Inked In Ashes by Shannon Mayer

 I loved this totally unconventional retelling of Cinderella. For once the story was so different you could hardly tell it was the same story. But that's what made it such a better retelling! There is a trigger warning with this story. For good reason too. If you've ever been violated this way please be careful in deciding to read. For me I was okay reading it. And yes, I have had this unspeakable horror happen to me. However, this was tastefully done without a lot of details of what happened to Molly. There are some assumptions until Molly & Ella talk at the end of the story & she straightens Ella out by telling the truth without going into details. I love Duncan! He was such a sweet prince. He was very overprotective of Ella. The thought of anything happening to her was so unbearable to him. I wish he could've gone with Ella. I am mad that Ella couldn't figure out the simple advice the Whisper gave her to trust the people that came into her life. How dumb do you have to be to not understand that meant Duncan? He repeatedly tried to save her. It wasn't until he caught up with her at the tunnel that she realized she could've trusted him. Molly is a real piece of work & I would've never been friends with her! She's got her head in the clouds so much she can't come back down to reality until she's attacked. But her stupidity in talking to people when she's supposed to be mute & wondering around outside when she should be hiding almost got them caught. She never uses her brains! She really needs to take some training on surviving from Ella. Without Ella Molly would've been caught & killed. I did find it interesting there were hints to other fairytales in the story. If I'm guessing right the Wizard of Oz is the next retelling. I loved the stark differences in the tiers of the hierarchy. The Hollows who are the lowest tier think the Smudges have a much better life but when Ella sees it she soon realizes there's barely any difference. The only thing is they can use their magic openly. But they have masters that they serve & their food situation isn't much better than the Hallows.