[ARC Review] Mountains Made of Glass by Scarlett St. Clair

Publisher's synopsis: All Gesela's life, her home village of Elk has been cursed. And it isn't a single curse—it is one after another, each to be broken by a villager, each with devastating consequences. When Elk's well goes dry, it is Gesela's turn to save her town by killing the toad that lives at the bottom. Except…the toad is not a toad at all. He is an Elven prince under a curse of his own, and upon his death, his brothers come for Gesela, seeking retribution.

As punishment, the princes banish Gesela to live with their seventh brother, the one they call the beast. Gesela expects to be the prisoner of a hideous monster, but the beast turns out to be exquisitely beautiful, and rather than lock her in a cell, he offers Gesela a deal. If she can guess his true name in seven days, she can go free.

Gesela agrees, but there is a hidden catch—she must speak his name with love in order to free him, too.

But can either of them learn to love in time?  

My thoughts: At this point, suffice to say that I will willingly devour anything that Scarlett St. Clair writes. Whether her stories are based in Greek mythology, vampire lore, or a mash up of every fairy tale and fairy folklore that I enjoyed as a child, I'm always enraptured by her storytelling and characters. 

I am so glad that Mountains Made of Glass is the first novella in a series and that we're going to get a story for all seven brothers, because I definitely need more stories set in this world. The forest is dark, it's dangerous, it's exciting. And it's where Gesela and her Elven Prince will discover the ends to a curse that plagues them both. After brief introductions to the other brothers, I'm excited to see what their kingdoms are like. 

Several things kept me on the edge of my seat while reading MMOG. Trying to figure out her Elven Prince's true name right along with Gesela definitely kept me turning the page, combing through every interaction for possible clues. Despite all the hints and clues, though, I truly could not come up with the Prince's true name until Gesela did. I have to applaud St. Clair for crafting a riddle that wasn't too obvious nor frustratingly complex. I was also constantly intrigued by the back and forth between Gesela and the Prince. It was scintillating and steamy and I couldn't help but root for them from their very first interaction.

St. Clair pulled from quite a few different fairy tales for this story, and I thought she did an excellent job at combining them into one cohesive story. With so many different stories to pull from, it was impossible to know where the story would head next or what new character or creature we may encounter in the next chapter. The source material may be familiar, but the way St. Clair wove it together is not. 

Overall, I loved Gesela's story of love, hope, and revenge. This was a great story on its own, but it also serves as a great introduction to the series as a whole. Once again, Scarlett St. Clair created a world I will happily return to again and again. 

*A huge thank you to Bloom Books for providing a review copy of this novella.*

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Release date: 3/7/23

Format: eARC

eARC provided via: NetGalley