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Midnight Ash
alternate cover edition of ASIN B08K3LV8H6
If I didn't know better, I'd think my life is a fairytale.
Orphan? Check.
Evil stepmom? Check.
The only problem with my theory is the lack of a dashing prince coming to my rescue.
That is until Xander comes along. He’s charming, gorgeous, and caring. With him my life doesn’t feel like a neverending list of chores.
After my stepmother does the unthinkable, my only hope is winning a publishing competition. But when I find who Xander really is, even that becomes a lost cause.
Midnight Ash is a sweet romance with a sexy kinky twist on the side, and a cast who don’t quite behave as you’d expect.
Midnight Ash is a contemporary Cinderella retelling, and part of the MM Fairy Tale Romance series. All books are completely standalone and are modern retellings of classic fairy tales with a gay romance twist.
If I didn't know better, I'd think my life is a fairytale.
Orphan? Check.
Evil stepmom? Check.
The only problem with my theory is the lack of a dashing prince coming to my rescue.
That is until Xander comes along. He’s charming, gorgeous, and caring. With him my life doesn’t feel like a neverending list of chores.
After my stepmother does the unthinkable, my only hope is winning a publishing competition. But when I find who Xander really is, even that becomes a lost cause.
Midnight Ash is a sweet romance with a sexy kinky twist on the side, and a cast who don’t quite behave as you’d expect.
Midnight Ash is a contemporary Cinderella retelling, and part of the MM Fairy Tale Romance series. All books are completely standalone and are modern retellings of classic fairy tales with a gay romance twist.
292 pages, ebook
First published October 30, 2020
283 people are currently reading
497 people want to read
About the author
Ana Ashley
70 books767 followersMeet Ana Ashley, your friendly neighborhood romance author!
Ana has been lost in the pages of books for as long as she can remember, taking a few amusing missteps with her childhood writing attempts. But everything changed when she discovered the magical world of LGBTQ+ romance—cue the confetti!
Ana's books offer sweet and sexy romance with a charming mix of humor and heart. Getting her guys together wouldn't be the same without the meddling but well-intentioned cast of secondary characters, who always insist on having their own story.
When she’s not crafting heartfelt tales, you can find her indulging in her favorite pastime of baking delicious treats, enjoying quality time with friends, or staying up late immersed in the pages of a good book.
You can find out more about Ana and her works-in-progress by joining her Newsletter. To sign up visit Ana's website anawritesmm.com
Ana has been lost in the pages of books for as long as she can remember, taking a few amusing missteps with her childhood writing attempts. But everything changed when she discovered the magical world of LGBTQ+ romance—cue the confetti!
Ana's books offer sweet and sexy romance with a charming mix of humor and heart. Getting her guys together wouldn't be the same without the meddling but well-intentioned cast of secondary characters, who always insist on having their own story.
When she’s not crafting heartfelt tales, you can find her indulging in her favorite pastime of baking delicious treats, enjoying quality time with friends, or staying up late immersed in the pages of a good book.
You can find out more about Ana and her works-in-progress by joining her Newsletter. To sign up visit Ana's website anawritesmm.com
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 184 reviews
November 3, 2020
Such a cute fairytale retelling
Here's the thing. I'd never heard of Ana Ashley before the start of this year. Neither had I heard about her under her previous pen name Ana Newfolk. But I picked up a book of her and have since then at least read 5 or 6 books by her. This year only I'm pretty sure it's safe to say that I can trust her to deliver, and she did it once again with Midnight Ash.
It's such a cute Cinderella retelling about Ash Cinder and Xander (Alexander) Blackwood. Ash is taking care of the family's farm, working extremely hard to make it run somewhat smooth even though it's hard. The money ain't really there and his stepmother is working against him. His also working at the local market. Xander is soon to be the CEO of the family book publishing house. He's not really happy about it but it is what it is, right? They met and sparks fly and soon they are some sort of item. *Insert a very sexy surprise for Ash*.
It's a fairly simple story. Boy meets boy, they are different, maybe too different but it all works out in the end either way. Very low on the angst and perfect for times like these.
Here's the thing. I'd never heard of Ana Ashley before the start of this year. Neither had I heard about her under her previous pen name Ana Newfolk. But I picked up a book of her and have since then at least read 5 or 6 books by her. This year only I'm pretty sure it's safe to say that I can trust her to deliver, and she did it once again with Midnight Ash.
It's such a cute Cinderella retelling about Ash Cinder and Xander (Alexander) Blackwood. Ash is taking care of the family's farm, working extremely hard to make it run somewhat smooth even though it's hard. The money ain't really there and his stepmother is working against him. His also working at the local market. Xander is soon to be the CEO of the family book publishing house. He's not really happy about it but it is what it is, right? They met and sparks fly and soon they are some sort of item. *Insert a very sexy surprise for Ash*.
It's a fairly simple story. Boy meets boy, they are different, maybe too different but it all works out in the end either way. Very low on the angst and perfect for times like these.
July 23, 2022
3.9 ⭐️
MM cinderella retelling with Hugo 🥰
Oh. My. Gosh. This was giddy!! This book is good if you want to read something easy with no expectations. I did exactly just that. Retelling isn’t my cuppa, and yep it worked for me!
Ash and Xander’s love comes easy - love at first sight, but still can see how it develops with everything that was going on. All I can say is, they are sweethearts. There was no rush in their story, I loved every moment they shared, it wasn’t much or memorable, but they’re just perfect in their own way :> This book manage to keep me on my toes I liked it. The plotline was okay. Super quick, easy non-poetic to read despite it being so chaotic towards the end there hahah
There were some dialogues that so cringe and unnecessary to me and made me laugh so hard and along with Hugo’s banters trying to improvise the dialogues in the book, it just makes everything so hilarious 😭🤣 And towards the end of the book, it started to feel a little off, confusing and illogical that left me all frustrated >:’( And Imo, a retelling should be more subtle. But this book mentioned lot about Ash and his own Cinderella's story 😅
Acknowledging all of that frustrations, I still enjoyed it LOL 😂 I believe in my judgement where I rate books based on my likings and enjoyment so a high 3 stars it is. Quite the surprise.Overall, this was a weird, goofy and wholesome journey. If they weren’t so cute, I’d call them dumb and stupid HAHAH
Thanks, Hugo for reading this with me!! and I’m sorry you didn’t love it as much as I did. Maybe because you’ve read tons of cinderella retelling and this was my first. Our expectations and standards are definitely different. Can’t wait for pinocchio retelling tomorrow :)
MM cinderella retelling with Hugo 🥰
Oh. My. Gosh. This was giddy!! This book is good if you want to read something easy with no expectations. I did exactly just that. Retelling isn’t my cuppa, and yep it worked for me!
Ash and Xander’s love comes easy - love at first sight, but still can see how it develops with everything that was going on. All I can say is, they are sweethearts. There was no rush in their story, I loved every moment they shared, it wasn’t much or memorable, but they’re just perfect in their own way :> This book manage to keep me on my toes I liked it. The plotline was okay. Super quick, easy non-poetic to read despite it being so chaotic towards the end there hahah
There were some dialogues that so cringe and unnecessary to me and made me laugh so hard and along with Hugo’s banters trying to improvise the dialogues in the book, it just makes everything so hilarious 😭🤣 And towards the end of the book, it started to feel a little off, confusing and illogical that left me all frustrated >:’( And Imo, a retelling should be more subtle. But this book mentioned lot about Ash and his own Cinderella's story 😅
Acknowledging all of that frustrations, I still enjoyed it LOL 😂 I believe in my judgement where I rate books based on my likings and enjoyment so a high 3 stars it is. Quite the surprise.Overall, this was a weird, goofy and wholesome journey. If they weren’t so cute, I’d call them dumb and stupid HAHAH
Thanks, Hugo for reading this with me!! and I’m sorry you didn’t love it as much as I did. Maybe because you’ve read tons of cinderella retelling and this was my first. Our expectations and standards are definitely different. Can’t wait for pinocchio retelling tomorrow :)
not-interested
December 2, 2022I made it to about 18% somehow but I am hella bored and don’t care about any of the characters so adios
October 6, 2022
I loved this. It was actually a gift from Anna to all he loyal fans, and I’m certainly one of those. Thank you for the gift and for this beautiful retelling of the Cinderella story. It was a magical read just like a fairy tale.
I loved Ash and Xander and all the side characters. Well, no one loves Mark.
I loved Ash and Xander and all the side characters. Well, no one loves Mark.
January 22, 2021
I thoroughly swooned through this tweak on the Cinderella trope.
The characters made this story complete and I was invested in them individually before they even started with the meet-cute flirty and casual date moments. So, once they got together I was even more invested in their story.
I appreciated the arc the author gave the "evil" stepmother, the depth made her more interesting and while she was most definitely a secondary character, the way she fit into Ash's life gave the story more value, plus fed into Ash's overall HEA.
I loved Ash and Xander together and their love of books made me love them all the more.
The characters made this story complete and I was invested in them individually before they even started with the meet-cute flirty and casual date moments. So, once they got together I was even more invested in their story.
I appreciated the arc the author gave the "evil" stepmother, the depth made her more interesting and while she was most definitely a secondary character, the way she fit into Ash's life gave the story more value, plus fed into Ash's overall HEA.
I loved Ash and Xander together and their love of books made me love them all the more.
August 19, 2024
3.5 stars. This was a very cute Cinderella retelling. I’ve enjoyed the other books I’ve read by this author and enjoyed this one as well but felt it was a little bit too unbelievable. I would have loved to see the characters think a bit more and realize the coincidences and talk more but overall it was cute and definitely had a great Cinderella vibe. I do like the different take on the stepmother and stepsisters though! If you like fairy tale retellings then I still recommend it. I was interested in the story from the first chapter.
November 16, 2022
Quanto è carino 😍😍😍
November 10, 2022
RECENSIONE A CURA DI SLANIF
Ashton “Ash” Cinder è proprio come Cenerentola: ha una matrigna cattiva, due sorellastre e la completa gestione di una casa e un’azienda sulle sue spalle. Cosa gli manca? Ma il Principe Azzurro, ovviamente!; anche se lui è piuttosto propenso a credere che non lo incontrerà mai…
Tuttavia, tali fattezze le assume Alexander “Xander” Blackwood quando, un giorno qualsiasi, arriva al mercato dove Ash vende la sua merce e i due si conoscono, facendo scattare subito una scintilla di interesse.
Sembra tutto un idillio senza precedenti, vero? Ebbene, le cose non sono affatto così semplici perché Ash ha un sogno: fare lo scrittore; Xander è niente di meno che il futuro capo della Blackwood Publishing, ma non ne ha fatto parola con Ash. Cosa succederà quando questo segreto verrà a galla? E cosa succederà quando un concorso letterario si metterà in mezzo e rischierà di rovinare tutto?
Continua sul nostro blog!
Ashton “Ash” Cinder è proprio come Cenerentola: ha una matrigna cattiva, due sorellastre e la completa gestione di una casa e un’azienda sulle sue spalle. Cosa gli manca? Ma il Principe Azzurro, ovviamente!; anche se lui è piuttosto propenso a credere che non lo incontrerà mai…
Tuttavia, tali fattezze le assume Alexander “Xander” Blackwood quando, un giorno qualsiasi, arriva al mercato dove Ash vende la sua merce e i due si conoscono, facendo scattare subito una scintilla di interesse.
Sembra tutto un idillio senza precedenti, vero? Ebbene, le cose non sono affatto così semplici perché Ash ha un sogno: fare lo scrittore; Xander è niente di meno che il futuro capo della Blackwood Publishing, ma non ne ha fatto parola con Ash. Cosa succederà quando questo segreto verrà a galla? E cosa succederà quando un concorso letterario si metterà in mezzo e rischierà di rovinare tutto?
Continua sul nostro blog!
March 26, 2021
This is a wonderful, updated Cinderella, that is fun, exciting and heartwarming.
A Farmer's Market is where we begin. The prominent publisher finds what he's been missing.
Publisher Xander,
tall and blonde with green eyes, will be taking over as CEO in his father's retirement. Meanwhile he is on a mission woo Ashton, ever since he met him.
Ashton, 25, has curly dirty blonde hair
and light brown eyes, and has been running the family farm after his dad's death and battling his mean and selfish stepmom, who is raising his half-sister twin girls on the farm. She cripples his progress constantly.
This is a cute fairytale, and we like these men. They are so different, yet both love books, and Ashton has written a book. Ashton does not know that Xander is huge in a publishing company, powerful and wealthy. All of the characters are well done.
This is fast paced, cute, cuddly and hold our attention. The hot lovin' is ours to enjoy.
There's a few twists and I loved every surprise I was given.
Ana Ashley does a terrific job here, plus makes ours and Ash's wish come true.
ENJOY !
======
A Farmer's Market is where we begin. The prominent publisher finds what he's been missing.
Publisher Xander,
tall and blonde with green eyes, will be taking over as CEO in his father's retirement. Meanwhile he is on a mission woo Ashton, ever since he met him.
Ashton, 25, has curly dirty blonde hair
and light brown eyes, and has been running the family farm after his dad's death and battling his mean and selfish stepmom, who is raising his half-sister twin girls on the farm. She cripples his progress constantly.
This is a cute fairytale, and we like these men. They are so different, yet both love books, and Ashton has written a book. Ashton does not know that Xander is huge in a publishing company, powerful and wealthy. All of the characters are well done.
This is fast paced, cute, cuddly and hold our attention. The hot lovin' is ours to enjoy.
There's a few twists and I loved every surprise I was given.
Ana Ashley does a terrific job here, plus makes ours and Ash's wish come true.
ENJOY !
======
March 14, 2021
This was a super quick and easy read. I had never heard of this author before and I just grabbed this because I wanted something quick to read tonight and saw this and was intrigued and it fit that perfectly.
I really would have liked to see a bit more development leading into the relationships in this book. It felt super fast paced and because of that the relationship felt so quick! I always have trouble keeping track of the timeline in romances where the pace is super fast. It always feels to me like the whole thing is only like a day, even if it's actually a few weeks. That's kind of what was happening here unfortunately. I thought their were parts that were nice but generally I wanted a bit more about why these two even liked each other.
The characters were fine, but again, I wanted to learn more about the backgrounds of the characters. I just didn't feel like I really knew anything about the characters and that made it harder to connect to the romance. I liked the side characters. I actually thought they were one of the strongest parts of the books. I think that the author can do a good job with characterization and if the pacing, I would have really enjoyed it.
I think that I would consider reading more from this author. This wasn't a new favorite but it was fast paced and nice, fun read. I always appreciate a retelling and this wasn't a bad way to spend an evening.
I really would have liked to see a bit more development leading into the relationships in this book. It felt super fast paced and because of that the relationship felt so quick! I always have trouble keeping track of the timeline in romances where the pace is super fast. It always feels to me like the whole thing is only like a day, even if it's actually a few weeks. That's kind of what was happening here unfortunately. I thought their were parts that were nice but generally I wanted a bit more about why these two even liked each other.
The characters were fine, but again, I wanted to learn more about the backgrounds of the characters. I just didn't feel like I really knew anything about the characters and that made it harder to connect to the romance. I liked the side characters. I actually thought they were one of the strongest parts of the books. I think that the author can do a good job with characterization and if the pacing, I would have really enjoyed it.
I think that I would consider reading more from this author. This wasn't a new favorite but it was fast paced and nice, fun read. I always appreciate a retelling and this wasn't a bad way to spend an evening.
July 23, 2022
Buddy read @iman
A modern take of cinderella retelling....
This felt more like a parody more than anything surprisingly all the references to cinderella fairy tale just doesn't work
Example "the fairy God best friend" "prince charming" and the pumpkin
Wouldn't been better if it was subtle and not mentioned so many times.
Their conversation between each other was so corny and goofy.
"How did I not know it was you?"
Cuz yall both dumb as hell that's why
Both are a match in heaven
Our favorite himbo panties couple
Even tho this wasn't the best retelling I've read I still appreciate the concept of publisher and an author, like so many missed opportunities there's a lot you could go on with that concept.
Anyway I'll give this a 3 stars
A modern take of cinderella retelling....
This felt more like a parody more than anything surprisingly all the references to cinderella fairy tale just doesn't work
Example "the fairy God best friend" "prince charming" and the pumpkin
Wouldn't been better if it was subtle and not mentioned so many times.
Their conversation between each other was so corny and goofy.
"How did I not know it was you?"
Cuz yall both dumb as hell that's why
Both are a match in heaven
Our favorite himbo panties couple
Even tho this wasn't the best retelling I've read I still appreciate the concept of publisher and an author, like so many missed opportunities there's a lot you could go on with that concept.
Anyway I'll give this a 3 stars
July 9, 2024
"I'm going to tease you so much you're going to leak all over these pretty panties, then I'm going to take them off you and stuff them in my coat pocket to take home. My own precious Xander treasure."
Shewwtt 🤭
This was so ooey gooey cute. I haven't read many verse couples, but I need to start.. Their friendship before their relationship was really sweet. I loved that they both wore pretty panties 🥵
It was a little silly Ash didn't know about Xanders job/Xander didn't know anything about Ashs writing. I still had fun
I loved Mia and Nickie.
Mark was a huge douche.
I liked Victoria's character growth, but she's still on my shit list. Selling his parents furniture was extremely fucked up.
Shewwtt 🤭
This was so ooey gooey cute. I haven't read many verse couples, but I need to start.. Their friendship before their relationship was really sweet. I loved that they both wore pretty panties 🥵
It was a little silly Ash didn't know about Xanders job/Xander didn't know anything about Ashs writing. I still had fun
I loved Mia and Nickie.
Mark was a huge douche.
I liked Victoria's character growth, but she's still on my shit list. Selling his parents furniture was extremely fucked up.
October 31, 2020
3.5 Stars
This was a really, really sweet quick read. If you like fairy tale type stories and aren't looking for realism then you'll probably love this.
Even knowing going in that I had to read this like a fairy tale there were a few things that just didn't work. How do you not recognize the guy you've been sleeping with, plus just spent the weekend with, even if both of you were wearing masks? The hair is the same, the eye color hasn't changed, you're still the same height and your voice hasn't changed. How do you not notice? My other issue was Ash living off just the profits from the Market, it doesn't seem remotely possible he could run a farm and take care of his family that way and survive, even in a fairy tale. Maybe he had other income from the farm we don't get told about? I don't know, it just seemed a big loose end for me.
Oh well, putting those things aside this was a fun, sweet, very loose take of a Cinderella story that I thoroughly enjoyed!
TAGS
-- Fairy Tale-ish (Cinderella) -- really sweet -- happy read -- opposites attract -- nasty ex -- nasty step-mother -- great kids -- loved the friends -- had a few niggles -- loved the MCs... Ash & Xander -- read in one sitting
October 29, 2020
Midnight Ash is the first book in a series of 6 modern MM fairytale retellingen by 6 different authors. Midnight Ash is a modern MM Cinderella retelling and written by Ana Ashley. I loved the story of Ash and Xander. They were so cute together. Their story was hot, sexy, sweet and very well written. If you love (modern) fairytale retellings or just love sweet romances this one is for you.
November 6, 2020
One the sweetest book I've read this year.
Both MC are adorable specially Ash who I want to buy vegetables from.
A typical winter/Christmas story.
I loved it
I received an arc in exchange of an honest opinion
Both MC are adorable specially Ash who I want to buy vegetables from.
A typical winter/Christmas story.
I loved it
I received an arc in exchange of an honest opinion
October 27, 2020
I love a good fairytale romance and Ana Ashley has reworked Cinderella for this new series.
I was drawn in right from the start with Ashton Cinders story and the hardships he's living with. Ash and Xander have a spark from the moment they first meet, stood across from each other at Ash's market stall where he sells produce from his family farm. Their romance story is sweet and endearing as they fall for each other over caring words, romantic actions and help from their amazing best friends. Pressure from his family has Xander stressing over the family business that he's due to take over but Ashton captures his attention in such a way that he can't help but keep going back for more when it comes to the other man. It doesn't matter to Xander that their live vastly different lives, he wants so much more for them together. Ashton is such a heartwarming character in his reasons for carrying on with everything that he does to try and support his family despite the resistance he meets with his stepmother.
I love the similarities and differences to the original fairytale. There is a perfect villain to the story though possibly not who you think it will be. All characters involved are entertaining and easy to enjoy but I especially liked Ashton's sisters and the best friends of the MC's, Mia and Nicki (aka fairy god sister). They're a lot of fun and so supportive, often bringing a smile to your face.
This is such an enjoyable and romantic read. I've loved the first in this MM Fairy Tale Romance series and am looking forward
I received an ARC and am happily giving a review.
I was drawn in right from the start with Ashton Cinders story and the hardships he's living with. Ash and Xander have a spark from the moment they first meet, stood across from each other at Ash's market stall where he sells produce from his family farm. Their romance story is sweet and endearing as they fall for each other over caring words, romantic actions and help from their amazing best friends. Pressure from his family has Xander stressing over the family business that he's due to take over but Ashton captures his attention in such a way that he can't help but keep going back for more when it comes to the other man. It doesn't matter to Xander that their live vastly different lives, he wants so much more for them together. Ashton is such a heartwarming character in his reasons for carrying on with everything that he does to try and support his family despite the resistance he meets with his stepmother.
I love the similarities and differences to the original fairytale. There is a perfect villain to the story though possibly not who you think it will be. All characters involved are entertaining and easy to enjoy but I especially liked Ashton's sisters and the best friends of the MC's, Mia and Nicki (aka fairy god sister). They're a lot of fun and so supportive, often bringing a smile to your face.
This is such an enjoyable and romantic read. I've loved the first in this MM Fairy Tale Romance series and am looking forward
I received an ARC and am happily giving a review.
November 19, 2022
Voto: 4.5 stelle
Adoro i retelling e questo è davvero ben fatto: pur conservando i cardini della storia originale, l’autrice ha saputo creare un mondo diverso, con elementi nuovi e coinvolgenti. Persino l’odiosa matrigna ha il suo perché, e ci sta, dato che questa è una favola natalizia.
Trama da gustare perché è dolce, piacevole e hot al punto giusto, con un ammiccante kink sul vestiario che personalmente ho gradito. Bella storia e bella traduzione. Consigliato.
Adoro i retelling e questo è davvero ben fatto: pur conservando i cardini della storia originale, l’autrice ha saputo creare un mondo diverso, con elementi nuovi e coinvolgenti. Persino l’odiosa matrigna ha il suo perché, e ci sta, dato che questa è una favola natalizia.
Trama da gustare perché è dolce, piacevole e hot al punto giusto, con un ammiccante kink sul vestiario che personalmente ho gradito. Bella storia e bella traduzione. Consigliato.
November 3, 2020
"At any given time, there are thousands, if not millions, of people reading a book. When lots of people reach the end, all those good feelings, the happy ever afters, the resolutions and positivity must have an impact on the universe."
Its no secret that i adore fairytales and happily ever afters, so it was pretty much guaranteed i would love this cinderella retelling and i did so much! Just gives those perfect sweet, romantic and feel good vibes with the low angst leading to that happy ending.
Ash and Xander were adorable together from their first meeting, with the awkward cute feels and the pumpkins. Theres a touch of kink which is slowly becoming a favorite of mine, but i shall leave that for others to discover and made for some steamy sweet scenes.
I really enjoyed all the book related stuff too, the librarys and little details were great. Although i was in love with Ash and the farmers market, especially for Nikki's scenes she was amazing with Mia. Fairy godsister of course! Every fairytale needs one.
The contest and a masquarade ball? Hell yes im all about that and i really loved it here, was so fitting for the theme and keeping to cinderella tale with that midnight aspect.
Oh but the bookshop. I would live there, a room for every genre and a cosy living room to read? Set me up!
Overall it was an entertaining, lighthearted and enjoyable read. If you love a happily ever after and looking for sweet feels with sparks, then this is perfect 💕
Its no secret that i adore fairytales and happily ever afters, so it was pretty much guaranteed i would love this cinderella retelling and i did so much! Just gives those perfect sweet, romantic and feel good vibes with the low angst leading to that happy ending.
Ash and Xander were adorable together from their first meeting, with the awkward cute feels and the pumpkins. Theres a touch of kink which is slowly becoming a favorite of mine, but i shall leave that for others to discover and made for some steamy sweet scenes.
I really enjoyed all the book related stuff too, the librarys and little details were great. Although i was in love with Ash and the farmers market, especially for Nikki's scenes she was amazing with Mia. Fairy godsister of course! Every fairytale needs one.
The contest and a masquarade ball? Hell yes im all about that and i really loved it here, was so fitting for the theme and keeping to cinderella tale with that midnight aspect.
Oh but the bookshop. I would live there, a room for every genre and a cosy living room to read? Set me up!
Overall it was an entertaining, lighthearted and enjoyable read. If you love a happily ever after and looking for sweet feels with sparks, then this is perfect 💕
November 2, 2020
Amazon
Ash lives his life day by day, taking care of his siblings, working to pay the bills, and really wanting a publishing contract. He has a stepmom who's so cold to him, something he's not sure what he ever did to deserve. Then he meets a gorgeous guy and thinks perhaps his life has taken a turn for the better. But has it? What if Xander's not who Ash thought he was?
As far as fairytale retellings go, this one is pretty great. Like all fairytales, it's just that, a tale, not necessarily realistic. But it's sweet and fun and Ash and Xander have serious chemistry and the twist on Cinderella here is fabulous. I really enjoyed this fun read and am definitely looking forward to more from this author now.
ARC via Gay Romance Reviews for an honest review.
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November 2, 2020
ARC provided by Gay Romance Reviews in exchange for an honest review.
This was an absolute delight. Such a sweet and fun retelling of Cinderella. This was my first book by Ana and it is the start of something wonderful.
First, you have Ash, the farmer who struggles for everything he has and loves with his whole heart. He has a best friend Nicki would so great as well. Then, you have Xander, driven by work and little time for relationships, but you can tell that’s all he really wants. It is a relatively slow burn, as they do not get together until the 50% mark or so, but it heats up real fast and there is a bit of a kinky surprise!
Then you have their relationship and of course something tries to tear them apart but Xander is not having it. So ya they totally get a very sweet HEA.
This was an absolute delight. Such a sweet and fun retelling of Cinderella. This was my first book by Ana and it is the start of something wonderful.
First, you have Ash, the farmer who struggles for everything he has and loves with his whole heart. He has a best friend Nicki would so great as well. Then, you have Xander, driven by work and little time for relationships, but you can tell that’s all he really wants. It is a relatively slow burn, as they do not get together until the 50% mark or so, but it heats up real fast and there is a bit of a kinky surprise!
Then you have their relationship and of course something tries to tear them apart but Xander is not having it. So ya they totally get a very sweet HEA.
January 24, 2021
Cute! I love self aware characters, and this story has them embodied in its two mains. Certainly a sweet, enjoyable book!
There's something I like about irredeemable villains, and Victoria doesn't embody that. It's pretty much the only kind of criticism I can think of, to be honest. The book had me squirming in sweetness at times
There's something I like about irredeemable villains, and Victoria doesn't embody that. It's pretty much the only kind of criticism I can think of, to be honest. The book had me squirming in sweetness at times
December 23, 2020
My first book from this author and I loved it. Great start to the series, I want to read the rest by all the different authors too, at the same time I want to read some of Ana Ashley's other works. Next please!
November 24, 2021
~~~
Wir können doch Freunde sein, oder nicht?
Ich… ehrlich gesagt könnte ich im Augenblick
einen Freund gebrauchen.“[…]
Ash sieht auf unsere Hände hinab und nickt.
Ich weiß nicht warum, aber plötzlich habe ich das Gefühl, einen kostbaren Preis gewonnen zu haben.
🥺💞
~~~
A Cinderella-Story..
Ash, der klamme „Bauernjunge“ mit einem Herz aus Gold, trifft auf Xander, den warmherzigen, gut situierten Firmeninhaber. Trotz vollkommen unterschiedlicher Lebensumstände, verlieben sie sich ineinander… natürlich nicht ohne ein wenig Chaos und Drama. 😊❤️
Die zwei Hauptprotas waren mir sehr sympathisch.. ❤️ Was man von Victoria und Xanders Eltern ne ganze Weile nicht behaupten konnte.. ich wollte jedem einzelnen von ihnen, zwischendurch an die Gurgel springen! 😅
Und Mark ist -sorry- ein Arsch! 🤬
Die Idee zur Story ist natürlich nicht neu,
aber wirklich süß geschrieben. Ich mochte die Geschichte und hab mich gut unterhalten gefühlt. 😊
Wir können doch Freunde sein, oder nicht?
Ich… ehrlich gesagt könnte ich im Augenblick
einen Freund gebrauchen.“[…]
Ash sieht auf unsere Hände hinab und nickt.
Ich weiß nicht warum, aber plötzlich habe ich das Gefühl, einen kostbaren Preis gewonnen zu haben.
🥺💞
~~~
A Cinderella-Story..
Ash, der klamme „Bauernjunge“ mit einem Herz aus Gold, trifft auf Xander, den warmherzigen, gut situierten Firmeninhaber. Trotz vollkommen unterschiedlicher Lebensumstände, verlieben sie sich ineinander… natürlich nicht ohne ein wenig Chaos und Drama. 😊❤️
Die zwei Hauptprotas waren mir sehr sympathisch.. ❤️ Was man von Victoria und Xanders Eltern ne ganze Weile nicht behaupten konnte.. ich wollte jedem einzelnen von ihnen, zwischendurch an die Gurgel springen! 😅
Und Mark ist -sorry- ein Arsch! 🤬
Die Idee zur Story ist natürlich nicht neu,
aber wirklich süß geschrieben. Ich mochte die Geschichte und hab mich gut unterhalten gefühlt. 😊
August 25, 2021
Read for a group challenge. Soft retelling of Cinderella. Ash only had to put up with his stepmom and his sisters adored him. The story was sweet with a little panty love thrown in. Mark was a clear pain in the ass, but the stepmother’s sudden change threw me off. Up to the end it felt like she had an ulterior motive but I guess there could only be one villain. Fairytale through and through.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 2, 2020
DNF
This book took too long to get going and for anything to happen between the main love interests.
This book took too long to get going and for anything to happen between the main love interests.
November 25, 2022
Qui il mio breve pensiero:
https://www.instagram.com/p/ClWdcIIME...
https://www.instagram.com/p/ClWdcIIME...
October 27, 2020
Ash and Xander are so sweet and adorable and are the perfect embodiment of a modern-day Cinderella retelling. Ash is remarkably kind and selfless and my heart just broke for him and the pain he's been through in his life. I did quite like the little twists on the original fairytale though, especially his doting little sisters whom he completely adored. It made it extra sweet, and extra sad when he felt like he was letting them down. But then he crossed paths with his own personal knight in shining armour, Xander. And Xander himself is incredibly charming and sweet and just swept Ash off of his feet. I loved how they started a friendship first, but all it took was Xander comforting Ash for them to just fall into being more. There is some light angst and miscommunication, but mostly it's all sweetness and heart-fluttering romance with a beautiful HEA.
November 3, 2020
Midnight Ash is the first book in the MM Fairy Tale Romance series, which is a multi-author collection of retold fairytale stories centered on MM romance. Midnight Ash is brought to us through the always lovely writing of Ana Ashley, who, here, creates a modern MM riff on Cinderella.
Our MCs are Ashton (Ash) Cinder, who is struggling under the financial burden of keeping his family’s farm afloat while supporting his stepmother Victoria and his twin stepsisters, and Alexander (Xander) Blackwood, heir to the Blackwood Publishing Company. Despite their different stations in life, Ash and Xander find themselves immediately attracted to each other and have one very strong commonality: books. Ash is, unbeknownst to Xander, quite a talented writer. Xander, for his part, is being groomed to take over as CEO for his retiring father but would prefer to continue in his current role discovering and cultivating new and upcoming writers for his family’s publishing company. It’s this love of writing and reading that ultimately causes Ash and Xander’s two worlds to collide. Before that, these two met and fell for each other in a bubble, disconnected from the real world. The main ingredient in, as well as the product of, living in a world of make believe is lack of information and context. No doubt the affection and love that develops between them is real, but the relationship is based on a foundation of half-truths and assumptions. And therein lies the problem.
This setup is very faithful to Cinderella and, of course, sets up an inevitable reckoning where Ash and Xander’s relationship and love is tested in the real world with all their truths in the light of day. The relationship between Ash and Xander is heartwarming, sweet and sexy with some mild kink thrown in. Xander's supportiveness and restraint in using his wealth to solve Ash’s problems really endears him to the reader, not that a lot of help is needed there though. Both Xander and Ash are developed as multi-dimensional characters with depth and emotions we can relate to. They are super-likeable and absolutely adorable as a couple. Both MCs have external and internal struggles that are handled deftly and believably.
The flaw in this story for me is, ironically, the result of really good writing eclipsing the premise. This is a Cinderella story modernized and the author does such a good job of taking all the elements of the Cinderella story and fitting them into the modern setting that the underlying premise - the mystery of identity - becomes untenable. We have two intelligent and independent MCs, Ash is running his farm and supporting his family, Xander is heir to a publishing empire and about to become CEO, yet we are expected to believe that they are oblivious when it comes to each other. These two are boyfriends, yet Ash doesn’t know Xander’s last name, doesn’t know what his job is and, so far as we can tell, has never even asked. Xander, for his part, reads a manuscript by an “Andrew Cinder”, but doesn’t even question whether it could be Ash or some relation to him; “Cinder” is not exactly a common last name. This becomes even more untenable when Ash says he has to go to a party on the same night and time as a ball Xander has asked him to attend, describes exactly the same party setup, tells Xander that he’s a semi-finalist in a competition, yet Xander doesn’t even ask what the competition is or make the connection that may be it is the same party.
The author also makes an effort to tamper some of the extremeness of the “evil” Cinderella characters (the evil Stepmother and the two witchy stepsisters) by making Victoria have more complex motivations and greater self-realization as to the harm she is causing, and taking the stepsisters out of the equation in terms of intentional conduct. However, I found Victoria’s turn-around to be abrupt and therefore not as credible. Perhaps a bit more time balancing her before and after conduct would have helped.
Overall, this is a light, fluffy, quick read with some sexy times and a definite HEA. Although it has some flaws, suspend your disbelief and go with it because it really is a fun, feel-good romance that will make you smile.
Our MCs are Ashton (Ash) Cinder, who is struggling under the financial burden of keeping his family’s farm afloat while supporting his stepmother Victoria and his twin stepsisters, and Alexander (Xander) Blackwood, heir to the Blackwood Publishing Company. Despite their different stations in life, Ash and Xander find themselves immediately attracted to each other and have one very strong commonality: books. Ash is, unbeknownst to Xander, quite a talented writer. Xander, for his part, is being groomed to take over as CEO for his retiring father but would prefer to continue in his current role discovering and cultivating new and upcoming writers for his family’s publishing company. It’s this love of writing and reading that ultimately causes Ash and Xander’s two worlds to collide. Before that, these two met and fell for each other in a bubble, disconnected from the real world. The main ingredient in, as well as the product of, living in a world of make believe is lack of information and context. No doubt the affection and love that develops between them is real, but the relationship is based on a foundation of half-truths and assumptions. And therein lies the problem.
This setup is very faithful to Cinderella and, of course, sets up an inevitable reckoning where Ash and Xander’s relationship and love is tested in the real world with all their truths in the light of day. The relationship between Ash and Xander is heartwarming, sweet and sexy with some mild kink thrown in. Xander's supportiveness and restraint in using his wealth to solve Ash’s problems really endears him to the reader, not that a lot of help is needed there though. Both Xander and Ash are developed as multi-dimensional characters with depth and emotions we can relate to. They are super-likeable and absolutely adorable as a couple. Both MCs have external and internal struggles that are handled deftly and believably.
The flaw in this story for me is, ironically, the result of really good writing eclipsing the premise. This is a Cinderella story modernized and the author does such a good job of taking all the elements of the Cinderella story and fitting them into the modern setting that the underlying premise - the mystery of identity - becomes untenable. We have two intelligent and independent MCs, Ash is running his farm and supporting his family, Xander is heir to a publishing empire and about to become CEO, yet we are expected to believe that they are oblivious when it comes to each other. These two are boyfriends, yet Ash doesn’t know Xander’s last name, doesn’t know what his job is and, so far as we can tell, has never even asked. Xander, for his part, reads a manuscript by an “Andrew Cinder”, but doesn’t even question whether it could be Ash or some relation to him; “Cinder” is not exactly a common last name. This becomes even more untenable when Ash says he has to go to a party on the same night and time as a ball Xander has asked him to attend, describes exactly the same party setup, tells Xander that he’s a semi-finalist in a competition, yet Xander doesn’t even ask what the competition is or make the connection that may be it is the same party.
The author also makes an effort to tamper some of the extremeness of the “evil” Cinderella characters (the evil Stepmother and the two witchy stepsisters) by making Victoria have more complex motivations and greater self-realization as to the harm she is causing, and taking the stepsisters out of the equation in terms of intentional conduct. However, I found Victoria’s turn-around to be abrupt and therefore not as credible. Perhaps a bit more time balancing her before and after conduct would have helped.
Overall, this is a light, fluffy, quick read with some sexy times and a definite HEA. Although it has some flaws, suspend your disbelief and go with it because it really is a fun, feel-good romance that will make you smile.
November 6, 2020
DNF
I don’t usually like fairy tails respun so....
It’s way too predictable. And I seriously don’t like that ash is gonna win right there at the banquet where Zander takes him as a date, in front of his dad and everyone. I dunno how they’re gonna pull this off because it’ll look really really bad.
The thing is I don’t care. It’s not worth finishing because I don’t care about the characters and I’m pissed about some stuff. Like I didn’t know ash had curly hair until CHAPTER 13. Shouldn’t character descriptions come sooner? I know more about the assistant with pink hair who’s dating his best friend I also know very little about. Like I can’t picture any of them. Prince Charming has eyes. That’s all. No idea if he’s short, tall, skinny.... I think there may be a reference to him being blonde just before the oh main character has curly hair btw.
It’s forced. Like if you have an outline you’re trying to make your book fit into in a certain amount of words. Where are the editors that go oh you might wanna describe your characters or something. I mean, maybe I missed it? That doesn’t really say anything good about the writing either though...
I don’t usually like fairy tails respun so....
It’s way too predictable. And I seriously don’t like that ash is gonna win right there at the banquet where Zander takes him as a date, in front of his dad and everyone. I dunno how they’re gonna pull this off because it’ll look really really bad.
The thing is I don’t care. It’s not worth finishing because I don’t care about the characters and I’m pissed about some stuff. Like I didn’t know ash had curly hair until CHAPTER 13. Shouldn’t character descriptions come sooner? I know more about the assistant with pink hair who’s dating his best friend I also know very little about. Like I can’t picture any of them. Prince Charming has eyes. That’s all. No idea if he’s short, tall, skinny.... I think there may be a reference to him being blonde just before the oh main character has curly hair btw.
It’s forced. Like if you have an outline you’re trying to make your book fit into in a certain amount of words. Where are the editors that go oh you might wanna describe your characters or something. I mean, maybe I missed it? That doesn’t really say anything good about the writing either though...
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