Heart of the Raven Prince: A Cinderella Retelling (Entangled with Fae)

Product Information

Wipe that sour sneer off your face,” Mrs. Coleman says before facing forward, even though I know I wear no such expression. Part of the appeal for me is in the way that Edward and Anna are portrayed. Neither is "stop-traffic" gorgeous. It takes a second look before you appreciate the beauty of Edward's eyes, for example, or the shape of Anna's mouth. There is so much more depth to a person, imo, when their wit and their personality is part of what makes them attractive. This is what attracts me in real life and I suppose it follows me into my reading. Plastic, barbie-doll beauty has never held any appeal for me - either in men or women. (Unless it's Halle Barry. That woman is so beautiful she exists on a whole other plane.) Anyway. That's what I liked the most about this book. Elizabeth Hoyt forces you to look past the scars and the grumpiness to see the serious hottie hiding behind them. Oh all right, and the lonely man convinced no one will want him because of those scars. (That's the touchy-feely part. I just thought Edward was seriously sexy.)

In addition to writing, she is a multi-passionate creative with a ton of artistic hobbies. She believes in the importance of following your joy and hopes to inspire others to live their dreams. When Anna (who was a widow) was in her bedroom at her house, “Her eyes returned to the wreath. It was crumbling. No wonder, since she had been widowed six years.” This seems to amuse Imogen even more. “Just because your namesake places you amongst ash and cinders, doesn’t mean you should seek cosmetics from a chimney.”

Customer reviews

That’s only because of their own outdated traditions. They choose to follow these strictures of chastity, etiquette, and social hierarchy, values leftover from when the humans on the isle bowed to a human king. When the fae won the war, we liberated them from King Grigory. Now it’s almost as if they expect their fae rulers to take his place.” I do not want to forget Mr. Felix Hopple, though. My oh my, he was a rather amusing secondary character as well. The question sends an iron weight to my stomach. “She’s…doing well. Aside from the fact that she’s abandoning me and all.” I try to say the last part in jest, but wince when I hear the bitter note that mingles with my words. Davis, the evil old reprobate. Even though he is terminally incompetent he was so devilishly diverting, too! God, this man gave Edward lip and made me laugh out loud!

Anna will not pay attention to his scarred face and body (smallpox scars) or his anger management issues and she will really really like him. BUT, all that said, this was still so very, very good. Do you like the fake relationship trope? Seducing a prince? Roguish rakes with a heart of gold? A slow burn romance with a bit of steam? Then you will LOVE this book. First comes the beat of opening and closing doors, then the quiet pound of footsteps on cobblestones as the factory workers leave nearby apartments and workhouses for another grueling day of labor. Next comes the rhythm of horse hooves and carriage wheels, then of gears turning, of machinery roaring to life. My fingers flinch at my sides, eager to tap along to the tune, each digit haunted by the ghost of piano keys. It’s been months since I last played. Months since I felt that comforting, familiar weight of ivory against my fingertips, of sound reverberating through my bones. Even though I refuse to sing, I still find comfort in playing the piano. Still find a connection to my mother through it. Imogen and Clara’s excited squeals are the last thing I hear before I round the corner toward the market. Raven shifter Prince Franco is every social climbing debutante’s dream. He’s handsome, heir to the Lunar Court throne, and deliciously single. Every young woman wants to bed him, wed him, or steal a moment of his time. Except, of course, for Ember Montgomery.

I thought this was where you serve your most important shop patrons.” My tone is teasing, but the thought of exiting the shop to a cluster of husband-hungry socialites has the blood leaving my face. I wonder who at the palace I have to thank for flapping their loose lips regarding my whereabouts. I’ll have to interrogate later. First, I need a way out. Perhaps if I shift into my raven form… If anything I think Hoyt's summaries almost do her books a disservice. For this book, the summary makes their relationship out to be a little seedy and the plot twist of Anna going to London to stand-in for the prostitute Edward would sleep with is made to sound ... I don't know, just all lust-based, when by this point, the reason Anna is upset that he's going to a whorehouse is because she has feelings for him and thinks he may be attracted to her - but won't act on it - and the reason Edward is going to the whorehouse is to try and get his mind off of his lovely secretary whom he knows he can't do anything with. But why did we have to come here?” Clara asks. “Couldn’t we have entered the Lunar social season in a different city? One where we could live somewhere nicer than the Gray Quarter? Or couldn’t we have asked to stay at the manor?” Note: This book is upper young adult/new adult, featuring mature situations and some adult language. The romance is slow-burn but leads to moderate steam. Marie leads an impure and unchaste life,” Mrs. Coleman says, her tone sharp. “I won’t have you associating with her ilk.”

I blazed through The Raven Prince this morning. How in the world is this my first Elizabeth Hoyt novel?! I did like the fact that Anna wasn't another virginal widow (another trope I hate), and her relationship with her mother-in-law was genuinely touching. All the secondary characters in this book are also excellent, like Hopple and his bumblebee and frog waistcoats, the cranky and mutinous Davis, Cora and Pearl (of course), and Mother Wren. They actually stole the show from the main characters, which is a problem. But the writing is good, and the garden scenes (there were several) are so magical that they reminded me of the reveal in THE SECRET GARDEN, and there were some pretty steamy moments in THE RAVEN PRINCE, so I guess I can't fault it **too** much. That’s my least favorite part about bargains. They hurt when broken. If I were full fae, my disobedience could kill me. Since I’m only half fae, the mysterious magic that rules fae bargains isn’t as detrimental.I enjoy this author and am listening to this while waiting for the third book in her Fair Isle Trilogy to be released three days from the time of writing this review. And so far I think it will be as good as the Fair Isle Trilogy, however, for those that have not read her other books, this book should come with major spoiler alerts! It needs to be read after others! I suppress a groan at the suggestion of yet another scheme to marry Imogen to fae royalty. Prince Franco is the brother and heir of Queen Nyxia, the Unseelie Queen of Lunar, and he is just as unlikely to fall for Imogen’s nonexistent charms as every other royal she’s tried to woo.

The beginning of this story was a bit agonizing, as most Cinderella retellings are. I wish Ember had had just one friend or one positive relationship so it wouldn't have been so depressing. It also took a bit longer to get to the main plot - the fake relationship - than I would've liked. It doesn’t even matter that he supposedly doesn’t drink blood. It doesn’t matter that he’s spoken of as a highly sought-after bachelor. The disdain in his glowering, silver stare is enough to make my knees quake.Imogen eyes her mother with a smirk, expression calculating. “Did your decision to bring us here have anything to do with the fact that Prince Franco is still unwed?” The Raven Prince is the first book in the Prince’s Trilogy and my first read by author Elizabeth Hoyt, and I must say, I was pleasantly surprised! I enjoyed the uniqueness of this story in that neither of the characters could be considered even remotely conventional, and this in a time when being anything less was nigh unto blasphemous! Also, there was a Beauty and the Beast fairytalesque feel to it that was done so well one could easily believe in this story and its wonderful characters. But I didn't think this book was all that special. I disliked the heroine Anna intensely. I don't understand why Edward felt compelled to marry her. The sex scenes are hot, yeah, but I skim-read them, in the beginning I was just disgusted then I was bored.