A genderbent retelling of the classic fairytale Cinderella… A handsome, mysterious lord with silver hair and golden eyes has created quite the stir in Glass Kingdom among the female populace. They’ve granted this man the nickname of ‘Heartbreaker of Glass Kingdom’ due to the fact that he never sleeps with his conquests more than once. One night while Ashe Smoldris is at a casino an eccentric … at a casino an eccentric young woman wearing a unicorn mask appears, and gets into trouble when she plays a game of poker in one of the backrooms and loses. When it turns out the girl doesn’t have the money with her to pay off her debt she almost gets herself sold of as a slave.
In a strange twist of fate Ashe unwittingly ends up saving the princess of Glass Kingdom. Because of his daring rescue Juleka falls in love with Ashe, and starts to watch over him from the shadows. After Juleka saves Ashe from the clutches of the seductress Lady Doriana Gray, Ashe begins to develop tentative feelings for Juleka, but the dark secrets she’s been keeping from him put their bourgeoning love to the test.
Even though Ashe presents himself at the casinos in Glass City as a wealthy lord his true identity is that he’s a slave. His mother sold Ashe to the nefarious loan shark Lord Christian Tremaine to settle her gambling debt. In order to buy his freedom back from Lord Tremaine and his sadistic sons, who enjoy torturing Ashe for imagined slights, he has been whoring himself out to noblewomen.
But what Ashe really wants to be doing is to fight in the coliseum. Nobles bet on the outcome of the matches, and the winner makes a lot of money. Unfortunately, Ashe is a dullard – someone who has been born without magic, and the magical races fight in the coliseum. If Ashe is to stand a chance in the arena against elves, witches, fairies and vampires he’s going to need an enchanted sword.
Ashe teams up with playboy prince Snow Flurris and they travel to Bones Kingdom in search of Rapunzel’s Tower. Rapunzel is the best blacksmith in all of Fantasia. Will Ashe manage to convince the stoic man to forge him an enchanted sword for free?
Warning: This is a fairytale for adults (18+) and contains sex and foul language.
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This was a great story! This retelling had all the elements of the original and yet was as great as the original. Loved it!
I have enjoyed this entire series. But Ashe is my favorite story. The winks at the fairytale are always fun to find, but there is so much more to this story than just a wink. Ashe is very much like Cinderella, except he is a male. Ashe has been sold as a slave, tortured and sold his own body to try to save himself. Ashe knows what he wants and will stop at nothing to get it. Until a strange girl in a unicorn mask crosses his path. Ashe must save her, yet still find a way to save himself. There is just something about Ashe, maybe because he is the underdog for so many different battles that I just loved his story. The action, magic and characters in this story are woven together so well, that this story will have you hooked. I could not stop listening. Through Ashe’s adventure, we see a cameo of Snow Flurris and Rapunzel. I cannot wait to read Snow’s story! I love the way KuroKoneko twists so many fairytales together.
L.A. Johnson has narrated this series. I enjoy listening to his narration, His narration of Ashe was exactly as I imagined him. I was able to get lost in Mr. Johnson’s narration and felt as if I was a part of the story. Mr. Johnson has an easy to listen to voice. His narration of female characters is smooth and does not seem forced. I look forward to hearing more from L.A. Johnson.
My favorite so far in the Genderbent world!
Ashe and the Glass Sword (Genderbent Fairytales Collection, Book 7) by KuroKoneko Kamen and narrated by L.A. Johnson is my favorite story by the author. If you are not a fan of the typical classics/fairytales like me, this is the book for you. I find with the Genderbent stories I never know what to expect and they are difficult to put down.
What’s it about? Ashe was a lord who was stripped of his title and now works for his step-father and step brothers as their cook and personal maid. He ends up saving a princess and a prince which leads to many adventures. The action start pretty much immediately- and there’s lots of it. Other elements include: magic, wizard, clubs, witches, Hero’s Guild, dragon, Rose Kingdom, Bone Kingdom, Apple Kingdom, Direwolves, shifters, dark elves, fairies, vampires, succubi, skeletons, love, fighting in a coliseum, sex, characters from other fairy tales, and so much more. There’s a lot going on in this book, but don’t worry, it’s not confusing, and there’s something for everyone!
The narrator, L.A. Johnson, did a good job. L.A’s grown on me for the telling of these tales and I can’t picture anyone else narrating them.
Overall I highly recommend, especially if you’ve enjoyed previous books by KuroKoneko Kamen or are looking for a fabulous, refreshing retelling of the typical fairytales, give this book a listen.
Parental guidance/trigger warnings: These are fairy tales for adults. Weapons (guns, sword), sex (in a good amount of detail), forcing people to do things against their will, suicide of child, attempted murder, abuse (physical and mental), and possibly other things I’m forgetting. Language used: Fx69, Sx51, hell x43, damn x11.
*I was given a free review copy of the audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review. Thank you for allowing me to listen and review the book!
Surprisingly good and well above my expectations for a fairytale retelling. This author really knows how to weave magic and interest into her books. And good sized books they are too. This book was a gift and l will have no problems reading the rest of this series.