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Fairytale Collection #3
From the Ashes
A fantasy reboot of the Cinderella tale.
A Rebel Leader
Lucinda Morain is a servant in her own home, the object of her noble stepmother’s cruelty. But pretending to bow to her stepmother suits Lucinda’s purposes. As an operative for the Ashes, a rebel organization determined to overthrow the oppressive nobility, her lowly status provides her with the perfect cover. When she is chosen to lead the Ashes, Lucinda is overwhelmed and stunned. Can she handle the responsibility of making the life and death decisions?
A Prince in Disguise
Benicio dei Amaria, heir to the throne of Falloria, is desperate to escape the strictures of palace life. Trading places with his double, he adopts an assumed identity to seize one last taste of freedom before he’s forced to appease the nobles by choosing a bride. Then Lucinda saves his life, opening his eyes. Long uneasy with the hold the nobility has over his father, and drawn to Lucinda’s passion for her cause, Benicio can no longer ignore what the peasants have suffered at the nobles’ hands.
Taking the biggest risk of his life, Benicio provides the Ashes with secret information in the hopes of gaining them as allies. But what will happen if they uncover his true identity?
Lucinda knows he’s hiding something from her, but she’s hiding something from him too: she’s the Cinder, the nobles’ and king’s most wanted enemy.
Can they learn to trust one another before it’s too late to save Falloria?
A Rebel Leader
Lucinda Morain is a servant in her own home, the object of her noble stepmother’s cruelty. But pretending to bow to her stepmother suits Lucinda’s purposes. As an operative for the Ashes, a rebel organization determined to overthrow the oppressive nobility, her lowly status provides her with the perfect cover. When she is chosen to lead the Ashes, Lucinda is overwhelmed and stunned. Can she handle the responsibility of making the life and death decisions?
A Prince in Disguise
Benicio dei Amaria, heir to the throne of Falloria, is desperate to escape the strictures of palace life. Trading places with his double, he adopts an assumed identity to seize one last taste of freedom before he’s forced to appease the nobles by choosing a bride. Then Lucinda saves his life, opening his eyes. Long uneasy with the hold the nobility has over his father, and drawn to Lucinda’s passion for her cause, Benicio can no longer ignore what the peasants have suffered at the nobles’ hands.
Taking the biggest risk of his life, Benicio provides the Ashes with secret information in the hopes of gaining them as allies. But what will happen if they uncover his true identity?
Lucinda knows he’s hiding something from her, but she’s hiding something from him too: she’s the Cinder, the nobles’ and king’s most wanted enemy.
Can they learn to trust one another before it’s too late to save Falloria?
354 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 23, 2014
1 person is currently reading
165 people want to read
About the author
Elizabeth Darcy
19 books57 followersElizabeth Darcy is a pen name for Nicole Ciacchella. As Elizabeth Darcy, Nicole can indulge her girlhood love for fairytales by re-interpreting them.
Nicole has had a lifelong passion for the written word. As a child, one of her most treasured Christmas gifts was an electric typewriter, which enabled her to crank out her stories even more quickly than she could with a pen. Naturally, the personal computer is one of her favorite inventions. When she isn't writing, Nicole can usually be found curled up in a chair, whiling away the hours with a good book.
One of Nicole's other great passions is travel, and she has visited Europe, as well as traveling to many of the fifty states. Her favorite trips include visits to Paris, Maui, and various parts of Belgium. She feels fortunate that she is married to a native Belgian, as it gives her plenty of reasons to visit Europe as often as possible. Also, it gives her an excuse to eat Belgian waffles regularly.
Born and raised in Michigan, Nicole lives there still with her husband and two beautiful children. She thinks Michigan is the greatest state in the country, and Michigan State University is the greatest university in the world.
Nicole has had a lifelong passion for the written word. As a child, one of her most treasured Christmas gifts was an electric typewriter, which enabled her to crank out her stories even more quickly than she could with a pen. Naturally, the personal computer is one of her favorite inventions. When she isn't writing, Nicole can usually be found curled up in a chair, whiling away the hours with a good book.
One of Nicole's other great passions is travel, and she has visited Europe, as well as traveling to many of the fifty states. Her favorite trips include visits to Paris, Maui, and various parts of Belgium. She feels fortunate that she is married to a native Belgian, as it gives her plenty of reasons to visit Europe as often as possible. Also, it gives her an excuse to eat Belgian waffles regularly.
Born and raised in Michigan, Nicole lives there still with her husband and two beautiful children. She thinks Michigan is the greatest state in the country, and Michigan State University is the greatest university in the world.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
January 21, 2016
Lucinda has become a servant in her own home since her father died, and has to put up with her cruel step-mother. However, she has a secret, Lucinda has just become the Cinder, leader of the Ashes, who are hoping to get fair treatment for the peasant class. Prince Benicio is desperate to escape the confining place life so he trades places with his double to explore the city. When Lucinda saves his life, it opens his eyes to the cruelty and corruption of some of the nobility and he can no longer ignore it. With both of them holding secrets and having big responsibilities, can they learn to trust each other before it is too late?
From the Ashes is an enjoyable Cinderella retelling, and has a story about injustice and rebellion. I found the first half of the book faster paced and more interesting than the second half.
Lucinda has a strong belief in justice and has strong convictions, she is loyal and resourceful but doubts her ability to be the Cinder. At the beginning of the book Benicio was immature and did not want to grow up and face his responsibilities, but as the story went on he wants to help others and his kingdom. There are some really good secondary character in this book, such as Leo and Ryanne, as they were brilliant friends.
Unfortunately the last few chapters bored me as there was too much talking and they seemed to be repeating the same conversations. I would recommend From the Ashes to fans of the Fairytale collection.
This and my other reviews can be found at Amethyst Bookwyrm
From the Ashes is an enjoyable Cinderella retelling, and has a story about injustice and rebellion. I found the first half of the book faster paced and more interesting than the second half.
Lucinda has a strong belief in justice and has strong convictions, she is loyal and resourceful but doubts her ability to be the Cinder. At the beginning of the book Benicio was immature and did not want to grow up and face his responsibilities, but as the story went on he wants to help others and his kingdom. There are some really good secondary character in this book, such as Leo and Ryanne, as they were brilliant friends.
Unfortunately the last few chapters bored me as there was too much talking and they seemed to be repeating the same conversations. I would recommend From the Ashes to fans of the Fairytale collection.
This and my other reviews can be found at Amethyst Bookwyrm
May 9, 2023
Also published in "Tales of a Depresso Witch"
Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the author, Nicole Ciacchella, herself in exchange for an honest review.
As you all are aware, Nicole Ciacchella has proven herself a genius when it comes to write fairytale re-telling. She picks up the already known folklore and transforms it into such an amazing and detailed tale with amazing characters and a plot with so many twists and turns you simply fall in love with it. However, from the three books I’ve read from her Fairytale Collection (the others being The Eye of the Beholder and Asleep), this was my least favourite. Still, she managed to recreate Cinderella’s story amazingly.
This Cinderella story is far more complex than the original one. Here Lucinda is the leader of a rebel group against the authority of the nobles who make their life miserable. And miserable is her life: since her father’s death she has been cleaning and doing all her stepmother’s biddings. However, Nicole centred this character more around the rebels instead of the evil stepmother relationship. There wasn’t really any connection between these two characters and there wasn’t much scenes between them.
Benicio has nothing to do with the prince we are all used to read/see on any Cinderella story. He is a prince in disguise within the Ashes, the rebels. He slowly learns the truth about his people and slowly begins to realise how blind and spoiled he has been during all his life. With Lucinda and the Ashes’ help, he plans to change his kingdom.
For me the whole Cinderella background was blurred with the amount of original ideas Nicole had for this book. All of them were greatly developed and she managed to use the fairytale’s background as a nice concept for the kick-off this book. But somehow it lacked that fairytale-ish vibe her other books had, that obvious bridge between her own original concept and the folklore.
And this will pain me to admit but there was a moment when I simply wanted the story to end because it was simply a continuous loop of Lucinda’s struggle against the nobles. The relation between her and Benicio took a long time to develop and when it did, I felt it was too rushed, something I’m not used to on Nicole’s books.
Apart from those negative points mentioned above, this is yet another great book by Nicole Ciacchella. The world building was deliciously made, the characters felt real and with personality, the plot complex and thoughtful. Overall, this is yet another great fantasy romance.
I will continue to be utterly eager to read more of her retellings and to see where how far she can go with her imagination. Because she certainly deserves more love from readers. I would love to read a retelling based on Snow White or Rapunzel written by this awesome author.
PS: how cool is the cover designed by the lovely Erica Crouch?! ;-)
Thank you so much Nicole Ciacchella for the copy of the book (and for the short-story as well). Cannot wait for more ^_^
Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the author, Nicole Ciacchella, herself in exchange for an honest review.
As you all are aware, Nicole Ciacchella has proven herself a genius when it comes to write fairytale re-telling. She picks up the already known folklore and transforms it into such an amazing and detailed tale with amazing characters and a plot with so many twists and turns you simply fall in love with it. However, from the three books I’ve read from her Fairytale Collection (the others being The Eye of the Beholder and Asleep), this was my least favourite. Still, she managed to recreate Cinderella’s story amazingly.
This Cinderella story is far more complex than the original one. Here Lucinda is the leader of a rebel group against the authority of the nobles who make their life miserable. And miserable is her life: since her father’s death she has been cleaning and doing all her stepmother’s biddings. However, Nicole centred this character more around the rebels instead of the evil stepmother relationship. There wasn’t really any connection between these two characters and there wasn’t much scenes between them.
Benicio has nothing to do with the prince we are all used to read/see on any Cinderella story. He is a prince in disguise within the Ashes, the rebels. He slowly learns the truth about his people and slowly begins to realise how blind and spoiled he has been during all his life. With Lucinda and the Ashes’ help, he plans to change his kingdom.
For me the whole Cinderella background was blurred with the amount of original ideas Nicole had for this book. All of them were greatly developed and she managed to use the fairytale’s background as a nice concept for the kick-off this book. But somehow it lacked that fairytale-ish vibe her other books had, that obvious bridge between her own original concept and the folklore.
And this will pain me to admit but there was a moment when I simply wanted the story to end because it was simply a continuous loop of Lucinda’s struggle against the nobles. The relation between her and Benicio took a long time to develop and when it did, I felt it was too rushed, something I’m not used to on Nicole’s books.
Apart from those negative points mentioned above, this is yet another great book by Nicole Ciacchella. The world building was deliciously made, the characters felt real and with personality, the plot complex and thoughtful. Overall, this is yet another great fantasy romance.
I will continue to be utterly eager to read more of her retellings and to see where how far she can go with her imagination. Because she certainly deserves more love from readers. I would love to read a retelling based on Snow White or Rapunzel written by this awesome author.
PS: how cool is the cover designed by the lovely Erica Crouch?! ;-)
Thank you so much Nicole Ciacchella for the copy of the book (and for the short-story as well). Cannot wait for more ^_^
November 30, 2014
This retelling of "Cinderella" is more complex than the classic tale. While the story is more complex and the characters have more depth than the original story, there is still something missing. This story focused heavily on describing the actions of the Ashes. This was both a positive and a negative in my mind. This detail helped establish a clear picture of their situation, however, this detail happened at the expense of character and relationship building. As previously stated the characters had more depth than the original tale, but I still felt like I didn't fully know them. Because of the the relationship between the two characters could have been stronger. Overall this was a good story, but as a retelling of "Cinderella" I would haves liked a little more emphasis on building the relationship between characters.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews