Book Bites: 3 Sentence Intro About What This Story Is

Prince Saxon Skylair, reincarnate of a savage king, and Princess Ashleigh Charmaine-Anskelisa, reincarnate of an evil witch, are fated for each other. In their third reincarnation, Saxon is determined to eliminate the evil witch (this time in the form of Ashleigh – a girl who is physically weak) from ever causing destruction again but instead the two enemies find themselves softening towards each other. Will the pair choose love instead of hate this go-round or will all burn to ash?

*As usual, to see the official book teaser/summary of this, go to anywhere books are found and read up more about what this book is about.

Now on to My Commentary (**May Contain Spoilers: Read at Your Own Risk)

Book Review: The Evil Queen (The Forest of Good and Evil #1)

Book Review: The Glass Queen (The Forest of Good and Evil #2)

If you’ve been following my blog, you’re well aware already what I hate most in the world because you know what I do like to read.

Hate: Disney-fluff crap. (Okay, some days I like it.)

Like (or love, depending on how well executed it is): Basically, the darker, more twisted, sadistic, tragic and relatable a fairytale is, the more I love it.

The Glass Queen is an imaginative retelling of the classic “The Little Cinder Girl” or “Cinderella” fairytale with Gena Showalter’s signature style and flare. It is told from the viewpoint of the prophesied Cinder and unwanted Princess Ashleigh Charmaine-Anskelisa of the Provence of Fleur in the land of Enchantia. Yes, this is the sequel to The Evil Queen!

Short Summary

Princess Ashleigh was born with a defective heart. Had her mother not made a deal with a witch to infuse magic into baby Ashleigh and save her life, her father, King Philipp, was ready to execute the baby for its health conditions because he felt she wouldn’t survive to be an heir to the throne.

Ashleigh goes through a lot. I feel so sorry for the poor dear girl. She’s so sweet and cute. And people are shit. Her mother was the only one who truly loved her. She’s treated like crap by everyone who does interact with her if not neglected by them. Or she’s locked up in her room all day and night because she’s too physically weak to do anything.

And the first meeting that Saxon and Ashleigh had in their early teens was her accidentally throwing fireballs at him which causes her to gain Saxon’s anger and her father to exile her from their palace until her return several years later.

By then, King Philipp has already built a new family. You know the whole Cinderella fairytale – stepmom, stepsisters, Cinderella’s neglected and all that. Where’s Prince Charming? “Charming”…is a flexible term. At least in Saxon’s case in the beginning. He’s ruthless, vengeful, ambitious, determined. Not the cuddly teddy bear that fairytale princes are depicted to be.

The king crafts a tournament where the winner will win his stepdaughter, Dior’s, hand in marriage. Guess who enters into this competition? That’s right, Cinder’s fated mate: the exiled avian prince Saxon who is desperate to win the competition to prove his worthiness to his people that he’s a suitable king.

In this present time, Ashleigh and Saxon have reunited once again. Just like fate predicted. Will they work out this time? Because Ashleigh’s other side might not be as sweet and weak as everyone assumed. Will Saxon accept her just as she is? Or will he still harbor anger towards her because he knows her dark secret.

Commentary

If you have already read The Evil Queen (which don’t know why you wouldn’t have), you would have already been introduced to Saxon’s character. He’s Roth’s best friend and brother by bond. And a ferocious and talented avian warrior. This sexy hunk got his own story in The Glass Queen – Prince Saxon Skylair and Princess Ashleigh’s enemies-turned-lovers romance (my favorite kind of romance trope).

Past lives. Reincarnations. Fated loves. Obsessive ex-lover. Buckle up because I must say, Saxon and Ashleigh’s story was a convoluted and wild ride!

The reincarnations and past lives aspect of the book drew my attention as I’m personally interested in this from my own spiritual journey. Though wrapping my head around this part of Ashleigh and Saxon’s lives took me some time to grasp. While it was well-crafted and imaginative, it was confusing at some points. Don’t fret, Showalter does provide a clear explanation of the idea (as it relates to this book) by the end of the book. Like all paranormal or supernatural elements in stories, I had to stop nit-picking specifics of the past lives and reincarnations concept and just enjoy the story as it was written. I found that the more I tried to make sense of the concepts, I had waaaaay too many questions and it wasn’t necessary to give myself a headache over these existential ideas.

Like I said though, some people might not like how complex it is. I loved it. I didn’t find it distractingly confusing. Just took time for me to process how she used these concepts to tell The Glass Queen story. You’ll have to read it to see if it suits you.

On to characters! Let me write this disclaimer. I LOVE EVERLY’S CHARACTER from The Evil Queen. She was me so I instantly warmed up to her familiar character. That being said, I loved Ashleigh’s character because she was the opposite of me. Love, love, love Ashleigh! She’s physically weak but determined as hell and crafty. She desired to be stronger and she didn’t let her physical limitations ever stop her. I admired her tenacity and quickly fell in love with her.

The whole theme of The Glass Queen is weakness and strength. Wow, did Ashleigh exhibit strength through her beautiful confidence, wit and resourcefulness. Loved her lines and sass! She’s so funny!! I praise her wit as she continued to survive by outsmarting several others around her (including Saxon) though she didn’t have the physical strength to overtake them. So much so that even Saxon began to soften towards her.

Saxon acted like an (lovable) asshole in the beginning of the story because he believed Ashleigh was the reincarnation of an evil witch who had wreaked havoc (destroying villages, killing loved ones, you know typical villainess stuff) in his past lives. So he’s concentrating on revenge and retribution against his foe. And poor Ashleigh had no idea why he was being such a dick to her.

Color me shocked at Saxon’s character. I didn’t expect him to be so brutish and ruthless! When I first encountered his character in The Evil Queen, he seemed like the kinder, more compassionate, level-headed one of the group. I was surprised by his character in The Glass Queen but also very intrigued. Like damn, Prince Saxon made King Roth look like rainbows and sunshine.

But our spunky princess doesn’t let this brute intimidate her. Oh, no, no, no. Ashleigh constantly defied his commands, rebelled and sassed him. Did this anger Saxon? It should have. He felt it should have. But as the two spent more time with each other, both find themselves softening towards each other.

The Romance Between Ashleigh and Saxon

Overall, I really enjoyed The Glass Queen!! I found that it was reminiscent of Showalter’s usual style that I have read in the Lords of the Underworld series. Hot romantic scenes (as hot as you can get to still keep it PG-13)! Humorous interactions between the love interests. Brutish (but lovable) alpha male and a strong, tenacious heroine.

This is a love triangle story in a different and interesting way. Since there’s not physically a third person. But rather Ashleigh is battling another spirit inside of her who is determined to claim Saxon as her own. Both “sides” of Ashleigh are fighting for Saxon’s love. Except one side is good and the other is evil.

Lots of tension between the two throughout the book. Whereas Everly and Roth seemed to hit it off quickly and stayed consistent with each other. Ashleigh and Saxon was like nails on a chalkboard. Awkward. Uncomfortable. Strained. But it was so freaking hilarious to read and I enjoyed every minute of their love-hate relationship-which-turned-into-deep-love. More than anything, I praised their wit. Love cheeky characters! This is the Showalter style that keeps drawing me back to her books.

I felt both Saxon’s and Ashleigh’s heartache and doubts (*get your tissue boxes ready and your first aid kit – you’ll be crying and needing to sew up your broken heart*). They both wanted to find their fated love and be loved for who they truly are. They both continuously had to prove to everyone around them that they are worthy. Both were afraid in this third (and final) reincarnation they still won’t make it as a couple. When they finally reunited, they found someone who saw them as worthy without having to prove themselves. This is how both managed to learn to open their hearts again to love. One of my favorite lines in the book that Saxon says to Ashleigh: “You shouldn’t have to win anyone’s love. If it’s not freely given, it has no worth.” Amen.

Unconditional love is what we should strive for (read my post “My Journey with Unconditional Love” if you are interested my personal story about looking for my soulmate and stuff).

Return of Characters from The Evil Queen. And The Savage Tournament Games.

Your favorites from The Evil Queen book come back into this story as well! Roth, Everly, Noel and Ophelia play a large role in helping Saxon carry out his plans while also trying to save Enchantia from the various fairytale prophecies unfolding all through the land. My greatest disappointment: that my favorite fae prince Vikander isn’t in this book! He’s mentioned but he’s not physically present in this story. Booooooo!! I love Vikander. He caught my eye in The Evil Queen. Not sure if Vikander will have his own book but *fingers-crossed*

There’s a ton of brutal tournament games which was thrilling to read! Like how I imagined Game of Thrones to be but I never watched it so I can’t confirm. But also, I personally get queasy from any sort of violence. It’s your guaranteed Showalter action and drama adventure! You certainly won’t be bored.

Final Thoughts

Also the fact that I love Gena Showalter’s work and will read and love anything this author writes. ‘Nuff said.

Check out this book if it piques your interest. Hope you enjoy it as your next read or a re-read!

And remember, “Every story is worth the read. Someone (some poor, overworked, ink-stains-on-the-clothes lovely soul) took the time to write it.”