I received an eARC of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I was all-in on this Cinderella retelling until I got 3/4 of the way through the book. I was ready to forgive the underdeveloped magic system and the confusing political plot because I was thoroughly enjoying Aislinn/Ash as a badass protagonist and loved seeing her relationship with her stepsisters and other side characters change and develop. But after one particularly momentous occasion--which I won't list here, because spoilers--the plot started to deviate wildly, and there's some romance that seems like it's trying to emulate a certain series from Sarah J. Maas (though, I'll admit, the chemistry is solid and both characters suit one another really well).

It's still a fun read, and the narrative drive is powerful enough to have made me ignore those plot holes, but...it still irked me.