4/5 Stars

Some stories retell. This one reignites. Reign of Cinders and Glass is a dark, velvet-drenched Cinderella retelling, steeped in blood, magic, and longing. From page one, I was swept into a world where vampires rule the shadows and a quiet girl rises like a spark from ash.

Ella isn’t your typical fairytale heroine—she’s softer, fiercer, real. A farm girl who doesn’t just survive cruelty—she evolves through it. When Cassius calls her “Cinder,” I melted. Their slow-burn tension is the kind that coils in your chest and refuses to let go. Cassius is no charming prince. He’s cold fire, all mystery and restrained intensity—and I loved every unreadable moment of him. Their chemistry? Electric. Dangerous. Completely addictive.

The writing is lush and dark, with just enough danger and fairytale nostalgia to make it feel both timeless and fresh. The audiobook was fantastic! Both narrators did a great job! Overall this was a solid 4 star read for me, it was fierce, romantic, and dripping with magic.

Thank you to NetGalley and publisher for the audiobook ARC!

✨ Review: Reign of Cinders and Glass
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ / 5

I really enjoyed this fresh, magical twist on Cinderella! Ella is such a strong, determined heroine, and I loved seeing how the authors wove in clever callbacks to the classic fairytale while creating something entirely new.

The world of vampire lords and the mortals who serve them was fascinating, though I do wish the world-building had gone a bit deeper—especially when it came to explaining how magic works for mortals.

I also appreciated the dual POV, even though most of the story is told from Ella’s perspective. It was nice to get those glimpses into Prince Cassius’s mind. The relationship between Ella and Cassius was a highlight for me—their chemistry felt authentic, and I enjoyed watching their dynamic develop. That said, I found the one spicy scene to be a little cringe-worthy and out of sync with the rest of the book’s tone.

I listened to the audiobook and thought Jesse Vilinsky’s narration brought Ella to life beautifully. Daniel Henning, who narrated Prince Cassius’s chapters, didn’t feel like the best fit for me—his voice didn’t quite match how I imagined the character.

If you’re a fan of fairytale retellings with vampires, magic, and a dash of romance, this is worth checking out!

3.5 Stars

This book was a blast! Who knew all my fairytale dreams could come true in one glorious, twisted duology? This first book focuses on Ella and the next book is focused on Belle.

I loved the dual POV and dual narration from Daniel Henning and Jesse Vilinsky. Also the inclusion of vampires and witches was fun. I'm looking forward to reading the next book!

Thank you to Dreamscape Media for the ALC in exchange for an honest review!

I was able to listen to this as an audio. This is a Cinderella retelling, but with vampires and magic. I enjoyed this one and it kept you drawn in. This is a series of fairytales so you can guess when reading the story the next one’s gonna be. Our FMC is a human, just looking for her sister and end up crossing paths with the prince. And then gets a clue as to where her sister is and goes to the castle to work to try to find her sister where she meet our “stepsister’s“ this is showing our character development and how she ends up getting some secrets that I will not tell so that you can read them. It does end in an HEA like our original Cinderella.

This was fun and fast. The action was quick. A dark cinderella retelling, very plot driven with a good romance subplot. I enjoyed it, but I did find myself asking a lot of questions throughout so ultimately I went with a 4 star. Would definitely recommend to dark fantasy readers.

Thank you so much for this ALC opportunity!

This is a Cinderella retelling, but make it dark—with vampires, mages, and a brooding prince who totally stole the show 🖤🩸. I was very into this from the start and stayed invested all the way through. The fantasy world was rich, and the tension kept me turning the pages (or listening nonstop).

Prince Cassius was the perfect morally gray, brooding MMC, and I loved every scene he was in 😍.

My only issue was with the audiobook narration—when the narrators voiced the opposite gender, it was a little hard to listen to and pulled me out of the moment 😬.

Still, the story itself delivered on all fronts: magic, danger, slow-burn tension, and strong emotional stakes. If you love dark fantasy fairytale retellings with bite, this one’s for you.

I loved this Cinderella retelling! Romance but not over the top. I loved Ella's character and her strength. I loved the added in witches and vampires. I'm not a huge fan of vampires normally, but liked this take on everything.

I'm excited for book 2!


Narrators were great, the man doing the female character was definitely not my favorite, but other than that, they did a great job. It would not stop me from listening again.

I'm not going to lie - it took me some time to get into the narrators - at the end I really enjoyed the female narrator and the male narrator grew on me but wasn't necessarily my favorite - I found his tone choices to be a little clipped and forceful, not reflective of what the first person narration for the MMC would be in my head (that's on me I suppose). I did wind up moving the speed to 1.5x because I felt everything was just being read too slow - then again, that might just be a me thing. Overall I really enjoyed the story and would pick up another book by this author - I'm a sucker for retellings, especially if you manage to throw a vampire or two in.

Cinderella but with vampires? Yes please!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/🌶️🌶️
This had my favorite tropes: enemies to lovers, touch her and die, and found family. Plus our favorite Cinderella moments such as animal companions, a fairy godmother, wicked vampire stepsisters, and a masquerade ball and magical elements.

This was so fun to read! Can be read as a standalone but there is another book in this series. Our vampire prince Cassius was broody and grumpy but he was down bad for our girl Ella. Their chemistry was palpable and their dynamic had no slow moments. His protection of Ella did not stop our girl from holding her own. Ella had her own secrets and agenda this whole way through, and I loved watching her grow into her own magic. A strong FMC who also remains humble and kind til the end. While this stuck to the basics when it came to the classic story, it did a great job of giving it its own twist. The world building was detailed enough with a fast pace from start to finish. The elements of magic kept it whimsical while still also being dark at times (hello glass slipper in the eye. I fully winced at the details). A little spicy and that first taste scene was STEAMY! It really set the pace for their chemistry and let’s take a moment for that “one horse” trope scene. If you’re a fan of Cinderella and classic retellings, this one’s for you. I will absolutely be diving into Belles story upon release because what do you mean our beast is a dragon shifter!

Imagine the Cinderella story told with a bit of a horror twist. There's royalty, vampires, a rebellion, and romance. What else could you possibly want from a fantasy story?

I'm a sucker for a retelling and one about Cinderella (Ella) with a vampire (Cassius) I was here for it from the beginning. From the start the characters were fast pasted and the writing was quick and easy. Making me curious and the book easily devour-able in short bursts. Though I just wanted to read. You knew Ella and Cassius were trouble for one another, but you couldn't help but want the best for them and their hearts.

When is book two?

I really enjoyed this audiobook!! I’m quite new to audiobooks and was happy to try with this book!
I loved the story line and the voices brought it all to life!!

This is like an adult, dark vampire fantasy version of Cinderella. It started a bit slow but the story really picks up. The narrators do a great job (Ella's narrator especially).

I want to make sure I reiterate that it is pretty dark. It's not the darkest book I have read, but the FMC really goes through a lot of physical and emotional abuse.

There was a little spice. Just the right amount. I only wish we got a little more story from the side characters, and more revenge haha.
Overall the book was very enjoyable and i would definitely recommend it to friends

Unfortunately, I struggled to get through this story—mostly because I found the narration difficult to enjoy.
I don’t feel like I can give it a completely fair review, as that aspect really distracted me throughout.

I loved the Cinderella retelling with vampires! I also
Loved the narrator. Thank you so much for the arc!

I really enjoyed this darker retelling of Cinderella and how they pulled in a fantasy aspect with the vampires. It was so well done with a great balance or originality bit still help the nostalgia of the Disney telling. I truly loved how much the main characters stood out to me and how I was able to see Ella change and grow. I loved the weaving of the magic, witches and vampires. It was so well written and straightforward. The narration of this Audiobook was steady and really brought the story to life.

Thank you NetGalley for this ALC in exchange for my honest review.

A new type of retelling, which I have to say I enjoyed.

I'm not really a fan of Cinderella's story, but this retelling was pretty damn good!
The authors did a great job with their characters and the action of the book.
I went in kind of blind, just read the description, that it was a retelling (and I love retellings), that it had vampires and witches, and I was sold! I was surprised when I heard the smut!

The narrators did a great job, giving voice to the characters, immersing us into the story with the change in their voice, depending on the character's emotions.

All in all, it's a quick read and the audio version is amazing!

This is the book my vampire-loving, fairytale-reading heart needed!! The audio is fantastic! I love how the narrators capture emotion. This is a Cinderella retelling with all the best Romantasy feels and it has vampires! And the vampire dynamic has a unique spin to it that I loved. Ella in search for her sister encounters a dark and alluring vampire lord, so right off the bat I was in 🙌🏻 I love how brave and sassy Ella is and how that affects the MMC. It made for a fun dynamic. The way the enemies to lovers played out with all the steamy tension, made for an exciting read. I loved the magic system and the high stakes plot. All around a win.

❤️‍🔥 mine
❤️‍🔥 dark & broody MMC
❤️‍🔥 vampire
❤️‍🔥 steamy tension
❤️‍🔥 enemies to lovers
❤️‍🔥 slow burn
❤️‍🔥 mysterious magic
❤️‍🔥 Cinderella retelling
❤️‍🔥 touch her and ☠️
❤️‍🔥 crawl to him
❤️‍🔥 meddling old woman

🌶️🌶️ open door, descriptive
(🌶️chapter )
(🌶️🌶️chapter 66)

*language and spicy language

I'm not usually one to binge-listen to an audiobook, but Reign of Cinders and Glass had me from the very first chapter. I loved the way the author intertwined the classic story of Cinderella with a supernatural, vampiric realm.
I felt quite mixed when it came to the narrators, though. I loved the female narrator, I felt that she captured Ella's character and emotions beautifully, expressing her perfectly. However, Cassius' narrator was quite disappointing. I felt he had a very monotonous and uninterested tone throughout the whole audiobook, like he was simply reading off a script, offering no real way to feel connected to Cassius. Though I loved understanding things from Cassius' point of view, getting through the chapters with the narrator felt like a drag.
I also adored how Ella wasn't written as some sort of damsel in distress, as most FMC's usually are nowadays. It was a nice refreshment following the story of a valiant, headstrong character who wasn't afraid to speak her mind.
The ending was extremely well resolved and I couldn't be happier to have had the chance to listen to this book, so thank you to the author and Dreamscape Media for giving me the chance to listen to Reign of Cinders and Glass, I'm looking forward to any new and upcoming books by Lindsey Hall.

Secret missions. With a hidden resistance and a complex societal system, and it's a fairy tale retelling where Cinderella meets Vampires? Say less!

That, and when I saw Jesse Vilinsky narrating? I was sold. As always, she was phenomenal. I love how she always makes each character stand out, and in this tale, 100/10 perfect. I wasn't familiar with Daniel Henning, but I loved all of his voices as well! They complement each other perfectly and gave life to Reign of Cinders and Glass. Honestly? No notes. They were exceptional.

The story was engaging, and I appreciated the subverted trope of the "evil" stepmother! (She cares even if she is insanely misguided.) Siggi is amazing too god. As I briefly mentioned, the complex societal caste system between humans and vampires was well thought out, making the spy reconnaissance plot shine. Ella was a very likable heroine. Cassius was a broody but a nice hero. The side characters were great. This was a lot of fun.

Thank you, NetGalley, Dreamscape Media, and especially the authors for the ALC, in exchange for my honest review.