Every royal has their dirty little secret. His was… me.
It should have been simple.
Go to the ball, meet the prince, and secure his patronage for my favorite charity.
But beneath the mask, the brooding beast of a man was not at all who I expected.
He was dark and intense and eerily quiet.
When I left, I could still feel the ghost of his touch branded into my skin.
He haunted my dreams, but … into my skin.
He haunted my dreams, but I never expected to see him again.
Then he came for me.
And he took me.
And I learned that his darkness was a void I never could have conceived.
He’s the crown prince.
And, now, I’m his captive.
more
I bet you all, there does not exist a prince as perfect as Thorsen (his asshole tendencies included!!!). A very well written plot of the fairy tale- Cinderella, and worth reading.
Total rating :
So this books starts with our princess named Ella whose father supposedly died in an accident gone wrong in her childhood. The rest of her childhood is spent by the stepmother and her step sisters blaming her for her fathers death and torturing her in every way possible. Her only friend gives her the pass of the Royal Ball where she goes with a false identity. There she plans to catch the eye of the prince charming of the castle but instead manages to capture the attention of the dark prince named Thorsen. Now Thorsen hates all women and pretty much every human being other than his mother and brother. When Ella manages to capture his eye, He decides to keep her. From there begins the main story. Our dark prince captures Ella and chains her naked to his bed!!!!
Now let me warn you ..Our prince in this Book is really really dark. Just imagine him as the complete opposite of the one we read in our childhood.
The only thing I didn’t like in this book was that Ella was a bit of a doormat. I mean her treatment at her own house was horrendous and she just endured it. I know that she too blamed herself for her fathers death but that does not justify her treatment. I hope she had seen that sooner.
other than that this book was really good and is worth reading for anyone who loves dark erotica.
Again I am warning you that this book is not for the fainthearted ones and is really dark!! beware!!
I tell you the more I read these classic fairytales in the Sinister Collection their reminding me of why I loved them as a kid and has me falling in love with them all over again…this book what can I say other than you need to read it. Gives a whole new spin on a old classic of how Cinderella gets her rather broken Prince Thorsen. It’s so good.
This book was so good! This retelling of Cinderella is dark, twisted, hot, sad and happy. Ella has so much empathy even when she shouldn’t, but she is still a “spit fire”. I love that she put what she believed in before herself and stayed strong. She has suffered so so much and is still capable to love so deeply. Thorsen was broken, not almost broken but broken. At first I didn’t know which direction Ashleigh was going to take but when it was revealed my heart absolutely broke for him. I loved his brother Calder, he loved his brother fiercely and I’m so glad he wasn’t another bad person in Thors life. I loved Ella’s friends (she has two of them) and that they tried to help when they could. Ella and Thor together were freaking perfect for one another. Their story was hard to read at times but so worth the ending. Thank you Ashleigh for the ARC and letting me be a part of this great story.
A damaged hero
A broken heroine
A fancy charity ball
A case of mistaken identity
A kidnapping
Cinderella’s story has never been this delicious!
Ella’s life was the stuff of nightmares. She lost her mother as a little girl and her father was murdered by thugs right before her eyes. Destined to a life of servitude and abuse at the hands of her step-mother and step-sisters, she couldn’t see a way out. Her only moments of peace and serenity were the times when she was among the animals at the shelter she volunteered at. However, the shelter is about to close down and her only solace will soon disappear. Desperate to keep those doors open, she takes the chance to attend a ball she isn’t welcome at – her family made sure of that. It’s a masquerade ball for charity and if she can just get the attention of a certain prince, maybe some of her dreams can come true. What happens when she catches the eye of the wrong prince?
Prince Thorsen, heir to the throne of Norway, had it all – good looks, money, prestige, etc. A childhood trauma continues to haunt him, leaving him unable to enjoy anything. He’s completely shut down and has no intention of thawing. In his eyes, his remaining time is limited. He’s only holding on for his dying mother. Nothing and no one can change his mind. He no longer cares. It all changes when a spitfire of a woman, who is unlike anyone he’s ever met, challenges him and calls to a part of his soul he had thought long dead.
Stealing Cinderella was a familiar yet so intensely different story than the fairy tale I remember. It was somber and heart wrenching and left me clutching at my imaginary pearls right up to the end. It had a suspenseful edge that really fed the character and plot development, forcing me to choose sides and made it easy to fall in love with what was growing between Ella and Thorsen. At first it was an almost adversarial relationship with plenty of erotic elements that played on dominant and submissive roles. It changed into something that explored the walls built up from pain and heartbreak and the determination to break through. It then grew into something beautiful when Thorsen was given no choice but to face everything he was thinking and feeling for Ella. A little depraved, beautiful and a bit fanciful, with the perfect broken hero and damaged heroine, this story was well-written and a must-read for anyone who loves the darker side of romance.
I actually really enjoyed this one. Dark romance it may be, starting off with a kidnapping and sex blackmail, but the plot and characters were fantastic. And it wasn’t SO dark that we’re talking mob boss who murders hundreds of people and sells drugs. We’re just talking about someone with mental health problems who gets obsessive and likes kinky stuff.
These are the kind where you find yourself loving the male protagonist despite their behavior! And it is hot! And you know he tried starts to love the female protagonist despite all he’s been through.
I’ll definitely read more from this author.
3
Style: Dark Romance (Cinderella Retelling)
Story: 3/5
Enjoyment: 3/5
Dark Level: 2.5/5
Sexual Level: OK-GOOD
Triggers: Yes
Violence: Yes
Male: Scared
Series: N/A
Pages: 324
Audio: Ok- FAIR (female/male)
Kindle Unlimited: Yes
STORY:
I have mix emotions about this story. I think the author told the story well, I just didn’t like the execution for certain scenes. I think we got most of the Cinderella story in the first 8 to 9 chapters and after that it was pure darkness. This was emotionally daunting with Ella’s character. I don’t think there was ever a moment of enjoyment in a section of this book for her until the end and that’s my problem a bit. She never fought back, even to give Thorsen a little back talk. It was like a dark gloomy cloud was over her and Thorsen 24/7. Of course, there were also parts of the book I like, as not all was bad for me.
Chapters 1 to 8, kept the same tempo establishing each character and getting to know them. Then Chapter 9,10 & 11, Mr. Hyde came out to play and Dr. Jekyll wasn’t to be heard from again. It was like, whelp, damn Thorsen. Once the door to his past was open, it makes sense why he is the way he is.
Can’t say I really saw anyone evolve much, maybe Ella a little. It’s the broken fixing the broken. Even the climax where there is a big misunderstanding, it just made no sense, how can she be deceiving Thorsen WHEN HE IS THE ONE WHO SEARCHED FOR HER AND KIDNAPPED HER!? This is why I mentioned I didn’t like the way some scenes were executed. I’m never one to say a story isn’t believable, but the proposition seemed too simple. Maybe because for me, it didn’t seem so outrageous and it was just so simple. But then again, those animals were her safe place so I guess it would make sense for Ella.
SEXUAL CHEMISTRY:
I found the sex scenes to be ok. I didn’t feel moist (TMI) sorry. I thought it could have been more. I’m just not sure why I wasn’t fully turned on or connecting.
SECONDARY CHARACTERS:
The evil step sisters and mother, they don’t even deserve a sentence.
Thorsen’s twin brother, likable.
Thorsen’s father – pathetic and poor excuse of a father in Thorsen’s younger years.
OVERALL
It will definitely not be for everyone. I like some parts and others were meh. For me personally, because I am a fan of dark contents, it wasn’t the content, again; it was the way some scenes were executed.
TRIGGERS: drugged to kidnap, force intimacy, non con, physical abuse child/adult and BDSM adjacent (not the standard BDSM)
****I don’t equate these stories to real life. It’s about personal taste and what you would or want to tolerate with the books you read. I know we all have different opinions and preferences with what we read. I based my book reviews on my preferences and what I like, and while these preferences may not be the same for others, I hope this review was still helpful.
Audiobook: Narrators – Kelsey Navarro & James Anderson Foster
This was a very interesting narration as both the hero and heroine have strong accents. Initially, I struggled with it because the accent was off a bit, too strong and not really consistent. However, I slowed the speed down, and really focused on what was being said and suddenly I was completely enthralled with this story. I soon cranked the speed back up and it was as if I had been listening to these narrators and their performed accents forever. This ended up being a very enjoyable audio.
Stealing Cinderella was a darkly compelling story for me. It was raw and gritty and skirted on the edges of consent which heightened my anticipation of what was going to happen and how these characters were going to act and in turn, react. I’ve read dark romance before and yet this time I found myself holding my breath, wondering if this hero was going to cross the line. I don’t want to spoil it for you, but I will say that I loved all the angst and turmoil this book stirred in me. And in the end I absolutely LOVED this hero and all his brokenness.
Stealing Cinderella is a retelling of fairy tale with a dark twists. I love this kind of stories! This book shows the devastating and heart-crashing story of Ella and Thorsen’s journey full of suffering and desire. It was very well written and thanks to fast-paced plot I finished it in one day. Thor and Ella were very different characters and at the same time so many things they had in common, and the chemistry between them was so intense and passionate.
Oh God it was so hot! I warn you, this book contains sensitive topics such as child abuse, bdsm and violence. If you are not a fan of such threads, you probably won’t like this book, but I highly recommend it to all lovers of dark romances who are not afraid of such topics.
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MY 5-STAR REVIEW
By Judy Robichaud/Dare to Love Romance Reviews
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STEALING CINDERELLA
By A. Zavarelli
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STEALING CINDERELLA IS A GRIPPING, INSTENSE-FILLED, WICKEDLY DARK & EDGY RETELLING OF CINDERELLA.
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HOLY 5 STAR FAIRYTALE….. A fairytale for adults only!
Fair warning, this is a long review because I have lots to say. I don’t even know how to begin my review of Stealing Cinderella by author A. Zavarelli. Not because I didn’t like it. But because it was so good I want to do it justice. It wasn’t good because it was a sweet and syrupy story. It’s the exact opposite. I will start by saying this story is unlike any fairytale I ever read as a kid that’s for sure. It’s very dark. I’ll repeat. IT’S VERY DARK and at times, difficult to read. It’s about as dark as it gets before crossing the line into something altogether different. But seeing as dark romance is my favorite romance genre, it was game on for me.
Here we have the kind, selfless and huge hearted Ella Laurent. Ella hasn’t known what love feels like since the death of her father many years ago.
Like in true Cinderella form, she finds herself at the mercy of her Stepmother Narcissa and her two vile daughters, Lavinia and Magnolia.. Narcissa is the perfect name for this quintessential narcissistic stepmother. She’s the epitome of what an evil stepmom really is in every fairytale. She is the complete nightmare package who delivers nothing but the evil to Ella’s doorstep and to anyone else for that matter who is a threat to her and her achieving her goals. Her #1 goal is for her daughters to marry into royalty. That is until later events change her game plan.
She blames Elle for her father’s death and because of that, Narcissa along with her two she-devil spawns, make her pay dearly. A nightmare from which Elle can’t wake from. Just when you think evil couldn’t get any worse on two legs, in walks the likes of Lavinia, Ella’s stepsister. She is one of the meanest evildoers I’ve ever come across in a book. She made my skin crawl. I loved hating her.
She is one of the reasons Stealing Cinderella is so dark and twisted. Lavinia has spit out incredible violence to Ella ever since her father died. She has no conscience. She has absolutely no redeeming qualities and there is nothing she wouldn’t do to become the wife of royalty and take what she believes is her rightful place in the royal family.
As Elle puts it…..
“…..My entire life has been a series of unfortunate events that left me numb to my fate….”
The Prince of Norway, Thorsen (Thor) Lykken was born to Elias and Frida Lykken, King and Queen of Norway. His mother, or “Mor” as she’s referred to by Thor and his brother Calder, is truly loved, cherished and adored. She is a nurturing and devoted mother, wife and queen who loves her family dearly. But she is a mother running out of time. His father is a different matter altogether. He’s an abusive and heartless father/King. He is despised and loathed by Thorsen. A king who ruled with an unrelenting iron fist both at home and as king.
Thorsen is a seriously flawed, angry and bitter man who has a very bad reputation of being a real “a-hole” to everyone he comes in contact with. Everyone except his Mor. He has ice running through his veins.
The royal family is hosting a masked charity ball. Prince Thorsen has been ordered by his father to marry regardless of what Thorsen wants, to carry on royal tradition and to prepare him for the day he takes over the reign as King. When he finds out there is a royal ball charity event coming up and he’s been invited, he’s instructed to attend and find a suitable wife regardless how he feels about it.
Elle volunteers at the local animal sanctuary that is run by her friend. When it becomes clear that the sanctuary is on the verge of going under, she takes matters into her own selfless hands and it becomes her mission to save this sanctuary at any cost…. So off to the masked royal charity ball under an assumed name to ask Prince Aston for patronage to help keep the sanctuary open. Unfortunately, Elle gets in the wrong line. Prince Thorsen’s line. By the time she figures it out. It’s too late. What transpires next changes the course of her life.
She’s given an ultimatum. Become his, do what he asks for 2 months and if he’s satisfied at the end of that term he will pay to keep the sanctuary open. If she does not agree, she will be arrested for impersonating someone else and sneaking into the ball. She reluctantly agrees. It’s off to Norway to fulfill her end of the deal. But will that cost ultimately be too high a price to pay? Some would say yes. I might agree with that.
All that happens at the beginning. Now the story really begins.
There is a darkness inside Thor. A darkness caused by unspeakable savagery and the deplorable reaction by the person he trusted would fix it. Savagery and betrayal paved the way to his pain and his plan. A secret no one knows about and Thorsen is biding his time until he can follow through. Then there’s that pesky little blue glass bottle that Thor believes holds the answer, and is the remedy to this darkness.
Ella is kept at a distance. She’s isolated so no one knows she is even there.
Thorsen tested my limits more than a few times. I hated him. He’s a true “alphahole”. His cruel nature and ice cold heart and affinity for kink is unleashed on Elle, or as he calls her, Gudinne (meaning goddess) over and over again. He’s a hard man to even like. She does as he asks time after time…..
In Thorsen’s own words…..
“Evil is everywhere in the world. You merely have to open your eyes to see it.”
But as time wears on, that ice cold persona starts to melt and feelings develop between the two and their romance begins. All because Ella wouldn’t give up on him. She chose to understand what made him tick.
Unbeknownst to Ella. Evil returns with an agenda and wreaks havoc on the Lykken family. What follows is what makes fairytales what they are.
A misunderstanding lands Ella in a world of hurt. A delusional and deranged psycho is on the loose. This villain has delusions of grandeur. Those delusions set in motion a sequence of events that will make you cringe as well as make your royal blood boil. The hands of the devil are cast down upon our fair maiden with such vengeance and fury. Ella finds her life is in peril as her worst nightmare is about to come true.
The horrors that followed had me holding my staccato breath, while my heart beat so fast I thought it would jump right out of my thumping chest. I was gripping my kindle so hard I’m surprised it didn’t snap in half.
When the realization of a lapse in judgement becomes clear, a broken man blames himself for what has transpired and fears the worst. That he’s going to lose the one woman he ever really loved.
When what happens to Ella is confirmed, will Thor be able to save his little firecracker? Will she recover from all the twisted terror? Will she trust and forgive him or will it be too late for forgiveness? Time will tell….
Then just when you think it’s “safe to go back in the water”….. BAM!!!! Terror returns! All of which sends my heartbeat right back into overdrive.
In his quest to make all things right in the world again, Thorsen takes great risks and takes matters into his own hands and seeks justice for Ella, his love, his princess, his queen. THERE IS NO STOPPING HIM.
It’s a hair raising yet karma fitting ending that will leave you fist bumping yourself at how poetic it really is.
There are villains and evildoers aplenty throughout the book. The plot is fantastic. There are so many twists and turns. My favorite twist comes at the very end. I mean the suspense level in this book is OFF THE CHARTS! The hero and the heroine are both broken and flawed but they were made for each other. Thorsen is no Prince Charming but he has his reasons. Trust me, give him a chance and you will fall for him too. Just like I did. Ella is impossible not to love. She will own your heart.
Stealing Cinderella is a positively gripping, highly intense-filled and wickedly wicked dark and edgy yet hardcore 5-STAR retelling of Cinderella. It’s not for the faint of heart. But it’s so very satisfying. A very bittersweet ending to a very different version.
If you love fairytales and dark romance as much as I do, pick up this book.
What a book!! Gut wrenching, heartwarming, steamy, full of every feel possible. I stayed up half the night to read it because it was so good I couldn’t put it down. A dark spin on the classic Cinderella and just fantastic. Ella and Thor are amazing characters. My first A. Zavarelli book and it was one of the best I have ever read. A must read for sure!
When you get ready to read this book do two things first: get really comfy, and make sure you will not be interrupted. This book is no Disney princess story, this isn’t even Ever After. This is Cinderella at its darkest, yet possibly most honest.
Thorsen is a damaged prince. The further you get in this book the more you realize why he is such an A-hole. He is the brody, damaged man that I personally love to fantasize about.
Ella has been abused during her life. But she has an innocent quality to her that lets her still try to see the best in most people. When she has something she cares about she is extremely passionate about it.
This book captured me from the beginning and kept me engaged until the end.
Dark, gritty, and beautiful!!!
This book was really a surprise. I figured that a retelling of Cinderella would be boring and predictable. I couldn’t have been more wrong. This book was riveting, HOT, fascinating, and beautifully written. I enjoyed every word of every page.
Fascinating but at the same time rather horrifying retelling of the classic Cinderella fairytale.
Ashleigh Zavarelli brings us a “Cinderella” story with a dark twist. It is complete with a brooding prince and an evil stepmother. Stealing Cinderella is heart stopping at times and filled with raw emotions. There is one scene in particular that comes to mind (no spoilers), where I was completely floored! I had to put the book down for a few minutes!
Thorsen (Thor) is the Crown Prince of Norway and next in line to be King. He is so dark and demanding. Life has brought him to this place of depravity and the need for control. Ella (Cinderella) has also had things in life that have caused her heartache. And yet she is compassionate and caring about many causes.
Their chance meeting leaves him desperate to have her. There is a BDSM element present as Thor not only comes for Ella but takes her and exerts his need for control. As I said above there are one or two scenes where the writing affected me so much I had to put the book down.
“I’m an emotional terrorist, and I think I just broke her. ”
I found Thor and Ella’s story fascinating. A few twists and a large dose of dark had me glued to the pages! And the sex! Whoa! Raw, hot and panty melting! Their journey will leave you exhausted but I loved every minute of it!
4.5 stars
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This dark and twisted fairy tale is not for the faint of heart. I devoured it one evening because I couldn’t put it down. An enjoyable read!
Oh lord… Lord have mercy… Mercy on me…
Wanna guess? Guess why I’m saying this?
Another amazing book, yes amazing, is about to be devoured by me.
I can say amazing without even reading the entire book. I can shout Freaking awesome, just by reading the blurb. And you want to know why?
Because this book is written by A. Zavarelli.
You heard me right.
This stunning author has a new book and I couldn’t start it soon enough.
Her writing is hot, wild, dark and stunning.
Stealing Cinderella is her latest release and it’s not your average fairytale.
Oh no… It’s quite the opposite.
This new book explores the lives of Thorsen and Ella.
Thorsen is the prince of Norway. He’s a reserved man that knows what he wants. He doesn’t want attachments or a relationship. He’s in a dark place. One look at Cinderella and…
Ella, like her namesake Cinderella lost her dad and was left living with her step-mom and stepsisters. Life is not easy for her but she has the biggest heart.
Her goal is to gather enough money to save the Animal sanctuary and…
Oh my God… What was this?
Jesus… What a book…What a ride…
Sublime plot, very well written, super engaging, super intense and surrounded by darkness…
It was perfect to witness this story. It was perfect to see this fairytale in another way.
We ate used to all the hearts and flowers and unicorns but in this case, we had thorns, darkness evilness, and despair.
It was scary to read a few parts but there was hot stuff in there too.
Dayum… It was hot as hell to read a few scenes.
These two were made for each other and it was perfect to see the beauty and the beast again.
It was a hard reading filled with love, compassion and so much more.
A. Zavarelli… You really are a genius… Dayum… What a book.
I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book.
A.Zavarelli is one of my favourite authors. Therefore, I knew this dark retelling Cinderella would be good. She kept the original storyline of Cinderella and added the dark and sexy twists in the story.
Ella lost her mother at young age and then she witnessed her father murder by burglars. Her stepmother and stepsisters were literally from hell. Specially, the stepsisters were really psychopaths.
As for the story, Ella attended a ball for raising money for the animal sanctuary and met the Heir of Norway unintentionally. Their chemistry was on the moment, which they met. The Prince proposed a deal for saving her beloved sanctuary and Ella accepted without thinking about the consequences. As they spent more time together and more feelings got involved. But is it enough to overcome Thor’s darkness?
What I really liked, we learn how Thor as Heir of Norway became cold-hearted mean person. His back-story and the demons that he had to live every day. Zavarelli created these broken people who are perfect to each other. Can’t wait for Calder’s Book!
A fantastic addition to the Sinister Fairy tale collection. A . Zavarelli is such a great writer I always enjoy her work this was no different. This one quickly became one of my favorites from the collection. By far a darker version of the story but it still had connections to the original and managed to have so much sweetness even in the darkness. I’m a sucker for a big bad broody broken hero and I got a complete fix from this story. I give this five stars and high recommendations!
By Tiffany
I am a sucker for a good fairytale retelling. That, plus the author being A. Zavarelli, I had high hopes for this book. I’ve been following the multi-author Sinister Fairy Tales Collection. This collection has 18 different dark and modernized fairy tale retellings. Boasting stories by some of the best dark romance authors around, I have enjoyed every one that’s been released.
I recieved a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
Ashleigh delivers a new twist on a storyline many of us are familiar with and dream of the fairy tale ending throughout life! Zavarelli delves deeper into the depraved world that Ella has endured since her mother died and her father was murdered. We get to see how cruel her life has been with her stepmother and stepsisters and how life can sometimes always deal you the worst hand but somehow Ella still finds hope and joy in one reprieve.
What I love is that we get a deeper look into the Prince in this version and he’s not the typical charming self we’re used to. Thorsen is still handsome but he is cold and guarded with a seriously disturbing past that he has to contend with daily and a wall of ice and steel wrapped around his life to keep everyone at bay due to being burned too many times. I love that we get a deeper look into his past and that he has his own demons and secrets that are discovered and Ella gets to be there to rescue him as much as Ella needs rescuing from her horrendous “family”.
I absolutely loved the dynamic between Thorsen and Ella. In the beginning, it’s all about control and power with some elements of BDSM and a dominant/submissive relationship. Thorsen craves the control but Ella is a clean slate that allows them to explore something neither ever expected. Ella feels everything while Thor doesn’t want to feel anything. But they seem to bring out the opposite in each other and experience something neither imagined would ever be possible in their lifetime. Ella craves the darkness that surrounds Thor and his depraved and erotic tendencies while Thor wants to care for and caress Ella in a way he never has with anyone else. They seem to be able to let down their guard with one another and it’s beautifully and achingly told throughout the book. Walls are broken and then snapped back together and you can feel the emotions bleeding from the pages as the characters go through these experiences!
This story is raw and gritty while delivering an intense and suspenseful take on this retelling of Cinderella. While the premise is darker, we still find a couple who truly belong together and are meant to help rid each other of their painful pasts and have someone to hold their hand through the bad days life can throw at you!
This is another amazingly written and definite MUST-READ from A. Zavarelli! Go read it now!! You will not be disappointed!