I subscribe to Rachel’s newsletter, so the moment this series went live, I knew about it. The first book is free on all platforms, and though I had it and had bought the second installment as an ebook, I decided to buy the complete paperback as a Christmas present last year (along with other books by the author).
It took me a while (my TBR pile is huge!), but I finally got around to reading it.
Why did I decide to just go ahead an buy the paperback without having read this series yet? Because the author always responds to social media posts (see the images above) — and I like her writing style.
City of Wishes: The Complete Cinderella Story by Rachel Morgan
Cinderella retold: A human slave, a fae prince, and a Godmother who’ll grant any wish—if you pay the price.
In a world of fae, vampires and shifters, where magic is real and wishes can be bought and bargained for, Elle is on society’s bottommost rung: she’s human.
To make matters worse, she’s also a slave, bound to her stepmother by magic.
Her only hope at freedom is to wish for it.
But the Godmother rules the illegal wish trade, and the price she demands is steep.
Elle has never been desperate enough to summon her.
Until now.
I’m going to present the reviews of the series by book.
Every wish has a price …
In a world of fae, vampires and shifters, where wishes can be bought and bargained for, Elle is human, bound to her stepmother by a slave charm. Her only hope at freedom is to wish for it. But the Godmother rules the illegal wish trade, and the price she demands is steep. Is Elle willing to pay it?
It’s just another night of breaking her stepmother’s rules and sneaking out. Another night of drawing as little attention to herself as possible.
Get the job done. Earn a little more Essence. Move one step closer to legitimately purchasing a wish.
But when Elle runs face-first into a charming and handsome faerie—and then ends up in the clutches of a vampire—her usual fly-under-the-radar plans are knocked off course.
See it on Goodreads here.
My Review
Fast-paced, action-packed with interesting twists. I like that fae, shifters, vampires and humans all exist in a hierarchy where fae rule and humans are the lowest class – makes for an interesting society.
Elle is a compelling character. She knows what she wants and what she is willing to risk to get it. I like how circumstances in the end push her to do something more dangerous to get what she needs sooner – before things get worse.
Dex and his friends are intriguing – their true motivations are hidden, but they seem to have the right ideas about how society should function.
A fun read. Highly recommended.
Shelves: books that should have a trigger warning, college young adult, fairy tale retelling, fantasy, new adult, romance
Elle and Dex concoct a plan to lure in the Allegiant vampires responsible for the recent spate of human abductions, but a surprising revelation threatens to change everything.
While Elle works hard to keep the ugly truth of who she really is from Dex, it turns out Dex is keeping a secret of his own.
See it on Goodreads here.
My Review
More intrigue with the vampires with lots of unanswered questions.
Elle and Dex grow closer, but they both hide secrets. I’m seriously wondering about Dex’s curse.
I love the way dragon shifters are described!
Elle’s stepmother and especially Meredith are grating on my nerves. Why couldn’t the vampires just eat Meredith?
The party with all the races invited was an interesting look at their society as a whole. And the cliffhanger…! Can Elle even be pushed further?
A fun read. Highly recommended.
Shelves: books that should have a trigger warning, college young adult, fairy tale retelling, fantasy, new adult, romance
Elle is desperate enough to do the one thing she promised herself shed never do: bargain with the Godmother for a wish. But if she pays the price, it will leave her forever changed.
So she makes the daring decision to lie to the Godmother.
Shell pretend to pay the price.
Can she get away with her freedom before the Godmother finds out?
See it on Goodreads here.
My Review
The magic is exquisitely woven.
The interpersonal relationships grow stronger.
The romance goes up a notch.
The mystery about Elle’s past grows more compelling.
And can she get into more trouble? Obviously, yes.
A fast-paced, fun read. Highly recommended.
Shelves: books that should have a trigger warning, college young adult, fairy tale retelling, fantasy, new adult, romance
Finding herself with some unlikely allies, Elle prepares to face the man calling himself the vampire king in an enchanted land of never-ending darkness.
See it on Goodreads here.
My Review
“Holy stars, you’re the most frustrating person I’ve ever met.”
The Godmother smiled. “Thank you.”
Love this scene!
The various types of magic get examined more and the world-within-worlds has a fun twist to it.
The Godmother seems to be much older than anyone else – even the vampires. Intriguing.
And Elle’s family and past gets even more mysterious, which leads to the cliffhanger where she does another crazy thing (we’ll see how it plays out in the next book).
Another fast-paced, fun read. Highly recommended.
Shelves: books that should have a trigger warning, college young adult, fairy tale retelling, fantasy, new adult, romance
After finally receiving the one thing she’s wanted for so many years, Elle sets out to pay the price demanded by the Godmother: she will travel through the Never Woods and complete a quest that will if the Godmother’s shocking story is to be believed change her life.
And possibly the world.
See it on Goodreads here.
My Review
Woods, magic, a quest – what’s not to love?
Fast-paced, action-packed and full of fun twists.
A great build-up for the final battle.
Shelves: books that should have a trigger warning, college young adult, fairy tale retelling, fantasy, new adult, romance
Armed with knowledge that could change everything for humankind, Elle must confront the king.
But it’s the Godmother who now poses the greatest threat. Can Elle and Dex stop her from taking control of the kingdom?
See it on Goodreads here.
My Review
The shock on Salvia’s face when Elle confronts her: priceless.
The way all the different experiences of Elle’s life along with the various magicks come together is absolutely awesome.
People can still surprise you, as Elle learns in this final adventure before her happily-ever-after.
A fast-paced, fun, must-read story. Highly recommended.
Shelves: books that should have a trigger warning, college young adult, fairy tale retelling, fantasy, new adult, romance
If is isn’t clear yet, I really enjoyed this series.
Have you read this series yet? Do you enjoy fairy tale retellings?
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I know that author! Bet she’s very happy with your review.
She did a shout-out about a previous review on Twitter, so I bet she’ll be happy about this one, too 🙂
This sounds like an interesting series. I too like that humans are at the bottom of the pecking order. That’s the truth in my books, too. All we can do is outthink our enemies. I love the covers of these books!
I thoroughly enjoyed it 🙂 I love that truth!