I had positives and negatives about this book (including what I felt was a pretty major plothole), but for the most part, I really enjoyed this and thI had positives and negatives about this book (including what I felt was a pretty major plothole), but for the most part, I really enjoyed this and thought it delivered what I was expecting from it. Full (video) review here: http://www.thebookrat.com/2019/02/dea......more
Ash is one of those books that seemed to catch like wildfire in the blogosphere. One day, you've never heard of it, and the next, it's everywhere, andAsh is one of those books that seemed to catch like wildfire in the blogosphere. One day, you've never heard of it, and the next, it's everywhere, and you have to read it. And like most suddenly ubiquitous books, I have mixed feelings...
Ash is a non-traditional retelling of the Cinderella fairy tale. Ash is a young girl who loses her parents and finds herself thrust into the care of her newly made family: a callous step-mother and distant, spoiled step-sisters. She is removed from her distant home village and all it's country traditions and beliefs to a city near the capitol, where fairy tales really are just tales, and everything Ash has always believed and pursued is laughed at or looked down on. But Ash finds herself the object of attention of a very unusual being named Sidhean, and though she likes this attention, she finds herself torn between Sidhean and the King's huntress, Kaisa. Both have the ability to drastically change her life...
Sounds good, right? I was super excited for a number of reasons. 1) I love fairy tale retellings. 2) I was intrigued by a Cinderella with a LGBT slant. 3) EVERYONE seemed to be raving about this. 4) The cover close up is gorgeous, and I am a sucker for a good cover, we all know that.
And though I did like this, I like it with reservations, so I'm going to break this into two parts of each aspect: the good (fairy) and the bad (fairy).
Aspect One: Ash The Good (fairy): I loved watching Ash develop. It's the Cinderella story at it's core: you watch a charming/pretty/intelligent girl who doesn't realize what she's capable of, or what the world holds for her blossom into the woman she is meant to be. When Sidhean enters the story, Ash perks up a bit, but when Kaisa comes in, she blooms, and the story is truly enjoyable from then on.
The Bad (fairy): Kaisa doesn't enter the story until quite a ways in, and until then, it's not nearly as enjoyable. It's not that it's ever really bad, but I didn't find myself drawn in, nothing really came alive until Kaisa, except for the brief moments with Sidhean.
Aspect Two: Love The Good (fairy): One of my absolute favorite things about this, and one of the best decisions I think Lo made while crafting this story, is how she dealt with the idea of love. I know there are people who will worry when they hear it is a gay retelling of Cinderella, and they will think that it's going to hit you over the head with it, or be anti-straight, or try to "convert" you, or some other equally ridiculous thing. Of course, it did not do that. What Lo created was a world where love is love. When Kaisa and Ash begin to find themselves drawn to each other, they are not looked down upon. Attraction is attraction, people are people, love is love. There is also some nice pull and ambiguity between the three: Ash is drawn to Sidhean, who is a man, as well as Kaisa, who is a woman, and no issue is ever made of that. I liked that aspect a lot, and it was handled nicely.
The Bad (fairy): is a spoiler*, so if you want to know, it's at the bottom.
Aspect Three: Language and Writing The Good (fairy): There are times when this flows beautifully, and when Ash's world is completely engaging and light. As I said before, this is mostly when Kaisa comes into the story.
Through much of the story, I think the writing is writing. I wouldn't put it heavily on one side (good) or the other (bad).
The Bad (fairy): Mostly, though, I wanted more from the writing. I kept waiting for something to really stop me in my tracks or take my breath away. I am a quote person, and I tab things that catch my fancy. I didn't feel a need to tab. Ash's narration felt disengaged and overly formal, especially for a sort of backwoods girl. There was a stilted feel, and I had a hard time at first getting into the story because I just didn't find the narration engaging. Also, I felt like Lo didn't take full advantage of everything. Things could have been more: taut/exciting/powerful, but they were sometimes glossed over or let slide. Now, I know some of this is pickiness on my part, and some people may not notice it at all, but it irritated me, especially as I saw potential for gems, potential for great writing, but I didn't get to see that potential fulfilled often enough. I think Lo will get there, I just don't think she's quite there yet.
Aspect Four: World and story overall. The Good (fairy): There were some things (the occasional gems I mentioned) that I just loved. I already talked about Lo's treatment of love and relationships, which I enjoyed. I also really liked how "Prince Charming" was basically ignored. He never did a damn thing, so why give him more page space. In this, he was basically what I have always suspected, but I'll leave that to you to see... Also, I really enjoyed the irony** involved in the situation between Ash and Sidhean and her mother, but that's another spoiler, so it is way down there.... (where's a down arrow when you need one?)
The Bad (fairy): Some elements of the story and the world felt heavily influenced by other stories/movies, etc (Ever After, Wicked Lovely, Daughter of the Forest, etc.). Again, not something everyone will notice, and not necessarily intentional, but it still ate at me.
*The Bad (fairy) about love: SPOILER ALERT! Ash makes an agreement with Sidhean, and must go with him before she can be with Kaisa. This happens, but we don't get to know a word of it. They disappear, and then it's over, she's back and on to find Kaisa. It felt really hollow to me, and I like, just because Sidhean wasn't the main love interest, he got short-changed. This was true all around. I found him fascinating, but the reader is never really given enough to understand him. I think this was intentional, as he is the non-human in the story. It was meant to make him mysterious, but it left me feeling like things were unanswered.
**SPOILER about irony: I loved that the curse Ash's mother had put on Sidhean to make him feel love for a human and understand the torment he's caused sort of backfired (or at least wasn't quite what she'd intended) in that he fell in love with and pursued Ash, her daughter, and not some random human. It seemed a very appropriate and fitting fairy tale-like twist, which was a brilliant move on Lo's part, to add that layer....more
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