An enslaved princess, a charming thief, and a power-hungry step-mother out for revenge… side, instead of danger—Ella sees opportunity.
Disgraced prince turned charming thief— Finn has his own secrets. But when he meets the charmingly innocent ash-girl, he’s intrigued. Seducing Ella into leaving the life she’s always known becomes his new mission.
Desperate for power, the queen has decreed a ball for Ella’s step-sisters to find husbands and Ella decides—this is the perfect night to escape. With the assistance of Finn, the castle ghost, and her own surprisingly strong magic, Ella finally discovers freedom. But freedom comes at a price. Ella learns that her step-mother drained Ella’s father of his life and his magic—and now intends to drain her too. Ella vows to take back her throne and put an end to her step-mother, once and for all.
Dare to discover Jessica Aspen’s world of steamy, fantasy romance in her brand new twisted fairy tale series: Tales of the Crimson Court
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My new favorite version of Cinderella!
This is an awesome, adventurous, and well written fantasy romance. I have previously read most of Jessica Aspen’s “Tales of the Dark Court” and “The Dragons of Underhill” single novel. I loved this new fantasy romance tale in the same Faerie world of Underhill. The author does some remarkable world-building. So many details stay consistent in these three series set in Underhill. For example, there are some cool references to and appearances by the Fir Bolg, who first appeared in Jessica Aspen’s “The Dark Huntsman”.
The romance was sweet and steamy. Finn was a lovable rogue, and Ella was admirably strong and likable. The magical battle scenes kept me on the edge of my seat. All of the elements of the traditional Cinderella tale are present in this novel, although not always in the same order. There are even elements of Rapunzel and Swan Lake for other characters that will have their own future books in this series. I can’t wait! I highly recommend this book to all fantasy romance fans, to all fans of Faerie tale retellings, and to all paranormal romance fans. I think that Kresley Cole fans would especially love this book.
Wicked Stepmothers, thieves and fae…a great journey!
I was given an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review…
That out of the way, what an awesome faery tale!! The twisted tale of Ella the ash girl. Let the magic of The Crimson Court take you on a fabulous journey! You won’t be disappointed!!! 4.5/5 stars
If you read no other fairytale retelling this year, you owe it to yourself to read this one. Bound up in the backstory of the Underhill, this story set in the Crimson Court is magnificently crafted and told. You don’t need to be familiar with the other works in order to understand and thoroughly immerse yourself in this wonderful story. It grabs you from the beginning and never lets go. I could not put it down. Highly recommended to all.
This was a fast read with lots of action and lots of great characters. To start out you have a fresh twist to the Cinderella story when you add fairies, elves, witches and shifters into the mix. The characters were all well developed and likeable. Ella was a fantastic character who was fun and she had great chemistry with Finn. I loved the entire story line that had touches of other fairy tales intertwined. Secondary characters were also likeable such as the ghost, Rapunzel. Looking forward to the next story! I am voluntarily reviewing an arc I received.
Overall rating: 4.5
I have read quite a few fairy tales retold by various authors. This one is a retelling of Cinderella. They have the same appeal for me as the original telling had when I was a youngster. It really didn’t matter if I heard the tale a million times, I still loved hearing it. These adult versions are just stellar! This author chooses her own unique way of addressing the personalities of Ella as well as the prince of this tale! The route the storyline goes on, the creativity is off the charts! Great job and I thoroughly enjoyed this!
It has been a long time since I have read such a brilliant, rewritten fairy-tale and I was totally enchanted until the last page was turned.
There is: witches, fairies, elves, a evil step-mother, step-sisters, a prince turned thief, a naive young princess, ghosts, twists & turns, devious plans, some suspense, intrigue, determination, magic and romance.
The characters are well-developed with individual personalities and realistic with their feelings. I found the story-line and plot, entertaining and well-written with a interesting plot. I really would recommend this book.