This book was a cute retelling of the Cinderella story. I really liked the addition of learning a bit more about the fairy godmother and the prologue had me hooked. I enjoyed Ashley and Laura’s friendship. While there was character growth in the story, I feel like I was told more so than shown how the characters grew. The main character’s ethnicity was only referenced in regards to her beauty which was weird.

I absolutely love fairy tale retellings and this book was no exception. I absolutely loved this book.

I want to thank #Netgalley for letting me read this amazing eArc of #Ashes.

So I am a junkie for Fairy Tale retellings, just give me every single one please! This did not disappoint at all. I love all of the characters well except for the step-sisters and step- mother. The take that the Cinderella character works in a morgue is just great I really loved that, and Prince Charming being a celebrity in trouble was pretty good too! There were far more villain's in this version of Cinderella than in the original but I liked it. Throughout the book I was sure I had things figured out but then the ending came and I was pretty off. I can't wait for the next book in this amazing series!

Ashley Adams is just trying to survive her senior year of high school so she can escape to college far away from the stepmother and stepsisters. After Ashley's father died, her stepmother, Veronica turned on Ashley. Her father put all of his money in a trust for when Ashley successfully graduates high school. Now, Veronica is trying to do anything she can in order to change Ashley's perfect GPA. Veronica's plans change when pop sensation Harry James transfers to Ashley's school. She sees Harry as a cash cow and is determined to put her daughters in his line of vision. However, the minute Harry sees Ashley, he is hooked. Despite her best efforts, Ashley has finally found someone she can relate to. Although multiple obstacles stand in their path like Veronica, Harry's manager, Leona and high school queen bee, Brittany, Harry and Ashley's love story may find a happy ending with the help of some fairy godmothers.

Ashes is a young adult, contemporary Cinderella retelling. Ashes is full of high school melodrama, a relatable pop star, a down-to-earth Cinderella and over the top social media obsessed stepsiblings. I loved that Ashley's character was determined and fought for herself. The romance was sweet and progressed very naturally. I'm glad that Harry's experience finally allowed him to be himself and that Ashley and Harry brought out the best in one another despite everyone trying to pull them apart. There were several places in the story where I had to suspend my disbelief over what was happening, however, remembering that this is a fairy tale retelling made it go down easier. I do wish the inclusion of the fairies was brought into the story more than just the beginning and the end, I almost had forgotten that Ashley was their mission all along!


This book was received for free in return for an honest review.

Drama so much drama! It was kind of like a soap opera series contained in a book, which I personally found very amusing to read. Kind of an instant love but obstacle after obstacle thrown into the main characters way but ended up all very sweet in the end.

There isn't anything not to love. I knew from the title ,that this book would be something special. Fairytale retellings rock and the modern twists are the cherry on the top.
Funeral parlours and rock stars not exactly your conventional pairing but in this story somehow is works . It's alluringly written and thank goodness Ashley is not a total pushover. Cinderella with a spark.
I'm already eagerly anticipating the next book with someone more ( hopefully) guess appearances from "Cinderella" and her rock star 🌟
Love , love , love xoxo

this is the kind of book that you will definitely still can enjoy in spite of its predictability. ashes is a modern retelling of cinderella with a dash of fairies and emotional rollercoaster rides here and there. i enjoy our cinderella’s (ashley’s) great development throughout the book. i can’t say the same way about harry, though. this book is giving me an insta-love trope which is not my cup of tea. but it’s still entertaining nonetheless. however, the build up chemistry between the characters is kind of weak because it felt rushed to me. the dialogue were silly and as i quote other reviewers, “cringy”, but i think it’ll be enjoyable for the younger audience. give this book a fair try if you want to experience a fun, contemporary take on cinderella retelling.

i posted on goodreads. (wednesday, 22 june 2022). link has been included below.

Ashes was a well written retelling with a solid, yet predictable storyline. The charcters were believable and well developed and kept things interesting.

Althouhh the premise of the book was amazing , I could not lose myself in the story. There were parts that seem to lag and others (like the situations of the step mom and sisters) that seemed off. Understand it's sci-fi but everything seemed a little off. I would get pulled in and then feel disappointed

Well, I'll admit I'm in a bit of a tangle over this one. To start I found the premise behind this book so intriguing and there were some things here that I really liked. Ashley and Harry were great, and I felt the overall twist on the Cinderella fairy tale fresh and original. Unfortunately, there were some things that really bothered me and that made the book less enjoyable. A few things seemed just off or highly implausible and some dialogue was simply off-putting. Still, I liked more than I didn't.

Let's just go with 3 stars. I did not love this book nor did I absolute hate it. I was really in the middle, just thinking "meh." when the story was finally finished

I absolutely love retellings but I feel like this specific story has been done in more than one instance just change some names, throw on new outfits, maybe rename the city and voila it's like a whole new book. Except it truly wasn't. I felt like I already knew what the characters were going through before I even turned the page.

Despite the lack of "newness" that didn't come with the book I actually still enjoyed myself enough to finish. I was disappointed that it wasn't a "wow" at the end where I could do 4 or 5 stars but I can settle with just 3.

Thanks to NetGalley and Victory Editing Co-op for my copy of Ashes.
This book was just what my heart wanted. I love retellings and this one didn't disappoint. It was everything I ever wanted from a Cinderella retelling although I felt an element of the Cinderella story was missing. I did not find myself missing it all that much. I read this book in one sitting and could not take my eyes from it. I loved the twists and turns and the additions that make this book a modern fairy tale. I loved the relationship between Harry and Ashley and how they faced similar issues in their lives and how they faced their personal struggles individually and together. Their relationships with their friends were amazing to see. I can't wait to read the next book in the series. I would love to say more but I don't want to spoiler anything.

Thank you netgalley, victory editing and M.K. Harkins for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Ashes is a retelling of the famous fairytale "Cinderella". I love reading retellings but was not very pleased with this book. At first when I started reading the book it was quite interesting but as the story progressed I felt that it wasn't as good as expected. The book follows the characters Ashley (our Cinderella) and Harry (our prince charming). Ashley at first is seen as a person who has given up entirely on love and can also be said to be cold-hearted because of the circumstances that led her to her current situation. Throughout the book I found her to be dependent a lot on her step family.
Harry on the other hand I found was quite submissive. He is seen as a very weak character who initially cant stand for himself and for the people he cares about. His continuous hot and cold attitude towards the FMC was very disregarding.
The overall plot was good with all the mysteries but I felt there were a lot of loopholes in the story. I feel another reason I may have not liked this book may be because it has a bit of an insta-like trope which I dislike a lot. There weren't many get-to-know instances except the obvious ones. Towards other characters like George, Laura, the step family and Britney I had a lot of mixed feelings and some of the reactions in the book werent apt.
Overall the book is a 3/5 stars read.

I love all things fairy tales! It is so fun to read each authors unique take on stories we have all heard since childhood. Which is why I am so bummed that this was a DNF for me around 55% in. I tried so many times to get into this story, but it just wasn’t the book for me.

I truly wish this author success in their continuation of this series, and I would recommend this to anyone obsessed with fairy tales!

Thank you to NetGalley and Victory Editing for providing me with an advance electronic copy of this book in exchange for a free and honest review.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read and review this book.

This is pretty much a modern day/murderous Cinderella story. While I did like the book, it was just too cheesy for my taste. It wasn’t bad but some of the wording and phrases were just weird and cringy to me. I would recommend this book though if you like twisted fairy tales. I really did like the main characters and I do feel like this story has potential. If there is a second one, I’d more than likely read it because I do like Harry and Ashley together.

I feel conflicted on how to rate this book purely because this feels like it is is aimed at teens and I am no longer a teenager so I feel like the writing was a hit and miss at various parts of the book for me.

The writing is good, the style and structure is easy to follow. The concept of this modern day fairy tale was good and a nice new twist and feels like a modern Disney movie they would release retelling the story of Cinderella.

Some parts of the dialect felt as being what adults think kids speak like. Other parts felt unrealistic and the twists where shocking but also confusing. The twists were waved into the story though to make some sense but it didn't click immediately. I would have liked what occurs in chapter 1 to be built into the story rather than a sudden reveal towards the end of the book. I wish it had remained an enemies to lovers trope that slow burnt out but I felt it was too quick going from I'm not interested to them liking each other which doesn't fit the narrative that the author builds of Ashley in the first few chapters.

I would recommend the book to a younger teenager audience but I not so much for a more adult audience.

Ashes starts as a fun retelling of Cinderella. Two main characters, Ashley and her mysteriously fey friend Laura, start as the story's narrators.

Ashley is the aforementioned Cinderella, whose stepmother runs a funeral home. There's a lot more that could have been done with this setting, but the novel's plot veers away from this (and away from any connection to the fairytale) about halfway through.

But before the plotline goes off-book, we get to meet Harry, and hear the story from his point of view. Harry is, of course, the prince to Ashley's Cinderella. He's also a huge fanfiction nod to Harry Styles.

I loved the first half of this book. It was nice how the Cinderella thing was more an enemies-to-lovers story than insta-love-at-first-sight. But then there were so many plot twists, shenanigans, and plot holes. And the multiple point of view was odd.

What I loved: lots of references to literature (Alice in Wonderland, Hunger Games, High School Musical, The Wizard of Oz); perfect playlist (especially "Golden" by Harry Styles); and the push & pull between fame and love (think Hannah Montana).

I loved this book so much was super fun to read and definitely something different I will be buying it to put on my shelf!

This was a fun, quick read that I finished in two sittings. A fun modern take on Cinderella, with enough twists and turns throughout to keep you guessing - complete with the wicked stepmother and annyoing stepsisters. While some of the dialog between characters was a tad cheesy, I enjoyed watching the relationships between Ashley and Harry, Laura and George. I am looking forward to seeing how this stories progresses in the next book. If you enjoy modern fairytale retellings, I recommend you resd this one.

What a great read! Everything about this book made me want to keep reading! From the great characters, great story line and a Cinderella twist!

I have to admit I’m a sucker for fairytale retellings, and when I saw this book advertised I just had to read it!
The story follows Ashley, a teen who lives with her stepmother and 2 step sisters in a funeral home. Ashley is pretty but a social outcast at school and it’s not until Laura moves to the school that Ashley has a friend and someone to help navigate the last 6 months of high school.
We soon meet Harry & George…..Harry is a superstar and has been ordered to graduate from high school the conventional way and ends up in Ashley’s school. As soon as they meet it’s instant attraction but it seems that fate, fame and a meddling step mother will get in the way of their relationship.

The story is great and full of ups and downs and kept me on my toes!
I’d recommend the story to 12+, there’s mild swearing but nothing too bad!

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.