This retelling is not for everyone. Having throughly enjoyed The Last Binding Trilogy I thought I would give this novella a try. I love retold fairy tales. I was not disappointed. As this is a novella things move quickly and you can see every little nod to the original fairy tales, but make no mistake Ella is dead and a ghost from page one.
I enjoy Marske’s retelling, but it is very dark and gothic indeed. While the ending is happy I agree with others that it is bittersweet. All of our main characters, because there are more than two, find each other and find their formerly dreary cursed existence transformed by what they end up sharing even if it is not all that they had hoped.
The reason for 4 stars instead of 5? I wanted more. The story moves quickly and doesn’t mess around and I’m still thinking about it, but I would have liked more of the whole thing.
If you are not ready to be surprised and would not be delighted by a beautiful queer polycule ending move along. This isn’t for you.