Book Review: Rise of the Cinder Fae

I have had Rise of the Cinder Fae by Whitney Dean on my actual bookshelf for years and I kept putting it off on my tbr. But I finally read it and liked it way more than I thought I would. I wasn’t putting it off for a particular reason. I bought it years ago because I saw a few people post about it and it looked interesting. And the cover really sold me. But it kept getting pushed down the priority list of my tbr and I just didn’t feel in a rush to read it. But since it’s been sitting on my shelf for so long I decided I just had to get to it asap.

This is a spicy, dark retelling of Cinderella. The novel follows Elora and Finnian. Elora is the fallen princess of the kingdom of Ashbury. Her father made a deal with the king of the kingdom of Pumpkin Hollow – a kingdom that is separated from Ashbury by a glass bridge – to overthrow his father, the king of Ashbury, and let Pumpkin Hallow take over. Elora’s father would serve as the Keeper – someone who supervises the fae that they have been keeping in the mountains forcing them to mine coal and keep the kingdom warm.

After Elora’s father passed away a few years ago she has been a servant to her stepmother and her two stepsisters. When there is talk of the prince of Pumpkin Hallow, Finnian, being ready to look for a wife, Elora’s stepmother forces her to go to the ball and try to win the prince’s favor. Elora and Finnian are instantly drawn to each other and enjoy pushing each other’s buttons. Elora thinks maybe she can convince Finnian to marry her so she can help her people in Ashbury and save her fae friends – the only family she feels she has. Finnian hates his father, the evil King Jasper. He thinks if he marries Elora it might distract his father long enough for him to make a plan to get back at his father and free his younger sister, Irina, from hi father’s clutches.

Little do Elora and Finnian know, but their marriage of convenience will have them developing real feelings, uncovering secrets. and trying to form a plan to get out from under the king who enjoys forcing people – even his own children – do what he wants and making them sign oaths. Meanwhile, before Elora even met Finnian, she drank from a magical spring, hoping some fae magic could help her gain the confidence needed to make Finnian want to marry her. But the spring was not what she thought it was and now a trapped high fae is haunting her dreams and looking for her.

Will Elora and Finnian be able to escape his father? Will Elora be able to help her people and free the fae?

I really liked this story and found it really interesting. I liked Elora and Finnian but at times I get a little tired of their constant back and forth, hot & cold relationship/attitude towards each other. It was nonstop, which was a bit much. One minute they are professing their love for one another and literally the next page they would be fighting and talking about how much they hate one another. I really liked the two of them so the constant back and forth was a little overkill. The book was also a little long. I’m used to fantasy romance books being pretty long, but this one just felt a little too long. I think some stuff definitely could have been shortened to keep the story moving along.

Overall, I liked the book and am looking forward to what will happen in the sequel. I already ordered it!

Read this if you want a spicy and dark Cinderella retelling with the marriage of convenience trope.

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