By: Cait Marie
Blurb
A marriage that could save them both. A truth that might destroy them.
And a choice that will break her heart.
All Aika ever wanted was a family — until hers was standing on opposite ends of a war. Trapped between her loyalty to a monster and her love for a man who despises her, she must decide who she’s willing to lose.
And who she’s willing to betray.
Don’t miss this dark Cinderella retelling, where the stroke of midnight could mean the end of everything.
*The Twisted Pages Series wraps up Aika’s story in book four, but don’t worry, Zaina and Einar have their scenes as well! This series does need to be read in order, beginning with Of Thorns and Beauty.
**Content Warning**
Please be aware that this series is intended for adult readers.
Although there is no explicit language, violence, or sexual content, we do tackle dark themes, including history of child abuse and childhood sexual assault, attempted sexual assault, and torture.
While we make every effort to handle these situations in a delicate and non-graphic manner, our priority is and will always be the mental health of our readers.
So please mind your triggers and proceed with any necessary caution. ❤
Review
*I received a free advanced copy of this book for my honest review.*
Oh, ElBin… You’ve done it again.
I feel like my reviews are getting a bit repetitive for these books, but they are genuinely just that good. Every one has been phenomenal, and somehow they keep getting better. I don’t know how, but it’s true.
This is the fourth book in the Twisted Pages series, and oof. It’s part two of the Cinderella portion of the series, which is my favorite story to read retellings of, so I already knew I’d love it, but oh man. I don’t know how to properly explain how much I adored this book.
It’s dark and twisted (please read the content warnings if there are potential triggers for you). It’s intense, but there are also light, amusing parts mixed in at times. All of the characters at this point have lived through traumatic events, and sometimes their sardonic humor is the only way they can get through things.
Without giving too much away, Remy and Aika have to pretend to be a couple. So, they are constantly overdoing it with pet names, and it’s just perfect. They’re reluctantly in this situation, but they’re also both willing to go to great means to protect one another. Even if they both deny their feelings.
Seeing them grow together, and seeing how things develop from the past to the present was really moving. There is one scene that leads into a flashback that both made me swoon and broke my heart. It literally made me gasp, and just thinking about it is actually making me teary now. It’s a part I’ll go back to reread often because the delivery was just on point.
That wasn’t the only time this book made me gasp either. It was incredibly difficult to put down because there was so much at stake. I had to keep going. And I may or may not have messaged the authors at like midnight as I was reading the end… and freaking out.
There are a lot of questions unanswered, making me eager for the next book. I’m not going to lie, I wasn’t sure how I’d like the series switching POVs every two books–the first two are Zaina (Beauty and the Beast), the next two are Aika (Cinderella), and the last two are Mel (The Little Mermaid)–but it’s such a cohesive story. Even though books three and four are focused on Aika and Remy, we still got plenty of Zaina and Einar POV chapters to flesh it all out. It’s done really well, and I have no doubts the final two books will blow me away.
And I’m not just saying that because I’m obsessed with The Little Mermaid… *she says as she curls up in her Little Mermaid throw blanket, with an Ariel painting on the shelf behind her and a Little Mermaid cup on the top of her desk next to her.*
Functionally Fictional 