Review: Fragments of Ash by Katy Regnery (A Modern Fairytale #7)


Note: An advanced reader copy (ARC) was provided by the author via Give Me Books Promotions.


We are living in a fairytale world, my love and me. 
But the day will come when, like a fragile piece of glass dropped to the ground, our world will shatter around us. Until then, we steal our piece of heaven, quietly hoping that the strength of our growing love can trounce the hounds of hell, knowing all the while that it can't. 
Nothing can hold back what is coming.


I love reading Katy Regnery's books, but I confess that her A Modern Fairytale collection is my favorite by far. The Vixen and the Vet was my introduction to this author's writing, and I've been smitten ever since and maybe that's why this series feels a bit more special to me than the rest. So naturally, when I found out that the seventh book in the series had a release date, I was itching to get my hands on it, anxious to see if it would live up to my oh-so-lofty hopes and expectations. And of course, I had nothing to worry about! Regnery has once again given a modern and creative twist to a much-loved classic fairy tale as she takes on Cinderella and turned it into her Fragments of Ash.

The death of the woman almost everyone else knew as her sister but was actually her mother has left eighteen-year-old high school senior Ashley Carys Ellis in limbo. When her stepfather reveals his lascivious intentions towards her after the funeral, Ashley knows she doesn't have much time to change the current trajectory of her life. When she turns to her godfather for refuge, he and his partner provide her with a place to call home, for however long she may need it. Unfortunately, it's a home she has to share with the current tenant, surly and broody glassblower Julian Ducharmes makes it clear that she isn't welcome even if he doesn't really have much say in the matter. Ashley and Julian will need to learn to live with each other, but all too soon, these two may have to figure out how they'll have to live without one another once her evil stepfather and her stepbrothers come calling.

I was brought to tears at certain points of this book. Ashley's first eighteen years of life have her questioning if she was ever even loved by her own mother and wary about anyone who noticed just how much she looked like her famous supermodel mother. There was such a naivete to her, but it was the kind that was understandable given the circumstances of her home life. I empathized with her, my heart breaking for this girl who, for all intents and purposes, should have had a life that others envied but was instead left to fend for herself and she became this lost girl who didn't quite know her way around the world beyond the house she lived in and the school she was sent to.

On the other hand, there's Julian, who did come off as quite a rude jerk when he makes his first appearance in the book. Well, okay, he's a jerk for a number of chapters after that, but then, I liked how he began to change once he allowed himself to see Ashley as more than some girl encroaching on his home. And then there were all the supporting characters, some of whom I adored--Gus Egér and Jock Souris, a clear homage to the two adorable mice from the Disney version of Cinderella--and some who left me in tears--Teagan Ellis and Anders Răumann. And the story... The story! Gah! It went in a direction that I had not expected and it made for such an original and equally heartrending and heartwarming read. I know that the author has one more book in the series that she's announced, but fingers crossed that it will not be the last! Fragments of Ash is a five-plus-starred favorite for 2018. ♥

-------------------------

Read my reviews for the A Modern Fairytale collection:


 The Vixen and the Vet (book one) - five-plus stars - My Review
 Never Let You Go (book two) - five-plus stars - My Review
Ginger's Heart (book three) - five-plus stars - My Review
Dark Sexy Knight (book four) - five-plus stars - My Review
Don't Speak (book five) - five-plus stars - My Review
Shear Heaven (book six) - five stars - My Review
Fragments of Ash (book seven) - five-plus stars - My Review (posted above)

-------------------------

Release Date: 01 October 2018

Date Read: 30 September 2018

Learn more about Katy Regnery.

Purchase Fragments of Ash on Amazon | B&N | iBooks | Kobo.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Release Blitz: Saved by Hazel James

Book Spotlight: Cherry Pie by Samantha Kane

Review: The Wrong Kind of Angel by Ruby Moone