Book Review: One Shattered Crown By Rebecca Zanetti

   I picked this audiobook off of NetGalley in order to fulfill a prompt for a "re-re-re-telling" of a fairytale. 

In general I do not like Re-tellings. They just don't do it for me. Other LOVE them, but for me, I want something a little more original.  And YES- I know it's sometimes even more of a challenge to make a well know tale "fresh" or original. 

And thus we have One Shattered Crown

It does come with beautiful sprayed edges and a vibrant cover. Of course, my audiobook did not come with that cover! :) 

This is a Cinderella re-telling that is sure to be a big hit for Book Tok Romance readers.  We meet Ella and Justice, two young folk from two powerful tech companies and add in the Irish Mafia, and you may be seeing where this is going.

Ella is the disowned heir to a social media giant.  She's delicate like a Pixie, and a wild risk taker with a soft heart. She is stubborn and tough, but also of course, tiny and vulnerable. 

Justice is the tough Mob Boss who also heads up a different social media giant.  He's wary of Ella, as she is dangerous, but also- exceedingly attractive, so much so that the fact that she infected his brother with a virus that almost killed him doesn't really phase him. He has to have her. Justice is bound and determined to protect the reckless Ella, even when she requests that he cease and desist.

We can see where this is headed?  If you cannot, you have not read many of these romances. 

I enjoyed this novel.  It fits the mode of the mafia romance without any unusual twists or turns. I felt like the re-telling aspect was more of a nod to the basic Cinderella story, and this remake in the modern world, with  cell phones, high speed cars, and on-line presence really made it stand out as original in that sense. 

The Narration of this book by Emma Wilder and Lance Greenfield made the listen entirely enjoyable.  Both voice actors voiced the characters exactly as I imagined them in my mind!  I don't recall having either of these narrators prior to this book, so I am excited to discover new narrators that I enjoy! 

Readers who enjoy enemies-to-lovers, morally gray characters, and dark romance with power imbalances will want to add this to their shelves.  Many Thanks to RB Media for the Advanced Listener Copy. 

STATS

First Published  July 28, 2026 

Pages: 400

Available as an Audio Book : Yes  

Trigger Warnings: Animal cruelty, death of parent, gore, guns, drugs, kidnapping, assassination attempts, Dub Con.

(this is not a full list, read responsibly)