About the Book:
Title: Mountains Made of Glass
Author: Scarlett St. Clair
Series: Fairy Tale Retelling #1
Page Length: 219
Publication Date: March 7, 2023
Publisher: Sourcebooks Bloom Books
Synopsis: “Could you love me?” he whispered. The question stole my breath and burned my lungs in the silence that followed.
I wanted to answer, to whisper yes into the space between us, but I was afraid.
All Gesela’s life, her home village of Elk has been cursed. And it isn’t a single curse—it is one after another, each to be broken by a villager, each with devastating consequences. When Elk’s well goes dry, it is Gesela’s turn to save her town by killing the toad that lives at the bottom. Except…the toad is not a toad at all. He is an Elven prince under a curse of his own, and upon his death, his brothers come for Gesela, seeking retribution.
As punishment, the princes banish Gesela to live with their seventh brother, the one they call the beast. Gesela expects to be the prisoner of a hideous monster, but the beast turns out to be exquisitely beautiful, and rather than lock her in a cell, he offers Gesela a deal. If she can guess his true name in seven days, she can go free.
Gesela agrees, but there is a hidden catch—she must speak his name with love in order to free him, too.
But can either of them learn to love in time?
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My Review:
This is the first book in Scarlett St. Clair’s new Fairy Tale series, and it was a lot of fun. The story is short and quick, and it has a lot of action, intrigue, a magical fairyland, curses, morally grey characters, and an epic enemies-to-lovers romance.
A quick and steamy romantasy, the story includes many recognizable fairy tale elements. From the magic mirror to the enchanted forest to the plethora of fantastical characters and creatures (love them, especially the mirror and the bird named Wolf!), the story feels steeped in tradition but has a fresh and spicy spin. It pulls from popular tales and has symbolic references and nods to stories like The Devil and the Three Golden Hairs, The Seven Ravens, Beauty and the Beast, Rumplestiltskin, and more.
Get a fan, my friends, because this is a steamy one! Ella and Casamir have electric chemistry, and the room heats up every time they’re together. If you like love/hate relationships with fantastic banter, heated exchanges, and even more heated romance, then you should definitely check this one out.
In addition to the spice, we also see both Casamir and Ella face their misgivings about love. Neither like being vulnerable and they resist fully opening up to each other. However, with all that chemistry zapping around, it proves difficult.
"She makes me feel like it won't matter if I have a name or not. So long as I know her, I will know myself."
And I love how Casamir tries to get love and courting advice from anyone who will listen. The magic mirror, the house brownie, and even a prisoner is questioned, though Casamir is not good at following through with the advice he receives, and he fumbles and bumbles more than he succeeds. It’s so sweet to see this dark, brooding, and usually unfeeling male fall head over heels in love.
Ella isn’t much better at sharing her feelings and being courted, and she vacillates between being confused and angry, which makes for some tense and humorous scenes, as well as some heated arguments and misunderstandings. And the make-up time was super sexy. I loved every heated second!
I’m really interested in Casamir’s brothers and am hoping that each will be the focus of future books. I have a feeling they will each have a unique story to tell, and I’m eager to see how all of their stories tie together and who will be crowned the king of Fairyland.
Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of the book. All thoughts are my own.
Rating:
Favorite Parts:
- The romance.
- The fantasy elements.
- The combination of fairy tales.
Favorite Lines:
Great consequences came from careless wishes, even unspoken.
Tropes:
- enemies to lovers
- fae
- HEA
- Beauty and the Beast
Hmm. I can’t believe I didn’t even know this book existed. Some slip through the cracks, though. I still need to catch up with her Hades & Persephone series.
I have thhat but haven’t started yet. I definitely want to read it soon though!
Ooh, I had no idea St. Clair has a different new series out. This sounds great so I’ll definitely have to check it out. Thanks for putting it on my radar! Great review 😃
Thanks, Dini! I think it just released.
This book must have had a super silent release, because I didn’t know about it either! Adding it to my cart right now. Great review!
Thanks! It was a quick and spicy read!