Lady Tremaine, a review by Shelley

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Lady Tremaine
Rachel Hochhauser

Publication Date: March 3rd, 2026
St. Martin’s Press
352 Pages
Amazon | Goodreads | Bookshop.org

Genre: Women’s Fiction

I don’t usually read retellings or fantasy, but this was getting rave reviews from people I trust, and I loved it. This is the story of Cinderella from the stepmother’s point of view. I like the way the author showed how hard it was for women back then, and although we often see the stepmother as evil, she really was just looking out for her daughters. This book is really about survival and reads like a Dickens story.

Lady Tremaine (Ethel) is a strong woman, so strong that she would be labelled a bitch nowadays. She is nothing like the cartoon villain in the Disney movie; she is widowed and has a house that’s falling apart around her. She was trying to do her best in a timeline that wasn’t fair to the fairer sex. The relationship between Ethel and Elin is messy, and Elin (Cinderella) is not the goody two-shoes we normally see her as. She is difficult, and this makes the friction between her and her stepmother seem very realistic.

The writing is beautiful without being too wordy. The author’s world-building is one of a crumbling estate where all that glimmers is gold. Of course, there are themes of motherhood throughout, but there is also lots of discord and trying to control the situation.

The book is very emotional and wonderfully written, but the pacing was a bit uneven. The middle section with the build-up to the ball dragged a bit for me. Ethel’s internal dialogue seemed to go on and on, and it slowed the momentum down. But overall, I really enjoyed this and couldn’t believe it was a debut. The author did a great job of having me cheer for a character I always thought I’d hate. It always amazes me when a book surprises me like that. There is something really gratifying about the villain getting a backstory we never thought of before, especially when it’s realistic and true to the historical time. This one deserves all the stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.