Alex

Is this the best retelling of Cinderella?

I mean- it might be. This is a beautifully crafted world with a lovely queer cast and a different take on the Fairy Godmother-trope. Ash is a dark fantasy that really reminds you how heartbreaking the tale of Cinderella is- the abuse, the pain, the hopelessness... I started and finished this book in one night, sitting outside, freezing- but not wanting to stop for even a second to go inside.

The cold toes were absolutely worth it.

This isn't a horror book that has any characters you can get emotionally attached to or care for, which really didn't work for me. The woman-identifying characters were incredibly one dimensional and clearly written by a dude. Though to be fair, all of the characters were one dimensional.

The most interesting part was the last 25% of the book and even then, the ending kind of made me roll my eyes. However if you like bleak endings, this one is for you.

April is a wonderful fat main character!! I don't think I've ever read a romance that celebrates self-love while addressing the trauma that comes with being a fat woman while ALSO having delightful fanfiction and fandom references all the live long day!

There is so much love and honesty and communication and drama and rated E (for explicit, not for everyone!) content wrapped up in a niche interest I instantly devoured. April is smart and sexy and Marcus is layered and also sexy and I mean, what's not to love here?

I can't say that Gideon the Ninth was a perfect book, but I CAN say that this beautiful genre-crossing slam dunk of a wild fucking novel took my heart with humor, disaster lesbians, heart-break and imagination I can barely comprehend. If you can listen to the audiobook to hear Gideon's and Harrow's voices, I URGE you to do so. It brings so much character and heart to the book.