Book Review: Ash by Malinda Lo (no spoilers)

Book: Ash
Author: Malinda Lo
Publication:
Source: Local Library
Read: July 22nd-29th, 2014
Summary (from Goodreads):

Cinderella retold

 In the wake of her father's death, Ash is left at the mercy of her cruel stepmother. Consumed with grief, her only joy comes by the light of the dying hearth fire, rereading the fairy tales her mother once told her. In her dreams, someday the fairies will steal her away, as they are said to do. When she meets the dark and dangerous fairy Sidhean, she believes that her wish may be granted.

 The day that Ash meets Kaisa, the King's Huntress, her heart begins to change. Instead of chasing fairies, Ash learns to hunt with Kaisa. Though their friendship is as delicate as a new bloom, it reawakens Ash's capacity for love-and her desire to live. But Sidhean has already claimed Ash for his own, and she must make a choice between fairy tale dreams and true love.

 Entrancing, empowering, and romantic, Ash is about the connection between life and love, and solitude and death, where transformation can come from even the deepest grief

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My Thoughts:

When this book appeared as my July random read I literally couldn't remember why I had added this book to my to read list, or what the book is about. This was truly a random read and I was willing to give the book a chance and move it to my read shelf. 

Ash is a magical retelling of Cinderella. In the wake of her mother's death, Ash is left grieving along with her father. Ash's father marries a cruel stepmother, but shortly after dies. Ash and her stepsister move back to the Stepmother's homeland. There Ash becomes her stepmother's house servant to repay her father's debt. 

Ash's imagination has not left her. Her mother used to read her stories about fairies and Ash finds comfort in rereading those fairy tales by the dying fire. This is where the magic begins. Ash explores the forest at night and when her stepmother and stepsister are gone. This is how she meets Sidhean and Kaisa. 

Of course this wasn't the typical Cinderella story. It had many twists and turns. The relationship between Kaisa and Ash was interesting and the development of the characters continued to grow. I loved how this wasn't just a Cinderella story, but wove fairies into the mix. This book was magical although at times the book was slow. Towards the end I did predict the ending, but there were many twists and turns so I could never be sure if I was right. I did ended up predicting the right ending. 

Another thing you probably noticed about this Cinderella story is that I never mentioned a prince. There was a prince in this story, but he was less than important to Ash's story. In fact the ball had little to do with this Cinderella story. Read this novel for yourself I promise you this isn't your typical Cinderella story. 

Ash was my July random read. Ash was a unique retelling of Cinderella interwoven with fairies and magic. This book was beautifully written and a great fairy tale read.