Book Review: Ash by Malinda Lo

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If you like retellings and unconventional queer retellings at that, you will enjoy “Ash“ by Malinda Lo!

“Ash” is a lesbian retelling of the Cinderella story. It follows Ash in the wake of her father’s death as she becomes the servant to her stepmom and her two daughters in order to pay off the debts her father supposedly left.

Enthralled with fairies and fairy lore, Ash spends a lot of time in the woods. When she meets Kaisa, the King’s Huntress, she discovers that sometimes it’s better to stay with her own…

I do like the book for what it stands for: a lesbian retelling of cinderella. However, the story itself was dragging. I found it overall very underwhelming with long lulls of descriptions…

The girl love interest doesn’t come in until the last third of the book… which makes their romance not as strong as it should (in my opinion.)

What I did enjoy was the fairy lore and fairytale stories that the main character – Ash – held onto as she spent her years growing up alone and in isolation. It was heartfelt to see how the stories kept her alive during her grief and loneliness.

“For in the depths of grief, sometimes one cannot tell the difference between illusion and reality.” 

“Fear will teach you where to be careful.”

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