Thursday, June 4, 2015

Ash & Bramble by Sarah Prineas


Genre:  YA Fairy Tale Fantasy
Expected publication date:  September 15, 2015

Description (taken from Sarah Prineas' website:
When the glass slipper just doesn’t fit…

The tale of Cinderella has been retold countless times. But what you know is not the true story.

Pin has no recollection of who she is or how she got to the Godmother’s fortress. She only knows that she is a Seamstress, working day in and out to make ball gowns fit for fairy tales. But she longs to forsake her backbreaking servitude and dares to escape with the brave young Shoemaker.

Pin isn’t free for long before she’s captured again and forced to live the new life the Godmother chooses for her—a fairy tale story, complete with a charming prince—instead of finding her own happily ever after.

Sarah Prineas’s bold fairy tale retelling is a dark and captivating world where swords are more fitting than slippers, young shoemakers are just as striking as princes, and a heroine is more than ready to rescue herself before the clock strikes midnight.

She wakes up and is given a plain, itchy dress.  She's brought to a room filled with women, fabric, thread, and needles.  She is a seamstress and she will sew.  In between sewing she is given meager portions to eat, a little bit of time to rest, and cold showers to keep herself clean.  The only thing that makes the days interesting is when punishment is being doled out at the post.  But when she meets a shoemaker, she decides this life of servitude isn't enough for her.  She calls herself Pin and the boy Shoe, and she dares to escape the Godmother's fortress.

After finally getting a glimpse of freedom, Pin is caught.  And the Godmother has special plans for her.  She forces her into a story where there's a prince and a guaranteed happily ever after.  But Pin notices cracks along the edges and isn't sure if it is her own happy ending that she's trying to achieve.  And when the mysterious Shoe appears in the city, she's not so sure who she can trust.

This is the perfect fairy tale retelling, however I will admit the beginning was a little disorienting.  It follows the Cinderella story but with some twists.  Pin isn't your typical girl who swoons over any Prince.  Instead, she thinks for herself and realizes not all endings need a Prince.  I loved this about her.  While I agree that finding true love is one of the best things out there, I can certainly say it is never perfect and almost always involves a little bit of pain.  This story just feels so real even though it;s interwoven into a fantasy world involving magic and fairy tales.

I would say anyone looking for a good fairy tale retelling needs to pick up this one.  It doesn't disappoint and leaves you feeling happy...


Thanks goes to Around the World ARC Tours for providing me a review copy.

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