STORIES TOO GOOD NOT TO SHARE: A Book Bar Review: Ash's Tale

A Favor … Redemption … One Night … The Chance of a Lifetime

Ash

When I agreed to help my best friends out, I never thought the favor would be accompanying a stranger to a charity masquerade gala while pretending to be her boyfriend. However, learning the masked beauty is none other than Charmin Henry, Blackity Black Television’s Princess and the host of its highest rated show, Charm’n the City sweetens the deal. I’ve loved Charmin since I was a teenager. But this is no fairy tale where the characters fall in love with a simple kiss. Thankfully, I have well beyond the stroke of midnight to make this a night she’ll never forget.

Charmin

I was used to living my life under the scrutinizing stares of the public, but after a disastrous breakup, I sunk into the background. Attending BBTV’s charity gala is the perfect opportunity to remind everyone … I’m that girl. Not wanting to go alone, I enlisted the help of a matchmaking-slash-date-for-hire service. But once Ash arrives, cancelling sounds easier than going through the night with a man who exudes an intensity that intrigues me while his touch leaves me flustered. Accepting the unexplainable pull between us is a given, but is one night enough to make me forget the man behind the mask?

Ash's Tale is a sensual, passionate reimagining of the classic fairytale Cinderella, where the best kept secrets are guarded by the heart, and a night of dancing with a masked stranger can change your life. With a flick of the wrist, the story you once knew is transformed into a novella with a modern-day twist. Bibbidi Bobbidi Boo

THE COMPLETE COLLECTION OF BAE REIMAGINED

My Thoughts...

Ash's Tale and complimentary drink are recommended for your reading pleasure.

It turns out the real magic isn't turning pumpkins into carriages, it's turning a fake date into someone who makes you forget why you needed a phony date in the first place.

Ash's Tale takes "Cinderella", gives it a television empire and a public relations problem, then asks...what if the prince had been obsessed with her since before the ball? Charmin Henry is BBTV royalty, nursing a broken heart and a bruised reputation, so naturally, she hires a stranger to be her arm candy at a charity gala. The said stranger is Ash, who has been secretly in love with her for years and now gets paid to pretend he isn't. If that's not a setup for disaster or destiny, I don't know what is.

Charmin isn't waiting for rescue; she's staging a comeback tour with a gorgeous man who looks at her like she hung the moon and the stars. Ash brings just enough quiet intensity to make "fake boyfriend" feel like the world's best worst idea. The chemistry? Chef's kiss. The pacing? Splendid. The ending? Let's just say glass slippers have nothing on what these two find after the masks come off.

Is one night enough? You'll have to read to find out...but this modern-day Cinderella story proves that sometimes the perfect fit isn't about shoes at all.

DRINK PAIR: Champagne. Just Champagne.

Sometimes simplicity is the ultimate sophistication. Pop a bottle of bubbly. Preferably something that sparkles as much as Charmin's comeback energy. No elaborate mixology required; just fizz, fantasy, and the understanding that midnight is really more of a suggestion anyway.