Ember

by Bettie Sharpe

Everyone loves Prince Charming. They have to—he’s cursed. Every man must respect him. Every woman must desire him. One look, and all is lost.Ember would rather carve out a piece of her soul than be enslaved by passions not her own. She turns to the dark arts to save her heart and becomes the one woman in the kingdom able to resist the Prince’s Charm.Poor girl. If Ember had spent less time studying magic and more time studying human nature, she might have guessed that a man who gets everything and everyone he wants will come to want the one woman he cannot have.Novella / 32,000 This story contains sex, violence, and naughty words.It’s based on a fairytale, but it isn’t for kids.

Genres: Fantasy, Romance, Magic, Retellings, Fairy Tales, Adult, Novella

94 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 1, 2007

About the author

Bettie Sharpe is a Los Angeles native with a fondness for hot weather, classic cars, and air so thick it sticks in your teeth. When she's not busy attempting to metabolize smog into oxygen, she enjoys romance novels, action movies, comic books, video games, and every other entertainment product her teachers said would rot her brain. She loves to write almost as much as she loves to read. As a child, she dreamed of seeing her name in shiny gold cursive on the cover of a luridly titled paperback book.

Bettie and her husband share their house with two cats, numerous computers, and the possum in their palm tree.

Reviews

[Navessa · Rating 5 out of 5]

BOOM. FAVORITE SHELF.

"And there you have the whole of it, the truth behind the tale of the Cinder Girl and the Charming Prince. All ended happily, but you do not seem happy to have heard it. Why not? Oh, I understand. You wanted to see heroes rewarded and villains punished. You wanted the prince to be noble and his princess to be kind.

Poor dear. I warned you this was no fairy tale."

And so ends one hell of a retelling. Bettie Sharpe takes everything you ever thought you knew about Cinderella and flips it on its head.

I have to admit, this particular story has never been my favorite of the classics - I’m more of a Beauty and the Beast fangirl - but when I saw a bunch of my friends raving over this “erotic retelling”, my interest was piqued.

Let me tell you, this is so much more than just smut.

In this rendition, our young heroine isn’t some helpless damsel in distress trapped in an abusive home until her “true love” rescues her. She’s not some flaxen-haired beauty with doe eyes and a tendency to spontaneously break into song. She’s a redheaded witch named Ember, with a twisted right foot and a temper to match her fiery mane.

"...she's a witch, if ever there was one. She cut off her own finger and made the witch's bargain with the spirits of fire. She writes her spells in blood. When Lord Campos blacked my eye, she sent a plague of rats and ravens to drive him from the city. And she keeps a little doll made in his image to poke with pins or singe with fire whenever she needs amusement."

Her stepsisters aren’t enemies, but allies, and her stepmother isn’t her nemeses, but a close friend and confidante. Oh, and all three happen to be prostitutes.

Then there’s Prince Charming, a.k.a. Adrian Juste. You see, in this fairy tale, he isn’t some nameless nitwit with a shoe fetish, but a man cursed to live a life in which everyone loves him on sight. Literally. As in, he was actually cursed at birth to be irresistible.

Women all but tear their clothes off in his presence, men who might seethe with jealousy over this instead worship the ground he walks on, and even enemy armies lay down their weapons for fear of harming his handsome visage.

Sounds awesome, right?

Yeah, no.

Imagine never having to work for love, never having to earn anyone’s trust or admiration. You’d either become a tyrant, or the loneliest person in the world.

Not even Cinderella’s magical abilities lend her protection from his charm, and from the moment she lays eyes upon him, she’s swept up in his spell. But there’s a catch. At the last minute, she’s able to break the hold he has on her and wrench her gaze from him.

It’s hard not to notice the one face turned away from you in a crowd full of your worshipers. The prince notices. And becomes obsessed with hunting her down.

What results is a beautifully written FEMINIST fairy tale even better than the original, if you ask me. It’s filled with thought-provoking narrative, hilarious dialogue, unapologetic badassery on the part of the female lead, wonderful female relationships, and women rescuing themselves.

Plus, there are those steamy scenes all my friends raved about. By the way, I really don’t recommend reading them while on your lunch break.

Because your boss might wander into your cubicle to ask you a question.

And you might nearly self-immolate with the strength of your blush.

Or something.

Not that I would know.

*sings*

…awkwaaaaaaaaard…

Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

[✘✘ Sarah ✘✘ (former Nefarious Breeder of Murderous Crustaceans) · Rating 5 out of 5]

· Evil Cinderella buddy read with Robin, Jess, Catherine, Cathryn, Navessa, Kerry, Anna, Liz, Chelsea, Veronica, Carmen, Sarah, Tandie, Cathepsut & Lea ·

Introducing… The Cinderella Gif Extravaganza!

I'm pretty sure this is what comes to mind when you think of dear old Cinderella:



And this:



And maybe this:



Pretty creepy huh? Yeah, I think so too. This is the stuff of nightmares *shudders* In case you were wondering, I was never a little girl. I was born a 30-something, cold-hearted cynic. But I digress and stuff.

So you think this is what Cinderella is all about? Haha. You're so funny. I'm really sorry but you've got this all wrong. Friendly hint: Disney is not a viable source of information. This book is.

"I know you think you’ve heard this story before, but you’re wrong. Some would have it that this story begins with a virtuous virgin, a young woman of honesty and integrity sucker punched by cruel fortune and forced to sleep among the cinders while her moral inferiors lived the life which was meant to be hers. Bullshit."

THIS is what Cinderella is *really* all about:



➻ Ding dong the witch Cinderella is dead!

And this:



➻ Told you Disney wasn't a reliable source of information!

And this:



➻ Yeah, I know, this is pretty gross. Why do you think I love this story so much?

And this:



➻ Ha! Didn't expect that one now did you?! And guess what? It turns out that running a whorehouse is surprisingly good training for running a government. Who would have thought?

And this:



➻ ♫♫ Sisters are doin' it for themselves ♫♫

Hence this:



➻ Severed toes have never been so cool.

AND it's also about this:

Yes, this is actually a real spoiler. Pretty amazing, I know. So. Thou hast been warned and stuff.

➽ I hate romance. I hate fairytales. I hate HEAs. I hate fluffy bunnies. I hate rainbows. Now THIS is my kind of Cinderella! Ember, you rock.



I wouldn't have read this story had it not been for Kate, who was brave enough to recommend it to me. See everyone? You can send me recs and not necessarily end up in purgatory. Well let's say there's a 5% chance you won't end up in purgatory. And a 94% chance you'll end up with the infamous Robin Penance Read. Who ever said I was heartless?

[Khanh, first of her name, mother of bunnies · Rating 3 out of 5]

Warning: this is erotica. This book is FREE. You may read it here: http://www.bettiesharpe.com/ember/

I don't usually read erotica at all, but the premise of a fairy tale and Prince Charming got me intrigued. My first erotica (bought purely because my innocent 18-year old self just wanted to own a naughty book, if I may be honest) was Anne Rice's Sleeping Beauty trilogy. It was titillating, and after the first 50 or so pages, it got pretty boring, quite frankly. Anyways, what I learned from reading that book, was the fact that while erotica is good, it gets boring in huge doses when all the characters do is fuck and fuck and fuck endlessly in every position you can possibly imagine. Oh, and spanking? Not for me, thank you very much.

Fast forward some years later, and oh, hey! An erotica based on a fairy tale. Interesting...but erotica? Still boring. If I've discovered something about myself, it's that sex is books just don't do it for me. If I wanted porn, I'd watch porn, thank you very much. But then I read the summary, and this sentence sucked me in.

Poor girl. If Ember had spent less time studying magic and more time studying human nature, she might have guessed that a man who gets everything and everyone he wants will come to want the one woman he cannot have.

Well, color me intrigued. I'm glad to say that this book is a lot better than Anne Rice's. For one thing, there's an actual plot, and the sex is nowhere rampant. The writing is lovely, and while the story is imperfect, I cannot complain much because the writing in this free book is considerably better than book on which I have actually wasted (and I mean wasted) money.

I may have been drawn to this book by a premise of Prince Charming, but I think I'm an idiot for not realizing that this is a retelling of Cinderella. I mean...Ember...Cinder...Khanh, how can you be so fucking smart and yet so damn clueless at times? -_- I honestly didn't know this was going to be a Cinderella tale until the Stepmother appeared.

Summary: This is Cinderella, with a twist. And I don't mean that because of the sexual nature of the book. The retelling of Cinderella is not altogether traditional, and I had some problems with it.

Prince Charming actually has a name, but nobody has ever called him by his real name. He is Prince Charming simply because everyone who has ever laid eyes upon him will fall in love with him. It is the blessing placed on him at his birth.

“May he be charming. May every eye find perfection in his face and form. May every man respect him and every woman desire him. May all who meet him love him and long to please him.”

Prince Charming has brought unwarranted success to his nation, his country wins every war because warring nations cannot resist his blessing. As such, he is also a superior diplomat, through no skill of his own. He has brought peace, prosperity to his nation, and despite his whoring, despite his despicable personal life, his people literally cannot help but to love him.

"Ember" is a wealthy merchant's daughter, with a dying mother who warns her against looking at Prince Charming. Ember cannot resist, and looks upon him, subsequently falling in love with him against her will. Her mother concocts a geas for her to wear, so that she can resist the prince's charms.

After her mother dies, her father remarries. Enter the stepmother and stepsisters, but they are not who you would expect. All goes well within their lives until their family falls into debt. And how they choose to make the money needed for survival will bring the Prince back into Ember's life, unwanted.

The Writing: Loved it. The writing is unexpectedly beautiful, and fitting in tone for a fairy tale. There is crude language used in reference to parts of the body, but explicitness is expected in a book of this nature. The writing and how well done it is really took me by surprise. I didn't expect that much quality from a short piece of erotica such as this.

I also thought that for a short novella, it rather delivers a remarkably well done commentary on the nature of love and human nature.

“You’re cruel. Don’t you think it must be a peculiar sort of hell to live surrounded by sycophants? Like living in a dollhouse. No matter how perfect your playmates, they are cold porcelain. Soon enough, you would long for the heat, the softness, and the imperfections of living flesh. You would long to hear words and wishes other than your own.”

The Plot: I won't comment on the plot, because the story is so short that to be detailed would be to ruin the surprise, but I did have some problems with the plausibility. Ember's actions also did not make sense to me at times. While I loved the writing, I can't say I enjoyed the plot turns, nor to mention the gaping holes within it. It got altogether absurd at times. While there is a considerable amount of sex in this story, it does not take over the story, and it is interspersed and scatted, and doesn't occur every other page, unlike Anne Rice's Sleeping Beauty.

The Characters: I mostly liked "Ember," (quotes because she never gives us her real name). She is a witch, but she has a dark sense of humor, and is able to laugh at herself and her childish fantasies of the prince.

I dreamt he leaned over me crying; his hot tears fell upon my cold cheeks. “Oh, she was so pure,” he wailed. “She was so delicate and special. She has died for the love of me. I can love no other!”
I must pause here to tell you, I see the way your lips are twitching. Please, don’t be afraid to laugh. My dignity is not so rigid I can’t see the humor in those youthful imaginings.

Her actions were sometimes nonsensical to me, since they went with the plot (which I felt was lacking), but overall, Ember is a not-disagreeable character. I didn't like the fact that she was an altogether powerful witch without much explanation, among other things.

Overall: a beautifully written erotic book that didn't deliver on the dark fairy-tale promise.

[Tadiana ✩Night Owl☽ · Rating 4 out of 5]

This novella takes the Cinderella fairy tale, turns it inside-out, throws it down and smacks it around, checks its pockets for loose change, and then gives it a sweet kiss good-bye, with one more hard pinch to the rear as it's walking out the door.



Ember, our Cinderella character, is red-haired and freckled, has a twisted foot and, at least according to her, is not particularly pretty. She lives in a country where the prince was blessed at birth--or rather cursed--by a fairy godmother witch, with charm. Everyone loves him. All the women want to sleep with him. The magic makes him look like a god to everyone that sees him. Ember is so alarmed at the overpowering desire she's developed for him, simply by laying eyes on him, that she becomes a witch, illegally, so she can fight the curse-driven attraction. But it stands to reason that a guy who's always had all the women falling all over him all his life, will want the one woman who doesn't.

Ember turns as many of the fairy tale tropes on their heads as it possibly can: Cinderella (Ember) is a witch, and not a particularly nice person. She works with fire as the source of her magic--hence the ashes--and lives in simpler clothes and helps around the house because she wants to. Her stepmother and stepsisters are prostitutes, but they and Ember get along swimmingly. The prince takes advantage of other people and whores around, because he can.

One of the fun extras is the characters' occasional retelling of other fairy tales, which are also twisted and upended, like this Sleeping Beauty/Snow White mashup:

The players enacted ... the tale of the stuck-up princess who so despised common work that she died of spite after pricking her finger on a spinning wheel when her affianced Prince took her to his peasants' summer Fair. The tale ended happily, though, for the lazy princess had a bastard sister who'd been working as a maid for seven brothers in the woods. She had the beauty of her royal sister, but not the princess's haughty ways. The prince married the bastard sister, and everyone lived happily until they died.

This story does contain some quite explicit sex scenes, as well as a few F-bombs, crude graphic language (quite a bit of talk about guys' "cocks" and womens' "cunts") and some talk about prostitution and so forth. The prince's ball is a "Harlots' Ball," and Ember goes dressed as one--think "goods on display," big time. But the odd thing is that this story actually is quite sweet at its heart. What darkness there is in this story is pretty limited. Ember likes to consider herself a badass, and in some ways she is, but she doesn't kill humans for her magic or delve into truly dark spells (other than some voodoo dolls for guys who pretty much deserve the torture). The whores (her stepmom and stepsisters) all have hearts of gold. True love still prevails.

So if you want something truly dark, this novella isn't it. If you like your fairy tales clean, this definitely isn't that either. But if you like the idea of mixing sexytimes and a bit of subversiveness into a fairy tale romance, this one is a fun read. There's a scene toward the end with the witch who originally gave the Prince the curse, that adds a nice touch of depth to the story.

This is quite well-written for a self-pub book. The Kindle formatting has some problems, mostly with erratic indenting (it started showing up at 18% and pretty frequently thereafter), and I noticed the occasional punctuation or spelling error (e.g., "broaches" where it meant "brooches"), but other than that I didn't pick up on any major problems. And (at least when I wrote this review) it's a 99 cent Kindle special, so worth grabbing if you like this type of naughty story.

[Robin (Bridge Four) · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 Naughty Novella Stars
Evil Cinderella with Sexy times and Naughty Words, how could I say no?

Buddy Read March 21 with oOSarahOo, Catherine, Jess, Navessa, Kerry, Anna, Liz, Veronica Del Rosa, Cathryn, Carmen, Tandie, Sarah, Cathepsut, Lea and Chelsea

Thread at Buddies Books and Baubles

What if Cinderella’s tale was not about a girl like this….↓


But was more about a girl like…↓


I’m tired of nice heroines that have cute creature companions. I’m ready for the witch to be the hero of her own tale.

Some would have it that this story begins with a virtuous virgin, a young woman of honesty and integrity sucker punched by cruel fortune and forced to sleep among the cinders while her moral inferiors lived the life which was meant to be hers.
Bullshit.

Finally!!! The heroine of the tale is not a vapid virgin who waited for her knight in shining armor to come steal her heart and her maidenhead. No No No…Ember is the witch that brave men come to bed knowing that she is not as evil as some witches but they may pay a heavy price if they are not up to the task.

Reasons I like Ember:
① - She can play with fire….like literally
② - While some heroines give you pretty words and explain about true loves kiss and all that nonsense she has no problem stating what the down and dirty of a situation is.
③ - She has a stash of voodoo dolls to prick, prod and torment of those who did her or her sisters wrong.
④ - She never apologizes for who and what she is. She is a witch and with that comes a price that she pays in blood.
⑤ - She doesn’t slut sham. Sure her new stepsisters are whores but a girls got to make a living and they seem content enough with the life they have chosen. Who are we to judge.

A few of the best things about this tale is the twist on this and other fairytales mentioned in passing. I think I’d read any of those stories. The friendship between Ember, her Stepmother and Sisters were real homances (friendships between girls that are real and not caddy) I loved how devoted the women became to one another. Even though I figured out the curse and the status of the Prince long before it was revealed I didn’t care because I was having so much fun just reading the story. I totally enjoyed Embers sense of humor and the fact that while not a prude she could be shocked by the predilections of some men and vegetables.

The lust story is well balanced between the sheets and not over the top too much. I actually wanted a little more in the sexy times area stop judging me as I thought this was listed as erotica. I’ve read PNR with more sex in them. So if that is what is keeping you from reading it…well don’t let a little dirty talk get in the way of a good time. I enjoyed the building tension of the feelings between Ember and her man.

“Love is a fire, Ember. Tend it, or it will burn you. Feed it, or it will die and leave you cold.”

The resolution of the story was different than I dreaded it would be, witch or not I like Happily Ever Afters so I genuinely wanted one. While it really wasn’t what I expected I liked it all the same. It ended perfectly for me for what it was and I don’t think I would have been happy with less.

All ended happily, but you do not seem happy to have heard it. Why not? Oh, I understand. You wanted to see heroes rewarded and villains punished. You wanted the prince to be noble and his princess to be kind. Poor dear. I warned you this story was no fairy tale.

+ Great bad girl
++ Interesting Curse
+++ Different Ending
++++ Some Naughtiness
+++++ And Girl Power to the Max

[Alienor ✘ French Frowner ✘ · Rating 3 out of 5]

❦ Buddy Read March 21 ❦ with oOSarahOo, Catherine, Jess, Navessa, Kerry, Liz, Veronica Del Rosa, Chelsea and Robin ← For now I'm waaaay too lazy to put all the links, sorry guys^^ ← I KNOW, I'm a week late.

When it comes to fairytales, my girl's always been Belle :


While Cinderella .... Siiiiigh .... Cinderella ... Well, the girl is pretty useless, don't you think? I mean, as I said in my review of Damsel Distress, the real heroes have to be the birds, right?



Okay, maybe the mice.



But the girl? The prince? The girl can't stop singing lame songs about an hypothetical prince - who is fucking dumb, by the way, I mean, COME ON, how in the world can't he recognize the so-called "love of his life" without her pretty dress? - and of course there's a tons of instalove. Instalust. Insta-everything. Eww.

➸ I was so ready for this Evil Cinderella...

... And yet, it didn't deliver all that I wanted, awful brat as I am.

Let me introduce you........... ME!


I'm the Black Sheep of this BR! And no, I'm not proud about this, I just thought it would be better to laugh, you know, because well, come on, nobody loves to be the black sheep, and I wanted to love this, and... Okay, okay, I stop rambling. Let's start the review, shall we?

Actual rating : 2.5 stars? 2.75 stars? 3 stars? Oh, well. I don't know.

❦ Where I lose my friends : No, I didn't like this. ❦

♦ Fairytale effect : let me explain. I thought I loved fairytales retellings, and I realized that if I did enjoy the dark twists we could find in some of them, I still suffered from the general effect this beautiful writing and style has on me. Indeed I must be somewhat strange but I was bored and underwhelmed - there's just so much telling, and that's okay, really, because the genre induces that but well. I'm sorry! I can't help! Don't hate me! But I was bored!

♦ I'm no Sherlock usually that's an understatement, duh. but the twist was fucking obvious as I guessed right up front what it was about. And I mean it - RIGHT. AWAY.

♦ I didn't care about the main couple. At all. I didn't care about their HEA/no HEA. Now, I don't think I need to explain why that bothered me.

♦ Here's the moment where I wonder if I'm some wicked little thing : I didn't find it that dark. I don't know, perhaps I had too many - huge - expectations, but I felt underwhelmed throughout the book, waiting to be punched in the guts somehow... As you can guess, it never happened.

❦ Where I seek forgiveness : Yeah, but this was pretty good. ❦

♦ Ember isn't dumb, I repeat, EMBER ISN'T DUMB! How amazing is that? Being a witch is way more interesting than ... Wait - who was really Cinderella after all? Who knows? Well. Anyway, I can't deny that I enjoyed following this vengeful and fierce heroine : she's a badass, and who doesn't love a badass fairytale heroine? WHO?

♦ Thanks god they offer a believable explanation for the shoes thing - because I never understood how the prince could be so stupid. That was a revelation for me.

♦ The dynamic between the characters, especially between Ember and her step-sisters and step-mother is awesome - I thought at first that I saw the slut-shaming coming but no! False alert! Women don't judge each other's! Hell yes!

♦ The sex scenes never overtook the story and were pretty fine to me.

▶ Here I am, blending all these thoughts and giving it a three. Please love me still.

Oh, well.

*shrug*

I did what I could, I guess. Hey, look at the bright side of things : I could have hated it, right?

[Milda Page Runner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Running a whorehouse was surprisingly good training for running a government.

Cheeky and mischievous – this story not only takes a piss out of erotic scenes that supposed to be ‘steamy’ it also puts an evil naughty twist into most of the known fairytales. Very sarcastic.

A wicked kind of Cinderella. I had fun :)

Recommended for readers with a good sense of humour who can appreciate a dirty joke.


P.S. there are openly erotic scenes - so adults only.

[Tammy Walton Grant · Rating 4 out of 5]

Now this, [image error] this book was cool. Sly, witty, clever, with a bit'o'romance thrown in to keep folks like me happy. And a few dirty, dirty words to keep us on our toes.

This little fairy tale is told in the first person (which, although I usually don't care for, here I didn't mind a bit ). It is Ember's voice that carries the tale. And what a tale it is - a dark, sardonic and twisted version of Cinderella. I loved it! I was hooked from the opening paragraphs:

"I know you think you've heard this story before, but you're wrong.

Some would have it that this story begins with a virtuous virgin, a young woman of honesty and integrity sucker punched by cruel fortune and forced to sleep among the cinders while her moral inferiors lived the life that was meant to be hers. Bullshit.

This is no fairytale. The real story doesn't even start with me; it starts with the Prince. The tales have him faceless and nameless, a passionless plywood man meant to represent everything a good girl is supposed to want. Nothing could be further from the truth."

In a fairy kingdom populated by witches, whores and werewolves, a baby Prince is cursed with the gift of charme. The imagery Sharpe creates with her words is startling right from the beginning. And from there it got darker, and sharper, and so much fun to read I even forced my husband to listen to some passages (we were travelling, he was trapped behind the steering wheel, and boy was he thrilled, lol).

It sagged a bit in the middle and Ember was the last person to figure out what was going on (the reader being the first, which usually bugs the hell out of me) but the author more than made up for it with some hilarious shout-outs to other fairy tales, most notably The Princess and the Pea. And in terms of sheer originality, imo Bettie Sharpe hit this one right out of the park.

I would recommend this book to everyone - it was so original, and clever, and dark. Like I said before, I LOVED it.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

1st read - March 2015 (Group read with my pals in Buddies, Books and Baubles)
2nd read - November 2015
3rd read - April 2021

Forget everything you've ever heard about Cinderella, the true tale is nothing like the fairytale that Disney would have you believe. If you want to know what REALLY happened then look no further than Ember by Bettie Sharpe. The opening lines should give you a hint of what to expect inside these pages:

"I know you think you've heard this story before, but you're wrong. Some would have it that this story begins with a virtuous virgin, a young woman of honesty and integrity sucker punched by cruel fortune and forced to sleep among the cinders while her moral inferiors live the life that was meant to be hers. Bullshit."

So now that we're clear on what this story is NOT let's have a look at what it is. This is the story of Ember, a fiercely independent young woman who is so determined not to fall prey to a curse that she cuts off her own finger and gives part of herself to the fire so she can become a witch with enough powers to resist a prince's charms. You see Ember lives in a land with a cursed prince, Adrian was "gifted" with the ability to charm everyone he meets, every woman wants to bed him and every man respects him. He can have everything he wants with absolutely no effort and you can just imagine the kind of man that has made him. Ember may have started with magic but she isn't immune to Adrian's curse, her ability does give her a slight resistance though and she will do whatever it takes to break his hold over her even if it means turning to the darker side of magic and offering up blood sacrifices to do it.

I absolutely loved this story, I loved it so much that I've already read it twice and without a doubt it's one of the best fairytale retellings I've ever come across. Bettie Sharpe has done an amazing job of turning everything we know about the tale of Cinderella on it's head, nothing is what you'd expect yet there are explanations for all of the elements of the original story that make this one feel truly authentic. Ember isn't treated as a second class citizen in her own home, in fact her step-mother and step-sisters are her best friends, and she definitely isn't someone who needs to be rescued since she is more than capable of looking after herself and everyone else she cares about. There are so many positive messages in this story and it's impressive how much the author has managed to fit into 90 pages. It's not often that you read a book and can't think of a single thing to complain about but that was the case here and I need to start making my way through the author's other titles ASAP.

This is definitely an adult retelling but if you're looking for a darker version of Cinderella, a story that has magic, curses and more than a little smut then you're going to love Ember.

[Jess ❈Harbinger of Blood-Soaked Rainbows❈ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Buddy read with oOSarahOo, Robin, Catherine, Anna, Liz, Kerry, Cathryn, and Navessa.
And a bunch of seriously awesome ladies from the BBB reading group!


Read a book with magic

Ok, it's high time I review this, now that I have a little extra time. This is a 4.5 star read for me.
Yes, you heard me correctly. 4.5 stars. This little novella was awesome.

I have been going through a little bit of a reading slump lately. I've had some things going on in my personal life that have seriously cut down on my reading time, and I seem to keep choosing books that just don't wow me. Until I read this little gem.

Now I think I've said this before but when I was a child, I wasn't all that much into Disney princesses. Or princesses at all for that matter. Or dolls. Or ponies. I was the girl who hung out with the boys and climbed trees. Or played with action figures. And watched Robin Hood over and over and over instead of Cinderella. You could usually find me playing with dinosaurs or animals before you'd catch me playing with Barbies. And that's ok. I just kinda missed the fairy tale train when it came to Disney. Peter Pan. Robin Hood, 101 Dalmatians. These were my movies. Yes, I knew what Cinderella was and I watched it, but it didn't excite me. Cinderella has always been the heroine that I found the hardest to relate to. Snow White loved her animals and little dwarves she took care of, Belle loved to read and think for herself. Ariel was curious and imaginative, Jasmine challenged the political and social constructs of her time. But Cinderella? Her role was just to be....pretty.

Gag me.

Well Ember is not your typical Cinderella reboot. She's strong and witty and courageous and does what she needs to do for her family. Actually, she reminds me a bit of this Cinderella character, one I've always loved.

Except that she's a witch. A dark witch. And she uses her powers to evade the charm of the Prince. You see, the prince had a charm put on him as a baby which causes all who set eyes on him to worship and adore him. Which is pretty awesome for awhile until you realize that you yearn for something real. So yeah, the one person who is able to evade you seems like a pretty juicy prize.

Don't you think it must be a peculiar sort of hell to live surrounded by sycophants? Like living in a dollhouse. No matter how perfect your playmates, they remain porcelain. Soon enough, you would long for the heat, the softness, and the imperfections of living flesh. You would long to hear words and wishes other than your own.

This story took everything I hate about fairy tale AND modern day romance and made it believable and realistic, and flawed, and something I could relate to. I saw the "twist" coming from a mile away, but it still made me read ravenously to get to the end. And, BONUS! No insta-love!

I did not think what I felt for him was love, not at first, for we spent only a few nights of each month together.

Thank god!

And I also loved the secondary characters. Minette, the stepmother, and Sylvia and Dulcie the stepsisters were funny and charismatic, and dynamic. I loved their relationships to each other and the way they always had each others backs. They used their skills and their arts to get what they wanted, and I loved them for that. They were fiercely loyal to each other and to Ember, and Ember to them, and I liked this dynamic so much better than the typical Cinderella "evil stepmother and sisters" dynamic. Because Ember liked to work the fields and tend to the house, it looked as if she were a servant girl, but really, all four of them were a loving and warm family in their own way.

This was one of those stories that really stuck to my ribs long after I finished. I read it more or less in one day, and will definitely put this author on my radar from here on out. Highly recommended.

[♡Karlyn P♡ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it! Ember was a wicked, dark, sensual, twisted and enthralling read.

Oh wow! A super entertaining, dark and twisted retelling of Cinderella. The writing was great, and I loved the world building and imagination that went into this story. Very clever.

The heat level is 'hot', and the author does use some crude language a few times normally reserved for erotica. (cock, pussy...etc.) It worked in the context of keeping the story dark and funny, while also in pushing the boundaries on Ember's character.

It is a short story, but it felt like a full novel. She packs quite a bit into the story!

[-ya · Rating 4 out of 5]

This little novella is no fairytale. It is a twisted version of Cinderella story.

“How do you punish a man when your heart beats in his chest? How do you hurt your beloved without also hurting yourself?”

Ember is a witch. She doesn’t forgive easily, and has a taste for vengeance. Plus, she kinda repays pain with agony.

Is the story romantic? Yes and No.
Is it well-written? Yes!
If you want to read something different and weird, this is an interesting pick;)
# free online in the author’s website #kindle.99 #steamy

[Karlyflower *The Vampire Ninja, Luminescent Monster & Wendigo Nerd Goddess of Canada (according to The Hulk)* · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 Amazeballs Stars

Once upon a time there was a sweet, beautiful and young merchant’s daughter who loved her father dearly. After the unfortunate death of her darling mother her father remarries. An awful woman, with two awful daughters who treat their new stepsister appallingly…there’s a ball, a slipper, a fairy godmother, the prince falls in love and they live happily ever after.

Or so the stories say…..



But what if they got the story wrong?

THIS IS HOW YOU DO A FAIRYTALE RETELLING!!!

Ember is a complete gem. I absolutely adored how Sharpe took the age-old classic ‘Cinderella’ and completely turned it on its head, making the ‘innocence characters’ a little less so and the evil characters just people struggling along in an imperfect life.

In Sharpe’s story there is a lot less distinction between who is good and who is bad. And all the legends got it completely wrong. This isn’t a story about how a poor, pretty child won the heart of a handsome prince who saves her from her evil, conniving relations. *maniacal laughter* This is the story of a wild woman witch who fights loving a prince despite a curse that demands that everyone adore him.

This is a story of power and love and passion and impossible fucking situations that tear our hearts apart. Of how it feels to find the love of your life, someone who is your equal in every way, and have that reality and love torn away from you by circumstance.

This is the story of how the most unlikely of people can really be the hero of the story.

[Simply Sam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sooo...it's another Cinderella story. Only this time Cinderella is a slightly wicked, slightly raunchy, slightly snarky witch, her "evil" stepmother and stepsisters are actually courtesans masquerading as family, and Prince Charming is only charming because of a d-bag curse. So, yeah. Not just another Cinderella tale.

I mean, yes it was pretty predictable but it was also a pretty entertaining read . If you're like me and currently in a book slump/funk or you just need something a little fun and naughty to pick up then this may be worth checking out.

3.5 Stars rounded up :)

[Tamara · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars

“I know you think you’ve heard this story before, but you’re wrong. Some would have it that this story begins with a virtuous virgin, a young woman of honesty and integrity sucker punched by cruel fortune and forced to sleep among the cinders while her moral inferiors lived the life which was meant to be hers. Bullshit. This is no fairytale. ’’

Enter a Cinderella re-telling with a twist.

Say goodbye to this girl:


...and prepare yourself to meet with this wicked one instead:


Say goodbye to this charming prince:


...and prepare yourself to meet with this dark one instead:


Say goodbye to these self centered bitches:


..and prepare yourself to meet with these nice ones instead:


You'll get your happy ending but are really prepared to read this story?

Cinderella Ember is a wicked witch who would do anything, anything to protect those she loves here.

Her stepsisters arent your selfish and self centered gold diggers here.

Prince charming has his charm as a terribled curse here.

This story isnt your ordinary Cinderella retelling, you see?

Sure you'll look at it and see elements from both Disney version and the original dark tale. Sure you'll see tons of references to Cinder, the charming boy and her stepsisters. Sure, there will be a happy ending but perhaps Ember says it the best in the end:

“And there you have the whole of it, the truth behind the tale of the Cinder Girl and the Charming Prince. All ended happily, but you do not seem happy to have heard it.

Why not?

Ah, I understand. You wanted to see heroes rewarded and villains punished. You wanted the Prince to be noble and his princess to be kind.

Poor dear. I warned you this story was no fairytale.’’

Dont stay I didnt warn you! Oh, by the way, it's erotica (the sex doesnt take over the plot though, dont worry) so...umm, I warned you, ok?^.^


Reasons for the 4,5 rating (and my struggle for trying to decide the rating): How to say this without spoiling anything...




- Some of the plots turns made me go 'WTF' and I cant make up my mind whether it was in a good way or not. I also went 'WTF ARE YOU DOING? SRYSLY ARE YOU TSTL? STOP RUNNING!!!' quite a few times, unfortunately.

(Calm down, Tamara. Calm down.)

Ehem.

So...there you go.

- Also, this is short story/novella so sometimes it felt like there were too much refereances, and so much mini sub plots.I didnt mind it that much but this may bother some people since the story does feel rushed at some parts.

- Pacing was fast (novella, duh) but I found the writing really beautiful at times. The story did have same holes in it, even though overall I enjoyed it. There was this twist that annoyed the hell out of me because I saw it coming miles away and DAMN IT!! It was so fucking obvious I wanted to bang my head to the desk.




- The story could have been so much darker but it wasnt. It was more of like...twisted instead of full grown dark. I did like however, Ember wasnt all the wicked, she was just wicked when she needed to be.

- I liked all the characters ,specially Ember. I do like Cinderella as a fairytale but there is a reason why Bella and Ariel are my favorite fairytale characters. Cinderella never does anything for herself, she is just super annoyingly kind and then one day puff her Godmother decides to change her life (where the hell she was all those years when she suffered? SRYSL WHERE?!!!). Bella and Ariel decide to change their fate themselves instead; one for her family, one for her love. Ember, in this story felt so close to those heroines. I was amazed how badass she was!

Prince Charming... I do like him but his curse made me go 'WTF' so many times I cant make up my mind whether I liked him because of he is and felt sympathy towards him (even though he could be asshole) or because he made me go 'poor boy but seriously wtf?' so many times. The jury is still out on that one.

Cinderella's step sisters and mother were epic (even though, I felt like some of the mini sub plots of sisters came out from nowhere.)


Last Thougts:

WHAT THE HELL DID I JUST READ?

SERIOUSLY, WHAT THE HELL DID I JUST READ?!

I feel like this...


...in a good way...

I think.

[NLMB · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this story! It’s an amazing retelling of the fairy tale Cinderella, but this version is not sappy or overly sweet. No, this story is a little bit darker and is full of surprises and twists. Super original and incredibly awesome.

What to love:
- It’s an easy and quick read, only 94 pages, you’ll fly through it.
- The female lead - Ember - is funny as hell, loyal, wicked and a freaking badass witch. She’s also not perfect. She is not the prettiest or the sweetest, she hold grudges and walks with a limp. She will do anything for the ones she love, literally anything. And she doesn’t need saving, she can do that herself. She is fierce as fuck.
- Ember ‘’speaks’’ to the reader in between the story, and it’s hilarious. I never thought something like that would work in a book, but in this one it does.
- The male lead isn’t the arrogant douchebag you are made to believe in the first few pages, read on and you’ll find he has a lot more depth and quite a sad story to tell.
- Nor are the stepmom and stepsisters as bad as you thought they would be, they are actually really sweet and supportive.
- The story is more than just a retelling of a fairy tale, there are underlying themes and topics that are incredibly clever written but also thought provoking.
- Oh and there is sex, YAY!

The only thing I didn’t really like was the ending, I didn’t hate it or anything, I actually loved how it all tied together and I loved Ember’s end dialogue. I just wished Bettie Sharpe would have stopped a little earlier in the story, but that’s just my personal preference. I’m afraid if I’ll say more I’ll spoil too much.
For people who have read the book or are just interested: I’m not really a fan of fast forwards at the end of books, were you’ll get the story of what happens with all the characters (in the future) in a few short sentences. I didn’t like it in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows and I’m not a fan of it now. I do loved the Nieves part, that was brilliant but in my opinion that would have been an awesome second book!
In the end, I didn’t dislike the end too much to deduct 0.5/1 star, the rest of the book was too awesome.

Thank you Cory for recommending this book to me, I’m so happy to have read it! And thank you Bettie Sharpe for writing such an amazing story!

[Monty Cupcake ☠ Queen of Bloodshed ☠ · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a retelling of Cinderella, if Cinderella was a badass witch who managed her stepsisters & stepmother and frightened the neighbors.

She's more of this....

than this...


And she's her own fairy godmother, no need for outside intervention, Ember can do it all. Which is only sad when Helena Bonham Carter is your fairy godmother because I love that batshit crazy woman.


Besides the wonderfully sarcastic and evil Ember, here are some other things in the book...




There is a Prince Charming in the form of Prince Adrian who is beyond handsome. He eclipses the sun with his comely form and all the ladies (and men) want a piece of him.

He likes prostitutes by the way.

Here's an appropriate approximation of Ember (dead body at her feet and all).


If this hasn't convinced you to read this book and realize Ember is the best Cinderella ever, then there is no hope for you. And Ember minds well just finish you off....

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was incredible. I remember grabbing it because someone did an excellent job of talking it up.

I'm so glad I did.

Ember is a great character. I can't even do her justice. She's strong, knows her mind, works for what she wants, isn't afraid to sacrifice to get what she needs, loves fiercely, and she's got this awesome dark sense of humor.

The book takes on this story being told to us, in a conspiratorial whisper. Ember tells it as it happened, setting the record straight of the classic tale: Cinderella.

In a vivid twist, the Prince is 'blessed' with charm. Everyone loves him, does as he asks, and can't say no to him. Ember does everything in her power to defy that wanting to be part of no artificial love.

Seeing Ember's truth of this story was a fun, intriguing, wonderful ride. I can't wait to read more by Bettie Sharpe.

[Ellen Gail · Rating 5 out of 5]

The blessing fell from her lips with a spatter of blood, for the tongue of the Old Ones is sharp as broken glass against the tender flesh of mortal mouths. “May he be charming. May every eye find perfection in his face and form. May every man respect him and every woman desire him. May all who meet him love him and long to please him.”

Well that was delightful. Ember was just the novella I was looking to devour.

On the surface, it's a fairy tale retelling, but a surprisingly deep one. It explores the nature of love and power, interwoven with passion and deception, and supported by strong character work.

And yes, Ember is a Cinderella retelling, but it's also its own damn thing that's just flat out enjoyable. It doesn't feel at all constrained by the original structure of the fairy tale, but rather bolstered it.

Words weave a spell, sometimes. They create images in our minds that heat our loins and sway our souls.

Well written, charming, and equal parts bloody and sweet, Ember was a total surprise and a hidden gem. If you like your fairy tales re-imagined in twisty and creative ways, this is a novella worth trying, for sure.

[Sherwood Smith]

One of the (many) reasons I don't do stars is that I am unable to even pretend at objectivity.

Take this twist on Cinderella, gritty and sexy and cleverly written. I was enjoying it thoroughly until she casually mentions murdering a dog because it was howling. No! You do not kill dogs in my reading! Dog killing is bad, and sucks all the joy out of the story for me. I hate murder of the helpless, of the innocent, and dogs are a big symbol of that.

So . . . good tale, even if I saw the twist coming pretty much from the gitgo, but enjoyed getting there, except for the dog. Oh, on the credit side, the fractured fairy tales woven in were a crackup in a very Goth sort of way.

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh wow, talk about a twisted fairy tale, no, not twisted in a sick, wrong way, twisted as in its so far and different to the normal fairy tale we're all used to, and in a damn fine good way as well! The synopsis itself drew me to it and since its a free ebook, might as well. Ember held quite a lot of promise and had a whole storyline to overturn (the tale of Cinderella), so imagine my surprise when I found it delivered, all too well. The plot was unique and different in its own way and I have to give a hand to Bettie for doing such a great job at turning the tables for this fairy tale! Loved the way things were painted out and I adored the way it was told from its ironic, wry voice of a narrator, Ember, the main star, who's supposed to be Cinderella.

<*SPOILER ALERT!*>
The story did follow the path of the fairy tale, though. Peasant girl's mother dies, her father remarries, she gains a stepmom and two stepsisters, she gets invited to the ball, meets the Prince, falls for him, runs away and Prince finds her again to live happily ever after. But with one admirable exception. Our main character's a witch, which makes this story all the more interesting since Ember can certainly do without her own fairy Godmother, no, Ember's her own heroine. Strong, stubborn and fiercely protective, she is her village's local witch, and she is feared by many, which makes her life understandably lonely. And here's the second twist: her stepmom and sisters love her and she, them. What made me admire Ember was that she held her ground when she was first introduced to her new extended family and they feared her for a witch. But that's not it, its that she came to grow fiercely loyal, loving and protective of them the longer and better she knew them. And I love her for that. The relationship between Ember and her step-family is totally genuine and true, especially the protective way the stepsisters act in her wake and the stepmom's genuine concern and care for Ember. They don't shun her at all for being a witch and they try their best to protect her in any way they can, in this case, the Prince. No matter ho hard I tried to make myself not like the Prince, its inevitable and I ended up liking and sympathising with him, with Ember. The Prince, in his own way, is lonely too, since he's gifted with a curse that makes everyone he meets instantly adore and love him, with the exception being Ember, which of course, rouses his interests and fuels his determination to find her. When he does, he's not the man with the perfect face which everyone loves, he's the man Ember finds herself falling in love with, having no idea at all he is the one person she's trying so desperately to avoid. The Prince has two faces, one being the perfect one everyone loves, and the other is his true face, which Ember falls in love with. You'll have to pick up the ebook to really get what I'm rambling on about, trust me, you'll love it, or maybe you won't, who knows? Now if you'll excuse me, I'm off to re-read it again since its so dang good. Some parts may be a predictable, but hey, its a re-telling of a classic fairy-tale, you can only stretch the limit so far.

By the way, this one has quite a few sexual references, so...yeah...just a warning...

[Susana · Rating 4 out of 5]

4,5 stars

A somewhat dark and wickedly hot retelling of Cinderella...

Are you tired of the same fairy tales retellings?

If the answer is YES, then this book is for YOU...that is, if you're an adult. Are you?
Because if not, go away, and come back later...really!!


So.... this has some pretty intense scenes...with some colorful language, lol, but then one also has some pretty laughable moments ( the main character, Ember, at the beginning of the story discovers why it isn't a good idea to put a coin in one's mouth...when engaged in certain activities...and i'm going to leave it at that lol who tone down things, quite a bit.

How the story begins:

"I know you think you’ve heard this story before, but you’re wrong.
Some would have it that this story begins with a virtuous virgin, a young woman of honesty and integrity sucker punched by cruel fortune and forced to sleep among the cinders while her moral inferiors lived the life which was meant to be hers. Bullshit."
This is no fairy tale. (Ember)

Exactly! This is much more interesting than our usual fairy tale. Forget all, you think you knew about Cinderella, Prince Charming, and the evil stepmother...and prepare yourself to become addicted to this story.
I know i did!
There's so many things that i could say about this story...but then, where would be the fun in it?? :D
Go read it, and find out for yourself!


Oh, and i really would like to be able to buy this in paperback!!
Just a hint.... *.*

[Alissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. I had fun with this brisk and irreverent take on the Cinderella fairytale. What if Prince Charming were a selfish, dangerous man cursed to be on the receiving end of adoration and lust? What if Cinderella were a witch who said, when she first met her step-mother, “Now that the air is clear between us, I like you just fine. My father needs a wife, and as long as you care for him and do not cuckold him with other men, we shall get along as well as he imagined.” and later, when the father died, became her madam?

"Charm and goodness are overrated.” Indeed.

This is humorous, wicked, nicely written and definitely not a children's bedtime story.


Running a whorehouse was surprisingly good training for running a government.

[Rashika (is tired) · Rating 3 out of 5]

An original spin on a age old tale

Ember is easily one of the most unique retellings I've ever had the pleasure to read. It had it's faults but the idea behind it was so refreshingly original.

Out of all the Disney princesses out there, Cinderella is my second least favorite (Snow White will always have first place on that list) because she seemed incredibly docile and her.. prince.. was well boring. For crying out loud his name was Prince Charming. And I am just putting this out there, I didn't connect the dots between his name and Prince Charming until recently so it's still a big deal to me. I mean imagine him hanging out with other guys. "HEY MAN, CHARMING, WADDUP". I am getting ahead of myself here. Going back to what I was saying, I love the idea behind it, because what girl wouldn't, but Disney didn't pull of the tale as well as they could have. Sharpe, however, did.

She puts a very original spin on the tale, one I cannot help but love. The tale is dark, it isn't full of rainbows and flowers but instead is full of witchcraft and curses.

It would be appropriate to start off with our Prince Charming. Of course in this case that isn't actually his name. People refer to him as that because he can literally charm the pants off of anyone. Everyone falls in love with him as soon as they see him. He has the power to stop wars just by appearing in front of the enemy. And like every other guy out there (or.. that I've read about) he wants the one woman who won't have him. The one woman who can see through his facade. Before I carry on, you should know, this was a curse (or gift) given to him at birth, everyone knows the tale, they just forget about it when they set eyes on him since they are so enamored by his supposed beauty. Ember, however, sees his charm for what it is, a facade which allows the Prince to always get his way.

Ember falls victim his charm as a young girl of 19 but her dying mother gives her a charm that will lessen the effects of the Prince's dreadful curse. Ember was a damn strong female lead. I have to give her that. But she could also be incredibly dense. It took her a damn long time to realize what was going on between her and Raid. I admired her spirit but I was bothered by how she couldn't pick up on such an obvious fact. I admired how she wasn't willing to just let the curse take over, she wanted to save herself and she'd do anything to achieve that.

The most interesting spin on this book was the step-mother and sisters. They are whores. But the 4 of them got along pretty well. It was the relationship between these 4 women that shined out to me. I'll admit that one of the things I DON'T like about Cinderella's tale was the step family. They treat her horribly in the original tale and I cannot quite understand how her father never saw through that. Luckily, we were spared from that nonsense. It was a relief to see how the 4 of them would do anything for one another. Their relationship was beautiful.

The romance was surprisingly good as well. This isn't a book, it's more like a novella. That usually doesn't leave room for a romance to develop and things just seem.. 'insta'. That wasn't the case here. It went from attraction, which lead to a relationship, which in turn led to love. I am still a little shaky on the why/how/when of 'Raid's' feelings but the romance itself was decent.

The plot. Yeah that needed some working. It was good but there were something things that were a little iffy. The story was too short, it could have easily been fleshed out and delivered on a lot of promises. There were some plot holes as well which could have been filled and it could have been as creepy as it promised to be.

The ending didn't work for me. I wanted something else but it'll do. It wasn't horrible, it was just not what I wanted.

Needless to say this is a great addition to all those wonderful retellings out there. With it's great prose and original spin it is definitely worth reading.

[KaleidoscopicCasey · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5... Awww you know what, let's go with 4 stars!

What a clever little naughty fairytale! I enjoyed this quite a bit more than I expected I would. This is a re-telling of Cinderella that kind of makes me wish this is the version I knew all along. Although, I suspect Disney would have had a hard time justifying all the sex in their animated children's classic...


Then again, maybe not... I mean I remember this one time that they...



Eh, never mind, why bring up old stuff...

This version makes Cinderella more relatable in a "why the hell don't birds brush my damn hair" kind of way. I mean this time she's a witch so not really more relatable but at least this time she doesn't seem so annoyingly perfect. And we get to know quite a bit more about our lovely prince charming. And I absolutely loved how the author slipped in teaser nuggets about the "truth" behind a few other fairytales.

For less than 100 pages and less than $1.00 to download, this tidbit was well worth the time and money!

[Tandie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Buddy read March 21

Okay, I read it and enjoyed it. The twist was obvious, but was still fun. I think the story would appeal to a much larger audience if the language was toned down a bit. Ember could still be wicked, but maybe refer to body parts & certain acts in a less crass way. YA readers would eat this up! What can I say? I'm a PG-13 to mild rated R prude-e-pants. I enjoyed the author's writing, Ember reminded me a bit of Nyx from Cruel Beauty, just the right mix of venom and kindness.

[Cathryn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was so delightful. This is how you do a retelling of Cinderella. This is not your Disney Cinderella who is all nice and sweet in spite of all the crap she is put through. If you mess with Ember you get burned...literally. I can't say too much more without spoiling it but the best twist of all is the "stepmother"/"stepsisters" and I'll leave it at that.

[Nadia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like Betie Sharpe's version of Cinderella better than the actual story brothers Grimm published. I'm baffled by the low ratings, because it's a really good retelling and you'll find mentions of other popular fairytales in there too. I recommend.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tadiana's review of this delightful, little novella is too, too perfect, and I'm inclined to just say "ditto" or "same" or "yaaaas" exactly! I mean seriously...What. She. Said. Really, read her review. It's as much fun as the story.

I know that's not the way this reviewing thing works, but that's what i'mma do, so...

Let me just add that the narrator's voice hit all the right notes for me. She's practical, independent, intelligent, quick to anger, and sweeter than she wants to admit she is. In addition, the "step-sisters" and "step-mother" as lovable prostitutes stole my heart, and the prince's desperation to find a connection of substance despite a curse that ensures superficial adoration warmed me. I was also tickled by the idea that the original fairy tale is just based on the neighbors' misunderstanding of actual events. Ember's "let me set the record straight" setup pulled me right in.

Be warned: despite the fairytale genre, well-drawn characters, and engaging storyline, this is erotica. So don't proceed any further unless you want to read detailed descriptions of sexy-fun-times.

[Cathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Re-telling of Cinderella, with a dark twist. I think fairytales have been retold before from the view of one of the bad guys. Not that our heroine is a bad guy. Well, she is a rather vengefull witch, so... bad girl after all. But you are totally on her side. Besides, Prince Charming is a twat.

Great characters, I loved Ember's sisters. Also the hints at other fairytales and how they could have been told, were very entertaining. I'd love to read some of those as well.

There is a twist and it is a very obvious one. But I think it's not supposed to be hard to figure it out. I found myself shouting at Ember to open her eyes and get a clue, because how could she miss this thing for so long?

For such a short story we have a well developped plot. My only misgiving is the ending. I am a little disappointed in it. In a way this was a HEA. I suppose, fairytales need to have a HEA of sorts, but I had looked forward to her being less forgiving. However, it was a nice closure to the story and worked well that way. Great move into the next fairytale, I love Snow White!