{Book Review} The City Beyond the Glass by Suzannah Rowntree

As a daughter of nobility in Renaissance Venice, Gemma Caloprini must marry - or die behind convent walls. When an unwanted betrothal goads her to defy her father, she risks her most dangerous secret: the Glass Doge, a sinister nobleman living behind the glass of her mirror.

Now Gemma faces a brutal dilemma. If the suitors competing for her youngest sister's hand discover her secret, she'll be locked in a convent. If the Inquisitors find out, she'll burn as a witch. And if she can't pay her debt to the Glass Doge, she'll lose her soul forever.

THE CITY BEYOND THE GLASS is a dark and spellbinding YA retelling of The Twelve Dancing Princesses.

 

AMAZON | GOODREADS | AUTHOR'S BLOG

 

Wow! What a unique, heart-pounding fairytale retelling. I’m still reeling from this story and don’t know if I’ll ever recover.

As a 40k novella, you may pick this up expecting a fluffy, quicky romance story well…HAHAHAHAHAHA!!! Just make sure you have your seatbelt on. You’re gonna need it!

This is a Twelve Dancing Princesses retelling which, if you didn’t know, is one of my most faaaavorite fairytales. But not only that, this story involves magical MIRRORS. Which is also one of my favoritest things. Why I’m obsessed with magical mirrors in stories I DON’T KNOW. There’s just so much fun to be had with them! So when I discovered this was based off one of my favorite fairytales AND the plot was centered around a world behind a mirror, I WAS SOLD. And let me tell you, I wasn’t disappointed.

THE RUNDOWN

The City Beyond the Glass is such a unique take on the Twelve Dancing Princesses story! The way Suzannah Rowntree weaved so very many elements from the original fairytale while still making this her own utterly original tale was brilliant.

This is both historical fiction and fantasy—set during the Renaissance age in Venice (how cool is that???), but where a few myths and dark magic come into play.

Narrated in first person, we are told the story through Gemma’s point-of-view, a young woman who is imprisoned in her own home and seeks freedom for her and her sisters more than anything. But she soon learns “freedom” is not actually free, and her desperation and impulsive behavior brings a terrible price on her head, as well as her two sisters.

In good ol’ fashioned Twelve Dancing Princesses style, the story is based around the girls disappearing each night and wearing out their dancing slippers in the process. But where they go is a dangerous secret, and their short-tempered father has had enough of their secrets, causing him to put forth a reward to any man who can figure out where the girls vanish to.

Though this is the base of the story, that’s where the similarities to the original fairytale end. The depth, complexity, thrills, and chills of this plot blew me away!

CHARACTERS

There are three sisters instead of twelve in this story, which, honestly, was kinda nice. Trying to keep up with twelve sisters in the span of only 40k would be a biiiit overwhelming, I think. Having just three was perfect. The sisterly dynamics were really fun to read about. In fact, all the character dynamics really popped off the page. Every single character was so human and alive.

Gemma: As mentioned, Gemma is our protagonist, the eldest sister, and point-of-view character. Sadly I…wasn’t really wild about her. She kind of frustrated me to no end. It was hard being inside her head the whole time because she was kinda…rotten. She’s selfish, impulsive, rebellious, and fiery. And makes many, MANY mistakes. BUT—and this is a big but—I absolutely understand why she was the way she was. Because see, THE WHOLE PLOT probably wouldn’t have worked if she had had a different personality. So, honestly, I’m not sure I can say her rather irritating character is a negative or not. It was necessary. AND she had a very interesting character arc which I’m ALLLL for. Gimme ALL the character arcs. So yeah, she made me want to get a brick and knock some sense into her head for basically…the entire story. Buuuut her behavior moved the plot along, and she was so very, very human. Any one of us could have made the same mistakes she did. She was a brilliantly written character. I just…got really, really frustrated with her and it made it hard to be in her head the whole time.

Filippa and Lucia: Gemma wasn’t my favorite, but I LOVED her younger sisters. Filippa, the middle child, is the levelheaded one of the three, and keeps the other two a little reigned in, which is a good thing (they need it)! While Lucia is the picture of meekness and innocence. I wish Filippa had been in the story more. Her role wasn’t major, and thus we didn’t see her a whole lot, but I enjoyed it when she was there. Lucia plays a slightly larger part, and I was very happy about because she is SO precious. I adored that sweet girl! She was the breath of fresh air to Gemma’s hotheadedness.

Gonzaga: This man played a verrrrry intriguing role and just…wow. I really can’t say much because #SPOILERS but…yeah. He made the book so interesting!

The Glass Doge: The Glass Doge is the man behind the mirror (and he gave me serious Phantom of the Opera vibes which is a plus in my book!) whose intentions are a bit of a mystery. Is he frightening? Is he charismatic? Does he want the best for people or not? WHO CAN KNOW? He’s both chilling and alluring and added a whole ‘nother layer of epicness to the tale.

There were other characters as well, like the girls’ father (who I also wanted to throw a brick at) and some side characters who each had important parts to play. Every single one served an important purpose and, as I said, was so human. They were all different and real. This author has some serious talent when it comes to character creation!

THINGS I LOVED

- IT’S A TWELVE DANCING PRINCESSES RETELLING. I mean…obviously that’s a huge plus.

- THE SETTING & RICH HISTORY. As I said, this is set in Renaissance Venice and aaaaahhhhhh!!! You couldn’t ask for a more gorgeous setting. I just soaked up all the glitz and glam of the Venice life. (Except it wasn’t really that glamorous for most…heh. BUT STILL.) And it was so full of history, without once bogging the reader down with historical facts. Each thing was woven perfectly into the story. You can tell this author knows her stuff! The setting felt like a character on its own. This was absolutely one of my favorite parts of the story.

- INTENSE, DARK, & HIGH STAKES. Good gracious me alive. THIS PLOT. It is a thrill of a ride. I honest to goodness was tensed up almost the whole way through. This story did not coddle its characters or readers. It’s a nail-biter and heart-pounder. I honestly didn’t know what the outcome was gonna be. The stakes were so, so, so high. I was terrified for the characters. And I loved every second of it. Gimme all the thrills! The way this story pulls you along and makes you more and more nervous with every turn of the page was pure brilliance. No fluff here!

- PLOT TWISTS. Oooh, the plot twists. DAT ENDING DO. *collapses* Again, this plot is INTENSE. And also complex. Which is my faaaave. I was soaking up every bit of it.

- SNAPPY DIALOGUE. The dialogue was one of my favorite bits of this story. It was so sharp and punchy! Again, this author knows how to bring her characters to life, and that shows more than ever through the dialogue.

-THE MIRROR AND MAGIC. I…really shouldn’t say much because I don’t want to give away spoilers, but I adored how the mirror and magic of this world came into play. It was such a fascinating idea, and mixing it with historic Venice made it even more engrossing. Venice seems like a place where there really would be secret worlds and magic.

- THE POWERFUL THEMES. The beauty of this story is that it made me examine myself, without ever once preaching to me. The themes and messages were woven so deeply into the plot, they utterly captured me without me even realizing what had happened. Now that is what a story should do. I never felt preached to or like some Important Message was being shoved down my throat. No, this story tells its tale in such a deep and powerful and beautiful way, it will naturally root its morals and values inside you and stick with you far after you’ve made it to the end. Exactly what you want in a fairytale!

THINGS I DIDN’T LIKE

- COULD HAVE BEEN LONGER. I think this is probably just a me thing, but I felt like the story was a little rushed. Now, it worked, because it strung the reader along for a wild ride without ever pausing for any boring parts. But it almost seemed too fast. A few pauses for breath wouldn’t have been a terrible thing. Eheh. There were some scenes that felt…condensed. Like there should have been more to them. We’re also dropped slap dab in the middle of the tale, which was all right, because it added a bit of a mystery as we learn the girls’ secret. At the same time though, I kiiinda wish the story started at the beginning of their adventures. I felt like I was missing out on something. Buuut, again, this is more a me thing. I’m partial to longer books and even love me some ginormous series, so I don’t think this will bother everyone. Most people will  probably enjoy the quick pace.

- GEMMA WAS HARD TO DEAL WITH. I pretty much already covered this, but I wanted to put it here because, honestly, if I had liked the protagonist more, this may have ranked as one of my favorite reads. But, as it was, being inside the head of someone who infuriated me on every page docked a star for me. Which I feel bad about because, again, her personality was necessary and so brilliantly written and served the powerful message of the story and made it all the more meaningful. I don’t think she should or could have been written any differently. She just…wasn’t very likable.

Those are really the only negative things I have to say about this story. And they’re simply personal opinions, nothing against the book in any form or fashion. THIS WAS JUST SUCH A GOOD STORY, GUYS.

CONTENT CAUTIONS

Reputation is the most important thing for the people of Venice in those days, and it plays a key factor in the story. The girls are accused of having their, erm, innocence soiled and reputations ruined. And there are a few other scenes implying some men’s sensual desires and the mention of a harlot or two. It is all very delicately handled, but do be aware it’s there.

Also, I’ll repeat, this is a dark and intense book! There’s not really any gore (that I can remember…?), but whew! You’re going to be biting your nails to stubs with this one.

Otherwise, this was a very clean book. No language or anything of that nature. And, like I said, beautiful messages woven through it. But because of the darkness and the subject matter I mentioned above, I’d probably recommend it to ages 15 or 16+?

 

CONCLUSION

For a novella, this packs in a LOT of feels. Sometimes I felt like I was holding my breath while reading it.

If you’re looking for a lighthearted, lovey-dovey fairytale retelling, this one isn’t for you. But if you want a deep, dark, intense story with characters who leap off the pages, a historically rich and ritzy setting, a shiver-worthy antagonist, a complex plot that keeps you reeling, and a powerful message which will stay with you far after you’ve closed the book, GO BUY THE CITY BEYOND THE GLASS.

 

TALK WITH ME!

Have you read The City Beyond the Glass? If not, are you going to go get it now? (Because you shoooould.) Who else totally loves Twelve Dancing Princesses retellings??? And who enjoys dark, intense stories? (I’m all for ‘em! Though I don’t mind a touch of fluff in my literary diet as well. Gotta stay balanced after all.)

NOTE: I received a free ebook copy from the author in exchange for a honest review.