Review: Dithered Hearts

Dithered Hearts by Chace Verity
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Finished on May 10, 2021

Favorite Scene/Quote: "What a hot mess that girl was-kissing both of her stepsisters, but not the prince the spell had been made for."

I stumbled across this book once when I was just browsing some LGBTQ+ books. I was immediately drawn into the idea of this story. A gender-confused Cinderella who finds herself attracted to her stepsisters. I had a few minor concerns, but this book was amazing.

Before I get into the review I need to mention: Be wary of the content warning that the author posts at the beginning of the book. These warnings include misgendering, abuse towards LGBT+ and disabled people, as well as mentions of deceased members and addiction.
    
This is a Cinderella retelling with some twists. Our main character is Cyn, a farmer very confused about how she identifies her gender. She lives with her stepmother, stepfather, and her two stepsisters. She doesn’t really have friends and her closest companion is Lord Gafford. He reveals himself to be her fairy godfather and brings her to the Prince’s ball as his daughter. While there she finds herself spending time with her stepsisters as well as with a charming young man.

Cyn is such a nice character. She wants to keep her farm safe because it belonged to her father and previous generations of her family. She really wants the drought to end so that the farm can become profitable again. Cyn is confused about her gender throughout the book and doesn’t appear to have a preference between they/them and she/her pronouns. She is protective and so full of love, but she’s also dealt with years of abuse.

I really loved all the characters in this story, at least all the ones who are meant to be liked. The prince is charming and unsure, but he’s so determined to take care of his people and make sure that everything is okay. Frey just wants to make sure that the prince doesn’t get killed in the process, especially when he remembers what happened to the prince’s father. The stepsisters seem very sweet, each with their own issues with the family, and I wish we had spent more time around them.

I had been a little concerned about the stepsister angle of this book, but I think it was handled beautifully. None of them are actually related to each other. Cyn was her father’s daughter, Elodie was the stepmother’s daughter, and Harlow is the stepfather’s daughter. I love how it was handled and that neither of the daughters were mean or evil.

The magic and fairies in this book were nice, if a bit weird to understand. Fairies can come to the human world and their magic is channeled through their conduits. They have two and if they lose one, they can still do some magic, but nothing as powerful as they could with two. It’s nice, but I will admit it took me a bit to become comfortable with it.

I really only had one minor issue with the book and that is the poly relationship. I love the relationship, don’t get me wrong. I just wish there had been more time to see the relationship develop between the three of them and watch as they grew more comfortable around each other and discussed the dynamics of their relationship.

I love this book. A nonbinary farmer, a queer prince, and a trans fairy godfather were enough to win me over. This book is full of the idea of finding your family, and I approve wholeheartedly. Apparently, Chace Verity is working on Isaac’s story. Personally, I can’t wait to read that book. I’m also going to likely end up checking out more of Verity’s works at some point in the future.