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voronale's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
ihateprozac's review
4.0
Ash is a lesbian retelling of Cinderella where instead of a Disney fairy godmother, we have straight up faeries! Is that not just the cutest thing you’ve ever heard?
The story follows a girl named Ash (Aisling) as she toils away for her evil stepmother and stepsisters in the wake of her parents’ deaths. By day Ash begins to grow close with and crushes on the King’s Huntress, and by night she walks the line between the fae and human worlds with a fae named Sidhean.
Rather than reading as another silly YA love triangle where the protagonist can’t choose between two generic hot love interests, Ash tells a story of a girl who is equal parts entranced by and reluctantly bound to one person, while developing and struggling to articulate her feelings for another. There’s no insta-love or sweeping romance here, this is a story of a girl developing feelings for someone but struggling to articulate her attraction. Given her sheltered life and absence of friends and loved ones, it’s a surprisingly realistic take on how someone in her situation would struggle to identify what they’re feeling for someone as attraction or love.
Ash has all the hallmarks of Cinderella: evil abusive stepmother, dickhead stepsisters, indentured servitude, and a showstopping appearance at the ball, but the element of faerie and lesbian romance adds a sparkly extra layer of beauty and whimsy to the story. It’s like Cinderella with extra faerie dust sprinkled on top: adorable, beautiful, and oh so whimsical!
My only criticism - aside from Ash not stabbing her awful stepmother in face at some point - is that the romance was almost too slow a burn. This book was sold to me as a lesbian retelling of Cinderella, and yet the pacing of the romance is drawn out such that I doubted they were ever going to get together. It wasn’t until the last couple of chapters that I was convinced one of them would ever say “yep, I want you” and decide to act on it.
Overall: It makes me so happy to see more diverse representation in the YA genre, and particularly in fairytale retellings. While the romance could have burned more quickly and brightly, I knocked this over in <4 hours so I can’t really be too mad. It’s so incredibly cute and whimsical, and I want more queer retellings from Malinda Lo!
The story follows a girl named Ash (Aisling) as she toils away for her evil stepmother and stepsisters in the wake of her parents’ deaths. By day Ash begins to grow close with and crushes on the King’s Huntress, and by night she walks the line between the fae and human worlds with a fae named Sidhean.
Rather than reading as another silly YA love triangle where the protagonist can’t choose between two generic hot love interests, Ash tells a story of a girl who is equal parts entranced by and reluctantly bound to one person, while developing and struggling to articulate her feelings for another. There’s no insta-love or sweeping romance here, this is a story of a girl developing feelings for someone but struggling to articulate her attraction. Given her sheltered life and absence of friends and loved ones, it’s a surprisingly realistic take on how someone in her situation would struggle to identify what they’re feeling for someone as attraction or love.
Ash has all the hallmarks of Cinderella: evil abusive stepmother, dickhead stepsisters, indentured servitude, and a showstopping appearance at the ball, but the element of faerie and lesbian romance adds a sparkly extra layer of beauty and whimsy to the story. It’s like Cinderella with extra faerie dust sprinkled on top: adorable, beautiful, and oh so whimsical!
My only criticism - aside from Ash not stabbing her awful stepmother in face at some point - is that the romance was almost too slow a burn. This book was sold to me as a lesbian retelling of Cinderella, and yet the pacing of the romance is drawn out such that I doubted they were ever going to get together. It wasn’t until the last couple of chapters that I was convinced one of them would ever say “yep, I want you” and decide to act on it.
Overall: It makes me so happy to see more diverse representation in the YA genre, and particularly in fairytale retellings. While the romance could have burned more quickly and brightly, I knocked this over in <4 hours so I can’t really be too mad. It’s so incredibly cute and whimsical, and I want more queer retellings from Malinda Lo!
eleanora_just's review against another edition
adventurous
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
millydrisco's review
Was reading with one of my kids and they lost interest, for me I find the writing style aimed too young but have been told the themes skew potentially too old for the writing level. I don’t know I may pick it back up soon. But we’ve been paused for ages.
ballerinabaylee's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
vgbreads's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
lynnsbookshop's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0