This was a suspenseful story and had me guessing about how it would turn out from the start. When I thought the story was going in one direction it turned right around and went in another and didn’t relent right up to the end. A good entertaining read.

I really wanted to love this book, I love twisted retellings of fairy tales. Unfortunately this version of Cinderella doesn’t live up to the competition.

I absolutely love a retelling so was really eager to read The Shadow In The Glass. I'm not a big historical reader/lover though so I did struggle slightly with that element. It's a gorgeous story though and anyone who enjoys gothic and historical fiction will love this.

Somehow hard to rate.. i didn't enjoy the gothic dark setting. Hence unable to get around to finishing this.. i will attempt again since the premise is interesting but the atmosphere isnt

The Shadow In The Glass is a fascinating retelling of a classic fairytale. I love these type of books as it’s always interesting to see what the author comes up with.

Firstly the historical detail in this book was very vivid and I soon found myself in Victoria London, experiencing all the sights and sounds alongside the characters. It was interesting to see how the author wove historical details into the story and very poignant to see the vast differences between the rich and poor. My heart broke for Ella and her fellow housemaids who were subjected to their master’s unwanted attention and had to suffer the consequences of unwanted pregnancies, which usually resulted in being thrown out of the house without reference. It’s incredible to think that this happened and people were allowed to behave like that.

I thought the story was well written and there always seemed to be something happening to keep my interest. Fair warning it was a bit darker then I expected but I didn’t feel it was overdone and helped add to the story and it’s morale. There were lots of twists in this clever tale that kept me guessing and I liked the overall message in the book. This is the first book I’ve read by this author and I’ll definitely be reading more in the future.

Huge thanks to Suzanne from Harper Collins for inviting me onto the blog tour and to Harper for my copy of this book.

Unfortunately this was a DNF for me, couldn't get into the story and wasn't a fan of the writing style sadly!

A gothic retelling of Cinderella, this tale follows Eleanor, a girl who has her own riches to rags tale which leads her to become a maid for the awful Mr Pembroke.

Soon enough she accidentally summons her own ‘fairy godmother’ who will grant her wishes in return for her soul. But is everything as rosey as it first appears to be? I will let you figure that out!

I can’t say I liked Eleanor, which in turn meant I struggled to enjoy this book. She had some hard luck in her childhood and her life was pretty terrible…but I didn’t feel sorry for her at all. Her personality just didn’t gel with me!

It took me a long time to finish the book, I kept putting it down and then restarting it again. I just couldn’t get into the story to begin with. After about 40% it finally got me hooked but not enough to engross me.

It’s not a bad story, it’s Eleanor.

Thank you to Netgalley for a copy of this book in return for an honest review.

A creepy an atmospheric read, full of suspense and mystery. I loved being drawn into this complex, sinister world. Masterful.

2.5 stars

Since Ella's adopted mother died, she has gone from a lady in training to working as a maid for her guardian/adopted father.
Ella finds refuge in the library, sneaking in to read books in the middle of the night.
Then, one night, Ella encounters a woman who offers her seven wishes, but there is a price to pay.
Will Ella use the wishes?
Can she have the life she dreams of?

The concept of the book intrigued me, especially the Cinderella aspect, but, unfortunately, I ended up being disappointed.
Ella was a protagonist who I felt sorry for in the beginning, but as the book went on, I found it harder to sympathise with her and began to find her a bit annoying.
My favourite characters were probably Aoife and Leah, who worked as maids with Ella.
The historical setting was interesting, and it had an impact on Ella's life as well as the other women in the book.
The plot was enjoyable to begin with, but as the book went on, I found myself liking it less. I lost interest at one point and did consider stopping reading. Nothing that happened particularly shocked me, and I didn't feel invested in Ella enough to care about what happened to her.
The writing style was easy to follow, but while the premise for this book intrigued me, it didn't live up to its potential.

Overall, this was an okay read.

Overall Rating: 4/5

The Shadow in the Glass by J.J.A Harwood is dark, gothic fantasy retelling of Cinderella – however I would say ‘Cinderella retelling’ honestly is a bit of a stretch! The similarities are there, but I think it’s better to look at it as its own thing.

The story revolves around Eleanor or ‘Ella’, a young girl who comes into the service Mr Pembroke as a maid, having previously being cared for by his recently deceased wife following the death of her parents. In her new role as a house maid Ella finds her daily life a struggle – contesting with the harassment of some of her fellow maids and avoiding the unwanted advances and threat of her employer. She feels there is no way out and just wishes for her life to get better.

One night she finds a mysterious black book in the house library, and with this, a woman appears out of nowhere to offer her a chance of a better life…Seven wishes, in exchange for her soul.

I really enjoyed this book! Like other readers I did find it a little repetitive at points and it dragged on ever so slightly, but despite this it was enjoyable, and I whizzed through it in one sitting. I love how all through the book you are questioning Eleanor’s choice and actions, not just from the decisions she is making – but is what’s happening really what you think?

I will admit the book is very bleak and there are several trigger warnings which I think is good to know about going in: abortion/miscarriage, physical abuse, emotional abuse, sexual assault.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

A striking cover which was eye catching. A deliciously devious tale that starts slowly but gradually gathers pace until the fateful date with destiny at midnight.. Along the way the novel explores Victorian attitudes to women and the wider hypocrisies of the age.
The author has created a genuinely creepy atmosphere in a darkly decaying house and the introduction of the fairy godmother in particular is haunting. Overall a thrilling read.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and HarperCollins UK for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Intriguing but maybe not quite for me. I thought the blurb promised a little more than the book delivered, but all the same, it is a well-written tale, and I'm sure for the right audience this will be an unreserved hit.

Unique enough to hold my attention, and I'd still recommend this to all Historical Fiction lovers. Overall a decent read but unspectacular.

3 stars

This book is described as a Cinderella retelling but to me it didn’t feel like one. I didn’t find any similarities with the known tale so I won’t review it as one.

This is a dark tale of a young girl that’s been forced to work as a maid and tries to find her place in society, prove her worth and win the love of her life. However though, when the opportunity comes to turn her life around she takes the wrong choices.

I liked the plot although I didn’t find it to be the stronger part of the book. The pace was neither too fast nor too slow but felt slack in parts.

What I liked more was the main character and her moral dilemmas, even though I didn’t agree with them. The struggle to succumb to her bad choices and how she reacted to the price paid for that.

Overall, an enjoyable read.

One thing I have come to know about myself recently, I DO love a dark fairytale whether new or a retelling and this was no exception.
Set loosely on the Cinderella story, this is no happily ever after. There's no Fairy Godmother, no Prince Charming and no helpful animals. What is does have is demons, child molesters, grimy poverty and TB.


We follow Eleanor who was raised by a rich family The Pembrokes in London after the death of her housekeeper mother, and raised to be a proper "lady"
After the death of Mrs Pembroke, she was put to service in the house in the servants quarters, and she lost all status that she promised her, although Mr Pembroke remained her guardian.
Mr Pembroke though has a liking for the young girls in his service and molests them but when they get pregnant they are dismissed to the streets where they are never seen again or end up in the work houses of london.
Eleanor likes to escape the tyranny of her life by creeping out to the family library, and it's upon reading a copy of Faustus with a bloody finger that she summons a black eyed demon who promises her seven wishes in exchange for her soul. She can keep her soul until the seventh wish is made.
The book is set out in seven parts, each part is one of her wishes as she goes along her life.
Eleanor is determined to try and trick the demon by never using the final wish and therefore never losing her soul. But let's face it, has anyone ever outwit a demon, genie or jinn?
I really enjoyed the writing and world building in this book. I found myself captivated by the descriptions the author made and found myself not wanting to out it down and in part seven I was actually on the edge of my seat! I can't wait to see what else JJA Hardwood writes because this was absolutely amazing. Definitely a must for fans of the dark fairytales.

Certain things are well-executed. The ominous tone and meticulous attention to detail drew me in and made me feel entirely involved in the scene. The protagonist, on the other hand, is not sympathetic, and information about her past that would have helped me understand her motivation is never fully revealed, which is aggravating. It was only acceptable..

I’d like to thank NetGalley and Harper Collins UK for approving me for an ARC of this book. I absolutely love fairy tale retellings so when this one popped up as a dark Cinderella story I knew I had to give it a try.

I loved the dirty and dark Victorian setting, it was the perfect backdrop for this tale. When the story starts we see Eleanor at her lowest. Struggling to keep her friends and herself safe from her master she will do anything to protect them all. Luckily for her a fairy god mother appears to save the day. I thought the twist on this fairy god mother was brilliant, again she matched the dark and eerie setting perfectly. In exchange for her soul Ella is granted 7 wishes and I was very intrigued to see how she used them.

Whilst Ella always tried to do things to help herself and her friends things didn’t always plan out the way she had imagined. There were times when I questioned why Ella was making certain choices and started to question how innocent she was. The way her relationships changed with some of the other characters was also very interesting.

Whilst this is a Cinderella story the author has put her own spin on things. I loved the nods to the traditional story and the ending has definitely left me wanting more. I really hope there is a sequel as I can’t cope with that cliff hanger ending!

This was a story about survival and what one will do to keep going. It shows us how all our decisions have consequences, not all of them foreseen. A dark, gritty and twisted tale that is perfect for any fairy tale fans out there!

If you could be granted wishes what would you wish for? Eleanor was granted wishes, but, they came at a price. Follow her story you won’t regret it. A very well written debut novel .

What a dark and terrifying new spin on Cinderella! Loved the idea of a demonic contract instead of a fairy granting wishes and the underlying tension given the high stakes made for a super engrossing and riveting read.

I adored this book, it was dark, disturbing and had creepy undertones that kept me reading long after I should have put the book down. it was so well written and provided the reader with a retelling of cinderella that is magically gothic and deliciously good.

I listened to the audiobook of this book during the last week on Scribd and then got an ARC from Netgalley in the next week, which as timing goes, is impeccable and so this review is going to be interesting!

I'm always curious about retellings of fairytales, and this book for me delivers some wonderful writing, interesting characters and a unique way of delivering a story that has been around for such a long time. Dark, intriguing and twists abound, Harwood really does have a fantastic style to her writing that when listened to is brought to life to a whole new level.

I will say that I feel this book as it begin is rather slow burn, however as the story begins to grow and build, The Shadow In The Glass blossoms into a story that keeps you gripped and a gothic edge that reminds me in moments of writers such as Laura Purcell and sees Ella wishing her way into a web as she tries to protect her friends and give herself the life she wants.

I really enjoyed this book, a bold retelling that keeps you enchanted until the end.

Thanks Netgalley for the ARC anyway!