8.21.2013

Cover Revealed: Gilded Ashes by Rosamund Hodge

GILDED ASHES
A Sundered Novella
by Rosamund Hodge
Coming 04/01/14
ASIN: B00BEFTQN2
Publisher: Harper Teen Impulse
Pages: 80
Edition: eBook
Find it on Amazon KindleGoodreads
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A romantic and fantastical reimagining of the classic Cinderella tale, Gilded Ashesby Rosamund Hodge is set in the same world as the author’s debut novelSundered.
Orphan Maia doesn’t see the point of love when it only brings pain: her dying mother made a bargain with the all-powerful ruler of their world that anyone who hurt her daughter would be punished; her new stepmother went mad with grief when Maia’s father died; and her stepsisters are desperate for their mother’s approval, yet she hates them. And though her family has turned her into a despised servant, Maia must always pretend to be happy, or else they'll all be struck dead by the curse.

Anax, heir to the Duke of Sardis, doesn’t believe in love either—not since his childhood sweetheart revealed she was only using him for his noble title. Why pretend to love a girl just so she’ll pretend to love him back? But when his father invites all the suitable girls in the kingdom to a masked ball, Anax must finally give in and select a wife.
As fate would have it, the preparations for the masquerade bring him Maia. Despite a prickly first encounter, he is charmed and intrigued by this mysterious girl who doesn’t believe in love. Anax can’t help wishing to see her again—and when he does, he can’t help falling in love with her. Against her will, Maia starts to fall in love with him too. But how can she be with him, when every moment his life is in danger from her mother's deadly bargain?