Ash by Malinda Lo

Ash

by Malinda Lo

From the author's website:
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, re-reading 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.

I really fell in love with this book. I felt like the stepmother and stepsisters were a lot more realistic than what you usually see in the tales of Cinderella. I love the spin on it - Ash's love for Kaisa - The King's Huntress. It seemed exactly right for the world that Malinda built to surround it.

And what a world Malinda built us. There was lots of stunning scenes that took my breath away and the assorted fairy tales presented throughout the book really kept me engaged. I love how beautiful this book is, while giving the reader's a different aspect to this well-known fairy tale.

Overall, the book was simply stunning. I do hope she writes another book soon!

5/5 Roses