Cinderella, if the prince was the son of a corrupt elven king and Cinderella was at the ball in disguise as part of an assassination plot.
Raewyn and Prince Stellon are both sweet, genuine, and attractive, so of course they develop feelings for each other.
Stellon is adorable but naive for a crown prince. He quickly reaches a point where he would give up everything to be with Raewyn, with no thought for how that would work long-term.
Raewyn has a hard life with nothing but bad options, and she understands too well that her decisions have consequences for everyone she loves.
The author puts her into a difficult situation that gets more and more complicated, and I was curious to see how she would get herself out of it. She really...doesn't? Through no doing of her own, things just happen in such a way that she and her entire family aren't dead by the end of the book.
The book ends in a cliffhanger, and I can't tell where the author will go with the next book except that it feels like Raewyn's mother will be significant and Stellon's younger brother will get to know Raewyn better. Who knows where that will go?

I thought this was very good and I will have to add this to the shop shelves. Thank you for the chance for us to review.

This was such a great romantasy! From the world building to the character development, I really enjoyed it! Yes, it does have similar tropes to other romantasy novels, but that is common! The slow burn romance was done SO well in this book and I loved the FMC and MMC. Very Cinderella-esque with fun twists. Definitely recommend!

If you're new to romantasy books and looking to dip your toe in then this is the book for you!
- Cinderella retelling
-fae/human
-rich boy/poor girl
This is a Cinderella retelling with lots of twists and turns.
It's fast paced with not a lot of world building so it's a fun quick read.
The cliffhanger at the end makes me want the next book in my hands immediately! Can't wait to see how her relationship with Pharis plays out!

I liked the premise of this book and the Cinderella retelling vibes. The main characters were lovely, and the dialogue was quite comical at times. However, it fell short for me, the story line didn’t pull me in like I thought it would have and seemed almost like it was written for as a young adult novel instead of a romantasy novel. The ending was very abrupt and almost seemed rushed compared to the pace of the rest of the novel. The cliffhanger was a little anti-climatic and didn’t make me want to read the next book.

I will be submitting my review on my instagram page and storygraph but do not presently have the links handy!

Thank you netgalley and the publisher for this ARC. It's a good easy read for those just beginning to get into the romantasy genre. It's a Cinderella-like retelling like ACOTAR is to beauty and the beast. I thought it had an interesting premise but the characters and their chemistry just fell flat for me personally.
There wasn't enough banter and character building. I didn’t feel connected to or invested in the characters.

Come enter a forbidden love story that is very Cinderella esque, but instead of a fairy godmother there is a witch with an evil plot and an unsuspecting commoner who is pulled into it.
I couldn’t put it down, I devoured it in a day. I loved Raewyn and Stellon’s characters and following the start of their story. I can’t wait to read what happens next.

Wyn may be a poor human living in a kingdom dominated by a ruthless Elven king, but that doesn't mean she is without pride and honor. So, when she saves a young elf in the marketplace, she refuses his charity and invitation to the approaching elite elven ball, not knowing his true identity. However, with her family on the brink of starvation, she makes a deal with the local village healer. She will attend the ball in return for doing the healer a favor. In exchange, the healer will help her father and make a bountiful garden grow to feed her family. Poor Wyn has no idea what is in store for her or the steep cost the bargain will take.

With subtle hints of Cinderella bleeding through the story, you are left with a cute forbidden romance. Stellon is the sweet prince that you can't help but feel sorry for and love simultaneously. Wyn is the perfect strong FMC, she is the set-in-her ways heroine who thinks she has all the correct answers. Can these two set aside their differences when forced into close proximity, or will the differences between their kind forever keep them apart?

Personally it wasn't for me. It wasn't anything special and I honestly feel like it copied a lot of tropes from popular books. The characters fell flat, the title was unoriginal and the plot was so copy paste I couldn't stand it. Overall this book felt like a money grab, although I can see how some people would like it if they wanted books that were exactly like others that they liked

Really wanted to like this but sadly it was far to simple for me.
Cinderella re telling with really basic and predictable plot.
However I'm annoyed because actually it could have been fantastic. The bones were there to build on and create a real fantasy realm with drama and forboding and really deep characters but instead the author went down the easy route of telling us rather than showing us the story and just keeping it basic.
I won't be reading the next one however if you like cozy fantasies and Fairytale re telling you'll probably live this! I am more of a high fantasy, tension building, twisty and deep story kind of girl and was hoping this would fit into that xatagory- sadly/ regretfully it fell miles short.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

A fun fantasy romance based on Cinderella. It was enjoyable and fun. I did find some of the fairytale stuff a bit over the top and I wish there was a bit more world building. I'm curious to see what happens in book 2!

WAIT WHAT. No no no no no no no no no. I need book two asap.

Also I knew it hahahaha this book…. It was good and kept me hooked except for two things 1) the Cinderella aspects were a bit cheesy and took it down a notch for me. I even thought maybe it was YA at one point and 2) Stellon is just cheesy himself and I honestly feel sorry for him.

Alllllllsssssooooooo. I have suspicions about the King’s bonded mate. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I struggled to finish this one.
I honestly, really wanted to enjoy this, but it just fell flat for me.
The premise sounded so interesting, but I felt that the characters lacked depth, the world-building needed to be expanded on, and the writing could have been more engaging.
Overall, an okay read.

From the first pages, I was immersed in this Cinderella inspired romantasy. This story is very easy to dive into, because there’s little world building in the actual story. There’s more information about the world at the end of the book.

I really like the unique magic system (glamour) and the dual POV. This endearing story has forbidden love, treason and of course faes, so if you are looking for a new enchanting romantasy, this is the book for you!

I received an ARC copy from Net Galley, but the review is my own. This is more of a 3.5 rounded up because of the FMC. This is a Cinderella-esque retelling between a human female and a fae male. I loved how strong Raewyn, our FMC was. She was fiercely independent and a stark advocate for eliminating the tithes that keep humans destitute and impoverished to their elven lords. She doesn’t take any kind of excuses from Stellon, the MMC, to his blindness of the conditions.

Stellon though an absolute cinnamon roll of a MMC, was super flawed in allowing his father to impose the tithes and be complicit with how humans are treated. He goes and watched them all the time yet he doesn’t see their suffering? I found the at a bit hard to believe and I love that Raewyn calls him out on it.

Beyond that, there is magic, a Cinderella feel, and racial divides that makes the story compelling to read. I did enjoy my time reading it despite Stellon’s ignorance. I will definitely read the next one.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/7339014969

Thank you to NetGalley, Oxford South Press, and Amy Patrick for an Advanced Reader's Copy of this title!

Raewyn is in trouble. She's lost the trinket her family desperately needs to survive a couple more days in their poor village; she had a run-in with a Fae against her better judgement; and if she doesn't figure out a way to bring some money in soon, she'll be forced into the pleasure houses to keep her young sisters and disabled father off of the street. When the village mother offers to save Raewyn's family in exchange for a night at the Fae Court and a yet-unnamed favor while in attendance, she has little choice but to accept. As Raewyn captures the unwanted attention of all in attendance - including the crown prince she accidentally helped and his dark and brooding brother - she also must decide what matters most - her family, her freedom, or her aching heart, as her favor is named and fate forces her hand.

This book perfectly captures the vibe and experience I want when someone tells me that they're writing a retelling. "A Court Bright and Broken" captures the Cinderella vibes that haunt all little girls as adults - the balls, the desperation of running away, handsome princes, misunderstood/undervalues oldest daughter FMCs, and a heaping dusting of magic - and grows them for an adult audience, inserting the realities of poverty, the consequences of choice, the yearning and smoldering tension of capturing at least one heart, and the taught tension and lingering danger of meddling in the affairs of the Fae.

I really resonated with Raewyn as a FMC - I think there's a temptation to make perfect, reasonable FMCs that can also undergo a soldier's training at the drop of a hat, and Raewyn is so human in her response to everything - she is oblivious to the danger she's in as a lone girl in a market, her human heart and sense of justice compels her to act against her own interests, she's completely fragile in a magical world, and she thinks through the consequences of her actions in a pretty reasonable way for a 20 year old who's been a primary caregiver for most of her life.

If you like fairytale retellings/reworkings and can stand to be left in the midst of the action (BOOK 2 WHERE), this is an excellent start to a series that promises to be fraught with magic, yearning, sizzling and possibly spice, hidden agendas, handsome MMCs (I am so curious to see where Raewyn is going and with whom, there is such potential there), and secrets thicker than the tension in a "I must pick you up from the bath shirtless for plot reasons" scenario.

Thank you to Netgallery, Oxford South Press and Amy Patrick for this ARC.

I enjoyed this retelling of Cinderella, however it didn't grip me as much as I hoped. I did like that it was just the shoe left behind....

Raewyn is a poor human who is struggling to support her family, and is driven to do anything possible to keep her father and sisters healthy. Stellon is a elven prince who is fascinated by the human world his father looks down on right from the start.

This is a fast paced plot with a slow burn romance, there is perhaps one 'door slightly ajar' scene. Stellon is a sunshine MMC, I am more intrigued about Stellon's brother Pharis who is darker, exploring his character would be great for the second book.

What I did like about this book was the secret identity and forbidden love vibes, but did feel a little lost in the middle. The elven magic is different and again can be expanded on in the second book.

I don’t see it.

The blurb suggested that if you’re a fan of the goddesses of romantasy ( Sarah Maas, Penn Cole, and Stacia Stark) you would enjoy this book.

I did not. Some authors draw out the slow burn (see: Penn Cole). The result though is well worth it. Other authors keep the momentum going with action packed scenes.(see: Stacia Stark). Still others excel at world building (see: Sarah Maas). Found all three elements missing even with the evil villains and their plots.

#ACourtBrightandBroken #NetGalley
This ARC was provided by the publisher, Oxford South Press, via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Cinderella plus fae and a twist!

Non-Spoiler-Very-Vague Summary:
Two people lie about who they really are and then fall in love.

Reaction:
I really liked this! The pace is medium. The author does a great job of continuously having drama and events that are connection and important to one another. There are some events that make you question who is really fae is who is not. For example, the levels of powers and immunity to powers coupled with the lack of information about both parties' mothers really has you question what makes the FMC so special and the MMC kind of ordinary. The book is purposely set up to get the read the next book. The author writes enough to keep you intrigued to the story, but is definitely set up as a series (meaning it's missing a lot of info) so you continue on.

Romance:
There is language throughout the book of the characters aching or heating up for one another. But when it comes down to the one "spicy" scene, it's very generic, quick, and vague. This book would probably be a 1/5 for spice.

Tropes:
Forbidden love
rags to riches
Retelling
Give it all up for love
Hidden family history

Absolutely loved this Cinderella vibe story with Fae and Deceit. I screamed at that ending because of course it cuts out before we find out what happens, so in desperate need of book 2 at the moment. I love Stells so much, he's such an amazing MMC, he isn't the villain or morally grey, he's actually a good guy who treats our FMC well and with respect, actually listens to what she says instead of assumes the worst (I'm so tired of the miscommunication trope if you can't tell). Absolutely recommend to any romantasy lovers, though maybe wait until the next book is out so you aren't hung up like I am at the moment :)