Disdain: A Cinderella Retelling (Tales of Cinder Book 2) by M.J. Haag

  

  Disdain (Tales of Cinder Book 2) 

by 

M.J. Haag

A single blow shattered my life of glass. They shouldn’t have left me with the shards.

Eloise knows the name of her mother’s murderer, but she cannot speak it. A curse keeps her silent and locked in the tattered remains of her once charming life. Though magic holds her tongue, it doesn’t quell the smoldering spark of her anger or her need to learn the reason behind her mother’s death.

However, games of magic have dire consequences. Desperate to keep those she loves safe from the repercussions of her actions, Eloise must make a bold gamble with her safety that could win her everything or destroy her forever.

Two lives hang in the balance. For, if Cinder fails, Snow will fall, too.


Oh my....this story is not for the faint of heart... If you've read "Defiant", the first book in this series (which you totally should have done before you touched this one), you will already know that this is nothing like Disney's glitter and glamour but instead a captivating and intense and really dark retelling of Cinderella. Once again we are reminded of Snow as well, the pet name of our heroine's twin Kellen, so there might be another retelling at the horizon but first - Cinderella.

We left Eloise, our Cinder completely helpless in the hands of the enemy. No matter what happens, she is bound by more than loyalty and fear and the more I learned about the power of her adversaries, the more I (and Cinder as well) feared that she won't be able to keep up the fight. There were some parts that were really hard to read and I worried a lot, especially when the hunter is on the loose and everything seems rather hopeless because in order to protect those that she cares for, Eloise will have to ...well, can she give up the fight?

With Eloise fighting for her life and the life of those around her, there is also Kaven, the one guy who is always there, the one who always finds her. With her feelings slowly (very slowly, this book is definitely very light on the romance part though it still includes some scenes that include somewhat explicit sexual content) growing, Eloise's life becomes even more complicated and when the future of her country is at stake, well, she won't give up. No matter what happens. And no matter who dies...

★★★★