Read in 2025
Ash (short for Ashley) is our Cinderfella in this book, he is a sweet, caring and nurturing guy he was adopted at a young age and while he had a caring family when he was young that all changed when his mom passed away. His adopted father at that point turned to alcohol and began to treat Ash as more of a servant also encouraging his two biological sons to do the same. Ash has been pushed out of the house and sleeps in the barn going to the house after his family leaves for the day for food from their housekeeper.
Ash works the farm by himself including bottle feeding his piglet Gus, who sleeps in the barn with him. One night everything changes when he meets a strange elderly man named Gerry who asks for help with his car, he goes to fix it for him and gets him on his way then later receives another unexpected visitor a beautiful girl Elle who is secretly a princess and is running from a ball where it was announced she would have to marry a complete stranger, tired of following all the rules and not having any say in her life she runs losing her shoe in the process and ends up on a farm (the farm where Ash lives naturally).
I enjoyed that Ash remained kind and caring he wanted to be a doctor and was often at the local hospital volunteering even though he was tired from his farm work. Ellie is offered multiple times by Ash for a cab to be called to pick her up and take her home but she declines and ends up staying and helping around the farm for several days she likes that he doesn't treat her differently due to being royal, he doesn't even know who she really is as there is no TV in his barn.
I felt some of the dialogue was awkward it started off feeling like a movie from the 1950's but then you knew it was supposed to be modern times due to having modern cars mentioned, lap top computers, what was on TV and Ed Sheeran.
Gerry is found to be Ash's Fairy Godfather assigned to him to correct a wrong, but he leaves more questions really as he shows up sporadically to help him and tell him that he's "doing things at the wrong time" but doesn't often tell him when the right time is either until he shows up way late asking why he isn't doing something... how was he supposed to know what to do?
Ellie knows she needs to go back to the palace eventually and Ash finds out who she really is when he goes in the house and sees the news report on TV that the princess is missing and there is a reward for her safe return. Some drama occurs when the evil step brothers find out where Ellie is leading Ash to have to make some tough decisions since a poor farm boy and a princess could never actually be allowed to be together right?
Was a cute quick read that had a lot of the same story we know and love from the original Cinderella but with some twists before our couple gets to their happily ever after
*Indie author *gender-bent Cinderella *fairy tale retelling *closed door *some adult language
*insta love *young adult *happily ever after
Trigger warnings: abduction/captivity, alcohol over indulgence
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