Ash

By: Malinda Lo

Narrated by: Malinda Lo

Length: 6 hrs and 59 mins

Publisher's Summary

"Cinderella" retold.

In the wake of her father's death, Ash is left at the mercy of her cruel stepmother. Consumed with grief, her only joy comes by the light of the dying hearth fire, rereading the fairy tales her mother once told her. In her dreams, someday the fairies will steal her away, as they are said to do. When she meets the dark and dangerous fairy Sidhean, she believes that her wish may be granted.

The day that Ash meets Kaisa, the King's Huntress, her heart begins to change. Instead of chasing fairies, Ash learns to hunt with Kaisa. Though their friendship is as delicate as a new bloom, it reawakens Ash's capacity for love - and her desire to live. But Sidhean has already claimed Ash for his own, and she must make a choice between fairy tale dreams and true love.

Entrancing, empowering, and romantic, Ash is about the connection between life and love, and solitude and death, where transformation can come from even the deepest grief.

©2009 Malinda Lo (P)2013 Audible, Inc.

Critic Reviews

• Morris Award Finalist, 2010    

It is a fairy tale in every way

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

It was too simplistic and was just an elaborate fairy tale. The gay aspect was never explored really. .The two women's attraction just touched the surface. The author didn't have the courage to really explore it.

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

The failure to develop the two women's relationship left the story wanting.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I was disappointed that she didn't really develop the relationship

Cinderella but sadder and gayer. (I loved it)

having read the prequal Huntress first, I really appreciated the world building and how the culture of the world changed as time passed. As with most Malinda Love books the story starts off slow, hits a strong pace I'm the middle and ends with you wanting more. Pros: The main character is interesting and is not a 100% doormat, but she is not in your face abrasive, it struck a good middle ground. The world building is solid The romance is light and more a gentle yearning than a steamy love affair. the use of dreams and fairy tales as a narrative tool kept the story feeling very much like a surreal legend than a concrete account. Has a bisexual protagonist (A+) Cons: The first half of the story is very slow, her childhood keeps hitting these natural end points where you expect a timeskip to Ash as an adult but it just keeps going and some early chapters felt unessisary The Cinderella retelling felt flabby at some ponts, as if it was forced to include some plot points so it could still be considered a retelling. the stepmother and stepsisters felt lifted directly from 'Ever After' and since they were not described in much physical detail I kept imaging Anjelica Huston, Megan Dodds and Melanie Lynskey. the Cinderella retelling only matters towards the end as some events take on a darker meaning (The ball, and the fairy godmother being evil) The fairy man felt very 'Edward Cullen' adjescent since he was thousands of years old and was hitting on a teenager. Could hav been gayer. (many scenes with the Huntress could have gone on longer, and since she is not introduced well into the book her presence is diminished.)

Sweet book :)

Is there anything you would change about this book?

I liked the story, I thought it was a neat reference to Cinderella. The author narrates the story however and she doesn't have very much energy in her voice. She sort of sounds tired. She doesn't do voices so it's just a person, reading you the book, as if you were at circle time in school. I think it's cool that an author would also narrate their own story but I think you'd need to be able to act or at least learn different voices. And put some emotion into it for goodness sakes!

What other book might you compare Ash to and why?

Cinderella

Could you see Ash being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

No, I don't think it's a strong enough story for a movie. Especially because it's similar to the Cinderella story and that's been made over a few times already.

Great Fantasy Fairy Tale

This spin on Cinderella was really clever. Ash is a great heroine, I love her interaction with the fairy world, especially with the mysterious Fairy man. Sadly, I was rooting for him, but Ash meets her girl love and they live happily ever after. Good story, worth a listen to, takes you away to a magical place but not cheesy.

GREAT story!

This book was fantastic! I loved the lore and the story-telling, the way that the different elements were woven together. I fell in love with the characters, and thoroughly enjoyed their tale. Ash herself is just a great character, She becomes stronger and braver as the story continues on, and I really liked her. The narrator obviously knew the story (as she's the author), but she kind of drew me out of the story sometimes. She didn't do bad, but more emotion and a softer tone would've been nice.

The Author Should Not have Read this Story

Any additional comments?

This book is much better then I would have expected. The characters are full and the plot is well thought out. The author managed to keep the story Cinderella, but through in enough twists that it is still exciting. She keeps the stepmother and stepsisters evil, but they are still full characters with both good and bad in them. I also personally enjoyed the addition of the price, and the use of the Faye.
Choosing to have the author narrate was a mistake. As the author Malinda Lo may have a good insight into the story, but she is a terrible narrator. She over does the voice acting so that it feels like someone talking to a small child. Also the way she voices Ash makes her sound like a young spoiled kid.
The story is well worth getting past the narration, especially if you are a fan of fairytale retellings. But you may want to buy this as a book instead of an audiobook.

Pretty Good Queer YA book

Overall I really enjoy this book. I found it a little slow at times, but it was a pretty great story! I really enjoyed it!

AMAZING!!!!

I loved it I listened to it in a day I love it sooooo much!

love the twist! definitely will recommend!

I oddly could relate to the character and loved the twists. finished in one sitting. will recommend to others

Great re-"read"

this was one of my favorite books in highschool, and it was great to revisit.

Beautifully written but awful narration

I would have probably liked this book better if I had read it, the language being beautiful and at times poetic. The story itself was pretty flat with no huge events happening at any point. I normally prefer it when writers do their own narration as I think they must surely know how they imagined it all to really play out. Sadly, this is not the case here. The narration is flat and entirely lacking in emotion. I was dreadfully bored throughout and wish I’d returned the title to get my credit back!

not bad

interesting concept, but as my English teacher once said to me, it needs more spice! narration was ok but it also lacked spice.