Reviews

Ash by Malinda Lo

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frostlywild17's review against another edition

medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

I enjoyed it. The writing was gorgeous, but as a person who's read this subgenre of fantasy a lot when I was younger, I found Ash to be pretty standard. It also played into well-worn fairytale tropes without really doing anything new with them.

Extra 0.5 ⭐ for the nostalgia value.

gemmapz's review against another edition

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mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

iceangel32's review against another edition

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2.0

When i took this book out from the library I did not know it was to be about a lesbian cinderella. However I did not feel that that was the main focus in the book. I am not sure the book had a main focus. There was the story of a girl trying to figure out where she belonged and find a way to respect her life, but it seems to be going in one direction and then goes in a completely different, new direction. The book was alright but nothing to call home about.

marieintheraw's review against another edition

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4.0

This is an excellent Cinderella retelling and exactly what I wanted from it.

intorilex's review against another edition

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3.0

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Actual Rating 2.5

This was a book club read, shout out to the Boston Radical Women of Color Book Club. I recently joined this book club and this was my first read with the group.
I wanted to like and enjoy this book much more then I did. This is a Cinderella retelling where the protagonist falls for a Huntress and not a Prince. But it is in no way too risque or racy. In fact I expected a lot more from this controversial retelling. In the book Ash becomes friends with Kaisa and eventually starts to feel something more. Other reviews have objected to the story off the premise alone, but its actually more about the friendship and bond that develops rather than romance.

"She asked 'Will I die?' He replied 'Only a little.' "

The fairy tale mythology and world building was not done well. So I found myself filling in gaps and trying to make connections to things that just weren't there. I specifically read this book hoping to imagine non-white characters and explore some lgbqt issues, but everything was too subtle with little explanation in between. The writing was decent but the pacing was slow, so I kept reading more but even the final build up to the end was dissapointing.

I enjoy re-tellings when they are done well, but this one didn't take advantage of the concept or connect the original storyline in a very unique way. I did enjoy the strong female characters and that the step-mother and sisters were three dimensional characters instead of evil caricatures. This wasn't a bad book, if you enjoy a cute fantasy you could find this enjoyable. Unfortunately it wasn't something I would recommend.