IN SHORT: This Cinderella Story retelling is short but has well-developed characters and romance.

REVIEW

Loving only brings pain. At least that’s what Maia has come to believe. Years ago, her dying mother made a bargain with the evil, all-powerful ruler of their world that anyone who hurt her beloved daughter would be punished. And when Maia’s father died, she watched her new stepmother’s grief turn to madness. Her stepsisters are desperate for their mother’s approval, yet she always spurns them. And though Maia’s family has turned her into a despised servant, she must always pretend to be happy, or else they’ll be struck dead by her mother’s deathbed curse.

Anax, heir to the Duke of Sardis, doesn’t believe in love either. For years, his childhood sweetheart used him for his noble title. So what’s the point of pretending to fall in love with a girl when she’ll only pretend to fall in love with him? But his father has finally drawn a line. He’s invited all the suitable girls in the kingdom to a masked ball and demanded that Anax finally select a wife.

When preparations for the masquerade and a task from Maia’s eldest stepsister bring Maia and Anax together, their first encounter is prickly. Despite this, Anax is charmed by the mysterious girl, who refuses to be anything other than genuinely uninterested. He can’t help wishing to see her again, and when he does, he can’t help falling in love with her.

Maia has begun to fall in love with him too. But how can she ever be with him when every moment of his life would be in danger from her mother’s deadly bargain?

Gilded Ashes is a standalone novella set in the same world as Cruel Beauty. I loved that you could jump into this Cinderella story without any knowledge of the other book.

Something that I was pleasantly surprised not to find was insta-love. Instead, Maia and Anax’s romance is well-developed. Their relationship has buildup and feels natural — a hard feat considering the book hovers around just 100 pages.

I even found the characters to be well-developed. Maia clearly wants to protect her stepfamily, even though her stepmother isn’t good to her. And unlike the original fairy tale, the stepsisters genuinely seem to care for each other in their own sisterly way. Their complex relationship is what really stands out in this story — their selfish motivations unfolding alongside the sacrifices they make for each other.

Overall, it’s a Cinderella story that is both twisted and surreal, tragic and happy. It’s a good addition for any readers who enjoyed Cruel Beauty or simply like darker fairy tales.

Rated: Mild. There is one use of moderate language. A woman jumps out a window to her death. Some blood is mentioned.

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