I absolutely loved Cruel Beauty, another book from the Cruel Beatuy Universe, and so when I went to check if there were other books and saw that this novella was going to come out, I just had to read it, and I love it! 
 First, let me just say that at first I didn't like how condescending Maia was to her stepfamily, it seemed at times like she was demeaning her sisters by calling them stupid and ignorant. It took a little getting used to since she grew up resenting them for her life but then I realized that it was because she couldn't afford to have people love her and she couldn't afford to care for them in return and it started to make sense. 
 Anyhow, since this is from the same universe as Cruel Beauty, it was nice to read/have terms and some characters show up like the Gentle Lord and how he makes bargains but they become twisted. Also, the use of Greek Mythology was still present in this novella too. 
 This novella is based on the fairy tale Cinderella but with a twist: this "Cinderella" gets to meet and get to know "the prince", Lord Anax, before the ball and they fall in love with each other. Of course, Maia believes that if Anax loves her he will die or live a cursed life. And another twist was that her mother's ghost took the role of the fairy godmother and made her presentable for the ball. 
 Now, the mother basically made a bargain with the prince of demons, the Gentle Lord from Cruel Beauty that she would stay with Maia forever, as a ghost and she would protect her and so that was the reason she could command the demons. She forced them to bring her sweets and toys when she was little or hurt/destroy anyone who made her cry. So naturally the mother is the one that needs to be taken care of so that Maia can finally live a normal happy life, and all things were settled at the end of the novella. (Sorry, not trying to spoil anything!) ALthough I would have liked for there to have been more world development, even if I knew they were in the same universe, it would have been nice to see how they view their world under the parchment sky dome, etc 
 I would love for there to be more books in the Cruel Beaty Universe because this universe was well thought out and there are still several fairy tales that could be used for retellings. I will definitely be looking forward to the future releases by Rosamund Hodge!