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more like a 3.5 but it's all good. see my review at http://fangirlnation.com/2016/09/01/good-tales-bad-dreams-cinders/
Cinders was gifted to me by the author, V.M. Sawh, but this review is my honest truth.
And that truth? Absolutely loved it!
I quite literally opened this book on my kindle, to gear it up to read after completing another (rather disappointing) read, and then could not put it down. I hadn't intended on starting it until I woke up, but here I am 5am in the morning writing a review after reading it in one sitting. It's only 34 pages, but still.
The gritty, dark, gothic-like retelling really captured me from the first paragraph. The writing has a poetic cadence to it that sucked me in all the way to the very end. Flowery, but not over the top.
I will be eagerly after the other retold fairytales in this series he wrote, because I need more of his writing and more of these retellings.
And that truth? Absolutely loved it!
I quite literally opened this book on my kindle, to gear it up to read after completing another (rather disappointing) read, and then could not put it down. I hadn't intended on starting it until I woke up, but here I am 5am in the morning writing a review after reading it in one sitting. It's only 34 pages, but still.
The gritty, dark, gothic-like retelling really captured me from the first paragraph. The writing has a poetic cadence to it that sucked me in all the way to the very end. Flowery, but not over the top.
I will be eagerly after the other retold fairytales in this series he wrote, because I need more of his writing and more of these retellings.
Book Review
Title: Cinders (Good Tales for Bad Dream #1)
Author: V. M. Sawh
Genre: Retelling/Action/Erotica
Rating: *****
Review: V. M. Sawh’s retelling of some of the classic fairytales like Cinderella are amazing. They are beautifully writing and slightly dark breathing new life into stories that have been told for decades.
This story is set in a brothel where Rella’s sisters and stepmothers and women who work in the borthel and to them Rella is a great prize as she is a virign and the stepmother believes she can makes a fortune from selling it.
The women of the Black House aren’t only prostitutes but they engage in all manner of things including assassinations of very famous people who are successors to thrones of kingdoms far and wide. I loved the way the story is drawn back to the original fairytail with the apearance of the glass slippers that were designed for a very specific kind of girl and I have a feeling Rella is going to be the one wearing to the dismay of her stepmother and sisters.
After being sent to kill the prince Rella falls in love with him and instead kills the uncle who ordered the prince dead but not before he lands her with a fatal blow. In the end the prince lives to become king but Rella is swallowed by the frozen lake as she gave her life in the persuit of freedom.
I loved at only 28 pages long V. M. Sawh has weaved together an amazing story that is a fairytale for grown ups and I completely fell in love with it. The writing style is dark yet beautiful, the narrative voice and characters are amazing. And although this story has elements similar to the original fairytale this is a unique read and I truly wish the 4 books in this series where full length novels as I’d buy them straight away.
Retellings of fairytales are one of my favourite kinds of stories to read and the only down side to the story was it just wasn’t long enough for me. I would have loved to have gone more in Rella’s background and she how she came to be at the Black House and the trails and struggles she had to go through before this one. But overall this story was amazing and I hope we see a full length novel or even a novella from this author soon.
Title: Cinders (Good Tales for Bad Dream #1)
Author: V. M. Sawh
Genre: Retelling/Action/Erotica
Rating: *****
Review: V. M. Sawh’s retelling of some of the classic fairytales like Cinderella are amazing. They are beautifully writing and slightly dark breathing new life into stories that have been told for decades.
This story is set in a brothel where Rella’s sisters and stepmothers and women who work in the borthel and to them Rella is a great prize as she is a virign and the stepmother believes she can makes a fortune from selling it.
The women of the Black House aren’t only prostitutes but they engage in all manner of things including assassinations of very famous people who are successors to thrones of kingdoms far and wide. I loved the way the story is drawn back to the original fairytail with the apearance of the glass slippers that were designed for a very specific kind of girl and I have a feeling Rella is going to be the one wearing to the dismay of her stepmother and sisters.
After being sent to kill the prince Rella falls in love with him and instead kills the uncle who ordered the prince dead but not before he lands her with a fatal blow. In the end the prince lives to become king but Rella is swallowed by the frozen lake as she gave her life in the persuit of freedom.
I loved at only 28 pages long V. M. Sawh has weaved together an amazing story that is a fairytale for grown ups and I completely fell in love with it. The writing style is dark yet beautiful, the narrative voice and characters are amazing. And although this story has elements similar to the original fairytale this is a unique read and I truly wish the 4 books in this series where full length novels as I’d buy them straight away.
Retellings of fairytales are one of my favourite kinds of stories to read and the only down side to the story was it just wasn’t long enough for me. I would have loved to have gone more in Rella’s background and she how she came to be at the Black House and the trails and struggles she had to go through before this one. But overall this story was amazing and I hope we see a full length novel or even a novella from this author soon.
interesting twist on a traditional fairy tale, and by traditional I mean dark rather than ‘disney’.
For me the story is a heavily compacted version of a book I’d really like to read. We need to know more about Rella’s life in the evil ‘bordello’ run by her ‘Stepmother’ and more about the Prince. This story has all the right elements, nasty ‘sisters,’ horrid ‘stepmother’, glass stilettoes, a handsome Prince, borrowed coaches and palace balls. Oh and torture, death and sexual exploitation. Yeah, I’m odd but more details please!
For me the story is a heavily compacted version of a book I’d really like to read. We need to know more about Rella’s life in the evil ‘bordello’ run by her ‘Stepmother’ and more about the Prince. This story has all the right elements, nasty ‘sisters,’ horrid ‘stepmother’, glass stilettoes, a handsome Prince, borrowed coaches and palace balls. Oh and torture, death and sexual exploitation. Yeah, I’m odd but more details please!
Reviewed on behalf of Readers' Favorite
Cinders by V.M. Sawh is a short story included in the series Good Tales for Bad Dreams. Rella works in a house of ill-repute for the villainous “Stepmother.” All of the girls there were rescued off the street and are held in the house, subjected to cruel perversions of the men of the kingdom. When a friendly stranger, Godfrey, arrives and offers the Stepmother a proposition, Rella finds herself swept up in something beyond her wildest nightmares. She is whisked away to the palace for a deadly mission with an unlikely weapon. Can she free herself in time or will she fall victim to tragedy like so many before her?
Mr. Sawh has creatively re-imagined the tale of Cinderella in this short story. I liked the premise, but I felt the story was underdeveloped. I could see there being more build up to the deed Rella must complete to earn her freedom. I wanted more description and character development to really draw me into the life at the Black House. That being said, the story itself was well-written and edited, I just felt the potential for something greater was lingering in the distance. I hope the author goes back and adds some more description and plot details. I did like the ending though. I found it very macabre. However though, for a quick read, it was definitely not your normal Cinderella fairy tale. I did enjoy the way the author made it different. Cinders by V.M. Sawh is short, dark, and interesting.
Cinders by V.M. Sawh is a short story included in the series Good Tales for Bad Dreams. Rella works in a house of ill-repute for the villainous “Stepmother.” All of the girls there were rescued off the street and are held in the house, subjected to cruel perversions of the men of the kingdom. When a friendly stranger, Godfrey, arrives and offers the Stepmother a proposition, Rella finds herself swept up in something beyond her wildest nightmares. She is whisked away to the palace for a deadly mission with an unlikely weapon. Can she free herself in time or will she fall victim to tragedy like so many before her?
Mr. Sawh has creatively re-imagined the tale of Cinderella in this short story. I liked the premise, but I felt the story was underdeveloped. I could see there being more build up to the deed Rella must complete to earn her freedom. I wanted more description and character development to really draw me into the life at the Black House. That being said, the story itself was well-written and edited, I just felt the potential for something greater was lingering in the distance. I hope the author goes back and adds some more description and plot details. I did like the ending though. I found it very macabre. However though, for a quick read, it was definitely not your normal Cinderella fairy tale. I did enjoy the way the author made it different. Cinders by V.M. Sawh is short, dark, and interesting.