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.

- Goodreads

You know when you put off reading a book for no reason at all? Or when you try to read a book you know you'll enjoy but you're in a slump and end up putting it down? Over and over again? If so, meet my relationship with Ash.

I picked it up 2 times and put it down. And over a year later I finally read it. Guess what? I really enjoyed it.

As a retelling of Cinderella, I'd have to say this story is way better (just so you know I don't really like Cinderella). Malinda's writing is so beautiful. I love descriptions of nature in books, and Malinda did the best at writing those. Let's just say I wish I lived near a forest if I had Malinda to narrate my walks through it.

“To charge someone with love is a great responsibility;

there will be an equal yet unexpected reaction.”

The relationship between Kaisa and Ash was really sweet. I loved it. It didn't feel rushed at all which was great. I wanted to see more of Sidhean, to be honest.

And following that thought, I wish we had more about the fairy world. Besides the fairy tales from Ash's childhood and the bits where Sidhean appears, we basically have nothing. I wanted a bigger focus on the fairy world in order to better understand the system behind the deals they make with humans, among other things!

I know the book is short and that's why we didn't get much. But I just love fairies too much and I wanted more, what can I do?

To be honest with you, my favorite moments in the story was whenever fairies were involved. I think that says a lot. Especially when there's a main sapphic relationship and I still focus more on the fairies.

With that said, there should be no surprise when I say that Sidhean was my favorite character, alongside Kaisa.

“No one is more impressionable than young humans.

They are fooled into thinking they can live forever, when in fact they are about to die.”

I recommend this book if you want a cute and simple sapphic fantasy that happens to be a Cinderella retelling. It didn't become a favorite, unfortunately, but I really enjoyed it.