Fragments of Ash: Inspired by "Cinderella" (Modern Fairytale, #7)

by Katy Regnery

From New York Times bestselling author Katy Regnery comes a dark and twisted retelling of the beloved fairytale, Cinderella!

My name is Ashley Ellis… I was thirteen years old when my mother – retired supermodel, Tig – married Mosier Raumann, who was twice her age and the head of the Raumann crime family. When I turned eighteen, my mother mysteriously died. Only then did I discover the dark plans my stepfather had in store for me all along; the debauched “work” he expected me to do.

With the help of my godfather, Gus, I have escaped from Mosier’s clutches, but his twin sons and henchmen have been tasked with hunting me down. And they will stop at nothing to return my virgin body to their father …dead or alive.

** Contemporary Romance. Due to profanity and very strong sexual content, this book is not intended for readers under the age of 18.**

• ISBN10: 1944810374
• ISBN13: 9781944810375
• Publish Date: 11 September 2018
• Publish Status: Active
• Imprint: Katy Regnery
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 358
• Language: English

Reviews

[Nadz@Totally Addicted to Reading]

Fragments of Ash by Katy Regnery is the seventh book the Modern Fairytale series. The books need not be read in order as they can work as a standalone. This is Ashley and Julian’s story.

The story began with Ashley at her mom’s funeral. He mom died from a drug overdose at age 34
Ashley is 18. The world thought they were sisters. Her grandparents blame her for her mother’s death, which of course is ridiculous. They have abandoned her to the mercy of her stepfather who has nefarious plans for her.

Ashley finds an opportunity to escape with the help of the priest from the school she attends. She links with her godfather who offered her sanctuary. Then she meets, Julian, who has sworn off women and wishes she would go away.

My heart went out to Ashley. She has been through a lot for a girl of eighteen. She witnesses her mother’s poor decisions involving drugs and prostitution. Exposed to the ugly side of the celebrity world, and when she thought things could not get any worse, she finds herself in the middle of the criminal underworld. To add insult to injury now that her mother is dead, her stepfather wants her for himself. How sick is that?

I admired her strength in the face of adversity. She never allowed her situation to break her.
I loved how she dealt with Juliann She did not allow his irascible behavior to run her off. Instead, she showered him with kindness.

I could not believe how angry and jaded Julian was for someone so young. When I learnt of the experiences, which made him this way, things became clearer. Ashley managed break through the walls he erected with her innocence and inner beauty.

I loved that I got to see the story not only through Julian and Ashley’s eyes but also from Teagan’s perspective. It made her appear human and allowed me to understand the reasons for her decisions and her state of mind upon until the moment she died.

I enjoyed the romance despite it moving at such a quick pace. I found it to be sweet and adorable. Julian proved to be a warm, caring and protective when he let his guard down and allowed Ashley to worm her way into his heart.

I have to admit I was on the edge of my seat dreading the moment Ashley’s stepfather would find her. (The man is pure evil.) Therefore, you can imagine my disappointment when this aspect of the story was wrapped up in a rush. I believe the climax and the ending could have used more details.

Conclusion/ Recommendation
This was an entertaining read and one I would recommend to fans of fairy tale retellings and contemporary romance.

[Eve1972]

 

~WRITING - PLOT - PACE~
I haven't read anything by this author in a long while, but I was super intrigued by the unconventional Cinderella retelling (evil step-father, step-brothers, fabulous and gay fairy godfather) plot. So when the author approached me, I said; "send it my way tout suite!" (lol). I LOVED it. Seriously L-O-V-E-D it! From beginning to end it was total perfection. The writing was excellent. It is told in a dual POV format. We also get a bit of insight into TIG (the heroine's mother) through her diary entries. The pace was impeccable. The plot was engaging, and more importantly...UNIQUE. Last, it was all wrapped up in a very sweet ending. I MAYBE would have liked a further into the future epilogue for this couple, but I ain't going to complain too much. ;D


~HERO~
JULIAN...Julian was such an ASS to Ashley when they first meet. I wanted her to give him a giant kick in the nuts. That said, he does get his head out of his ass fairly quickly, and from then on he is an amazing hero. He was sweet. He was protective. He was caring. I adored him.


~HEROINE~
ASHLEY...I adored Ashley just as much as I did Jules (although there were a couple of times were her naivety was maybe a bit hard to believe). However, given her upbringing and the circumstances of her schooling for the past five years, I cut her some slack.  Her character was just so sweet and heartbreaking. She had a huge heart for sure, and I couldn't help but root for her to get a happily ever after.


 


~SECONDARY CHARACTERS~
There wasn't a ton of secondary characters in this book, but the ones we got were amazing. I loved Gus. I loved his relationship with Ash. I loved Julian's sister. I loved Jock, Gus's partner. I even may have shed a tear or two for Anders. That said, I never warmed up to Tig. I felt bad for her at times, but I thought she was a crap mother and a shitty human being.


~HEAT LEVEL~
LOW...this was a seriously S-L-O-W burn romance, and you know what? I hate slow burn romances, but this is the second book I have read recently that had a super slow pace to the romance, and both times I haven't been bothered by it. Color me surprised, but again, it just worked in the context of the story. On top of that, the story was just so engaging it kept me interested even without there being a ton of sex.


~ANGST LEVEL - SEXUAL HISTORIES~
LOW...this wasn't a very angsty read at all. I would say it was fairly insta in fact. Although, like I mentioned the hero was an ass for a brief bit when they first meet. But there really isn't any pushing away or anything like that. The heroine is a virgin. Not a fan of virgins usually, but again, in this instance given her age (just turned 18) and her reality for the past five years, it was a totally believable scenario. The hero was 24 (not a virgin), but also not a manwhore. It had been weeks since he had slept with anyone, and there was no OW or OM drama.


~IN THE END~
Did I enjoy it? SOOOO very much YES!   
Was it perfect? It was for me. 
Would I recommend it? YES! YES! YES! 
Who would enjoy this book? Pretty much everyone.