Reviewed: June 25th, 2021
Released: June 20th, 2021
Genre: Fairytale retelling
When Cinderella’s estranged mother Mellie goes to Oz in search of her baby-daddy, she needs a crew to deliver the proof of their liaison – her youngest daughter, Ellie – to the Emerald City. Hijacking someone else’s search & rescue crew? Not a problem. So what if it’s the feared Fairy Queen Morgana’s rescue mission to find her only son.
A cowardly lion and a brainless scarecrow as per the manual are already lined up for the save. The tin-man is already in Oz…somewhere. Darn those iron mirror portals and fae men.
Which one of her entourage will Ellie fall in love with? Will Oz remember Mellie who has born him four kids, including Cinderella? And what about happy-ever-afters, can villains really stomach them?
Helen’s thoughts:
Ash is the third book in the Magic Mirrors Saga; a retelling of the Wizard of Oz and can be read as a standalone.
I was lucky enough to receive an Arc of Ash, and having thoroughly enjoyed Sky’s Cinders, a retelling of Cinderella from the Step-Mother’s point of view, I couldn’t wait to read Ash. If you enjoy books from a total different perspective which will make you laugh out loud then this is the book for you. This book is no different, and you should hot foot to the vendor of your choice and buy it now!
I love the way Sky takes a well known fairy story, and put her own special twist on it. Her books make you laugh out loud, and they make you think, as she presents a different perspective or suggests a different reason for a persons behaviour, and it makes you realise how easy it is too make asumptions and to believe the social norms without question.
Ash is a slow burn love triangle, with young Ellie, who was supposed to be three, but is actually seventeen, arrinving in Oz, as arranged by the wicked witch, to meet her parents. Only Ellie doesn’t know that. On the way she meets a brainless scarecrow (her broody guardian angel), a cowardly lion (a cursed prince), and the tinman (another cursed prince!), and the story follows along the traditional yellow brick road with a few twists thrown in! Well written, enjoyable novels, that give you more insights and things to think about than you expected.
About the Author:
Sky was born to Estonian-Russian parents and for most of her life has lived and worked as a lawyer in Tallinn, Estonia, with brief escapes to Finland and the United Kingdom for work/study and to all but the top and bottom continents in search of her muse. Her debut e-book in 2012 was about ancient goddesses running amock, trying to get their wilted powers back.
She then proceeded to indie publishing her own ebooks and paperbacks and found her way from myths and legend via the Angelic Agency to fairytales retold for young adult and adult audiences. So far, Thumbelina has been updated for suspicious adults, a more sinister version of Cinderella was released on 21.12.20 and an adult Red Riding Hood retelling is about to be released on 21.03.21. A Wizard of Oz retelling and several short stories are in the works.
All her books are linked by some character or another and she loves making you choose at the end – by letting you pick an ending to read – one for the optimist and a slightly different one for pessimists (well, except in the Cinders-Embers-Ash trilogy because only Douglas Adams could pull off a trilogy in 5 parts). She lives in a house with a small garden with her husband and mostly one, but on occasion plus four kids. No dog.
You can find her on:
You can purchase Book One: Cinders here:
Link to book on Amazon UK: eBook
Link to book on Amazon US: eBook
Link book on Amazon Canada: eBook
And Book Two: Embers here:
Link to book on Amazon UK: eBook
Link to book on Amazon US: eBook
Link book on Amazon Canada: eBook
Or Book Three Ash Crooked Fates here:
Link to book on Amazon UK: eBook
Link to book on Amazon US: eBook
Link book on Amazon Canada: eBook
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If you enjoy fantasy books then you will love my books which are available in eBook or paperback: Book One: Sentinals Awaken. Book Two: Sentinals Rising. Sign up to my newsletter and download a free novella called Sentinals Stirring and get notified when my next books are published.
Helen Garraway 