A really interesting retelling. I really enjoyed how the original story was twisted and how the author used it.
I found the characters well developed and the prose was wonderful.
The writing was so good and really made the story engaging and fast paced:
The storyline itself was familiar without feeling over trodden and was definitely one of my favourite recent retellings.

I was unsure of what to expect from this book as it's not my usual genre but the cover drew me in and left me intrigued so I knew I had yo give it a go... I'm so glad I did.

I honestly loved this book. It was SO atmospheric, spell binding, heart wrenching and FULL of emotion from the very beginning.

It felt like a darker more grown up version of the fairytale Cinderella. More sinister, more gritty.. just more everything!

It's most definitely a book that you get emotion9invested in. The characters are wonderfully written and the locations are described perfectly, you can literally feel the cold, damp, dusty environment, the smog in the air... amazing!

The only very very small negative comment I have is that I wish the ending had been dwelled on just a little longer, it happened so fast and it was the perfect note to end on but it just felt a little too quick.

4.5*

Massive thank you to netgalley and Harper Collins UK for the ARC.

DNF

It’s incredibly strange to me when writers rely so heavily on the trope/ character archetype of the sexual predator older man and I felt that was happening in this book. Not only that but there is a young female character who seems to be doing everything in their power to get the main character raped by him. The “villain” had nothing else to him except being a known rapist and abuser, and that overpowered the main characters journey completely.

Although i loved the idea of the retelling of cinderella with a bit of a gothic twist it just did not do it for me and left me confused. Not sure how i feel about this book and despite finishing it im still unsure if i enjoyed it or not.

Thank you Harper Collins for granting my wish (but thankfully without any consequences!) and sending me a lovely e-arc of this read.
From the get go I was absolutely all chips in. I could picture all the maids and cook together in the downstairs, squabbling, fighting, being good friends - the scenes and the characters were really excellent and I thoroughly enjoyed the descriptions of what was being used to clean, make beds with, the sounds and sights on the streets - this book was researched well and it shows.
I thoroughly loved the cinderella story, the idea of a child being taken in as one of their own and then thrown back 'downstairs' the moment the master of the house could do so, Although this is a fantasy, dark, magical book, the themes were very adult, so it felt like a grown up fairytale. I truly loved the idea that Eleanor sneaked to the library whenever she could, to get lost amongst the books.
The lady in the book was like a genie, and it was thrilling that every wish had a consequence - like yin and yang.
The book got more and more thrilling the more greedy and desperate and impatient Eleanor got. She said she wasnt sure what it would feel like to lose parts of her soul, but we saw it after each wish, in her desperation, her impulsiveness and in some ways - greed. She was convincing no-one that she was doing this for everyone else, always putting herself as head of the new household she imagined.
The only negative for this book for me (which put it to a 4.5/5 in my view) is I wanted to find out that the book had been used before by a deceased character (there was a hint but never explored) and also more of an ending, it felt quite abrupt.
Truly loved it though and could not put it down. Thanks net galley & harper collins!

You know when you’re watching a mystery on tv or at the movies or whatever and the camera pans to a random, seemingly meaningless object and focuses on it … for just a couple seconds too long. Maybe there’s even a decoy object behind the object or next to the object and it is like they think they’ll trip you up if next to this receipt/certificate/key/engraved trophy/book of matches/teddy bear is a glass of water and now you wont notice have they have given you absolutely everything you need to guess the conclusion.

That is this book. I mean. Just so much. Everything is telegraphed from, for me, the second wish. Of 7. So, yeah, early and then often.

Ella is my least favorite type of unreliable narrator. Not only is the presentation of events playing a trick on her–– and by extension the audience––, but she’s also so self-unaware that it is laughable. I want my unsympathetic female protagonists to know wtf they’re doing and why. Or if they don’t know, to at least be struggling with why they don’t know. At one point Ella is confronted and criticized as just being 'nothing but excuses' and that is the truest line of the book. And what frustrated me the most about it.

The ending is also a let down here. There are a significant number of things that were teased <b>at length</b> throughout the book that are never wrapped up. This itself is annoying, but on top of it–– Ella actually takes her first interesting character step and the book freaking ends. Confusingly her first interesting character step is actively fighting the wicked witch in the mirror who was already asking her to come with her so throwing herself at her may have been misconstrued as going along willingly and not fighting for her soul back but that’s a whole other can of worms.

I will credit that the premise had so much promise here. I love the initial idea and I think there is a lot of great metaphor that could have been tapped here. And the writing is engaging; I remained mostly fraught with curiosity throughout. So, while I really didn’t like this book, that’s just one take on it.

My thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

I re-read a beloved book, I read a book that others had loved but that I found disappointing, I wrote a blog post to celebrate the many books I had loved but not written about this year, and somehow that sent me crashing into a reading slump.

I have picked up and put down books that I usually would have loved, I have done other things, and it was only with this book that I read a novel from start to finish.

It is far from perfect, but it hooked me in for long enough that I had to keep reading to see what would happen. It was the right book at the right time.

If it was a recipe it might read like this:

"Take the following ingredients:

- a large handful of Cinderella
- a dash of Doctor Faustus
- a teaspoon of Victorian Gothic
- a pinch of fairy dust

Mix together thoroughly and then throw the mixture into the air and see it fly."

The story begins with a young woman creeping into a library at night, knowing that she would be dismissed on the spot if she was discovered, but quite unable to resist the lure of books.

"Eleanor set down her candle and surveyed her subjects. Damp equatorial rainforests, steaming in the heat. Versailles, glittering in the dark like an earthbound star. Verona – Juliet on her balcony sighing into the darkness. It was a perfect night for poetry: she could stretch out her legs and whisper sonnets into the slow, hot silence ….."

Eleanor had become the ward of the Pembroke family after he mother had died, and Mrs. Pembroke had loved and treated her as she would have loved and treated one of her daughters who had died in infancy, leaving her with a single son. The sudden death of Mrs. Pembroke shattered Eleanor’s life: her widower decided that she had no claim on him and that she must earn her living alongside her household staff, and so Eleanor was renamed Ella and became a housemaid. Mr. Pembroke also fell out with his son, Charles, who left his household; and so his father ruled alone, drinking heavily and harassing the young female servants.

It was on one of her visits to the library that Eleanor encountered a mysterious woman with dark eyes. That woman offered her seven wishes, her price being that she would take Eleanor’s soul after she made her seventh wish. Eleanor accepted eagerly, thinking that she could help the other maids who had become good friends and that she could elevate herself so that she would never be poor or have to work again; and reassuring herself that if she didn’t use her seventh wish her soul would be her own to keep.

It didn’t take Eleanor long to discover that life with wishes was not at all straightforward. Her wishes had consequences, usually unforeseen, and almost always destructive ….

Eleanor was a fascinating character to follow. She was bold and passionate in her love for her friends and her hatred for those she felt had wronged her, and she did everything within her power to achieve what she felt was right and just for herself and for them.

I saw how the possession of the wishes, her changing circumstances – and maybe the mysterious woman with dark eyes gaining a hold on her soul – changed her. That was very well done.

I couldn’t say that I liked her, but I always wanted to know what would happen next.

The plot also kept me turning the pages with frequent developments, some of which I expected and some of which took me by surprise.

In the later chapters there were developments that I felt were too improbable, and I felt the characters were sacrificed for the playing out of the plot. And I can’t help thinking that better editing, just a few small changes, and the book being either shorter or longer, could have helped with those problems.

I did appreciate the distinctiveness of the story, and I was engrossed right up to the sudden and surprising conclusion.

That is why I say that ‘The Shadow in the Glass’ is an imperfect book but it was the right book at the right time.

I loved how gothic this story was! It really was a fairytale fantasy full of suspense, atmosphere and darkness. I really enjoyed it.

I liked Ella. She was kind and loving. She is hell bent on improving her life, and why not? The only problem is, is that this is the only side you see of Ella. However, this worked in the reader’s favour, because no matter what was thrown at her, we can sympathise with her.

I found the plot got more exciting towards the end of the book, nevertheless, I was hooked until the end.

I don’t read much historical fiction, but I found this one fascinating.

A big thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this review copy!

This story intrigued me especially as it was supposed to be a dark cinderella retelling. Unfortunately I did not enjoy this book at all, the story dragged on for so long and I kept waiting for something to actually happen and I just got bored.
The characters also fell flat for me, I couldn't connect to any of them and I couldn't really feel for Eleanor or root for her. I felt she was really naive for someone who was supposed to have had some education and could read and write. She was also a act first think later person, only thinking about the consequences after it was already too late and I just got annoyed with her.

I love a dark retelling, and this fits that. It's a bit bleak in places, but life was bleak for women at the time. I felt it dragged a bit in spots too, but overall, this was definitely worth the time to read it.

This one left me with somewhat mixed feelings. On the one hand, I love this different, darker take of Cinderalla - although I would say it's more inspired by than a retelling in some ways, and I particularly liked how it played with the wishes and the repercussions (I love it when there is a price for magic, and this was an intriguing take on it). It was also an atmospheric book, and for the most part I enjoyed the writing style. Unfortunately, the execution of the plot - particularly in the middle of the book, meant that a lot of the impact was lost, although I will say the beginning and the ending were much more what I wanted, especially the former and I was almost in love with the book but then it seemed to lose it's way a little. I also struggled with Ella as a character, and found it a little bit of a challenge to be invested in what was going to happen to her as a result. Still, there was a lot to appreciate and some people will absolutely love this book.

Eleanor Hartley is pretty and 17 years old but fate has meant that she is a housemaid serving her lecherous guardian. Her only escape is the library where she reads avidly. One evening, whilst reading, she is visited by a strange woman who promises to fulfill seven wishes for Ella in return for her soul. Ella decides that as long as she doesn't use up all the wishes it is an easy bargain to make. Unfortunately she discovers that there is a price to pay
There are some rave reviews for this book and I started it eagerly but Ella is not a likable character so I found myself not actually caring about her fate. There is a nice juxtaposition of the fairy world against the context of early 19th century London but it was not enough and I struggled to finish the story

A dark version of the Cinderella fairytale where Cinders may not be as innocent as she appears. Granted seven wishes in exchange for her soul by her fairy godmother, her soul only becomes forfeit when the final wish is given—- of course she will not need as many wishes to get the happiness she feels she deserves ,she would stop wishing before reaching her limit ...yes? Or maybe not if each of those wishes have the potential to suck her further into the mire.

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. The grotesque male characters are shamefully weak and selfish but it is the central character of Eleanor that is most intriguing. Is she the idealistic heroine who has fallen on hard times or is she the architect of all the horror that unfolds?

This is a creepy, gothic retelling of Cinderella. Ethereal and beautiful – it is a clever rehashing of a familiar story set in a Victorian London. Ella is visited by a woman who grants her seven wishes, and in a Faustian bargain, she has to decide if it's worth it. I wondered whether if in part this setting and tone would become boring (as it is overdone), but overall, it was delightfully dark and there was a grittiness that I appreciated.

The heroine isn't as 2D as you might think – Harwood captures the bitterness of Ella's life and the desperation manifests into lovely tense moments.

A beautiful book. I definitely went into this book seeing the mindblowing cover. Its indeed a pleasure to read such new fiction from time to time. Thanks to the publisher and netgalley for this book.

The Shadow in the Glass is part Cinderella retelling, part Faustus retelling, and altogether something entirely fresh and deliciously twisted. After the death of her benefactress, Eleanor has been relegated to a common housemaid trapped under the thumb of her slimy master. Her only solace is the library, where she discovers a copy of Faust that summons a fairy godmother offering seven wishes in exchange for her soul. Every wish offers her a new freedom—from the taunts of the other maids, to be with the man she loves, to escape Grantham house—but there is always a price to pay. And with each one, Eleanor loses more and more of herself.

The Gothic tone of this book is filled with vivid imagery and evocative descriptions reminiscent of Erin Morgenstern, its atmospheric voice rivalled only by the rich introspection of our narrator. Eleanor’s descent was written masterfully, her demeanour subtly changing with each wish until she becomes an unforgiving figure who will stop at nothing to gain her freedom. The writer firmly grounds all of this in the Victorian period with keen attention to setting, social expectations, and references to contemporary culture.

After the first two sections of the book, I did find myself forgetting that this was a Cinderella retelling right until the very end, which treats us to a glass slipper reference. The ending itself happened very quickly, and although—in my opinion—it picked the perfect note to end on, I wish it had dwelled a little longer on this to reach full impact. That being said, there were one or two lulls in the middle of the novel as the structure of each section became clear: Eleanor’s last wish has brought her brief happiness, something else goes wrong, Eleanor grapples with the idea of making a new wish to set it right, Eleanor makes the wish. Despite this somewhat repetitive formula, I truly could not predict the tragedies that each new section would bring for our protagonist. Everything comes crumbling down around her in that typically Gothic manner, and while some might argue that Eleanor deserved everything she got, I found myself wishing to see our dark, ambitious heroine come out on top.

This is a unique gothic tale, a fairytale but it’s got so much more depth, it has real, dark, Victorian gothic feel, at points really eery and chilling. Slow to start, but as the story picks up, so does the pace once it gets going you’ll be on the edge of your seat like I was. I found the writing absolutely beautiful and very atmospheric, a twisted retelling of this classic fairytale that brings London to life with dark magic to create an atmospheric story that will leave you with many questions and wanting more

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion

*Many thanks to JJA Harwood, HarperCollins UK, and NetGalley for arc in exchange for my honest review.*
Unfortunately, while reading the book I realized I was not the target reader. The book sounded promising with a female Faustian element that was unfortunately poorly developed. I did not find any characters captivating or interestingly portrayed. They feel flat and naive. The fate of the female servants was the only element that sounded real although exaggerated to a maximum.

This book was brilliant! The cover itself is intriguing with the illustrations, the young girl, the glass slippers and the victorianesqe look. I love the cinderella elements, the murders, the magic and the very different and dark fairy godmother, it's a brilliant retelling.

I felt for Eleanor all the way through. If she didn't make her wishes there wouldn't have been a story to begin with and everything she went through was maddening. Hopefully she found some kind of happy ending but I guess we'll never know.

Can't wait to read more of JJA Harwood's work!!

I tried to get into this story but honestly I struggled. I didn't get on with the writing or the characters.

Maybe it's just me and my mental headspace. Will try to pick this one up again in the future!