Riches to Rags

I’d like to thank Lady Amber Tours for sending me an earc of this book to read. Just a small thing, when I first signed up for this book at the time I knew absolutely nothing, didn’t know a title or a synopsis so as it was revealed I was really excited for this and it did not disappoint! I have never read anything from this author so this is also my first book from her and it will definitely not be my last!

This is kind of a Cinderella retelling but it adds a new spin, this story was fantastic, I really enjoyed the beginning especially after Ella’s Kingdom was destroyed that we saw her settle in with the farmers before we have a time jump so I really enjoyed that and how much of a big plus it was for me!

I really enjoyed Ella’s character, all she wanted was a simple life and it showed in everything she did, I really loved how instantly she was hard working and throwing herself into the gardening and farm life. I loved her attitude to it and how much she appreciated the farmers taking in her in and giving her more than a home but a family too. Even with Millie, the daughter, being a bitch.

Asher I loved him, how he was so guarded and then he slowly let Ella into his heart and vice versa I loved how their relationship built. I loved how he made certain gifts for Ella that meant the world to her and I liked how his skills as a blacksmith were used in this novel. It was interesting to read about and how the village all worked together and helped each other out.

I loved the relationship between them and how they did grow to like each other and when they arrived at her kingdom and they were being split apart I loved how they were both fighting against it and for each other, the ending was really sweet and they did end up together which I was glad about. You’ll have to read because I won’t spoil you guys.

I loved the relationship between Matthew, the son, and Ella it was so sweet and how they cared for each other, when Asher was teaching them to sword fight I enjoyed the bond they had. The family that she stayed with I loved how they just accepted her as one of them, I loved the fact even when she had to go back to her throne she wanted to take them with her and have them by her side.

I loved the plot, I was very curious on where it was going to go and I was not disappointed, I really enjoyed how it came together and little bits where dropped that didn’t make sense until later in the novel and I really enjoyed that.

My favourite part in this novel is when Ella returns back to her Palace and enters her room and gets bad memories, the way she storms into that throne room and smashes the last thing of her fathers into pieces. I was like YAS GIRL! It was one of my favourite parts of the whole book!

The writing was amazing when it came to how she felt with her loss I could really rate and feel the pain she was feeling so that was lovely!

Nicely written story starting with a rich princess that had everything but love. She was growing up alone and sad even within the Castle walls. Her life suddenly changes and she is taken from the only home she has ever know with only a small bag she can carry with her.
She is then hidden with a farming family in a neighboring village where she is raised with the families two other children. Although the family has to work hard and does not have much money, they do have an abundant amount of love.
The princess learns to work hard and thrives with the caring attention provided to her.
She is happy and in love when she finds out that she must fight to win back her fathers kingdom to save her people who have been living without protection.
But, what will happen now? What will happen when she needs to socially lift herself above the villagers to fulfill her title of Princess?

Such a great twist on cinderella. I absolutely love fairytale retellings, and this one is no exception. Casey pulls you in to everything she writes, you feel like you are part of the story in everything she does. I always look forward to her next book.

Ella Carina, Princess of Aelawyn, knows brutality. She has lived it at the hands of her father and has seen it as her family and the people of her kingdom were cut down by a neighboring kingdom. As the only survivor, she is given a choice . . . she can follow through with the betrothal to a King she has never met that is more than twice her age, or she can leave the life she has known to live quietly as a farmer with a peasant family.

Wanting only to be free, she gladly accepts the life of a peasant knowing no one must ever find out her true identity. She flourishes while working on the family’s farm . . . knowing a family’s love for the first time in her life. She also finds love in an unexpected relationship with Asher Smith, the local blacksmith’s son who becomes as smitten with Ella as she is with him.

Just when things seem to finding their way to a happy ever after for Ella, she is found by Trevor, the crown prince of a neighbor kingdom . . . and her betrothed. He seeks her out to tell her of treachery she never expected and to let her know that she and her loved ones are in grave danger from the very person she thought had been her savior and protector.

Left with many hard choices, Ella must decide if she will try to save her old Kingdom of Aelawyn from tyranny once again or live her new life as a peasant. She must also choose between Asher, who has loved her as she is, a simple farmer, and Trevor who can love her for what she can be as princess of her lands and ruler of a kingdom.

This was my first book by Casey L. Bond and it blew me away! I am a lover of fairy tales and this re-telling of the classic Cinderella story was simply breathtaking! While there are definite themes that carry through the book that resonate to the original story, this re-telling is extremely unique and original. The characters contain amazing depth and began to feel like family. Ella’s adopted family, the Farmers, are charming. The love they have for one another and for her . . . the wicked step sister the exception is a beautiful example of a family happy to have what they need and each other and not worried about what lies beyond their means.

Ella is a strong and intelligent heroine that maintains her ability to see the world through rose colored glasses no matter how many people and event shave tried to cut her down. She is not a damsel in distress, but a fierce heroine ready to fight for what she believes is the right thing to do, no matter the personal cost to her.

Asher is perfect book boyfriend material. He is a hardworking young man willing to do anything to keep the woman he has fallen in love with both safe and happy. His strength and cunning are put to the test in this book and show his strength of character. Trevor is also a complex character that also adds some great depth and plot twists to this fairy tale.

This book is full of action and adventure as well as romance. It’s a fantastic coming of age story as we watch Ella progress into a bold and courageous young woman determined to save her kingdom as well as herself.

5 stars!