Author: Whitney Dean

Series: Dark Hearts Fairytale Retellings

First Published: 26 February 2024

“I see you, but it doesn’t matter what I think. You need to see you.”

I will start by saying that I wI will start by saying that I was given an ARC copy in exchange for an honest review. Thank so much Whitney for sending a copy my way!

Born and raised in the forgotten and broken kingdom of Ashbury, Elora has spent years resenting the royals of Pumpkin Hollow, the kingdom that forced the fall of Ashbury and procured the town as its own.

Separated by a mysterious glass bridge, Ashbury is treated as the orphan kingdom, left to squander and starve with only the promise of protection from King Jasper, preventing anyone outside their realm from searching for the magic that lay within the ashy valleys and red skies.

Because twenty-five years ago, the Cinder Fae arrived. As mysterious as the magic encompassing Ashbury, the Cinder Fae bargained for their lives by promising to keep the entire realm warm with their ability to mine mountainsides into coal.

But Elora and the Cinder Fae hold a secret that could bring the end to Ashbury and the mysterious winged creatures, who, despite Elora’s best efforts to pry, refuse to share where they came from or why they can’t return.

In her desperation to prevent the downfall of her kingdom and the death of her beloved Fae, Elora drinks from an enchanted spring, convinced she can make the prince of Pumpkin Hollow fall in love with her and guarantee their safety.

But magic takes to give.

And Elora didn’t realize her heart would be the sacrifice.

Rise of the Cinder Fae is a deliciously dark Cinderella retelling. We get a lot of set-up into the world, the history and who Ellie and Finn are. It feels quite grand and is a slower-paced fantasy romance.

Ellie is the forgotten princess of the ruined Kingdom of Ashbury. After the death of her father, she is at the mercy of her stepmother, who hates her and treats her like a servant, and her cruel stepsisters. Her only source of happiness is the Cinder Fae – more victims of the Pumpkin Hollow King who are enslaved to mine coal for the kingdom. Her only friend is Azrea, a Cinder Fae who’s mates with their unofficial leader. Ellie is thrown into the court of Pumpkin Hollow as a bargaining chip for her stepmother to regain her lavished lifestyle. She must catch the eye of the rakish Pumpkin Hollow prince and win his hand in marriage. Azera also pushes Ellie into cultivating this marriage as it might be the only way to save the people of Ashbury and the Cinder Fae.

While we do have Fae, the magic in this world is sparse. The story is split into three parts and the second part, which focuses on Ellie and Finn’s engagement, has next to no magic. I wish we could’ve got a little more, but we might get more as the series progresses. I adored the way Whitney Dean has woven in the Cinderella elements, including the magic pumpkins. If you love your fantasy romance with some political intrigue, this is a great book for you. We slowly discover that Pumpkin Hollow Kingdom isn’t the magical place it advertises. There are some dark undertones and a rebellion is brewing against the tyrannical King.

I wish Ellie had more agency in this story. She spends most of the story being manipulated and controlled by pretty much everyone from the Cinder Fae, her stepmother and the King. It was wonderful to see that despite how she is treated she doesn’t lose her faith in people and is still willing to do anything she can to save her people. Given the ending, I have my fingers and toes crossed that Ellie will take more control of her life in the sequel.

Finn was really hot and cold. One moment, he wants nothing to do with Ellie and the next moment, he is super possessive over her, which is not hot. I did like seeing more of his backstory and the horrible events her father put him through. So on one hand, I do understand why he’s hesitant to show affection to anyone as they could be used as a pawn against him. I just wished he was less domineering over Ellie, especially when she was kept in the dark about all the politics and court lifestyle, so is quite naive. The saving grace is his relationship with her sister, Irina, whom he treats with care and respect and gives her the space to be her own person.

Romance is a slow burn as while Ellie and Finn both need to get married, but they aren’t too thrilled about it. At first, their marriage is a marriage of convenience. They both need to learn to trust the other person. There are some hits and misses with their communication. They keep secrets, but given their history, it feels authentic that they aren’t going to spill their guts to another person right away. When they realise that their goals align, they slowly start to trust each other and work together. But don’t worry, we still get a ton of steamy scenes in here. Even though there is a slow burn to their relationship, once the steam hits, it hits hard.

The Rise of the Cinder Fae ended on a major cliffhanger. I am looking forward to seeing how Ellie and Finn’s story continues. If you like grand, slow-moving, political fantasy romance like the A Court of Thorns and Roses series, I highly recommend you add this to your TBR.