Shard of Glass

A Cinderella Romance (Fairy Tale Royals, Book 1)

De: Emily Deady

Narrado por: Heather Costa

Once she was a noblewoman.

Now she is a palace servant.

Ashlin never pictured herself scrubbing floors. But with the family savings depleted and her stepmother crippled by grief, Ashlin selflessly takes a job at the royal palace. She can pursue her dreams of becoming a seamstress someday in the future.

However, as she forms an unlikely friendship with the prince, she learns that the future may not be so certain. Wielders of a powerful magic threaten their small coastal kingdom, and Prince Onric does not believe that their defenses will hold.

As Ashlin navigates growing feelings for the charming prince, she realizes that her unique skills could help save the kingdom. But can she trust the charming prince, or he is merely exploiting her selfless nature?

Shard of Glass is a fantasy retelling of Cinderella. Discover a world where heroines can be both powerful and worthy of protection. If you love sweet romance, a little bit of magic, and heart-melting conversations, then this story was written for you.

©2020 Emily Deady (P)2022 Emily Deady

Good story, poor narration

The story is well done for a Cinderella retelling. It is clean and light, with enough tension between the various characters that it doesn't feel forced. It is similar enough to the well-known Disney version of the Cinderella story to feel familiar, but with its own brand of magics and other elements to be unique in itself.

My only is the narrator. She is mostly ok to listen to, but the narration felt sped up, especially when the narrator was voicing male characters. The male characters sounded like they were being spoken with a helium-laced voice. I do hope that if the other books in the series are made into audiobooks that either the narration is slowed down or a different narrator is used.

SWANS OF GLASS

THE STORY IS REALLY PHENOMENAL! ASHLYNN IS BLAMED FOR THE DOWNFALL OF THE ESTATE, AND THE LOSS OF HER FATHER AT SEA. WITH NO SILVER LINING IN SIGHT SHE AGREES TO GET A JOB WORKING IN THE PALACE OF THE ROYAL FAMILY. AN UNEXPECTED FRIENDSHIP BLOOMS BETWEEN HER AND PRINCE ONRIC, THE WEAVING OF THE TAPESTRY IS REALLY AMAZING. AND THE STEPFAMILY IS THE TYPICAL EVIL STEPMOTHER AND DAUGHTER. WILL ASHLYNN ALLOW HER HEART TO OPEN AND LOVE AGAIN? WILL SHE GET A PRINCE CHARMING? NOT YOUR TYPICAL CINDERELLA STORY BUT ONE THAT KEEPS YOU LISTENING AND YEARNING FOR THE REST OF THE SERIES TO BE RELEASED TO AUDIBLE!
HEATHER COSTA DID A WONDERUL JOB WITH THE FLEXUATION OF THE CHARACTERS. I HONESTLY CANNOT WAIT FOR THE OTHERS TO COME!

Great take on a Classic

I loved this book and the Narrator was great. It is a nice clean read. Would definitely recommend.

great didn't want to stop

It took me a few chapters to get started but once I did. I didn't want to stop. I love the highs and lows of the story. The characters have personality and growth, they don't feel one-sided to me.
I enjoyed the narration as well, a breathy style.
The new take on the classis was great and the additional plots for sequels.

Doormat of a heroine

I'm not generally one to write reviews, but I read them and wish I'd seen more before buying this one. Warning, spoilers ahead!

The narrator was good. I don't have any real complaints about her performance.

Our "heroine" was the real problem for me. The story started off reasonably strong and held my attention well enough to start. We're introduced to Ashlin, who feels responsible for her father's death and is trying to make it up to her stepfamily. At first, I was hopeful for the stepfamily storyline. The stepsister came across a bit pampered, so our heroine had to take on a bit more than her fair share of the chores, but nobody came across as downright cruel. That changed as the story progressed, with the abuse Ashlin faced growing more and more evident.

Where my problem is, is that for me, Cinderella storylines work when Cinderella isn't given any other option. Ashlin, however, has a way out of her situation right from the start of the book and she is repeatedly reminded of this alternative throughout the story. She's even given a *second* totally different out later on. But she stays. She allows herself to be a doormat to her stepfamily, the only person working outside the home to bring in money, while also being the only one doing chores at home and literally being referred to as the maid. (spoiler) They even go so far as to take Ashlin's name and title and give it to the stepsister, so the stepsister can potentially get a better match. And Ashlin just...takes it? All bc she doesn't want to split up her "family"...her family through marriage, that have made it abundantly clear that they do not see her the same way. There's not even any real connection mentioned about loving and not wanting to let go of her father's house. There doesn't seem to be anything really keeping her there, except for her own stubborn idiocy.

With each escalation of the abuse, I got more and more frustrated with the "heroine". The only thing that kept me listening was a curiosity about the backstory/magic. That, however, was glossed over and by the end, was still not really answered.

Definitely not something I plan to listen to again, and I won't be getting any future books either.