THE SHADOW IN THE GLASS was a highly anticipated read for me, full of so many of my favorite things -- fairy tale elements, gothic suspense, and, of cTHE SHADOW IN THE GLASS was a highly anticipated read for me, full of so many of my favorite things -- fairy tale elements, gothic suspense, and, of course, that gorgeous cover. After finishing the book, however, it is more of a mixed bag for me and I'm still debating my overall opinion of this one.
The book kicks off a strong, with Cinderella vibes -- our main character Ella has found herself in dire circumstances, forced to live as a maid in the house where she grew up as a ward after Mrs. Pembroke dies. Mr. Pembroke is a lecher, and some of the contents of his character arc may trigger some readers, as he is a sexual predator who has gotten many maids with child and forced them on the street.
Readers can't help but sympathize with Ella from the get-go. She's down on her luck and has lost everything. All she wants is to protect her friends and keep everyone safe and eventually have her own place. She's distraught to have lost the future she was promised where she would have had a softer life. Rather than take the overdone "Cinderella" route with her life where Ella would meet a fairy godmother and have all her dreams come true, she instead picks up the novel The Tragical History of the Life and Death of Doctor Faustus and some sort of demon comes to her. She is offered seven wishes in exchange for her soul at the end and, of course, makes the deal, assuming she can better her circumstances and get her due, while never making that seventh wish and getting the best of both worlds.
This is where Ella's character really begins to devolve as the book begins to explore greed and the lengths we will go to in order to make our dreams come true. Ella's character flaws begin to shine through, especially after finding out that her wishes come at a high price -- someone must die in order for the magic to work. At first, she is appalled and doesn't want anyone to die, but when she eventually realizes she can make her dreams come true by taking out her enemies, well, why not, right?
I went into THE SHADOW IN THE GLASS expecting a gothic fairy tale full of magic and glamour. I wasn't expecting the book to take a more tragic turn and would have certainly gone into it as a different reader and expecting different things from the book if I had known. I am the reader who mood reads and wants particular types of books at different times, so when the twists are too unexpected, no longer knows what to think. I will have to read this one again in a different mindset. I didn't dislike the book, but I also didn't love it, and I don't know if that is due to the book itself, or my mindset as I was reading it, you know? Ella definitely becomes an unlikable character and unreliable narrator over the course of the tale, and I love the psychology of that, but also am not personally a huge fan of unreliable narrators, even though I try their books again and again hoping I'll love this one just a bit more!...more
Bonnie (A Backwards Story)
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