Ash Paperback – January 2, 2010

Ash is a retelling of Cinderella. After her father's unexpected death, Ash is at the mercy of her cruel stepmother. Because of her father's debts, her stepmother puts her to work as housemaid. Her only joy comes from rereading the fairy tales that her mother once told her of. In her dreams, someday the faeries 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.Then one day she meets Kaisa, the King's Huntress, and her heart begins to change. Instead of chasing faerie tales, Ash and Kaisa form a friendship. They continually find excuses to see one another and eventually Kaisa teaches Ash to hunt. Though their friendship is delicate, it reawakens in Ash feelings that have long been dormant.... her capacity to love-and her desire to live. But when Sidhean claims Ash for his own, she must make a choice between fairy tale dreams and true love.My first impression of this book was woah... Ash is in love with another woman!?! But after my initial shock (I tend to not read book descriptions and just jump right in - my fault really), I was sucked into a world that was very unique and refreshing.Now I must confess, there were some things I really didn't enjoy about this story. For one, I was confused about Sidhean's role in all this... I mean yes, I was thinking faerie godmother, pretty dress, ball... and yea, it did have to do with that, but he was obviously much more than that since he coveted Ash for himself. Then there was Ash's relationship with Kaisa. I enjoyed how it slowly grew into more than just a friendship. My only complaint with it was that at no point did you truly feel Ash's need for either Kaisa or Sidhean. I had mixed emotions about them (and maybe that's what Ms. Lo was going for) I'm not sure, but I felt just as confused as Ash did. Not to mention, the stepmother, the prince, the stepsisters and all... it was just a bit overwhelming for me.With that said, my favorite parts were Ash's retelling of the folk faerie tales. I loved reading them and to me these were the most vivid and colorful parts of the book. Ms. Lo has a knack for details - I basically felt as if I were traipsing through the forest after midnight. The descriptions were so detailed were you could almost feel the grass at your feet and the dew in the air... it was lovely really. I also have to give it major kudos for its uniqueness.All in all, although not a favorite, I would still recommend this to anyone who likes a new version of this classic fairytale.

Bestill my bookish heart Malinda Lo! While Ash was not without a few minor challenges, it accomplished something I rarely encounter, and that was a queer protagonist portrayed in the most natural and beautiful manner. I am so thankful to have included this retelling among my current Pride Month reading (which has been fantastic and will be carrying over into July ❤ ).The skinny..This is a Cinderella reimagining that begins like most with the death of the Ash’s father, leaving her to reside with a heartless stepmother. Her only means of escaping her unfortunate circumstances happen to be found within the fairy tales passed on by her mother. But when Ash finds herself in the company of a real fairy, Sidhean, it seems she may have found an answer to her problems as he claims her for his own. However, an encounter and unlikely relationship with the King’s Huntress Kaisa soon stirs a desire for love and life within Ash that she thought all but gone. Now she will have to choose between the dreams that she has always escaped to and possibly true love.“For in the depths of grief, sometimes one cannot tell the difference between illusion and reality.”What I appreciate.. (aka reasons to fall in love with Ash)As I mentioned above, perhaps the most shining aspect of Ash is that it beautifully explores and captures a queer protagonist in the most natural, subtle way. Ash’s sexuality is not described or thrown to the forefront of the story, it just simply is. And that is why it works incredibly well.The prose is simplistic at times yet fluid, guiding the reader on a seamless journey that unfolds with great ease.While at times feeling almost one dimensional, the characters were still highly successful in achieving their roles. I mourned for Ash with her losses and her anger was viable. The wicked stepmother was just that, and the heavier fae elements melded wonderfully into the Cinderella theme.Malinda Lo has successfully incorporated the themes of loss and grief that have always been a part of this timeless tale but often lost in the romance and magic of it all. I admired the more realistic and raw approach that held true to these aspects of the story.One of the more gratifying conclusions I have encountered in some time!“To charge someone with love is a great responsibility; there will be an equal yet unexpected reaction.”Challenges some may encounter..Ash will feel very familiar when held in comparison to the tale of Cinderella at times. Many of the original, key elements have been left in place.The pacing slows during brief periods due to decreased dialog and some may struggle with the lack of depth in many characters.There are heavy themes of loss and grief throughout.In the end, Ash won me over and easily made its way into my favorite Cinderella retellings. With a protagonist that fell elegantly into the underlying themes, I found myself enchanted. Malinda Lo has a way of weaving a subtle magic throughout the pages the slowly unfolds before you even realize it is happening.☕Savor over a nice cup of your favorite hibiscus or herbal brew.☕

What a gorgeous book.ASH has been sitting on my list of "books I really want to read" for a while now, but I had never gotten around to purchasing it. I was pleasantly surprised then when it popped up as an option for a class assignment. And am I ever glad this is one that I went with.I'd heard good things about Malinda Lo's work and I was not disappointed. ASH is beautifully written and flows wonderfully the entire time. It holds on to that magical quality that a fairy tale needs, but comes away a bit more that. Simple, yes. This story is not one with deep characters or multiple intriguing plot twists. But it holds true to the feel of the tale it pulls from, and I think that's more important. It is a retelling, after all.The story of Ash, Sidhean, and Kaisa was one I wasn't prepared to love as much as I did. But by the end of the book, I felt like I had walked away truly gaining something from this story because of how their own connected. Again, they may not be complicated characters, but they are good ones.The rating system may not be perfect, but I do truly believe this book deserves five stars for its prose and the way it approaches not only the story, but its messages as well. I'm so glad I read this sooner rather than letting it sit on my list for ages, I just wish that I had gotten to it even sooner.

It's been such a long time since I read a REALLY good Fairy Tale retelling and I'm so upset with myself for putting this one off! This is a distinctly different re-imagining of the classic story 'Cinderella', bearing many similar traits such as an evil stepmother, two stepsisters, a ball, a prince and plenty of magic. But the resemblances stop there and actually, the story isn't really about any of those things. It's about a young girl who is caught between believing in Fairies, superstition and wanting to be a part of that world in order to leave her own miserable life AND her realisation that magic comes at a price and love can be surprising.This is an LGBT adaptation of the famous tale, so our young heroine barely even meets the Prince. Instead, she forms a bond with the King's huntress, and watching their relationship develop was both adorable and felt completely natural. In fact, the integration of the LGBT society in this book was AMAZING because it was treated no differently to the heterosexual relationships in the book. Their culture, folk tales and society was based on the idea of men and women as equals and any kind of relationship being possible. So many LGBT books are about the struggle of 'coming out' and it was refreshing to read a book that focused elsewhere. I loved the twist on aspects of Cinderella such as the Fairy Godmother too. Sidhean was an interesting character because he wasn't just watching over Ash out of the goodness of his heart. Lo delved into his past and reasons for helping her out.My only problem wit the book came at the end, because I felt it was SO rushed. The story had a huge build-up that led towards a choice that Ash was going to have to make. Keep her promise and leave her only chance of happiness in the mortal realm, or break her bargain and find true love. In the last 10% of the book however, it fell a bit flat when our heroine simply said 'Well I think this choice is very unfair and I shouldn't have to make it' and escaped with NO consequences whatsoever. Where's the fun in that? Also, as much as I liked Ash, I didn't love her because she lacked a little in the personality department, which was a great shame! I still can't deny that this is the best retelling of 'Cinderella' I've read in a long time and the ease of the LGBT inclusion was so great!

[SPOILERS] I finished Ash a few days ago and it has become my new favourite book. Before I read this, I didn’t even know what to say when someone asked me what my favourite book was - but now I do! Ash has everything i could ever want from a story. From the beautiful, magical world it’s set in where greenwitches are dying out and fairies lurk in the shadows, to the same-sex relationship at the very forefront of the book. I’m still thoroughly enchanted by this incredible novel.From the very beginning, this book is captivating. As someone who very recently lost their mum, I’m so happy to be able to identify with Ash, who we see at her mum’s funeral at the very start of the book. This loss is something that echoes throughout the pages, which I was very happy about. I’ve found that loss can often be portrayed wrongly in fiction, like something you can easily forget about or move on from. But Ash goes from wanting to find a way to bring her mum back from the dead, to craving the sound of her voice, to just missing her dearly and wishing she was by her side. I commend Malinda Lo for this brilliant portrayal. I felt for Ash so much, and hope I would do so even without going through my own trauma.Then there’s the love within the story. I’m not sure whether to label Ash as lesbian or bisexual, but she seems very interested in a male faerie, at first. Of course, he is a faerie, and there is a whole bunch of agenda and backstory underneath the mere enjoyment of his company. I was never sure whether to think he was evil or not, but he was interesting. Then, we meet the huntress. I love the way Malinda Lo built their story, with little meetings that unveiled a little bit more each time about both characters. It is tender and captivating. In a lot of novels I find I don’t believe the love story, or maybe even that I don’t care about it, but this one was careful and magical. With Ash acting as a servant to her step mother, she can rarely leave the house, and ends up making deals with the faerie who tells her that she belongs to him. You’re never quite sure where she will end up, but I was thrilled when she finally ended up in the huntresses arms. And none of it seems too dramatic, or overly sexual. It’s just a brilliant story.Lastly, there’s the magic in the book. I’ve already mentioned the faerie, but Ash and other characters are constantly telling tales of faeries and people who get taken away from them. We understand that most people don’t believe in them in the story world, now, but Ash does, and wants after their magic to help in her life. There are also witches, which Lo calls “greenwitches”, who do certain ceremonies and healing rituals. I liked this too, and felt I could really see the herbs and such that the witches would use. It seems Ash’s mum was also a witch. And all this magic ties together perfectly, enough to keep Ash from the completely non-magic reality around her.I just really, really liked this book. It’s been a long time since something has held me that captive and got me that into a story. If you’ve found yourself becoming bored of stories with predominantly straight characters, or where the love just seems completely unrealistic, you must read Ash. <3

A beautifully retelling of a Cinderella, where Ash (Cinderella) meets two captivating and dangerous characters, a handsome male fairy who wants to keep Ash forever, and a killer warrior woman, who also has an interest in keeping Ash to herself.Both relationships are full of chemistry in different ways, and it's hard to choose between them- at least at the start. Then as more is slowly revealed about the characters, their true natures come to light and it's very clear who Ash should be with, and who she should stay as far away from as possible.It's refreshing to read such a great LGBT fantasy, which is in short supply, and this one is incredibly well written, bringing to life an old story in a very modern way. This is up there with Spindle's End as one of my favourite fairy tale retellings, and it's worth a read for that alone. An outstanding story!

I'm not usually a fan of Fairytales or old stories being given a new 'edge' and re-written, but I enjoyed this one!Whilst its basic telling is of the story of 'Cinderella', there are several different 'twists and turns' - not least the lesbian theme. (though I must confess to preferring Sidhean myself!!) More importantly though (for me at least) it is very atmospheric and written with a great attention to detail - particularly when referring to the Woods which I love.I really enjoyed this, and is just yet another book in a long line from the 'Young Adults' section that I have read and not been disappointed with!A great book for any age, and perhaps great to read on a dark Winter evening with stunning Artwork!

Although the story of Cinderella has been told many times, Ash by Malinda Lo is fascinating, insightful and with a refreshing twist.Being a long form novel, one of the many things Lo is able to do was to masterfully give dimension to the previously disregarded characters, for example of the step sisters - showing their hopes and motivation. She also expands on the father and the fairy [godparent], turning this from a two dimensional rags to riches fairy tale to a surprisingly complex exploration of different kinds of people, their morals, and their choices.Behind all of this, of course, is the fantastical backdrop of a medieval-esque land: where magic has long since withdrawn into the great forest and is now considered myth; where people with magic are considered old fashioned and rural... and a world where a relationship between two women is not even commented on as anything out of the ordinary - and why should it be? the book almost seems to ask. This, I consider to be one of the greatest triumphs of the novel; that it manages to portray the beautiful narrative of two women falling in love without making it just about that.

I have to say I enjoyed this book, I was excited to read a book where the fact that the heroine fell in love with a woman wasn't a big deal. The romance between Ash and the huntress was a little chaste for my liking but there was a sweetness to it that I found endearing. I guess as a retelling of a fairy story I could hardly expect there to be tons of passion, having said that the relationship isnt the main issue and it sort of creeps up on both you and Ash. All in all a lovely book with some beautiful lyrical imagery.The one downside is I felt slightly removed from it while I was reading, as though someone was telling me the tale but I wasn't in it myself. Still definitely worth a read.

2/5 stars is generous, and it only got two because the front cover is shiny and pretty. For me, the book was terribly disappointing. I'd heard it was like an LGBT Cinderella story, as a lesbian, I was all for that. But, no. The story dragged on, it took a long time to get to a not-so-great ending and I felt like the reviews had built it up too much... That said, it was far better than all these erotic/adult themed books that have suddenly surfaced since that dreadful 50 Shades thing."Ash" could have been a lot better, it had a lot of potential, BUT it was nice to see a girl/girl romance that doesn't come across as some sex fantasy for straight teenage boys.

Friend recommended it, disappointingly not that good. Had high hopes for it. :(

Little predictable but a nice read overall. Everything happened quite quickly and it was a little anticlimactic. Was expecting a bit more drama and action.

The book was in excellent condition, very fast delivery time, well packaged and the book was as described. Very positive experience and I would definitely order again and recommend.

Sweet and engaging; I loved this book and just wanted more scenes with Ash and the huntress. The faerie aspect was very interesting and I thoroughly enjoyed all parts of this book. We need more wlw books frankly.

An entertaining and well written read, with both the plots going on in the fairy world and the real world being interesting. The relationship between Kaisa and Ash was sweet and enjoyable and the step-mother was fairly realistic in her cruel treatment of Ash which I liked.

Bought as a gift. Recipient loved the story line.

Great book

I could not put this book down. I enjoyed it so much I bought the other one in the series. If you like a little bit of magic, this is definitely for you.