Author: Jeaniene Frost
Release Date: August 26th 2014
Publisher: Harlequin
Source: Received an ARC from the publisher
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In a world of shadows, anything is possible. Except escaping your fate.
Ever since she was a child, Ivy has been gripped by visions of strange realms just beyond her own. But when her sister goes missing, Ivy discovers the truth is far worse—her hallucinations are real, and her sister is trapped in a parallel realm. And the one person who believes her is the dangerously attractive guy who's bound by an ancient legacy to betray her.
Adrian might have turned his back on those who raised him, but that doesn't mean he can change his fate…no matter how strong a pull he feels toward Ivy. Together they search for the powerful relic that can save her sister, but Adrian knows what Ivy doesn't: that every step brings Ivy closer to the truth about her own destiny, and a war that could doom the world. Sooner or later, it will be Ivy on one side and Adrian on the other. And nothing but ashes in between...
Jeaniene Frost has thrown her hat into the new and popular New Adult ring with the first installment, The Beautiful Ashes, in her Broken Destiny series.
Angels and Demons are my all time favorite stories and while I have loved some of Ms Frost's adult novels, they've not all gained my favor. So I really wasn't sure what to think and went into The Beautiful Ashes with pretty low expectations to be honest, purely due to this being a new writing vein for her.
There is quite a lot of world building in The Beautiful Ashes as you would expect for any first in a series, but it felt flat and one dimensional for me. I can't put my finger on any one thing to say this is what it is missing, but it was missing something.
I did enjoy the overall theme; the David and Judas storyline is intriguing and fresh, and I love a good quest! However, the actual journey through the portals and into the different realms was repetitive and long winded. And although touted as a NA read, I found the voices of Ivy and Adrian far too annoying and immature to be anything but mid teens opposed to being twenty, and when you take into account Adrian's actual age, they just weren't believable.
Although The Beautiful Ashes wasn't a perfect read for me, it did have some redeeming qualities and because I'm interested enough to read more books in this series, it gets 3.5 stars.
thanks for your thoughts--only wish I had read this before buying the e-book (haven't read it yet but I know it's waiting on my kindle) as I didn't realize it was a Y/A book, among other things.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I don't think it was made clear that this is a YA/NA series. But I hope you give it a go, you might still enjoy it!
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