captivated my attention right away, and I LOVED the brimming tension-filled moments with a touch of tenderness. That balance made the eventual friendship and romance so sweet and endearing!

If you’re a lover of fairytale retellings like me, with a dash of danger and the excitement of a great romance, definitely check out this novella!

*Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me an eARC in exchange for an honest review.*

I really enjoyed Mountains Made of Glass by Scarlett St. Clair, it was fast paced, spicy, fairytale retelling of Beauty and the Beast. Because it was a novella, it was a quick read, therefore the insta-love was not for me. I really enjoyed reading this book and the liked the duel POV. Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for giving me an ARC. I would recommend this book for anyone wanting a quick, fun fantasy read.

Fantasy romance that was a retelling. It was actually several retellings sprinkled throughout the story but my favorite was the Beauty and the Beast parts. This was steamy and well written. Its a fast paced story that carried me to that happy ending I love.
The main characters were a joy to watch and see grow in their relationship. I can’t wait to read the next book in the series. This is not a cliffhanger and I recommend it.
Thanks Bloom Books via NetGally.

Okay so this is a fairytale retelling and the whole plot is refreshing and well executed but the insta-love between the main characters threw me off. Because of that, I couldn't connect with any character and did not feel the intensity of the situation. Though I liked some side characters and the writing style was easy to get into. Sometimes I liked Gesela but some of her actions were pretty stupid tbh and I wasn't feeling the hate chemistry between her and the prince. But if you like the world of elves and a tale like Beauty & the Beast, then you could give this book a try.

Thank you Netgalley fir providing me the ARC copy of this book

Absolutely loved this spicy Beauty and the Beast retelling. Scarlett St Clair never misses.
The characters developed brilliantly, the world was really fleshed out in such a short space of time, and the pacing was fantastic and kept me hooked throughout!

A decent attempt to a retelling but the romance just wasn't it for me, it really fell flat.
The main character didn't feel very developed and unrelatable as a result.
Overall the book just felt like it needed to be longer, have more to it.

4.5⭐️

<b> A name precedes you, and without one, you are nothing.</b>

The dedication to this book is <i>“For the fuck of it”</i>, and honestly, I’m here for it and that’s exactly how I felt while reading it. This is a great short book if you’re looking for something quick with that classic Scarlett St. Clair spice that’s purely just for fun. It’s been a while since I’ve read Scarlett’s adult books, and admittedly the spice took me a little by surprise. But overall this was a great dark fantasy retelling and I loved it and I hope she writes more. It also has some pretty sweet illustrations!

<b> “And if the consequence means remaining at my side for the rest of our eternal life?”

“That is not a consequence,” I said. “That is a gift.”</b>

A deliciously thrilling fairytale retelling. Scarlett St. Clair does it again.

I absolutely devoured this novella. It was fast paced, hot, intriguing. A classic enemies to lovers with tension that was phenomenal.
It was expertly written and it's main characters were developed well for the length of the book. I'm intrigued to see how the rest of the series will play out and what retelling is next.

Overall, I loved it and highly recommend.

This was fine. I generally really enjoy fairytale retellings but I think this was too short to really allow for any character growth or story development. There was virtually no world building beyond a mention of an enchanted forest and the Mountains Made of Glass. There is so much more that could be realized about the place and the characters.

This has been setup for potentially 5 more stories and I would read more of them but I won’t consider them a must-read.

Had so much fun with this one! Good romance, solid pacing, an immersive world… it made me want to keep reaching for more!

Wow, that was over so quick. I feel like if a book is less than 300 pages it's really more of a novella. Anyway, overall I liked the story. Even in all of its brevity the author managed to pack in some interesting characters and scenarios. It could have been fleshed out a bit more and it would have been more satisfying. I love 1,000+ page tomes though, so I guess I'm biased.

I did cringe every time the word "fuck" was used. It was so out of place and jarring, it pulled me right out of the story. It felt incongruous with the rest of the world. I know that the history of the word is murky and it's older than most people think, but it's an ugly word. It's a very modern word as well. It felt really out of place whether it was being used as a curse word or referring to sex.

I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a quick fantasy romance. Especially if you like Fae or fairytales in general.

Thank you to NetGalley and the author for providing me a free copy to review. I am leaving this review voluntarily and the views and opinions are my own.

I attempted to post this review to Amazon but it didn’t meet their community guidelines. I tried to censor the curse words but there is no option to resubmit a denied review.