Cinders & Ashes: Book 1

A Gay Retelling of Cinderella

By: X. Aratare

Narrated by: Edward Fox

Length: 5 hrs and 52 mins

Publisher's Summary

A gay retelling of Cinderella.

A human prince and a half-blood fae meet their match in one another. Will they be soulmates or sworn enemies?

Finn Ashton is cursed with ancient fae blood. Once upon a time, to be a fae was a blessing, but after fae murdered the human king and queen, now all who show fae magic risk exile or death. Finn lives in hiding with his cruel stepfather and stepbrothers, who offer protection in exchange for Finn acting as a servant at his own estate.

Prince Rohan is blessed with a crown, but must save his kingdom from ruin. With his own lands languishing since the loss of fae magic, a match with another human royal may be his people’s salvation. But Rohan has always dreamed of marrying for love, like his parents.

One day, battling monsters in the woods, Rohan stumbles upon a strange young commoner, Finn, who offers him something no royal ever can: true love. But will the secrets that Finn and Rohan keep from one another threaten the love they have, or even turn them into sworn enemies?

Note: This novel series has cliff-hangers! Every book will end on one. That's my natural writing style. If you do not like cliff-hangers, wait until the whole series is published to listen to it. Thanks for the support!

X. Aratare writes gay paranormal romance with witches, vampires, magic, and mystery. Though some books may venture into dark territory, they will all have happy endings.

©2020 Catherine N. Tetzlaff (P)2021 Catherine N. Tetzlaff

GIMME MOORE!!!!

Easily the best version of Cinderella I've had the pleasure of viewing or hearing.

Absolutely addicted

Mr. Fox did so well whispering, yelling, being emotional. It was read so well. The story is sweet and spicy. I could not stop listening. I have premium but I’m not waiting for my next month credit. I’m buying book 2 now.

Absolutely Amazing

I love Cinderella so I'm quick to get my hands on any fantasy retelling of it and this is by far my favorite adult retelling of the story. Every second kept my interested and even though not all that much happened in this book it never felt like it. Our Cinderella is fleshed out and not a wet blanket all the time. The "prince" is interesting and engaging. The step family is evil but also thrilling and attention grabbing. I'm so exited to unravel the mysteries in this story and follow the characters. I just need the rest of the series! By far this is my favorite story from this author.

Beautifully Written, Wonderfully Performed!!

The story itself is so excellent that I've read the kindle version of it twice, and on both occasions couldn't put it down. X Aratare never (and I really mean never) disappoints. I don't know how she produces so much writing on such a consistently high level - but she does and I'm grateful for it. Absolutely first rate story, with vividly drawn endearing characters.

This Performance gives added dimension to the already superb story. I'm blown away by Edward Fox's rich resonant voice and insightful portrayal. He has that timeless quality that seems perfect for a fantasy like this. It's not just his wonderful British accent . . . every word is savored and perfectly timed and delivered. Some readers garble words, or tear through the story so fast that I have to go back to check the printed version just to find out what was actually said. Not so here! Mr. Fox tells this tale with all the clarity, nuance and power of a Shakespearian actor. Bravos to both the author and voice actor. So happy that he will be narrating the rest of this amazing series!!!

wonderful and exciting

I loved every second of this story. its compelling and captured my interest right away. my heart pounded with anticipation in what would occur next. I'm looking forward to reading the rest of the series.

Excitingly Adventurous!

I love X. Aratare's writings! The stories are always fantasticly adventurous and loving! I have listened to many hours of glorious books from X. and the voice actors are amazing!! Now on to book 2!

Loved this !!

This narrator was TOP TIER!!! I could fall asleep with how soothing his voice was. It was cute and spicy and everything I expected and more. Cinderella without being so predictable! I love this story and audiobook

need more

love this re telling! so engaging and romantic, it took my breath away multiple times! I need more

wow I'd like to take on it it was a surprise to me

I like to take on that because it's mace me think whatever other Tales like that 😊🏳️‍🌈

Love fantasy? You must read this!

The audacity of this book to be this freaking good. Seriously this book bills it's as a "gay retelling of Cinderella" but it is SO MUCH MORE! I can't wait to listen to the next one!

Brilliant!!!

Blown away!
As a Dragons Reign fan from spotify, I had to listen to more of X Aratare work. This is soooo good!!

A bit silly

The main characters are interesting, but anything related to politics (world building) is a bit ridiculous and incongruous... But I'm intrigued where it is going,so will give the second book a shot

Very Good story cant wait for book 2 enjoyed it

Very good story cant wait for book 2 the writer has a good imagination and this kept my attention through out the story