#TheShadowInTheGlass #NetGalley
Excellent novel. A must read.
Ella had wished for more than her life as a lowly maid.
Now forced to work hard under the unforgiving, lecherous gaze of the man she once called stepfather, Ella’s only refuge is in the books she reads by candlelight, secreted away in the library she isn’t permitted to enter.
One night, among her beloved books of far-off lands, Ella’s wishes are answered. At the stroke of midnight, a fairy godmother makes her an offer that will change her life: seven wishes, hers to make as she pleases.
I can see why Harper Collins has published it. It's a work of a mastermind. Although the ending was so so. But overall it's a good read.
Thanks to NetGalley and Harper Collins UK Harper Fiction for giving me an advance copy.

The Shadow in the Glass is a dark retelling of Cinderella with undertones of The Picture of Dorian Gray.

Eleanor is a maid for Mr Pembroke but it wasn’t always this way. An orphan, she had been brought up by the Pembrokeshire as one of their own. When Mrs Pembroke died, Eleanor was moved into service. Eleanor dreams of a different, better life and so begins the dark journey into getting what she wants.

I really enjoyed this book. It wasn’t a classic retelling and the darkness was the right level to keep me hooked. I couldn’t put it down and read it in a day!

The Shadow in the Glass is possibly the darkest retelling I have read to date. It certainly earns it’s gothic depiction, that’s for sure!

Eleanor is a young girl who has lost both parents but is treated like a daughter by her mother’s friend and wealthy woman, Mrs Pembroke. However, upon Mrs Pembroke’s death, Eleanor is expected to work for her guardian Mr Pembroke, and slowly finds herself as Ella, a servant in his household.
Nonetheless, Eleanor’s tragic circumstances cannot stop her from dreaming: finding her escape through books, Eleanor saves her meagre wages and plans to escape to a life of fine clothes and plentiful food, free from the threat of poverty or abuse. When a mysterious book and a paper cut present a black-eyed woman offering to grant Eleanor’s wishes, it seems for a moment that all her dreams have come true. However, all magic comes at a price and this woman is no fairy godmother!

The description of the book on Netgalley is entirely misleading: I don’t think Eleanor ever referred to Mr Pembroke as her stepfather and there is certainly no fairy godmother.
In saying that, I don’t think JJA Harwood has written this description: the connections to Cinderella are so subtle throughout her story and she purposefully leaves all the obvious fairy tale connotations until the end. Any retelling aspect of The Shadow in the Glass is more of an undercurrent throughout Harwood’s writing: I just don’t feel that she would have tried to force her novel into the Cinderella pigeon-hole so brazenly.

I did have to check what category this book will be marketed in as I felt the book description could have been trying to force this into the YA marketplace with the links to Cinderella. I am relieved to see that the publisher has placed this in the Adult category as I feel it is too dark to be considered otherwise. Also, as a mother of a 5-year-old Samuel, the carnage of the third wish may never actually leave me!
For anyone wondering about triggers I should note that there are regular references to sexual abuse, death and graphic scenes of miscarriage.

Another criticism is also one for which I cannot fault the author and this is the format of the ARC. As a regular reviewer of advanced copies I do have a certain amount of sympathy for formatting-particularly on an e-reader- but equally I can see that some reviewers may declare this as a DNF due entirely to the format. Simple page breaks to show the passage of time and different characters’ speech on different lines would really make a difference here. At times it was immensely difficult to determine who was saying what and this distracted from the whole flow of the novel.


The Shadow in the Glass is a strange book for me if I am honest, in that I neither liked it nor disliked it.
I never particularly warmed to the character of Eleanor: I felt empathy for her during the opening pages and I wished for her happiness when she found romance; I really wanted to like her and I did try. However, Eleanor has almost an entitled air about her and constantly flits between wanting money, dresses and rich food to wanting to help the poor and keep her friends safe. An element of this could be intentional by the author in order to represent Eleanor’s young age of seventeen but there just did not seem to be any consistency for me and I found myself feeling indifferent to her fate.
Eleanor is also constantly justifying her actions to herself which I found frustrating. I understand that the hints of her trauma early in life and her behaviour hint at the darkness that already exists inside her and I do applaud this. I am certainly not suggesting that the character should appear as she does to Charles.
However, I think, if the reader could be made to love this tormented soul early in the novel, we would be more invested in her fate and would potentially shout at the later pages in frustration at the choices she makes.

The premise of the tale and the writing itself was very clever: Eleanor’s situation in life and a wish-granting woman appearing at midnight hinted at a Cinderella tale but nothing was forced down the reader’s throat. The sheer darkness of the content was also enough to make you forget about any link to a fairy tale until you reached the epilogue.
The reader is also entirely dependent on Eleanor as their eyes and ears due to the use of the first person perspective. This really added to the mystery behind the story and it isn’t until perhaps the 5th wish that it really dawns on the reader what is happening around Eleanor.
I also loved how the black-eyed woman steadily became less mother-like and more out of Eleanor’s control. It seamlessly hinted at Eleanor’s demise and loss of control of her own actions and thoughts.


The Shadow in the Glass is undeniably gothic, surrounded by the smog and dangers of Victorian London. It is a book which I am glad I read but would not return to again. The unique plot and mystery entrenched in the writing is second to none and the epilogue is a thing of brilliance: reminding us that we were expecting a happily ever after.
Eleanor’s life as a consequence of her actions and decisions is nothing short of a rollercoaster and JJA Harwood’s writing takes us along for the ride. In the end, Eleanor gets exactly what she wanted, riches, love and safety for her friends: but at what cost?

I give this book 2.5 stars. Once again the tagline "A smouldering, terrifying new spin on Cinderella – perfect for fans of Laura Purcell and Erin Morgenstern." set it up for disappointment. I am a huge fan of Erin Morgenstern, and this book is just different than that. Much more Gothic, dark and destitute. Erin's work always has bright spots and light.

A very dark retelling of Cinderella, Ella (Eleanor) after losing her mother is taken in by a wealthy family, but after the woman of the house dies, Ella is forced into service.
The book is a classic deal-with-the-devil, that you know won't end up well but you still hold onto the hope. Ella is 17-18 years old and the book and though her many many thoughts and considerations would belong to someone that age, it dragged on too much for me. One is responsible for their bad deeds, and most of the book she is trying to justify it.
I believe the book is set somewhere around 1800, and the reality of life for a lot of people was told and explained very well ( I learned tons of new words), but so incredibly sad for a lot of people, especially for women.
The book is well written and sucks you in to olden-days London, but for me the book would have been more powerful if more was edited out.

Working as a maid in a London household, orphan Ella longs for a better life, a feather bed, and fine gowns. When her friend is forced to leave service, and another maid steals from her, Ella becomes terrified that the master of the house will take advantage of her and she will be left penniless. One night, when Ella flees to the library and her beloved books, she is visited by a mysterious woman, offering wishes and the opportunity for Ella to change her fate. This is not without danger, however, as she demands a steep price.

This book has been marketed as gothic fiction so, as a big fan of the genre, I was really hoping that Harwood would exploit the full capacity of gothic literature. It may be my high standards, but I found that the gothic style was really quite limited; it is, simply, a retelling of Cinderella, with a few creepy elements. That said, it was an enjoyable read.

Still, while the premise of the story was interesting, the protagonist and setting didn’t really keep my interest. I’ve read a lot of fiction set in the Victorian era which follows the lives of people who work in service, so maybe that’s why it felt a little samey for me: orphan girl longs for another life. In the same way, I struggled to invest in the character of Ella. The narrative does pick up towards the end, though, and the various plot twists combine to create a nice conclusion.

I do think, however, that this would be perfect for a young teen audience, as it’s not overly heavy on the historical complexities, and the characters would be more appealing to younger readers. There were also a few typos which confused the narrative somewhat.

I would like to thank NetGalley and HarperVoyager for providing me with this ARC.

This really is a dark ‘fairytale’ set in a dark gothic time of poverty and cruelty, where the differences between rich and poor, and male and female are pretty dramatic and dreadful. Where the rich and powerful, particularly men, can get away with anything! But imagine if you could wish for anything you want? What would you wish for? One day young Ella’s wish comes true as a fairy godmother appears seemingly out of one of her beloved books and grants her seven wishes to use as she chooses but each one comes at a price. This is a devilishly good book for lovers of gothic fiction.

A lovely book! Its a lovely cinderella retelling and i would recommend it. I enjoyed reading this book, thank you to the publishers for sending me a copy to review.

This is a unique, twisted and gothic fairytale retelling i desperately needed in my life and i give it 3.5 stars. I devoured the entire thing in a day so massive thanks to NetGalley and HarperVoyager for granting my wish to allow me an early review copy.

Plot summary:
Ella has gone from lady in training to Maid within her household where the male owner is her lecherous stepfather. Her only salvation is burning candles and sneaking into the library to escape into the world of a book.

One night her wishes are answered and she is visited by a shadow of a woman who offers her 7 wishes- the exchange being her soul once all seven wishes are complete. However each and every wish will come with a price and Ella must decide if the price is worth paying.

Review:
Plot wise this book was intriguing. It is a fairytale retelling that was extremely unique and gothic that i was instantly drawn in in from the first page. There were some really good twists in this story that came together well for the ending, however a lot of the story as you follow it through you could easily have followed the line of thinking Ella was coming to.

The writing style in this story was really enjoyable and something i really enjoyed. The pacing of this story is quite slow for me to start, but as the story picked up the pacing considerably improved towards the final pages. The ending was satisfying, however i felt it was slightly rushed but never the less left me satisfied.

Character wise Ella was fantastic as the protagonist. She was developed beautifully and she was never potrayed as perfect- something i massively appreciate in female protagonists. All of the side characters had their moments to shine and they were developed as well as they could be based on the amount of time they were in the book.

The world building was wonderful- detailed and worked perfectly for the story to be portrayed.

Final Thoughts:
A wonderful retelling that is definitely unique will be fantastic for anyone who is a fan of dark fairytale retellings.

A classic theme rewrapped as a riches to rags to riches story, which inevitably comes at a cost.

Eleanor works as a maid in the grand house where she was previously a ward of the now dead mistress. A life of drudgery and fear of the lecherous master of the house is only escaped through occasional secret visits to the library at night, where Eleanor loses herself in stories. One night a mysterious woman appears in the shadows offering Eleanor seven wishes in exchange for her soul. Seizing her chance to make a better life for herself and others, Eleanor accepts the bargain. The wishes inevitably come with tragic costs, and Eleanor soon finds herself spiralling into a web of lies and fear.

This classic story is told through the eyes of a servant with a grudge, and fills all the expectations of the simple story of dealing with the devil. A small cast of characters and locations keeps the story tight, and the plot is easy to follow. The uncomplicated dialogue and straightforward story makes for a novel perfect for young teens looking to dip their toe into the ‘historical fiction with a touch of gothic’ genre.

Thank you so much for granting me a copy of this book! Eleanor has a chance to change her life forever when she is granted 7 wishes, but they come with a deadly cost. Wow, I was hooked from the very beginning and loved the story.

I received an advance copy of this from #netgalley. Thank you. (though after having my wish granted and having finished the book, I am slightly nervous now!)

This is a delicious dark and gothic retelling of Cinderella, set in Victorian London. The plot is gripping and fast paced. Orphaned Ella is forced to work in the house of her guardian where she loses herself amongst the books of library. One evening, when reading Dr Faustus, a stranger appears in the library and promises Ella her hearts desire.
Harwood really brings the streets of London to life with vivid descriptions. Occasionally, points are repeated excessively which can become a tad irritating. I enjoyed watching the characters develop and cringing at the choices Ella was making.
A really enjoyable creepy novel.

I found this book quite poorly written, and i just really couldn’t connect with it or with the main character at all.
The ending was also disappointing, the plot was good but it could have been done so much better.
Unfortunately i didn’t enjoy this one at all and only finished it to give a fair review.