The first half of the book had me worried that this story wasn't going to live up to the hype surrounding it. I'm not sure I really liked the parallel to Cinderella. Of course, we all know what happens in Cinderella, so how could any part of this book be a surprise or at all any more interesting than Cinderella? But there are some additional elements that add something new to the book. I'm glad I liked this book enough to want to read the next book in the series, because there are still a lot of unresolved issues.