Well-written retelling of Cinderella. I liked Aisling a lot, and I very much liked the way the book explored her relationship with the Wood, which worked as sort of a proxy for her mother. Talking of, I appreciated that this story used the hawthorn detail from the original fairy tale; Elinor's grave was evocative and even creepy (a high point for readers like me who like that sort of thing). I also became really quite invested in Ash's relationship with Kaisa; was very glad they got their happy ending.

What did not work for me was Sidhean. Did not care about him from start to finish, in fact as the book went on I became ever more irritated whenever the plot pulled me back to his boring self.