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whitneymouse's review against another edition
3.0
"Stories, I figured, offered people different endings--not death, but the possibility for happiness in the time that we have to live. That is why we like getting caught up in stories. They are bigger than we are. They help us understand the shape of our lives and the nature of our own endings."
I loved this quote. I find it to be true to my love affair of books. Books and stories do help us to understand our own lives in a more meaningful way.
I just wish I had loved this book as much as I loved this quote.
Ash & Bramble is by no means a bad book. However, it's also not a great book. It's a thoroughly decent Cinderella retelling, but in a world where books like Marissa Meyer's Cinder series exist, it's just not the best retelling you can read.
The story follows two narrators: Pin (or Pen) and Shoe (or Owen). Pin is a fiery, assertive, headstrong Cinderella stand-in. Shoe is a cautious shoemaker and the love interest. Both have been captured by the Godmother, who is the villain of this novel. They are both enjoyable as characters. However, the plot and the Godmother are where this book loses me.
We start with Pin being a slave to the Godmother, working in her fortress as a Seamstress. She has no memory of what her life was like before and doesn't understand how she ends up in the fortress. All she remembers is that a thimble she has in her apron is important and that she mustn't let anyone know she has it. She ends up being a foot model for Shoe and convinces him to escape with her. They do escape, but in the escape, she accidentally ends up allowing the Godmother to track her. Pin gives Shoe the thimble, urges him to continue without her, is caught and carted off to part two of the narrative. Shoe is "caught" by a Huntsmen gone rogue and is spared being killed.
After this happens, Pin wakes up as "Pen" and the Cinderella narrative is gone through. This section was full of ideas that could have been excellent, but somehow, seemed to just drag. For example, the stepsisters have hidden talents that they aren't allowed to express due to the narrative forced upon them by the Godmother. This was a clever way of humanizing the stepsisters and rounding them out as characters. They have aspirations. However, they don't really add to the plot. They just serve to show that Pen "doesn't belong" in their society for suggesting that they use their talents.
The Godmother becomes "Lady Faye" at this point (a clever name that I appreciated). She controls all the people of the city, but Pen can't figure out why. There's a scene where Pen escapes after her Stepmother starts abusing her that ends with her at Lady Faye's house. There, she meets a couple that are supposed to be an "example" to her of what happens when people resist going along with the story. This was a weird, unnecessary, empty threat of a scene. Basically, the woman, who I can only assume was one of the previous Cinderella stand-ins, has become a blank shell who plucks out her hair and begs for death. That's it. She later commits suicide and this is kind of glossed over. There isn't enough backstory on who this character is to make you feel more than a passing bit of remorse for her death.
The Cinderella plot continues as Shoe tries to rescue Pin, forcing the oh-so-stereotypical YA love triangle between him, Pin and the Prince. They end up escaping again, moving us on to part three of the story, in which there is SO much exposition and plot that it'd be easier to list it in bullet points.
-The threesome meet up with the rebels, or "storybreakers"
-They find out that the Godmother serves something called "Story", which forces her to find people to live out fairy tales over and over to make it stronger.
-Pen finds out she's the daughter of a witch who's an "antagonist" to Story
-They stage a take over of the Godmother's fortress and free her slaves
-Pen uses her magic thimble to restore everyone's "before".
-The boys get captured and dragged back to the city
-Pen goes to rescue them
-Pen realizes she loves Shoe and "breaks" story
-Pen takes the Godmother's memories
-The Godmother ends up as a kindly grandmother character who works for Shoe in his shop.
-Shoe and Pin are kind of a couple.
While I found this idea of the story needing to be played out over and over interesting, I felt I needed more explanation of some things and less of others. How exactly did the Godmother get swept up in this? Her role is barely touched on and not explained very well. Just she's the "antagonist" who serves story. I didn't need multiple explanations of what a "storybreaker" was. I understood the first time. Same with examples of what happens if the story isn't broken. It's reiterated multiple times that the "gears" of story (which isn't a physical thing, but rather some extrasensory feeling they all have of gears moving) will crush them if it isn't broken. I would've liked more of the Godmother's backstory. I would've liked for at least ONE character to have been able to explain who Pen's mother is and why a thimble was the weapon of choice. Pen's thimble becomes an ex machina weapon that she uses without any real understanding of it anytime they're in trouble.
There is a second book. I am planning to read it just to see if any of this gets explained. This series could be so much better. I just need Prineas to better decide what information the reader needs instead of hammering home things that really don't need more than one explanation.
I loved this quote. I find it to be true to my love affair of books. Books and stories do help us to understand our own lives in a more meaningful way.
I just wish I had loved this book as much as I loved this quote.
Ash & Bramble is by no means a bad book. However, it's also not a great book. It's a thoroughly decent Cinderella retelling, but in a world where books like Marissa Meyer's Cinder series exist, it's just not the best retelling you can read.
The story follows two narrators: Pin (or Pen) and Shoe (or Owen). Pin is a fiery, assertive, headstrong Cinderella stand-in. Shoe is a cautious shoemaker and the love interest. Both have been captured by the Godmother, who is the villain of this novel. They are both enjoyable as characters. However, the plot and the Godmother are where this book loses me.
We start with Pin being a slave to the Godmother, working in her fortress as a Seamstress. She has no memory of what her life was like before and doesn't understand how she ends up in the fortress. All she remembers is that a thimble she has in her apron is important and that she mustn't let anyone know she has it. She ends up being a foot model for Shoe and convinces him to escape with her. They do escape, but in the escape, she accidentally ends up allowing the Godmother to track her. Pin gives Shoe the thimble, urges him to continue without her, is caught and carted off to part two of the narrative. Shoe is "caught" by a Huntsmen gone rogue and is spared being killed.
After this happens, Pin wakes up as "Pen" and the Cinderella narrative is gone through. This section was full of ideas that could have been excellent, but somehow, seemed to just drag. For example, the stepsisters have hidden talents that they aren't allowed to express due to the narrative forced upon them by the Godmother. This was a clever way of humanizing the stepsisters and rounding them out as characters. They have aspirations. However, they don't really add to the plot. They just serve to show that Pen "doesn't belong" in their society for suggesting that they use their talents.
The Godmother becomes "Lady Faye" at this point (a clever name that I appreciated). She controls all the people of the city, but Pen can't figure out why. There's a scene where Pen escapes after her Stepmother starts abusing her that ends with her at Lady Faye's house. There, she meets a couple that are supposed to be an "example" to her of what happens when people resist going along with the story. This was a weird, unnecessary, empty threat of a scene. Basically, the woman, who I can only assume was one of the previous Cinderella stand-ins, has become a blank shell who plucks out her hair and begs for death. That's it. She later commits suicide and this is kind of glossed over. There isn't enough backstory on who this character is to make you feel more than a passing bit of remorse for her death.
The Cinderella plot continues as Shoe tries to rescue Pin, forcing the oh-so-stereotypical YA love triangle between him, Pin and the Prince. They end up escaping again, moving us on to part three of the story, in which there is SO much exposition and plot that it'd be easier to list it in bullet points.
-The threesome meet up with the rebels, or "storybreakers"
-They find out that the Godmother serves something called "Story", which forces her to find people to live out fairy tales over and over to make it stronger.
-Pen finds out she's the daughter of a witch who's an "antagonist" to Story
-They stage a take over of the Godmother's fortress and free her slaves
-Pen uses her magic thimble to restore everyone's "before".
-The boys get captured and dragged back to the city
-Pen goes to rescue them
-Pen realizes she loves Shoe and "breaks" story
-Pen takes the Godmother's memories
-The Godmother ends up as a kindly grandmother character who works for Shoe in his shop.
-Shoe and Pin are kind of a couple.
While I found this idea of the story needing to be played out over and over interesting, I felt I needed more explanation of some things and less of others. How exactly did the Godmother get swept up in this? Her role is barely touched on and not explained very well. Just she's the "antagonist" who serves story. I didn't need multiple explanations of what a "storybreaker" was. I understood the first time. Same with examples of what happens if the story isn't broken. It's reiterated multiple times that the "gears" of story (which isn't a physical thing, but rather some extrasensory feeling they all have of gears moving) will crush them if it isn't broken. I would've liked more of the Godmother's backstory. I would've liked for at least ONE character to have been able to explain who Pen's mother is and why a thimble was the weapon of choice. Pen's thimble becomes an ex machina weapon that she uses without any real understanding of it anytime they're in trouble.
There is a second book. I am planning to read it just to see if any of this gets explained. This series could be so much better. I just need Prineas to better decide what information the reader needs instead of hammering home things that really don't need more than one explanation.
laughlinesandliterature's review against another edition
3.0
* I received this book from Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review*
Ash and Bramble was a unique take on the fairy tale world, that so many of us are familiar with. Its not the first retelling that I’ve read where there was a dark or sinister overtone, but this was certainly different. What really set this novel apart from others was the explanation that there was a driving force behind all this darkness, and that everyone was forced into their roles. It was quite horrifying, and I found myself cheering for the people who rebelled against the ‘story’ that was chosen for them.
Pin was a surprising character, because while she was quite intelligent and rebellious, she also was incredibly practical. She was graced with quite a bit of common sense, which never failed her throughout the book until the end when she chose to go against common sense. Also interesting was Shoe, the love interest. At first I was a little annoyed, it seemed like insta-love was going to be the driving force to this book, but it turned out to be a much longer period than was initially suggested. It also helped that Pin was all about making HER choice. She wasn’t going to allow a ‘Story’ to push her in any direction.
The tale is interwoven incredibly well, there were parts that fell a little flat and were pretty stilted in dialogue. However I would give it 3.5 out of 5 stars and recommend for those who love fairytale retellings.
*This review was first posted to Moonlight Gleam Reviews http://moonlightgleam.com/2016/01/ash-bramble-by-sarah-prineas-review.html*
Ash and Bramble was a unique take on the fairy tale world, that so many of us are familiar with. Its not the first retelling that I’ve read where there was a dark or sinister overtone, but this was certainly different. What really set this novel apart from others was the explanation that there was a driving force behind all this darkness, and that everyone was forced into their roles. It was quite horrifying, and I found myself cheering for the people who rebelled against the ‘story’ that was chosen for them.
Pin was a surprising character, because while she was quite intelligent and rebellious, she also was incredibly practical. She was graced with quite a bit of common sense, which never failed her throughout the book until the end when she chose to go against common sense. Also interesting was Shoe, the love interest. At first I was a little annoyed, it seemed like insta-love was going to be the driving force to this book, but it turned out to be a much longer period than was initially suggested. It also helped that Pin was all about making HER choice. She wasn’t going to allow a ‘Story’ to push her in any direction.
The tale is interwoven incredibly well, there were parts that fell a little flat and were pretty stilted in dialogue. However I would give it 3.5 out of 5 stars and recommend for those who love fairytale retellings.
*This review was first posted to Moonlight Gleam Reviews http://moonlightgleam.com/2016/01/ash-bramble-by-sarah-prineas-review.html*
brandypainter's review against another edition
5.0
Originally posted here at Random Musings of a Bibliophile.
I have established that I love fairy tales and fairy tale retellings. You know what else I love? Books written by Sarah Prineas. Both her MG series are great favorites of mine. When she happened to mention on Twitter long ago that she was working on a YA, I followed closely eager to read whatever the result was. Ash & Bramble is a fabulous work of genius.
(I consider Sarah a friend as well as an author I love, and she sent me the ARC I'm reviewing here.)
Pin lives in the Godmother's fortress sewing clothes with the other seamstresses tasked with producing the beautiful one of a kind ballgowns the Godmother uses for her mysterious purposes. Pin has no memories of her life prior to the day she begins her work as a slave to the Godmother's will. Everything that came before is a blank nothing. While she has no memories, she is still a person with a will and a fierce defiance to live her own life. She gets a chance to plan an escape when she is used as a foot model for the shoemaker tasked with creating a glass slipper. Shoe has learned his lesson. He knows the cost of disobedience to the Godmother. Yet he still finds himself drawn to the daring seamstress and her plans for escape. But escape is not easy. The Godmother is impossible to outrun. Pin finds herself caught up in a whole new type of prison bound by the power of story and the drive for happily ever after. The more she fights, the more she feels trapped in a life that she doesn't want that leads to a prince, a clock at midnight, and a missing shoe. Her only possible means of escape lie in the devotion of a boy willing to risk himself to break her story and her own determination to decide her own destiny.
Ash & Bramble isn't so much a retelling as a complete shaking up and flipping around of the old fairy tales. And I was not exaggerating when I used the word genius, because much of this novel is dystopian in nature. And what world is better set up to be an actual dystopian hellscape than the world of fairy tales? (Really. Think about it.) While I will never get enough of fairy tales, my patience for dystopia is long gone, but the presentation of it here completely worked for me. I can not stress enough how well the two ideas work together and how brilliantly Prineas wove them into one. It's a commentary and celebration of both while also being an engrossing, moving, and satisfying tale in its own right. I really appreciated the way Prineas used the tropes of both types of stories to twist her own dark tale and highlight the themes.
Pin/Pen (she goes by both names) is a girl who wants to determine her own future, a goal she fiercely holds on to even when she has no sense of her past or even her own self. Her complete loss of memory and history make it difficult to connect with her as a reader at times, but it serves to make her sympathetic. The panic she feels over this is easily experienced by the reader who enters her world as clueless and searching for the familiar as she is. Pin's lack of memory does not leave her an empty vessel for the reader to use as a placeholder. She is very much her own person, which is part of what makes it difficult to get into her head. She is an enigma to both herself and the reader through much of the book. She has a lot of amazing qualities, but a lot of faults as well. Her headstrong stubbornness results in both positive and negative actions and motivations. Even in the end I felt like I was just getting to fully understand who she was, which works well because she is only just figuring that out, and there is still so much she doesn't know. While frustrating at times, it's perfect for the story being told. And I found myself loving her even when I wanted to yell at her about some of the choices she was making. I can see why she does what she does, and a lot of what she does is truly amazing. She has to be a leader and make hard choices that have mixed consequences. She makes mistakes and is not as careful with other people's feelings as she ought to be. She is also a true hero and steadfast friend. She is unlikeable at times (who isn't) and that only serves to make her more real.
The story here belongs just as much to Shoe as it does to Pin. He isn't as forceful as Pin. He isn't as flashily confident as the prince. He has a quiet strength and stubbornness that is just as important though, and it is his determination to see Pin free to make her own decisions that allows her do to the work of freeing herself. But she does the same thing for him too, giving him the courage to embrace freedom in the first place. At times he is hesitant and giving to a fault. They complement each other well. Their relationship develops under incredibly fraught circumstances. I liked the realism in that. Dangerous and stressful events tend to magnify and accelerate the development of feelings and relationships. There are a lot of complications thrown into it too including Pen's role in Story and her relationship with the prince. I know that so many people are going to instantly think "love triangle" and not want anything to do with this. That would be a mistake. Love triangle does not always necessarily equal terrible development. They can be done well, and in this case it is a trope that is fundamentally important to the ideas of choice and happily ever after Prineas is exploring and questioning through her story. The prince, Cor, is a loyal, brave, and dedicated person. He is also smart and able to question the reality of the world around him. He is often a little to oblivious to his privilege and inclined to demand his own way, but he has a good heart. I really loved the interactions between all three of them together too. They are working as adults in their world and in leading a rebellion, but they are also very much teenagers in dealing with their feelings.
The book's numerous secondary characters are all wonderfully rendered as well including the Godmother. I'm going to say little else about that to avoid spoilers, but I loved what Prineas did with her and the fairy tale concept of the Witch. The plot gives a nod to host of tales beyond the obvious reworking of Cinderella and catching them all was part of the fun of reading it.
My favorite part of Ash & Bramble was how it explored the power of ideas, words, and Story. I always love it when books do that and do it well which this one does. I loved the dark twists that took and the ambiguousness of what was right and wrong in some of those cases. It is complicated and a lot of it left open to interpretation with unanswered questions. Yet it also has hope and looks to the future.
Ash & Bramble is everything I want in a fairy tale retelling and in books in general.
I read an ARC received from the author. Ash &Bramble is available for purchase on September 15th.
I have established that I love fairy tales and fairy tale retellings. You know what else I love? Books written by Sarah Prineas. Both her MG series are great favorites of mine. When she happened to mention on Twitter long ago that she was working on a YA, I followed closely eager to read whatever the result was. Ash & Bramble is a fabulous work of genius.
(I consider Sarah a friend as well as an author I love, and she sent me the ARC I'm reviewing here.)
Pin lives in the Godmother's fortress sewing clothes with the other seamstresses tasked with producing the beautiful one of a kind ballgowns the Godmother uses for her mysterious purposes. Pin has no memories of her life prior to the day she begins her work as a slave to the Godmother's will. Everything that came before is a blank nothing. While she has no memories, she is still a person with a will and a fierce defiance to live her own life. She gets a chance to plan an escape when she is used as a foot model for the shoemaker tasked with creating a glass slipper. Shoe has learned his lesson. He knows the cost of disobedience to the Godmother. Yet he still finds himself drawn to the daring seamstress and her plans for escape. But escape is not easy. The Godmother is impossible to outrun. Pin finds herself caught up in a whole new type of prison bound by the power of story and the drive for happily ever after. The more she fights, the more she feels trapped in a life that she doesn't want that leads to a prince, a clock at midnight, and a missing shoe. Her only possible means of escape lie in the devotion of a boy willing to risk himself to break her story and her own determination to decide her own destiny.
Ash & Bramble isn't so much a retelling as a complete shaking up and flipping around of the old fairy tales. And I was not exaggerating when I used the word genius, because much of this novel is dystopian in nature. And what world is better set up to be an actual dystopian hellscape than the world of fairy tales? (Really. Think about it.) While I will never get enough of fairy tales, my patience for dystopia is long gone, but the presentation of it here completely worked for me. I can not stress enough how well the two ideas work together and how brilliantly Prineas wove them into one. It's a commentary and celebration of both while also being an engrossing, moving, and satisfying tale in its own right. I really appreciated the way Prineas used the tropes of both types of stories to twist her own dark tale and highlight the themes.
Pin/Pen (she goes by both names) is a girl who wants to determine her own future, a goal she fiercely holds on to even when she has no sense of her past or even her own self. Her complete loss of memory and history make it difficult to connect with her as a reader at times, but it serves to make her sympathetic. The panic she feels over this is easily experienced by the reader who enters her world as clueless and searching for the familiar as she is. Pin's lack of memory does not leave her an empty vessel for the reader to use as a placeholder. She is very much her own person, which is part of what makes it difficult to get into her head. She is an enigma to both herself and the reader through much of the book. She has a lot of amazing qualities, but a lot of faults as well. Her headstrong stubbornness results in both positive and negative actions and motivations. Even in the end I felt like I was just getting to fully understand who she was, which works well because she is only just figuring that out, and there is still so much she doesn't know. While frustrating at times, it's perfect for the story being told. And I found myself loving her even when I wanted to yell at her about some of the choices she was making. I can see why she does what she does, and a lot of what she does is truly amazing. She has to be a leader and make hard choices that have mixed consequences. She makes mistakes and is not as careful with other people's feelings as she ought to be. She is also a true hero and steadfast friend. She is unlikeable at times (who isn't) and that only serves to make her more real.
The story here belongs just as much to Shoe as it does to Pin. He isn't as forceful as Pin. He isn't as flashily confident as the prince. He has a quiet strength and stubbornness that is just as important though, and it is his determination to see Pin free to make her own decisions that allows her do to the work of freeing herself. But she does the same thing for him too, giving him the courage to embrace freedom in the first place. At times he is hesitant and giving to a fault. They complement each other well. Their relationship develops under incredibly fraught circumstances. I liked the realism in that. Dangerous and stressful events tend to magnify and accelerate the development of feelings and relationships. There are a lot of complications thrown into it too including Pen's role in Story and her relationship with the prince. I know that so many people are going to instantly think "love triangle" and not want anything to do with this. That would be a mistake. Love triangle does not always necessarily equal terrible development. They can be done well, and in this case it is a trope that is fundamentally important to the ideas of choice and happily ever after Prineas is exploring and questioning through her story. The prince, Cor, is a loyal, brave, and dedicated person. He is also smart and able to question the reality of the world around him. He is often a little to oblivious to his privilege and inclined to demand his own way, but he has a good heart. I really loved the interactions between all three of them together too. They are working as adults in their world and in leading a rebellion, but they are also very much teenagers in dealing with their feelings.
The book's numerous secondary characters are all wonderfully rendered as well including the Godmother. I'm going to say little else about that to avoid spoilers, but I loved what Prineas did with her and the fairy tale concept of the Witch. The plot gives a nod to host of tales beyond the obvious reworking of Cinderella and catching them all was part of the fun of reading it.
My favorite part of Ash & Bramble was how it explored the power of ideas, words, and Story. I always love it when books do that and do it well which this one does. I loved the dark twists that took and the ambiguousness of what was right and wrong in some of those cases. It is complicated and a lot of it left open to interpretation with unanswered questions. Yet it also has hope and looks to the future.
Ash & Bramble is everything I want in a fairy tale retelling and in books in general.
I read an ARC received from the author. Ash &Bramble is available for purchase on September 15th.
hamckeon's review against another edition
I am having a hard time rating this book since I was not really into it for at least the first 250-300 pages, but it did pull me in a bit towards the end. I am interested to see how it ends, but am not sure if I am enough to commit to the rest of the series.
yabetsy's review against another edition
4.0
This is more a celebration of story (that should really be Story, or stories) - and will be appreciated by those who enjoy a)retellings, b) easter eggs of other tales, as more and more of them are integrated as the book goes on, and while the book revolves around one particular kick-ass heroine [yay, Pin, er, Pen], who at her core is deciding not to have her story told FOR her, or to fit into a predestined story but rather, over and over again to fight Story. One particularly lovely moment offered by Prineas sums this up nicely in which she says that this is what stories do for readers, reminding us the possibilities of alternate endings and worlds with larger possibilities. This one does nicely in that regard - but be prepared for it to keep you up late reading.
bookgirl4ever's review against another edition
4.0
Pin suddenly appears in the fortress of an evil Godmother working as a seamstress not knowing her past or the world she lives in. All she has is a magical thimble that she knows she must keep secret. Her day is spent sewing tiny stitches on beautiful dresses with other women who appear to have reconciled themselves to a life of slavery for the Godmother. Then Pin meets Shoe, a shoemaker slave who is whipped at the post for disobedience. Recognizing Shoe as someone who may have answers, or better yet be able to help her escape, Pin wiles her way free of the fortress, only to be caught up in a fairy tale with no memory of Shoe and willing to play the Godmother's game for the sake of the Story. A complex, unique, refreshing retelling of a mix of fairy tales.
JHS/HS
JHS/HS
rdyourbookcase's review against another edition
3.0
Loved it! Even though Ash & Bramble was a thick book, I flew through it. I liked the story, the twists, and the ending... however, the first person/third person narration switches bothered me. That technique made it easy to tell whose point of view it was, but for some reason, I didn’t like it. Also, there was an abrupt change between parts one and two that didn’t flow well enough for me. It was like reading two different books, which is probably what the author was trying to do. It worked well for her, but instead of contributing to the story, it made me wonder why the first part of the book was even there. At the end it all came together, and I liked it, and I’m totally looking forward to the next book in the series - but Ash & Bramble wasn’t perfect.
This post probably sounds more negative than I meant it too. I really did like the book, and I definitely thought it was significantly better than the average fairy-tale retelling.
This post probably sounds more negative than I meant it too. I really did like the book, and I definitely thought it was significantly better than the average fairy-tale retelling.
melsdown's review against another edition
4.0
I enjoyed this book as much as the second in the series, which I accidentally read first. Luckily for me the 2 can be read in either order. I can't wait to read more tales set in this world.
maryfaithreads's review against another edition
3.0
3 stars might be a tad generous for this. I don't really know how to explain what problems I had with this book, but it just didn't really work for me.
Ash & Bramble is divided into three parts, and the second is definitely the best. It was the only part of the book that really had a steady, somewhat engrossing storyline. The first part was too bizarre to even explain. We just jumped into the story out of nowhere. The third part wrapped things up way too easily. And then there was the instalove. I normally am not really bothered by instalove, because I know there's only so much space within a book that you can dedicate to characters falling in love, but this took it to a whole new level. It was literally instalove in one sentence.
I also did not feel particularly attached to any of the characters, which I don't like. And I still do not completely understand this whole magic Story thing. I think that wasn't explained as well as it could have been, and what happened between the Godmother and Witch was completely glossed over.
Still, this book did have some redeeming qualities. It certainly wasn't boring. It just left something to be desired.
Ash & Bramble is divided into three parts, and the second is definitely the best. It was the only part of the book that really had a steady, somewhat engrossing storyline. The first part was too bizarre to even explain. We just jumped into the story out of nowhere. The third part wrapped things up way too easily. And then there was the instalove. I normally am not really bothered by instalove, because I know there's only so much space within a book that you can dedicate to characters falling in love, but this took it to a whole new level. It was literally instalove in one sentence.
I also did not feel particularly attached to any of the characters, which I don't like. And I still do not completely understand this whole magic Story thing. I think that wasn't explained as well as it could have been, and what happened between the Godmother and Witch was completely glossed over.
Still, this book did have some redeeming qualities. It certainly wasn't boring. It just left something to be desired.
withthebanned's review against another edition
3.0
I almost didn't review Ash & Bramble because I have been feeling such frustration over the disappointment I had upon finishing. This book had so much promise, excellent writing fitted with a dark and twisty fairy tale retelling seemed like it would be a wonderful experience for me. Unfortunately, the novel didn't just fall flat, but it frustrated me to no end. I will say that this novel was interesting and fast paced, Sarah Prineas writes eloquently and I wanted to love this novel so much for so many reasons. Unfortunately, I had a very hard time relating to our main character, Pin. However, due to her being an unreliable narrator I think that it isn't unexpected that this was the case. It somehow frustrated me more that the secondary characters such as Shoe, were more likable and interesting than our main gal.
Throughout this novel there were continuous hints to the "before" and I needed more from that. I almost felt as if the novel was half finished, and to be honest the romance was not something that I fell into at all. I somewhat irrationally judged our male lead for liking Pin so much because I felt like she was so standoffish and somewhat rude. I like the dark parts to the plot, I liked the concept, but overall it just didn't work for me. To be quite honest if this was the first in a duology I would probably be making excuses and saying that things were just getting fleshed out with hopes that we would learn answers to ALL THE THINGS in book two. Unfortunately this is not the case, so I was left very disappointed in the end.
Shelf Talker: The more time that has passed since I have read this novel, the more frustrated I have become. I felt that many parts of the novel were disconnected and though the ending was satisfying in a way, it still made me angry. The ending was conclusive for the most part, but on the other hand, it seemed very much like there could (ahem, should) be a sequel to explain some very open plot threads. I have just recently learned that there is to be a companion novel that takes place 50 years after the ending of Ash & Bramble. I can't imagine how it will answer questions that I have, it seems as if a prequel would have been more helpful in answering my inquiries. I will say that there are many who absolutely adored this novel so as always I suggest you read other reviews and maybe give it a go yourself!
Throughout this novel there were continuous hints to the "before" and I needed more from that. I almost felt as if the novel was half finished, and to be honest the romance was not something that I fell into at all. I somewhat irrationally judged our male lead for liking Pin so much because I felt like she was so standoffish and somewhat rude. I like the dark parts to the plot, I liked the concept, but overall it just didn't work for me. To be quite honest if this was the first in a duology I would probably be making excuses and saying that things were just getting fleshed out with hopes that we would learn answers to ALL THE THINGS in book two. Unfortunately this is not the case, so I was left very disappointed in the end.
Shelf Talker: The more time that has passed since I have read this novel, the more frustrated I have become. I felt that many parts of the novel were disconnected and though the ending was satisfying in a way, it still made me angry. The ending was conclusive for the most part, but on the other hand, it seemed very much like there could (ahem, should) be a sequel to explain some very open plot threads. I have just recently learned that there is to be a companion novel that takes place 50 years after the ending of Ash & Bramble. I can't imagine how it will answer questions that I have, it seems as if a prequel would have been more helpful in answering my inquiries. I will say that there are many who absolutely adored this novel so as always I suggest you read other reviews and maybe give it a go yourself!