When Eleanor Brice loses a glass slipper, she unexpectedly gains a royal fiancé and a way out of her abusive stepmother’s house. Unfortunately, eight years of mistreatment, isolation, and clandestine book learning hardly prepared Eleanor for life at Eclatant Palace, where women are seen, not heard. According to Eleanor’s eavesdropping parrot, no one at court appreciates her unladylike tendency to voice her opinion. To make matters worse, Gregory Desmarais, Crown Prince of Cartheigh, spends his last night of bachelorhood on a drunken whoring spree. Before the ink dries on her marriage proclamation, Eleanor realizes she loves her husband’s best friend, the intellectual, surprisingly sensitive former soldier, Dorian Finley. As Gregory’s mercurial nature comes to light, Eleanor wrestles with her feelings for Dorian, flounders in her new role, and makes powerful enemies—foes who use Eleanor as a scapegoat in a magical plot to unseat the royal family.
Eleanor Brice is a princess. She lives in an enchanted castle. She even has her own unicorn. But she’s lived through childhood trauma, she has insecurities and anxieties, and she makes dreadful relationship choices. In short, she’s a real woman in a fairy tale world, and this is her happily-ever-after.
Stephanie Alexander is a writer and a family law attorney. She has also worked in women’s health and international development and taught sociology at the College of Charleston, South Carolina. Her background influences multiple themes in the Cracked Slipper series, including patriarchy and power dynamics, the ramifications of childhood experiences, and the myth of happily-ever-after. She lives in Charleston with her husband, their blended family of five children, and their miniature dachshund, Trinket.
Ella Lynch is a talented British actress and audiobook narrator who works out of her home studio in Exeter, England.