Buddy read with Hansrox!

I am a huge sucker for retellings, and Ash and Bramble was no less! I was just as excited to read this, and I didn’t really have any problems at first.

This book is definitely creative, and it doesn’t really follow along other retellings that I’ve read. But, I was just hugely disappointed with the ending…

It wasn’t really just the ending, it was also the fact that by the time I actually reached the ending I felt like the whole buildup towards the end was just a huge letdown.

Ash and Bramble made it sound like the ending would resolve the whole “Does Cinderella really fall in love with the Prince?” theme, but in reality it made me feel as if the entire book could’ve been a lot less focused on the romance.

Kind of disappointing, but since the take on this retelling was okay, I don’t really mind trying out Prineas’s next retelling: Rose and Thorn. This time, I’ll be sure to control my expectations based on the romance.

Cybils book, that I was planning to read already. So, I really love Sarah Prineas’s books, and I was looking forward to this one a lot. I did find that I liked it a little less than I was expecting; I’m not sure if it was just me & the mood I was in, but I wanted just a little more depth. It’s an interesting dark fairytale mashup, and I suppose that part of the issue is just that I’m not a huge fan of fairy tale mashups (as opposed to retellings). All in all, I think I need to consider whether there’s an actual issue with the book, or whether it’s just not quite for me.

I have seen Ever-After and loved it.
I have seen the new Cinderella with Robb Stark and Bellatrix and loved it.
That one with Hillary Duff and Chad Michael Murray? Love it.
However, I honestly don't know if I've seen the entirety of the animated movie, because I hate it. I don't know why.

So I'm always skeptical to read retellings because most of the time they're just like the animated movie.

But this. This is something completely different.
This is darker. This is Once Upon a Time and Into the Woods.
This flips everything you were taught about the story of Cinderella onto its side.
And I loved it.

If you're looking for a sweet fairytale. Turn away from this book. You wont find it here.

You will find magic and fate.
You'll find a strong willed woman.
A man who doesn't take away from that.
You'll find family; blood and non.
You'll find glimpses of other fairytales that you love, and they're just as twisted and dark.
You'll find yourself surprised at who the good and bad guys are.
Blood and gore and ball gowns.

The writing in Ash & Bramble is beautiful. It's elegant and enchanting.

Not a character goes unnoticed or unappreciated.

I really enjoyed this book once I took the time to sit down and devote myself to it.

Breaking the seams between magic and reality, Ash & Bramble is an action packed, romantic show stopper of a novel.

I received this book for free from Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

SUMMARY

When Pin dares to escape her slavery of making fairytale clothing for a magical Godmother, she and her Shoemaker friend are captured and catapulted into an irresistible world where the prince is having a ball and no one recalls their past. This original Cinderella retelling has more twists than you can shake a bramble at as Pin and Shoe dare to tackle the very power that turns over a story, and a young girl demands to choose her own destiny.

WORLDBUILDING

Wowser. I loved this world. It’s already set in a fantasy-type world, but for some reason there’s this Story power that forces people to live the lives of fairytales, and the Godmother gets her power from that, so it’s this never-ending cycle of growing power so long as everyone does as they’re told. There must have been quite a few fairytales already played out such as Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, and Rapunzel, but what I really wanted to know was where did Godmother get her inspiration from? How does she know how the stories are supposed to go?

CHARACTERS + RELATIONSHIPS

There is no insta-love and there is no love triangle. Let me make that perfectly clear. It’s a Cinderella retelling, so whatever Pin and the Prince feel for each other is forced upon them, and they’re made aware of that. Pin feels affection early on towards Shoe, but how else are you supposed to become friends with someone? Pin and Shoe are totally lovely anyway. I love their banter, and I love the way they think about each other and care for each other. I love how Shoe and Cor become friends even though they’re kinda rivals. I love how Pin doesn’t have time for silly romances yet finds a way to kiss both of them and thoughtfully compares it – because she knows she’s ‘meant’ to end up with the Prince, but she has real feelings for Shoe. That’s why it’s not a love triangle, even though there is kissing two boys.

WHAT WORKED/DIDN’T WORK

[spoiler]I loved how Pin had this whole life before she was enslaved with a memory wipe, so she was already a badass capable staff fighter, she just didn’t know it. And a lot of her power came from being her mother’s daughter and knowing instinctively how to make the magic thimble work.[/spoiler]

[spoiler]Pin dares to live her own life, escapes from the Godmother, plans to run away from the stepmother’s abuse, doesn’t want to go to the ball or meet the prince. She’s not a very good Cinderella, although she can’t resist the lure of the story. I’ve never read a Cinderella retelling where Cinders didn’t want to go to the ball![/spoiler]

[spoiler]I wouldn’t necessarily love a sequel, but I sure as hell would love a prequel. I want to see Faye and Pin’s mother going at it Godmother/bad witch style. OH MY GOD YES. And her grief when she fails Snow White. And how Faye finally defeats her. I’d LOVE to see that! See, I’d love to see a prequel because maybe then we could learn more about Pin and what she was like Before. Since she can’t give her own memories back, she doesn’t know, but I’d love to see this epic showdown between the ice-blue Godmother and the raven-haired witch.

[/spoiler]

I loved how homosexuality was just casually mentioned. First there was the tavern boy who flirted outrageously with Shoe, then there were casual couples dotted about. No big deal is made about homosexuality but neither is it erased.

OVERALL

I was completely sucked in to this book. I couldn’t believe how quickly I read it, especially as I was coming out of a pretty bad reading slump. Although the cover is somewhat hideous (NOT because the dress is red, it works in context, but because of all the white, which unfortunately also works in context, I just don’t like it – would rather see the more traditional ‘girl in prom dress running through a dark forest’ kind of thing), and the title is completely uninspiring, I thoroughly enjoyed this story about choosing your own destiny and I would recommend it to any fairytale fan who is looking for something a little meta, a little quirky, a little bit different to the more mainstream retellings. The quality of writing is high, the characters are three-dimensional, and there’s enough originality in the retelling to make it its own kind of fairytale.

Criticism of 'insta-feelings' by another reviewer 5% into a book.

For fuck's sake, apparently characters aren't allowed to feel anything for anyone at any point in a fucking story. Not concern, or affection, or even a kinship.

Are these people perpetually single because they never get feelings for anyone in real life?

Are they lonely spinsters?

Are they fucking jealous because they can't get someone to love them so it must be impossible for two characters to instantly connect for little reason? EVEN THOUGH THIS IS HOW IT WORKS IN THE REAL WORLD, YOU 'CLICK' WITH SOMEONE AND CAN'T EVEN EXPLAIN WHY.

Apparently you're not supposed to have any kind of feelings for anyone unless you know them inside out and have known them FOREVER. Otherwise it's INSTA-LOVE.

But the best part of falling in love is discovering all those wonderful things and secrets and quirks and habits of your partner.

SERIOUSLY WHY ARE PEOPLE SO FUCKING CYNICAL. THAT'S NOT HOW LOVE WORKS IN THE REAL WORLD YOU DOOFUS.