Last review for today! The last two books in this series and the series review will come next week!
Customary warning: This is a reminder that these are my personal opinions. My thoughts and feelings are not your thoughts and feelings. I may not always be the target audience for a book; sometimes I am. If I do not like a book, that doesn’t mean you’ll dislike it. If I love a book or simply like a book, you may hate it. Take everything I say with this knowledge. If it sounds interesting to you despite what I’ve said, then go ahead and read it. You’ll only know you like something if you read it yourself.
That being said… Spoilers ahead.
Glass Princess by M. Lynn
Synopsis From The Book
A shattered princess is a vengeful princess.
On the shores of Madra, rebellion has won.
Her family dead or missing, Helena seeks help from the kingdom across the sea. Bela. She knows it from stories of magic and war but now finds herself at the mercy of the intimidating Basile queen. Etta is everything Helena wishes she could have been for her family and everything she hopes to be still. Convincing the foreign warrior queen to let her stay is easy. Convincing her to train a princess she barely knows is something else entirely.
When shocking news comes out of Gaule, Helena realizes the fight for Madra hasn’t ended. It has only just begun.
Dell Tenyson left everything behind.
When the crown fell, he found himself on the unlikely side of those trying to save it.
And they’d failed.
Now, he follows Helena across the sea to help her regain what she lost. Not the crown. Her family.
But when all she wants is vengeance, will he be enough to remind her she still has a reason to live for something more?
Glass Princess is book two in a duology that is part of the Fantasy and Fairytales series.
Fantasy-Retelling | YA-PW |Torture, Betrayal | Overcoming Odds, Power, Love
Initial Thoughts Before Reading:
ALRIGHT here we go. Second book. Cinderella after the main part of Cinderella is done. We had the glass slipper moment, the ball, and the family issues. Now it is time to save a country. Will Helena do it? Will she save what is hers?
Is Stev alive? Will he and Edmund be happy? Will Camille find a person who will really love her? (Please, she needs it). Is Quinn evil too? Will Dell and Helena have more romance? Will we get a happily ever after?
Let’s find out.
Initial Thoughts After Reading:
WHAAAAAAAAAA
As a note I do not plan on doing a duology review for this. I may have if there weren’t two more books for me to read, and they are stand alones. I plan to read those and then do a full series review for all the books I read in this go (these two, and then the next two coming soon).
This book! I can’t!! UGh. I’m so happy that everyone is able to be with the ones they love. Honestly that is all I really wanted. My Hearttttt.
Plot Overview:
Helena has been in Bela for 13 days, waiting each day from Quinn to come to her from Guale. She has learned of the intense differences between Bela culture and other countries. Dell tries to learn to fight, and fails. Instead Helena learns from Etta, who tells her to harness her anger. Simon and Helena’s cousin arrive on horseback. They announce that Stev is dead and that Catrina, Alex’s mom and Queen of Gaule, is going to trade Quinn for Camille’s safety abroad.
Helena and the others go to Gaule to try to stop the trade. They learn that Gaule is massively suffering, and that since Catrina has taken over the nobles have grown more horrid. The country is still thoroughly shattered. They meet Queen Catrina, and Helena is able to see Quinn. Reed arrives to get Quinn, and ends up betraying them (he had promised to help them get Quinn but lied). Quinn goes back to Madra and Dell almost dies. They save Dell through Amelie, and her healer. Dell and Helena kiss for real this time, confirming their emotions, because Helena can’t lose Dell.
They return to Bela, where Etta warns Helena not to chase vengeance and become someone with nothing else to lose. Will, a mercenary Amelie introduced to Helena, tells her about a boat that leaves at dawn. Dell, Tyson, and Edmund get drunk and return to the palace. Etta has sex with Dell, before leaving him and finding Etta who warns her to make sure it was more than vengeance. She goes to the docks, followed by Edmund, and they head to Madra. Dell awakes the next day and finds Etta. She calls a family meeting and Kassander calls them cowards. Etta agrees to go to Madra. They leave.
Etta arrives in Madra with Edmund but they are captured by Quinn, who has turned to his brother’s side, despite what he said. Edmund’s rebellion comes for him. They save them all and Helena goes to her brother Cole. He’s happy to see her alive, and shows her that Stev is alive (barely, he was “questioned” i.e. tortured within an inch of his life). Helena objects to Cole, and he has her beaten.
Dell and the others arrive, and they have Helena’s cousin take Kassander somewhere safe. They find Edmund and Quinn reveals Stev is alive and that he was at the palace on Cole’s side, to protect Helena when she arrived. He also reveals that their cousin is in league with Cole. The rebel hide out is found and they flee to another with the help of magic protecting them. Quinn gets back to the castle, and with Camille, makes up with Helena. Helena is dressed for a formal event with her mask on her face, when she is led to a room with Kassaner. Ian tries to get the location of the secret tunnels out of her, and almost rapes her but Reed kills him.
Helena tells Reed the location of the tunnels. They send a message to the rebellion, about how Cole plans to kill all his siblings to solidify his rule. Reed meets them in the tunnels, but it is revealed that he was the mastermind behind Cole the whole time, not Ian. Reed captures Dell and the others and Helena and her siblings are forced to watch Cole whip Stev.
Reed returns to the demonstration, and Edmund breaks the others out of prison. He stays behind to fight, giving the others the time to get to Helena. Helena’s cousin delivers Kassander to Reed, and Helena realizes then she has to kill Reed. As Stev finally screams, she throws her knife to kill Reed. The Rebellion and magic users burst out. Cole runs, and the guards try to take Stev but Helena declares that Cole is the traitor. After a speech, the people choose her side. She reveals her face, and hurries with the others to get to Edmund.
They find him fighting Cole. Kassander’s voice throws Cole off long enough that Alex can disarm him. Edmund had defeated lots of people but was exhausted. Helena stops Cole and makes him know he is her prisoner, but Stev kills him with an arrow. Cole alive would result in turmoil for Madra, and Helena chose to ignore it. Stev and Edmund reunite. Quinn, is shocked by his brother’s death, but Camille comforts him and asks to stay because she is in love with Quinn.
Everyone heals. Dell talks to his step-mother. Edmund says Stev can’t stay in the castle in which he was tortured. The whole of Madra wants Helena as their queen, and Stev renounces his claim to the throne. Helena asks Dell to marry her, but he says no, because she hates the tradition and he wants to support her. One day they will marry but not because a law says she has to. Helena ascends to the throne, and all is well.
What I Liked:
Helena; This girl did it. She did have the “I changed’ speech, which drives me up a wall, but I liked it here, because it gave her motivation to do something, she may not have done otherwise. My girl is going to go far. I just know it.
Dell; This poor boy. Man he loves Helena, so much. But I’d be so angry if the person I loved kept doing the crazy shit Helena did. I’m happy of him standing up for him and their relationship. He wants to make sure that Helena gets what she deserves, without having to have him to get it (aka the crown). This boy did so much, and fought so hard, and was so comforting. I hope you can have a great peaceful life.
Other Characters; AHHHHH all the characters who showed up. Also all the references, that made the new characters go “what?” I love them all, they are my babies. I am a bit peeved at Catrina. She was supposed to clean up her country, and help them. Instead it is suffering every bit as it was under Alex’s father’s rule. Please someone help her.
Amelie and Tyson; I know they are the main leads for the next book. SO AHHHH. I love their dynamic so much. I hope they can make up.
Progression; Seeing how each of the countries have changed and how the characters have as well, gets me. I can’t wait to see more as we move into the future.
Ending; This ending! Cole and Reed and Ian. All these bloody deaths. Also the torture. My goodness it was horrific. Very tense and kept me worried about what was to come next
What I Would Have Liked or Changed:
None
Rating: 4.5/5
Notable Quotes:
None
Marlena Marie 
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