Defiant (Tales of Cinder #1) by M.J. Haag #Defiant

 Do you remember Depravity, the retelling of The Beauty and the Beast set in the world of the Beastly Tales by Melissa Haag?

Defiant is the retelling of Cinderella and we will learn how far our heroine is willing to go for those that she loves and cares for - and how far will she go to find those who killed them?

  Defiant (Tales of Cinder #1) by M.J. Haag

Blurb:

A dark, twisted Cinderella retelling that fans of Sarah J. Maas and/or Melanie Dickerson are sure to enjoy.

Magic can have deadly consequences.

When the sudden and suspicious death of Eloise’s mother points to forbidden magic, Eloise is determined to bring her mother’s murderer to justice. She will stop at nothing to find the killer…even if the clues lead right to the palace gates and the prince’s manservant, Kaven. He is irrational, volatile, and prone to knocking women off horses. Given his personality, it should be easy to find the proof she needs to place him in irons.

However, when dark magic is used, nothing is as simple as it seems, and Eloise is about to learn that nightmares often hide behind fairy tale lives.

Fans of the Beastly Tales will not want to miss this new addition to the same world. Filled with magic, unexpected foes, and brooding, impossible men, this Tale of Cinder is sure to leave you burning for more!


What a captivating -and sinister-  take on the tale of Cinderella! This dark retelling of the story kept me turning the pages, reading, waiting for the next thing to happen, the next mystery to occur, while furiously trying to find out each and everyone's role, their potential fate, trying to find out if I should (or rather could) start to care for someone or....well, there's no use starting to care for someone who might be the next victim, right?

So many theories, so many things that I want to know - I really can't wait for the next book to come out to find out more and to see where the story takes us.

I loved how this is Cinder's story, though Eloise, our Cinder, is not the only heroine, there's also Kellen, her twin who is also called Snow which leads us to another possible story set in the world of the Beastly Tales. First, though, I'll have to learn more about Cinder and her potential love interest, the prince's manservant Kaven, if that's who he is... And, of course, I'll have to learn more about the Lady Grimmoire who....well. The Lady Grimmoire, right.
Well written, captivating and intense, I really enjoyed reading this book and can't wait for the next book, Disdain, to come out. SOON!

★★★★★