Gilded Ashes
Ratings21
Average rating3.7
The author of Cruel Beauty offers a hauntingly romantic reimagining of the Cinderella legend in this dark fantasy YA novella.
Maia doesn't see the point of love when it only brings people pain: Her dead mother haunts anyone who hurts Maia, and her stepsisters are desperate for their mother's approval, even though she despises them.
Meanwhile, Anax, heir to the Duke of Sardis, doesn't believe in love either—not since he discovered that his childhood sweetheart was only using him for his noble title. But when Maia's and Anax's paths cross before the royal ball, they discover that love might not be the curse they once thought. And it might even be the one thing that can save them both . . .
Series
Featured Series
1 primary book3 released booksCruel Beauty Universe
Cruel Beauty Universe is a 3-book series with 1 primary work first released in 2014 with contributions by Rosamund Hodge.
Reviews
Popular Reviews
Reviews with the most likes.
Rosamund Hodge is a master storyteller. Even her short stories make an emotional impact.
It was nice to dive back into Cruel Beauty world again.
Well, that was...kinda depressing. I'm all for dark retellings - after all, I knew that's what I was getting with this. But there's a difference between ‘dark' and ‘depressing' and this feels too much like the latter for me to say I loved it.But, really, my biggest issue is that the climax scene reminds me of another book. One that it took me forever to recall - so that was time during the ending where I was supposed to be greedily reading that, instead, I was setting down my kindle and searching through Goodreads to remember the book. I'll have to check my copy when I get home, but I'm pretty sure it was [b:The Stepsister Scheme 3598195 The Stepsister Scheme (Princess, #1) Jim C. Hines https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1305016198s/3598195.jpg 3640889] by Jim C. Hines. Almost 100% sure. So, yeah, to me this seems a little...less original than it was probably supposed to feel. I will say, whatever flaws I have with the author's writing, I do love the leading men she creates and Anax is quite possibly my favorite of the bunch.
