Lady Tremaine by Rachel Hochhauser

• MAIN THEMES:

  • Motherhood & Sacrifice

  • Women’s Resilience

  • Family & Belonging

  • Reclaiming a Villain’s Story

I usually love stories from a villain’s perspective as I believe we are ALL the villain in someone’s story, and “Lady Tremaine” definitely delivers a fresh twist on “Cinderella.” Lady Tremaine herself is surprisingly relatable and even likable, and Elin’s dramatic growth in the final chapters adds real depth. The story keeps you guessing with a major plot twist at the end…you never quite know what’s coming next.

That said, the pacing is sluggish at the start. The ball takes forever to arrive, and Elin can be tough to root for (in fact, she was downright unlikable for most of the book), which made the early chapters a bit of a slog. If you’re looking for spice, this isn’t the book for you… I don’t personally mind the lack of peppers, but I know some of you might. I don’t think the story needs it, honestly. The plot and time period wouldn’t make sense to include smut, IMO.

Overall, it’s an interesting one-time read with clever twists, but I wouldn’t rush to revisit it. A unique take on a classic, just wish the story had more momentum throughout. If it had a similar feel throughout the book as it did in the final chapters, it could easily be a favorite, and I would want to see it adapted into a movie. However, this wasn’t the case, unfortunately.

TLDR: It’s a solid 3-Star read - a book you are OK lending out to friends because they might like it and you won’t stress if you never get it back.