Review: Of Glass and Ashes by Elle Madison & Robin D. Mahle

Posted August 23, 2021 by Lillian in Reviews / 0 Comments

I received this book via the author, Elle Madison, Robin D. Mahle. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of this review.

Review: Of Glass and Ashes by Elle Madison & Robin D. MahleOf Glass and Ashes by Elle Madison, Robin D. Mahle
Series: Twisted Pages #3
Published by Whiskey and Willow Publishing on 2021-07-23
Length: 314 pages
Reviewing eARC Rating:
Reading Challenges: 2021 Finishing the Series Reading Challenge, 2021 New Release Challenge, COYER 2021

They say a dream is a wish your heart makes, but what happens when you’re trapped in nightmares?

Aika is playing a dangerous game.

Torn between the loyalties she thought she had and revelations she wishes she didn’t, she will burn the city down to get the answers she needs.

To get the vengeance she craves.

But when the boy from her past starts asking questions that could get them both killed, she is forced to choose between the people she needs to die and those she wants to save.

Even if it costs her the only thing true in a lifetime of lies.

Even if it costs her him.

A Cinderella retelling unlike any you’ve read before, where the stroke of midnight is just the beginning.

Of Glass and Ashes by Elle Madison, Robin D. Mahle is the third book in their series Twisted Pages and picks up close to where we left off with book two. I should note here that if you haven’t read the previous books in the series, there may be minor spoilers ahead. Also, while the first two books feature a different sister, they need to be read in order to understand the plot going forward. Ok…now that that is out of the way, let’s continue 😉 

Aika is unlike any Cinderella I’ve ever read. She’s not this fragile thing who needs a fairy godmother to save her or the prince to find her glass slipper. Aika is fierce, cunning, ruthless, maybe a bit crazy (but aren’t we all?), and like Zaina, learning she will do anything for those she loves, even take down the scary woman they call “Mother.” At the beginning of the story, she is broken. The grief she feels over losing a sister that never wanted her eats her alive, and she craves vengeance. Masquerading as a vigilante, burning evil men alive in their place of business, Aika continues to spiral. She doesn’t care who she hurts in the process so long as it hurts Madame. 

Then Remy comes back into her life. I fell for Remy after the first few words out of his mouth. The man is Aika’s equal. He pushes all of her buttons, but he is dangerous to her. He makes her feel, something she has tried so hard not to do since Zaina left. She pushes him away even when all she wants is to draw him closer. This constant chemistry between them lightens an otherwise dark story. 

But alas for Aika, their meetings cannot last. Remy is a soldier, duty bound to report her as the Vigilante if he ever found out. Also Madame has other plans for her. She is to attend the prince’s masquerade ball and wed him. It’s all been arranged between Madame and the queen, yet Aika and the prince must play their part at the masquerade. Then Einar, the man Zaina was sent to marry, arrives, bringing his condolences and Aika’s grief spirals out of control. My heart hurt for her. She was an orphan, an unwanted child, an unloved sister, and yet she feels so deeply. While what she does is atrocious, I understood, and maybe cheered a little, for her. I wanted to see her happy. 

Overall, Of Glass and Ashes is an excellent installment to the Twisted Pages series. Aika has taken Zaina’s place as my favorite. I love her fierceness as much as her brokenness. I can’t wait to see where the authors take her next. If you enjoy dark fantasy with a dash of romance and a twisted fairy tale, then I highly recommend this one.

About Elle Madison

Author Elle Madison

Elle Madison is a faerie disguising herself as an author in the human world.

When she isn't wrestling her children, she's busy baking cookies for her husband and becoming a regular at every taco shop she comes across.

After hours, when she puts the kiddos to bed, you can usually find Elle working on creating new fantastical worlds or playing Stardew Valley.

Elle enjoys watching the sunset, trying new wines, the occasional raccoon, and being with people who make her laugh.

About Robin D. Mahle

Author Robin D. Mahle

The name Robin D. Mahle represents a dynamic husband and wife storytelling team. They've travelled the world for both love and war, and a tale began to form between the two of them that just had to be told. One's love of anime and comics collided with the other's love of fiction novels to produce a story with action, captivating dialogue, and riveting prose.

The female piece to the puzzle that is Robin spends her days as a captioner for the deaf and hard of hearing. She loves to read, write, and loves all things Doctor Who. A Marine Corps veteran, her husband homeschools their offspring, lovingly nicknamed Thing 1 and Thing 2. He loves to write and spend time in his garden.They also have two fur babies: a standard full-sized poodle and a persian cat. Their family lives in Colorado after a lifetime of being way too hot in Texas.

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