An interesting take on a fairytale retelling.

Gesela's village has always been cursed. When the well goes dry, it's Gesela's turn to save the town, accomplished by killing the toad that lives at the bottom. But the toad turns out to be a cursed Elven prince and his brothers come to seek retribution. As punishment, they bad Gesela to live with their seventh brother, the beast. He doesn't turn out to be what she expected and he offers a deal: if she can guess his true name in seven days, she can go free. What he doesn't share: she must speak his name with love in order to free him too.

I always love fairytale retellings, and this one is no exception. Scarlett St. Clair pulls inspiration from so many different fairytales from all over the world, and I enjoyed trying to pick out all the references throughout the story. Gesela and the beast are both very relatable, if not likeable, so it's easy to root for them. Honestly, the main thing that keeps this from being a 5-star read for me is just that it's pretty short so we don't get a lot of time to watch the characters grow.

Overall, if you enjoy fantasy romance and/or fairytale retellings, I definitely recommend giving this book a try. It's a fun, quick read (although dark, so check out content warnings) that could definitely help get you out of a reading slump.

Mountains Made of Glass by Scarlett St. Clair is the perfect enemies to lovers story that I live for.
Addicting fantasy romance, fairytale retelling.
Scarlett’s writing style is so captivating and engaging, I always lose track of time when reading her books.
I loved the world building in this book, the pacing was perfection and I simply devoured this story.
The character development, plot, and writing style were simply amazing.
I flew through it and didn't want to put it down.

"I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own."

Thank You NetGalley and Bloom Books for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

Mountains Made of Glass was such a fun and quick fantasy romance, fairytale retelling read. Get ready to be hooked from the first page and race to the finish because of how fast-moving this book is. Casamir and Gesela are enemies to lovers perfection with the right amounts of hate, angst, and spice mixed together. Scartell St. Clair has combined a few fairytales together to create a magical world that I am so excited to get lost in for the next books and I cannot wait to meet the remaining 6 brothers.

Book Name: Mountains Made of Glass
Author: Scarlett St. Clair

ARC
Thank you to SOURCEBOOKS Bloom Books **** and NetGalley for an ARC of Scarlett St. Clair’s newest release Mountains Made of Glass

Stars: 4.5
Spice: 4.5

- Standalone (ish)
- Dual POV
- Start to Anthology/ Series
- High Fantasy Fairytale “Retellings”
- Extremely Spice from the Start
- Labyrinth Vibes
- Topics
- Greif
- Finding Yourself
- Tropes
- Forced Proximity
- One Horse
- Beauty and Beast
- Magic Mirror
- Ruplestilskin
- “Fate”
- Thoughts and Feelings
- Ending “Jumped the Shark”
- Imaginative Story
- Loved MMC POV

3.5 ⭐️
Multiple fairytales are mixed together to create this story and it was beautifully written! I was instantly sucked in and read it in one sitting. The smut is good and there is a story within it all, so I felt it was more than just smut! My only criticism is that it all happened too quickly - I would have preferred things to have developed over more time as it was rushed and could have still had the impact and storyline just over months or even weeks rather than days!
Loved the side character Wolf!
Thanks for the ARC NetGallery!!

3.5 stars; this book was a great escape and I loved reading it. I’m a big fan of fairytales and it was interesting to see how it was recreated throughout. The perfect way to describe this book is short and sweet; there’s no unnecessary details or plot twists. I loved Casamir’s character right from the get-go. He’s brooding and mysterious, yet sweet and charming at the same time. One thing I would’ve liked to see more of is Casamir’s curse. Readers were only given very vague details and I think adding more would add some plot tension—beside the obvious tension—and give him more character depth. This was very fun to read and kept me engaged from the very first page. I’d love to read more about the rest of Casamir’s brothers and their lives as well.

thank you to netgalley and bloom books for this e-arc!

i adore grimm tales and i think in the short amount of time scarlett did a pretty good job. this is a retelling with a bit more sidetracking than i would prefer. yes i have read her other books so i know this is 50% smut but still the plot fell apart at some points. overall this was a quick easy read, nice retelling, bit lacking on the plot but overall i will be reading the other six stories. p.s. that ending was great :)

I am a sucker for a fairytale and this one had so many in one book but it worked. I adored this and lapped it up in one sitting.

I have always enjoyed Scarlett’s writing and this was no exception. She writes in a way that you glide though the story and her worlds seem so realistic. I thought the plot was great - not original but then again it’s a retelling so it wouldn’t be - but done well.

- fae princes trying to break a curse ✅
- a strong headed female character ✅
- well written smut scenes ✅
- enemies to lovers ✅
- magic ornaments ✅

I will definitely continue reading this series and each brother’s book!

<i>I received this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.</i>

4.5⭐️ 3🌶️

- Fairytale Retelling, like all of them
- Curses, so many curses
- Quest
- Enemies to Lovers
- Touch Her and Die
- Phantom Hands
- Breath Play

I really enjoyed this story. Scarlett wasn’t kidding when she said it wasn’t a retelling of just one fairytale. I lost count of how many I recognized and after reading the author’s note at the end I know I missed a few. It was so much fun seeing what she incorporated and what she didn’t.

I loved Gesela. She was smart, resourceful, and stubborn. I loved how she and Casamir butted heads from the very beginning and yet were drawn to each other. Casamir, AKA The Beast, was hilariously bad when it came to wooing a woman. He was constantly putting his foot in his mouth and saying the exact wrong thing that was sure to get Gesela to threaten him with bodily harm.

I loved the quest elements of this book and had so much fun struggling right along with Gesela as she tried to discover Casamir’s true name. I was ecstatic when I figured it out.

I did feel like the beginning of this book was a little slow and that is where it lost half a star. But once it picked up I couldn’t put it down and I can’t wait for the next six novellas!

The introduction to this story was SO dark and I LOVED it!! St Clair really set the stage for what she was aiming to accomplish with this novella, and I ate up every bit!

I would say my biggest critiques are the first-person narratives with a multiple POV book. The chapters didn’t denote which character POV it was addressing (due to the main plot point) so this was slightly confusing at first, but I was able to easily identify the narrator after about 6 chapters.
I’m unsure if I’m just bad at riddles or if this one was just difficult? I spent way too long trying to crack the code, even after being given many letters.

I loved how the author had the FMC verbalize her needs in bed!! We don’t see this much in erotica and I felt like it added a layer of intimacy that spicy scenes do not normally have!

What a wonderful novella! I’m very excited to see how St Clair continues with these releases.

I binged this in a day! I am a fan of the author and this book took my expectations and blew them out of the water. The tension between the main characters had me on the edge of my seat. I loved that it was a standalone. Although I wouldn’t be upset to hear more about the brothers and their curses!

I was so excited for this fairytale retelling from Scarlett St. Clair, however I just don’t think this book is for me.
I found the book to be too fast paced. Everything felt very forced and rushed. Every conflict was resolved almost instantly.

There are so many different fairytales jumbled in here that it doesn’t feel like a retelling, more like random bits and pieces thrown around. The story just doesn’t flow together well, and it was not enjoyable for me to read.

However, these are just my opinions. If you are interested in this, I encourage you to try it and see if it is for you.

Overall this book was ok. The story caught my attention at first and the beast is scrumptious hot. The heroine is good and I liked her spunk. The story could have been so much better but it was enjoyable. I liked the mix of fairytales but it kind of made it rushed and slightly disjointed. I had a little trouble following the story. I'm glad I got to read it and I hope that I get read more of this author.

In the aftermath I can say, I did have a great time, but this is not what I consider romance or a love-story.

In a world plagued by a curse of curses, one young human girl has to break the curse that dried her villages well up by killing a frog. This frog however was a fairy prince and so his brothers come seeking retribution - she is to live six years with their seventh brother, beast.

The storyline is incredibly interesting, basically both of them race against time as she tries to discover his true name so they can both be free. It sounds great. It promises a lot. However, it delivers little of what I expected. The story is an insta-lust theme. Beast treats Gesela awful and it turns her on. He is also turned on and they find they cannot imagine a life without constantly having sex with each other. That is their "love". The reader basically gets a healthy dose of mistreatment, followed by sex, followed by mistreatment. Until at the very end.... you know it.

I loved the idea behind the plot and I felt like I wanted to know more about the world we were in. As it is, our FMC being a captive we got precious little of the world she lives in. Nevertheless, the little we got was enough to make me want to know more.

Our characters were interesting, although I'm really getting tired of this type of girl. I need an elegant heroine somewhere. Maybe that would be a suggestion for one of the other books: give us a smart, elegant, charming heroine with other, much less explored flaws. One that does not struggle with speaking before she thinks, or with anger issues, or with feeling like she does not belong. Explore something different. Gesela was unremarkable in the sense that her theme has been explored too much. However, that certainly doesn't mean she isn't a treat, because she is very fun to read and most of her inner monologues make sense; yes, you should certainly not be feeling those things for the man that CAPTURED, THREATENED, CONTINUOUSLY HURT AND DISRESPECTED YOU - congratulations for the insight.

Our MMC was.... beast? only, with Gastongeish characteristics? He was the tortured, cruel, beastly male who can learn to love with the right person. I actually hated him for the first three quarters of the book, Then I loved him. It did help his case a lot that we had chapters from his perspective, I think it was a good decision and made sense for this story. I'm usually not a fan of multiple perspectives, but it was actually nice to be able to see what was going on within Casamir, so well done. However, I believe the abuse was too much. There was too much focus on the beastly part of him and too little on him being actually nice to someone, so in the end he was just a walking red flag. This could have been solved by making him more vulnerable from time to time and by showing him caring for someone else. Here, the point was made many times that he doesn't care for anyone but himself, so I don't believe that is something that will change ever - it's just unbelievable.

Overall, before I write an entire essay on this book, it was a fun read and I will definitely continue with the next brother. I hope though, that we get a better relationship. DO NOT MODEL YOUR RELATIONSHIPS AFTER THIS.

I got the book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I received an ARC from NetGalley and Sourcebooks in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Overall Rating: 3.75/5 stars
Spice Rating: 2.5/5 stars

POV: First Person, Dual
Ending:HEA
Content Warnings: Violence, explicit content

Tropes
- Enemies to Lovers
- Curse
- Bargain/Bet
- Magic
- Kidnapping

Mountains Made of Glass by Scarlett St. Clair is a fast-paced, entertaining read that I sprinted through in one night. The spin on the classic Beauty & the Beast story was done really well and I she crafted characters who had great chemistry on the page. The spice itself was well-written though it was a bit insta-lusty at times. I, personally, would have liked to see a bit more of a build-up but if you like things to get right down to business, Scarlett doesn't make you wait long for some spicy action.

Gesela is a great FMC, a real hellcat. I really liked that Scarlett was able to develop a dynamic character within a shorter novel. Casamir (MMC) has 5 other brothers, so I'm hoping this is leaving the door open for a bigger series focusing on each Fae Prince.

Again, I will say that I wished there was a bit more meat to the ending but there is something to be said for shorter novels and I know the length and story of Mountains Made of Glass will appeal to many readers.

If you have read and loved any of Scarlett St. Clair's previous works or if you enjoy a spicy romance inspired by fairytales, you will love Mountains Made of Glass.

Having lost her parents and her sister, Gesela is an independent woman who the villagers of Elk keep at a distance, until the town's well goes dry and she is called upon to break the curse. But breaking curses is not an easy task in this realm, and facing an Elven prince is not what Gesela had in mind.

The first chapter drew me in and I was excited to read a story that has that enemies to lovers vibe within an interesting fantasy world. I was quickly diverted from that notion when the characters started to take on a contemporary feel in their speech and actions. More specifically, both characters were overcome by lust, and that element quickly pervaded the story. Lust is fine when there is a nice build with some tension that develops into deeper emotions. But in this story their lusting after one another was a constant element that overtook any character development whatsoever. It also took up room where some of the fantasy elements could have shined. It made for an uninteresting read that had such potential.

I have never read this author, but I do believe that she has a talent with writing as far as structure and syntax. If she had built more dynamic characters then she would have hit this book out of the park for me.

I read and reviewed an eARC of this book thanks to Sourcebooks Bloom Books via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

This was really fun! Mountains Made of Glass is a fantastic smorgasbord of fairytale elements. There are curses, princes being turned into frogs, and prisoners who must discover their captor's true name in order to be released. As with all of Scarlett St. Clair's books, this is sexually explicit and not intended for YA readers. While I really enjoyed the fairytale elements of this story, I didn't completely buy into the love between the main characters. With the amount of detail about the attraction between them, it would have been nice to understand more why they loved each other. Yes, okay, they're both hot - what else?

All in all, a fun, easy read. I've been enjoying the fairytale kick I've been on.

Thanks so much to Scarlett St. Clair and Bloom Books for this ARC through NetGalley. Mountains Made of Glass is available as of March 7th, 2023.

A fantastic, thrilling, romantic fantasy! Scarlett St. Clair has become one of my favorite authors. If you like Sarah J Maas, you will love all of these books!

I love a fairy tale retelling and read any interesting ones that I come across. This one is more of a fairy tale compilation which I found appealing and the darkness of the story is reminiscent of those old fairy tales. This is the first of a new series and author (for me) that I plan on reading more of.

A novella, this maintained the appeal of a full story even though I found it too rushed in places. I read this in one afternoon, over two reading sessions.

The spice level is around 2.5./5.

My issues -
1) a kink - very briefly mentioned twice with zero trigger warnings
2) the more insta aspect of the relationship between the MC’s. As this is a novella, I understand but feel like the story would have been better with more details - the story really felt lacking in parts

Beyond those, I enjoyed this one and look forward to the next titles.




Thank you to Bloom Books and NetGalley for the DRC!

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review- thank you to Sourcebooks and NetGalley!

2.75/5

Gesela is forced to kill an elven prince disguised as a toad. She is then sent to the Prince of Thorn's residence as punishment. Chaos ensues as she navigates the prince's own curse and slowly falls for him.

I'm having a hard time writing this review seriously because I don't feel like this book took itself seriously in any way, shape, or form. I 100% stayed for the vibes and the head-empty-no-thoughts space it put me in. To put it simply, this book is fun, but that's about it.

Things I liked:
-It was fun picking out all of the different fairytales that were represented, and there were MANY.
-I love a good FMC who seeks revenge and doesn't bother with the "good, pure-hearted, sweet girl" stereotype. Gesela was out for blood and she got it.
-Also love a MMC who is supposed to be big and bad and scary and kind of is, but is mostly just scared of intimacy and being vulnerable and is squishy on the inside. I got strong Cardan vibes. I feel like this is exactly what Cardan might have been like if Cruel Prince was adult instead of YA.
-This book didn't shy away from the gore and horror. It wasn't extreme by any means, but was enough to make it feel like some of the more violent fairytales out there.
-There was a lot of comedic relief. I found myself laughing out loud at the absurdity a couple times.
-The magic and the world were goofy. Dropped with no explanation whatsoever, you just have to accept it and move on. Normally I need magic systems to be explained to me in great detail, but this was a genius move. It worked so well for the type of story that was being told.
-It was short. I don't think I could have read a long book like this, it would have gotten repetitive very quickly.
-The spice was... Fine. I'd say pretty average.

Things I didn't like:
-We got absolutely no backstory for the prince. Not one little crumb. I think she could have given the prince a backstory and did some world building at the same time and it would have helped give some context and draw me in a little better.
-Come to think of it, we didn't get much backstory or context at all. It felt like the book started but I had missed the first couple chapters.
-The pacing was all over the place. Immediately throwing in the spicy thoughts they both had during their first interaction was a bold choice, I remember thinking "damn, already????" Then, they both did the "do I or do I not desire/love this person" back and forth for forever. After all that, the ending felt rushed. It was just all of a sudden over.

I would recommend this book with caution. I think romantasy readers who enjoy vibes-only reads will really like this, but readers who require a solid plot and character development will find it lacking and too silly. It is super short, definitely something that can be read in one sitting. For me, it wasn't one that I loved but I also didn't hate it.