Review: Loved it!
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 12 16, 2013
I enjoyed “Cinderella Dressed in Ashes” just as much as “Snow White Sorrow”! Actually, to some extent, the second book was better than the first one. The author sure likes to play with all the fairytales we know, and he does it in such an original and creative way that I was simply amazed at all the unexpected connections that were revealed in “Cinderella Dressed in Ashes”.Cerené is one of the most interesting and complex characters that have appeared in this series so far. I loved her back-story and her personality. As the Phoenix, she is reborn every time she dies, but in a different body, a different time period, and without any memory of her previous life. Thus, Cerené is not only the Cinderella we all know, but she has also been (and will be) other fairytale characters. She is mysterious, adventurous, and she has a certain carelessness when it comes to her own life and safety, which makes her very intriguing. This might be one reason why she was never afraid of Snow White, and I really liked how she behaved around the little princess. Even though Cerené was poor, she never considered herself beneath Shew. Moreover, Shew was the one who was always afraid that she might lose Cerené’s friendship.Most of the action in “Cinderella Dressed in Ashes” takes place in the Dreamworld. We get to see Loki’s dark side, and in this book he turns from hero into villain. Shew’s inner conflict when it came to him was very well-done. She loves him and hates him at the same time. She is drawn to him, but she knows Cerené is her priority and this time she has to choose her friend over her one true love.There were only two things I didn’t like in the second book. First, Axel and Fable were annoying most of the time. Yes, they are teenagers, and I can’t expect them to behave too maturely, but still… whenever the action switches to the real world, we see them bickering like children. It got to the point when, if I could kick Axel’s butt out of the book, I would have. It’s like his grand mission is to hold Fable back. And secondly, the author tends to do the same little annoying thing he did in at least one Prequel: he explains things that are all too obvious. For instance, when Axel says “pilgrimms” with double “m” and Fable explains the reasoning behind the double “m”. *eye roll* Like it wasn’t obvious… As a reader, I don’t like things to be spelled out for me. Other than that… yeah, I can’t wait for the next books in the series!