Sinders and Ash

Pennymaker Tales

By: Tara Lain

Narrated by: Kale Williams

Length: 4 hrs and 52 mins

Publisher's summary

Housekeeper Mark Sintorella (Sinders) works diligently at a resort hotel while designing clothes anonymously, hoping to get into fashion school. Then his carefully planned life is upended with the arrival of Ashton Armitage, son of the fifth richest man in America - and the most beautiful guy Mark has ever seen. Ash must find a wife or he'll lose his grandfather's inheritance, and he settles on Bitsy Fanderel. But secretly Ash is gay, and the guy who cleans the fireplaces sets his heart ablaze.

Further stirring the pot is the little elf of a man, Carstairs Pennymaker, who has Mark wearing his own designs and masquerading as a girl to impress the fashion investors in the hotel. When the clock strikes 12, two beautiful princesses line up for the wedding - but one isn't a woman. Will the slipper fit? Only Mr. Pennymaker knows for sure.

©2015 Tara Lain (P)2016 Dreamspinner Press

Definitely a Fairy Tale

Any additional comments?

Mark “Sinders” Sinterello is a housekeeper who dreams of being a fashion designer. Ashton Armitage is a closeted millionaire in search of a bride in order to satisfy the terms of his grandfather’s will. The will states Ash must marry prior to his twenty-fifth birthday in order to receive his $500+ million inheritance or it all goes to charity. Ash has procrastinated because he’s gay and doesn’t want to marry a woman and he literally only has weeks before his birthday to meet and marry someone.

Enter Carstairs Pennymaker, a tiny elf of a man, who acts as a sort of Fairy Godfather and takes Sinders under his wing, and works diligently to steer the two men together.

This is definitely a “fairy tale” and it requires almost complete suspension of all disbelief. I’ll be honest and say, for me, it was alright, especially the narration by Kale Williams, but the story didn’t really thrill me.

Bottom line: The pacing is good, the narration better, it has some nice sexy times, and a hard won HEA.

Definitely not the classic Cinderella story

What made the experience of listening to Sinders and Ash the most enjoyable?

Mark and Ash's resolve to not only be true to themselves regardless, but to love each other without regret.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Mark. I loved the way he was written with this hard exterior shell, but vulnerable, beautiful and unique underneath. The only person to ever crack the surface is Ash, and Pennymaker just a smidge, in a father figure sort of way.

What does Kale Williams bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

He breaths life into the characters.

If you could rename Sinders and Ash, what would you call it?

Dear audible, can you remove this question from any further reviews I do please. I don't understand it, I don't understand why you'd want to change an Author's title.

Any additional comments?

Definitely not your classic Cinderella story. Lain adds her own twist to the tale that gives the story an extra edge. So you have Mark/Sinder (Cinderella) who works as a Housekeeper as well as a rent boy of sorts behind the scenes. Ash/Prince Charming keeps his sexuality a secret, only being true to himself behind closed doors. He's a show pony, preparing to marry a woman he doesn't even really know, much less love, to gain his inheritance. Everything change for both men when their paths cross. Finally, true love gives them both the strength to be who they are, and damn the consequences.

It's always refreshing when an Author can take a classic story and make it their own, which is definitely what happened here. There were a few times the story didn't flow well from one chapter to the next and a few secondary characters I'd rather have shot than listen to, but overall, I really enjoyed this book. Narration was rather nice, lots of tones and differential voices brought to life by Williams. A couple of times during a conversation with multiple characters he didn't transition well from one to the next, to the next and it pulled me out of the story simply because I was confused exactly who was speaking. Overall, he too did a great job though.

Nice narration and an interesting spin on the tale

This is book one in Tara Lain’s “rebooted fairy tales” series. As the name suggests, it’s a take on Cinderella in that Mark Sintorella is a dress designer working at a resort where he does a bit of everything – including cleaning fireplaces. He meets his “fairy godmother” in the form of the eccentric and rich Mr. Pennymaker who helps him find his place in the fashion industry and gives him nudges in his romantic life as well.

Our “Prince Charming” is Ashford Armitage who must be married to gain his inheritance. He’s a closeted gay man so he’s willing to find a marriage of convenience. Ash meets Bitsy (Tara’s version of a step-sister) and the two strike a bargain. But in the meantime, Ash and Mark find one another and Ash can’t get Mark out of his mind.

Will Ash be willing to give it all up for love? Will Mark have the nerve to ask for what he really wants in life? Mr. Pennymaker is there to help these confused boys make the right decisions!

**

I am a big Tara Lain fan and I love the “Cinderella” trope but I’m not a big fan of re-working the specific storyline – so I hadn’t picked this up til it came out in audio. I was interested in the new-to-me narrator and I knew it would be an interesting story and well done since Tara wrote it.

Well, it’s a bit… different. I really enjoyed it far more than I thought I would – the twists and turns are fascinating and unexpected (though predictable once you’re in the story). I didn’t always care for the way the characters thoughts were conveyed – that method – one word sentences – really worked for me with the Harker Pack series because we were dealing with shifters and a more animalistic mentality – but here it felt a bit … off. Maybe it was harder because I was listening instead of reading… I’m not sure.

I really loved the secondary characters – Bitsy and Ronnie, Mr. Ashford and Mr. Pennymaker especially were really fun and a nice bonus.

I didn’t feel the connection between Mark and Ash was very strong – it seemed they had one or two moments together then suddenly – POW – HEA – but I know – fairy tale and all that – I just didn’t feel as connected to them as I usually do in a Tara Lain story.

In any case, it was fun and much more than I was expecting. I loved the unique spin she put on the old story and found myself really entertained.

Story 3.75 of 5 stars
(The new cover is MUCH better than the first edition!)

Audio

Like I said Kale Williams is a new narrator to me and he did a great job with this. He gives everyone a unique voice but doesn’t go over the top with strange affectations or anything that distracts from the story. I enjoyed his interpretation and thought it was a great way to experience this unique fairy tale.

Narration 4.5 of 5 stars

Overall 4 of 5 stars

Sexy & Funny Cinderella Story

We readers know that Tara Law is an excellent writer, now we know what an excellent Narrator Kale Williams is.

This is a cute, sexy modern fairy tale. It is fun yet heartwarming. Kale Williams voice adds to the delight of the story. I am a fan of Tara Lain. I now am also a Dan of Kale Williams.

Cute fairy tale, great narration

This is a modern take on a gay Cinderella story, literally. Overall I enjoyed this, but I think the author tried a little to hard to stick to the story. I really didn't think some elements of the story were necessary, namely the "drag" aspect. But for the die hard romantic, it doesn't disappoint. Since it is a fairy tale, you truly do have to suspend belief to enjoy. The narrator does a great job.

Awesome!

Awesome story sinders and Ash loved it. great narrator love this book highly recommended .

Best retelling!

I have listened to this story several times and it’s still a favorite! I love Cinderella and this is a wonderful updated version of the old fairytale. And Mr. Pennymaker is my favorite fairy godfather!

Love It

Another good story. Still love Penny maker voice. I have read 2 of the fairy tale stories this one reminds me of Cinderella and the first one I read remind me of Peter Pan. Wonder which fairy tale is next?

What’s not to like.

A fairytale, yes, but also a fun read.
Lovable characters, excellent narrator, a love story.
Can’t ask for more, except maybe more of it.

A Delightful time!

I love Kale Williams' performance. A great adaptation of a classic fairytale! Classic Tara Lain characters.

Weak stereotypes, a creepy groomer, no fairytale

This is the kind of m/m that makes me uncomfortable because it relies on stereotypes and fetishizes gay men. Here, in this modern 'retelling' of Cinderella we have an effeminate young man/fashion designer working as a cleaner at a hotel where one of the guests is a billionaires son who must get married to gain his inheritance. Cleaner Mark is coerced and groomed by a strange diminutive man (!) to dress up in the dresses Mark makes... to attract the attention of the billionaires son. It's a ridiculous premise full of misogyny, last century views, and homophobic undercurrents. I did not enjoy this story, and even narration by Kale Williams couldn't save it.