[Book Review] The Glass Stiletto

The Glass Stiletto / Rachel Kenley

What if Cinderella didn't want to marry the Prince?  What if it wasn't just her beauty and mystery that caught the prince, but her sensuality and erotic dominance?

The Glass Stiletto starts at the meeting of 'Cinderella' (Mariella) and the Prince, and goes through their trials and explorations to reach 'happily ever after.'

In theory this is the type of story I love.  I collect fairy tales and fables, as well as their retellings.  In reality we have an erotic novella that's doesn't really feel like a fairy tale, and in which I ended up skipping past most of the sex scenes just to finish the book.  At 109 pages I didn't feel that I could really justify not finishing, and with such a short book I might as well verify if my guesses about the end came to pass.  I think the only thing that I guessed at regarding the villains is the chief antagonist never actually tried to rape Mariella (just manipulated one of his collaborators try it instead).

If you like stories of castles and princes that seem to have an oddly contemporary feel and villains of the overbearingly obvious twisted self-interest this will appeal to you.  This book does stand out in that the sexual dominant is the woman, not the man.

Advanced Reader Copy copy courtesy of NetGalley; differences may exist between uncorrected galley text and the final edition.

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