Three years after her mother’s death, Ella is left with an absent father, a cruel stepmother, and a magical pendant so powerful she must keep it hidden. The pendant is the only connection Ella has with her mother, and she will do anything to protect it—even if it means becoming a servant in her own home.To escape her wicked stepfamily, Ella finds solace under the branches of the weeping willow … weeping willow beside her mother’s grave. Ella thought she could practice her magic there in secret, but when she is caught by Ashwin, the son of the richest lord in the county, Ella fears she may lose her pendant after all.
Ashwin gains Ella’s trust by promising not to tell anyone about the pendant, but Ella knows they are from different worlds, and she is reluctant to open up to him too much. When Ashwin invites Ella to a masquerade ball, she sees it as a chance to escape her life, even if it is for just one night.
But her pendant isn’t the only secret Ella has been keeping. If Ashwin learns who she really is, will the truth ruin her chance of happiness with him, or will it set her free?
Find out in this sweet and magical re-imagining of Cinderella.
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This retelling stayed close to the traditional Cinderella story in many ways, with some distinct nods to Disney, but dispensed with many of the creepier elements in favor of more modern sentiments. The magic related to the tree, animals and Cinderella’s hand magic is actually very close to what is intimated in the original retellings. The artifacts are a new creation, and I like that limits, or a price was added to them. It is an interesting magic set up. She becomes more the capable heroine she was originally cast to be.
There is only one ball, not three, but Ash and Ella have other opportunities to develop a relationship. The world itself is an odd mix of carriages and electric lights. The animals clean up coffee beans rather than lentils, and Ella has a sewing machine (although why she tried to shove the bulk of a skirt through the harp of the machine instead of leaving it on the outside is beyond me!)
I was hoping to see more of the artifacts, I think they have the potential to be very dangerous in the wrong hands and have all sorts of interesting ramifications that were barely touched on.
This is the first book in a series of retellings. I like the world build in this one and the marriage of tradition with modern. I am looking forward to Chasing Neve and seeing how Last’s version of Snow White plays out.
Ella and Ash is Book 1 in the Happily Ever After series by K.A. Last. This is a new twist of the fairy tale Cinderella which is brilliantly done by author Last. It is an enjoyable read. I really like this as it is different from the original where the royal family is involved and in this retelling is a wealthy businessman. I highly recommend this tale. Received an ARC and this is my voluntary and honest review.
This was a cute fairy tale retelling, I liked how it played out and enjoyed the read.
My favorite fairytale was Cinderella when I saw it in the theater when it first came out! I loved the animation Walt Disney put into it like he did all his films and it makes me sick the people running his studio now have run it into the ground with their idiotic pc/woke disclaimers to all his movies he made while he blessed generations with his goodness and wholesome entertainment!
I thank God there is an author named K. A. Last who puts out wholesome feel good books like this one that brings back the feeling I had when I saw Disney’s masterpiece! I will be waiting and watching for when she puts others out in this new series she has just begun. I am certain her books in this series will be as good as this one was to read.
If you haven’t guessed by now this is a retelling of Cinderella and I loved it and recommend it to the whole world!! It gives me hope that their are people like her who were enchanted by fairytales like I was and have endeavored to write their stories which Illicit the same warm feeling of reading a story that is so familiar to so many!
I urge you to pick up this book and go back in time when you first saw Disney’s Cinderella and how good it made you feel for I can guarantee you that you will have that same feeling while you are reading this book and when you close it upon its conclusion! You will feel like me that it was a book you loved and the time you spent reading it was very well spent!!
Cover:
Very pretty, fitting.
Editing/proofing:
It’s free of distractions, for the most part.
Character development:
There wasn’t very much of this. Clearly the author based the characters in this fairy tale retelling on the general vision of them in popular versions and didn’t bother to personalize them beyond that. It works though, for the read was very simple.
Overall content:
This book was okay, a solid 3 stars. Fine for a very quick read to keep me somewhat/almost entertained while I grabbed a meal.
The plot was as you’d expect with no real deviations from modern Cinderella films. It for me, felt like a re-write of Ever After, only watered down a bit.
Things like time and place are left ambiguous. Writing is easy to read with no complexities, again making this for a fine quick read. There was one scene which was fairly epic, where the rest of the book was a bit dry. I do feel, if the author had the desire to expand this concept into a more involved, more original take on the classic tale, she’s on the right path to that.
I was drawn in by the shiny, pretty cover and am not sorry I spent an hour or so on this book.
3 stars.