Scan barcode
pawprintedpages's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
3.0
Moderate: Child abuse and Emotional abuse
noyastan's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
4.0
Minor: Child abuse
rocketships's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
that being said, if you ever want a lesbian cinderella story, this is the book for you. just don’t read the back blurb of the book, it’s very misleading.
Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Physical abuse
morgiei's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Grief, and Death of parent
Minor: Animal death and Religious bigotry
strange_little_ranger's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Bullying, Domestic abuse, and Death of parent
Moderate: Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Violence, Blood, Grief, and Death of parent
ceallaighsbooks's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
4.0
“Here the Wood was a secret place, and she knew she was trespassing. But she went on, because she could not go back.”
“When Ash came out, in 2009, there were no books like it in YA. There were very few books about lesbian teenagers being published (less than 1 percent), barely any with fantastical elements, and none set in high fantasy worlds with a lesbian protagonist.” — from Holly Black’s Introduction to the tenth anniversary edition
“It may not be your dream, Stepsister, but do not scoff at those who do dream of it.”
- Cinderella is Dead, by Kalynn Bayron
- Dark and Deepest Red, by Anna-Marie McLemore
- The Sisters Grimm, by Menna van Praag
Moderate: Child abuse, Grief, and Death of parent
mothman19's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Grief, and Death of parent
Moderate: Physical abuse
Minor: Animal death, Bullying, and Confinement
booksthatburn's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
On its merits as a retelling, I enjoyed how a lot of what is usually the main story is kind of happening in the background (e.g. the prince's search). It stands on its own and doesn't require any familiarity with the original or some of the more famous adaptations. If you are familiar with the basic tale there are references to anchor it without feeling like its wholly retreading ground.
Overall it's a lovely mix of vibes, yearning, queerness, and fairy tales with undertones of grief, loss, mourning, and moving on.
Moderate: Animal death, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Violence, and Blood
Minor: Sexism
CW for sexism (minor), confinement, child abuse, domestic abuse, blood, violence, animal death, parental death, death.valereads's review against another edition
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
For one the pacing is this novel is really poor. The book is divided into two parts. The first section of the book follows Ash through her childhood before she has any relationship with her love interest, Kaisa. This section gives us lots of worldbuilding and really develops the characters and I enjoyed it a lot. However the second section is where the book fails in my opinion. We spend so much time with Ash, Sidhean, and Ash’s step-family in the first part but the second part feels rushed and as a result the characters and their relationships aren’t built up as much as they could be so the ending of the book doesn’t feel earned.
I did enjoy how Lo spent time developing and giving depth to some of the side characters, particularly the step-sisters, Ana and Clara. However the main characters and their relationships aren’t nearly developed as I’d like. In contrast to her step-sisters, Ash felt shallow and lacked personality. I found myself comparing her to other “blank slate” type characters showing up in YA around the time this was released such as Bella Swan from the Twilight Saga. I also felt Kaisa was particularly underdeveloped. She’s meant to be Ash’s endgame love interest but she had barely any personality and I can remember perhaps one fact about her. In the case of Kaisa this is linked to the pacing issues as I think she is introduced to late in the story to really build her as a character.
Overall this book ended up being a bit of a disappointment. I didn’t dislike it but it had some significant issues which meant it didn’t live up to the fascinating concept.
Content Warnings: abuse, parental death, violence towards animals
Moderate: Animal death, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Terminal illness