Book Review: Riches to Rags by Casey L. Bond

My Rating: ★★★★★

Synopsis: Most girls dream of being princesses, but one princess just wants to be a normal girl. Ella Carina, crown princess of Aelawyn, knows brutality and lies—she’s seen the way her father rules. Princess. Possession. To her father, the words had the same meaning. She was only as valuable as the alliance formed with her betrothal. Her freedom comes from an unlikely place: an attack on the castle. When the conquering King offers to protect her from the betrothal her father arranged for political gain, she consents. Hiding her within a peasant family is the only way to keep her and her secret safe.  In this simpler life, Ella flourishes and catches the eye of the local Blacksmith’s son. For once, she can be herself and make her own choices, but the life of a princess—even one kept secret—was never meant to be easy.  Trevor, crown prince of Galder has been searching for Ella, but not because of their betrothal. She is in grave danger from the very people who hid her away. His plan is to show her the truth and help her to safety.  Nothing goes as planned. When Trevor finds her, it’s to discover she’s fallen in love with a peasant. Now he has two goals: help her regain her throne… and show her that she belongs with him

Review: I feel like not enough people know about this book! It is incredible! This is a Cinderella retelling and honestly might be the best one I’ve read. This book intrigued me and to be honest I thought it was going to be predictable and basic but it truly was something else.

Princess Ella Carina spent her days locked up in the castle with her sister at her father’s command. When a battle breaks out, Princess Carina is sent to live with a peasant family (The Farmer’s) to save her from the betrothal to an old man that her father arranged for her. She now had to live under her middle name of Ella in the neighbouring kingdom that rivalled her father’s.

I loved this story and (almost) all the characters! Ella was a strong heroine and not by any means a damsel in distress by the end of the book. From a book set on medieval times (I believe?) I was expecting more misogyny and was pleasantly surprised by Ella’s attitude and angst. Also, anyone who knows me or read my previous reviews knows I hate love triangles. I was so glad to find that this book didn’t have as strong a triangle as I was thinking, in fact, there is hardly a love triangle at all!

I loved the plot of this book. It had twists and turns that were unexpected (or maybe I’m just not that observant) but anyway the plot twists in this were… shocking. As in, (shouted) “Oh my days, how could this happen!”. I liked how Ella had to settle into her new life as a labourer and I am so glad that she ‘enjoyed’ her time with the family.

This was an amazing book, we had a blossoming romance and duelling kingdoms. A hidden princess and a charming Blacksmith. This is no ordinary fairytale retelling, it’s so much more. Also, last thing, everyone deserves their own Asher!

Overall, this book is amazing, and in my eyes perfect. The plot, the characters, the world-building… this was the first historical fiction book I had ever read (I think it’s this genre? Don’t blame me if I’m wrong!) and it was an amazing entertainment into this genre. It gets 5 stars from me!