The Glass Coffin Society

The Tales of Märchen, Book 2

De: Shiromi Arserio

Narrado por: Shiromi Arserio

The Hunt Begins.

After stealing a Magical girl from the Order of Grimm and failing to return her to the people who hired them, Samara and her crew have a target on their backs. Their narrow escape from the last job left them with two powerful enemies on their heels.

As a brutal gang war erupts across the City-State, Samara finds herself trapped in the chaos, forced to navigate a city tearing itself apart. The streets they once knew are now battlegrounds, and every back alley is a potential trap. They’re cornered and running low on options. To survive, they’ll have to stop running and start fighting back.

©2025 Shiromi Arserio (P)2025 Spoken Realms

Worthy Sequel In Thrilling Urban Fantasy Series!

The Glass Coffin Society is a character-driven urban fantasy adventure with a Snow White–inspired bloodline mystery set against the atmospheric backdrop of a gritty old-world city! It’s the second book in The Tales of Märchen series, written by award-winning narrator (and now successful author) Shiromi Arserio, who also narrates both audiobooks in this series, making them even more immersive!

It’s not recommended to read/listen to this book as a standalone, as the story picks up right after the events of book one—and without knowing the established relationships and events surrounding the major “heist” (in book one), the story may be confusing. Both books are shorter than 400 pages and extremely bingeable—so if this book sounds intriguing, be sure to read them back-to-back to get fully acquainted with the world-building, wonderful ragtag crew, and their unforgettable adventures!

The story opens with Samara and her ragtag crew still reeling after their audacious heist. They’ve stolen the last living descendant of Snow White (Eloise), and their narrow escape has painted targets on their backs. Forced into a leadership role she never wanted, Samara must protect Eloise while navigating rising tensions, magical threats, and shifting loyalties within her own found family. As a brutal gang war ignites across the city-state of Märchen, enemies close in and the stakes climb higher, and the group is pushed into a race for survival without knowing who they can truly trust!

At the heart of this story (and book one) is Samara Dawa, a former assassin who’s become the reluctant heroine/leader to a ragtag crew of rebels. Her vengeance-fueled past continues to shape her decisions in this book, and her feisty, unpredictable nature makes her so interesting—especially in her dialogue with enemies! In this story she wrestles with loyalty, guilt, and power, mostly with her former thieves guild employer “The Lions,” and in her relationships with Calista, the matriarch of the House of Assassins, and the City Magistrate. She makes compromises and is forced into uneasy alliances to put her plans into action, which makes the story compelling and multi-layered! Her relationship with Gerda, which had intimate suggestions in book one, continues to evolve in this book—and it not only gives the story a fresh take on a sapphic romance but also another layer to Samara’s character that she doesn’t display anywhere else in the story!

The rest of her crew—Seb, the insider; Art (the explosives expert); and Anna and Eloise (both magic users)—feel like a found family from the start, and their bonds only deepen in this book. Art’s fractured relationship with his father, the powerful Lord Templeton, is further explored in this book—and, by the end, readers may be divided on who’s really being treated unfairly. The other standout relationship is between Anna and Eloise. Anna’s magic evolves with help from Eloise, and as the only two magic users, their skills are increasingly essential in combats and in fooling their enemies, adding a lot of magical intrigue to the story! A new villain emerges in the story—“The Restorationists,” a group who want the return of a magical monarchy with “Eloise” as queen—but their intentions are far from loyal, and soon Eloise is seen as a target with agency, mystery, and danger!

Arserio paces the novel beautifully. The opening chapters are slower paced and full of captivating dialogue, as Samara’s crew scrambles to recover and assess the consequences of the heist. With magical combats, a major attack, shifting loyalties, and constant danger for the crew, the suspense and stakes ramp up tenfold, making every chapter feel urgent! By the end, the character arcs are pronounced, and the resolution is satisfying while leaving room for more intrigue and world-building expansion. Afterwards, readers will be eager for more books in the series and further adventures with the beloved characters!

If all this sounds intriguing, don’t hesitate to grab both books and plan a binge read—the characters will stay with you, and you’ll be eager for more tales in the city-state of Märchen!


NARRATOR PERFORMANCE:

The audiobook of The Glass Coffin Society is an immersive, thrilling listen narrated by the author (and award-winning narrator) Shiromi Arserio!

Arserio draws listeners in right from the opening chapter, with an atmospheric vibe that brings Märchen and its world-building to life. Each character is given a distinct voice, a unique emotional range, and a personality, making the audiobook feel more like a multi-cast listen and showcasing Arserio’s mastery of convincing character portrayals. For protagonist Samara, Arserio uses a sharp, controlled voice that captures her leadership role, as well as her cunning persona and moral ambiguity.

Other standout character portrayals are for Eloise, Art, and Gerda. Eloise, being the last living descendant of Snow White, is given a much lighter, softer voice, capturing her initial uncertainty and the fragility of her position as a hunted target in a dangerous world! Samara’s love interest, Gerda, is given a softer, warmer tone that relieves not only Samara’s anxieties but also some of the story’s tension.

Overall, Shiromi Arserio elevates the story by giving each character a distinct, engaging voice while subtly shifting each performance to match their emotional arcs—which is perfect for a character-driven urban fantasy and makes the characters feel real!

Magic, Mayhem, and the Messiest Crew in Märchen

The Glass Coffin Society (sequel to The Order of Grimm) is one of those rare sequels that doesn’t just continue the story…it sharpens it. Shiromi Arserio drops you right back into the gang-ruled city of Märchen with the kind of confidence only an author who knows her world inside-out can pull off. The result is immersive, gritty, and unexpectedly emotional.

The book picks up in the aftermath of a heist gone very, very sideways. Samara (former assassin, reluctant leader, chaos magnet) is trying to keep her crew alive while every rival gang, mercenary, and shadowy Order seems to have them on a kill/silence list. What I loved most is how the plot never loses sight of the people at the center of the storm. Samara’s crew isn’t just a band of thieves; they’re a messy, loyal, found family with complicated pasts and even more complicated morals. Their banter, their fractures, and their devotion to each other make the stakes feel personal on every page.

Arserio’s worldbuilding deserves its own applause. Märchen feels alive: the political tension, the underground networks, the fairytale-tinged magic, and the “something ancient is stirring under the floorboards” vibe all intertwine beautifully. The Snow White-bloodline spin adds a layer of mythic intrigue without ever derailing the street-level grit of the story. It’s an urban fantasy that knows exactly what it wants to be… atmospheric, dangerous, and character-driven.

And if you’re an audiobook listener? The narration is phenomenal. Arserio gives every character a distinct emotional texture, turning tense stand-offs and quiet confessions into moments that linger. It feels almost cinematic.

Regarding the pacing, the book starts as a slow burn while the crew navigates the fallout of book one. Then the fuse hits the powder, and the back half is a nonstop escalation of danger, magic, and heartbreak. By the end, everything lands with that perfect blend of payoff and setup for what’s coming next.

In short: If you enjoy found family, orally grey thieves, fairytale shadows, political intrigue, and a world that’s equal parts magic and back-alley trouble, then this series is absolutely worth your time. This book is enthralling, heartfelt, and wonderfully crafted – a standout sequel that raises the stakes in every way.