Gilded Ashes: A Cruel Beauty Novella

I've been mesmerized by the World created by Rosamund Hodge since listening to Cruel Beauty last summer. There is something enchanting and heartbreaking about the World ruled by the Dark Lord and his band of demons. "Gilded Ashes" returns readers, via short story, to this World through a sad re-telling of Cinderella. "Gilded Ashes" is not a lighthearted tale. It's a dark and depressing lesson-filled story about family and the lengths one will go to make sure one's family is happy. I did enjoy it as it seemed much more straight forward than Cruel Beauty—not so many twists and turns. I was also more able to see the parallels, from start to finish, with Cinderella's story. Being this is a short story it didn't take long to finish it as a good portion of the book is a preview for Cruel Beauty. Besides existing in the same world as Cruel Beauty there's not a direction connect to the novel. Hodge does spend some time explaining the Dark Lord and the rules for his deals so it is not necessary to have read Cruel Beauty to understand "Gilded Ashes." If someone was unsure about Cruel Beauty or is a fan of that universe, I would definitely recommend reading this short story. "Gilded Ashes" by Rosamund Hodge receives a thumbs up. This review was originally posted on Second Run Reviews

For such a short story it sure packs a lot of feeling. The horrid tragedy of love gone wrong makes it hard to separate from this book. I feel like I need a sequel because I can not let go of these characters at all. Maybe I'll summon the Gentle Lord myself.

Moving on to my next book from this author. Love the way she weaves a story and builds her characters. I just want to keep reading!

Amberstar&#9788

If you love fairy tails youll love anything written by hodge

This novella was an interesting quick read. A fairytale retelling that was written very creatively and definitely worked well at getting me interested in reading more books by this author.