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mardie's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
"They had forged me into the monster I was today."
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Heir Of Ashes is a gripping mix of genres, with urban fantasy, portal magic and fantasy elements. It has plot twists aplenty that kept me on my toes and the occassional cheeky pop culture reference thrown in for humour.
I was hooked from chapter 1, where the author uses her excellent skill for pacing to give a high energy fight scene. This also helps build the world and establish some of the characters and their magic. Mystery plays a large role in the layers of narrative, which I find enthralling, as it is built into so much of the story and answers are drip fed through-out, both to our FMC, Roxanne, and to readers.
I really like Roxanne - she pushes herself to be as strong as she can, has unusual abilities that I haven't read in other books and questions surround her. Her history of confinement has hindered the development of her social skills and left her emotionally damaged. Watching her make careful step after careful step added to my reading enjoyment. I found her to be a very sympathetic character and because the author has written her as first person POV, the pain from those struggles is clear and immediate.
There is a dark aspect to this book in the marginalisation and treatment of a subset of the paranormal beings. Our FMC has lived this and is out for revenge. I like how she takes all she has learned from her past and applies it with great gusto to her present. The next book will be an interesting extension of this because she has given her allegiance to a group who supposedly wear white hats and want to train her as a weapon.
Staying true to form, there is very little in the way of romance in this book. I like the absence of insta love and spice but appreciated the tentative way one MMC's presence allowed Roxanne to enjoy a little human physical contact and emotional connection.
I'll definitely be back for book 2!
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Heir Of Ashes is a gripping mix of genres, with urban fantasy, portal magic and fantasy elements. It has plot twists aplenty that kept me on my toes and the occassional cheeky pop culture reference thrown in for humour.
I was hooked from chapter 1, where the author uses her excellent skill for pacing to give a high energy fight scene. This also helps build the world and establish some of the characters and their magic. Mystery plays a large role in the layers of narrative, which I find enthralling, as it is built into so much of the story and answers are drip fed through-out, both to our FMC, Roxanne, and to readers.
I really like Roxanne - she pushes herself to be as strong as she can, has unusual abilities that I haven't read in other books and questions surround her. Her history of confinement has hindered the development of her social skills and left her emotionally damaged. Watching her make careful step after careful step added to my reading enjoyment. I found her to be a very sympathetic character and because the author has written her as first person POV, the pain from those struggles is clear and immediate.
There is a dark aspect to this book in the marginalisation and treatment of a subset of the paranormal beings. Our FMC has lived this and is out for revenge. I like how she takes all she has learned from her past and applies it with great gusto to her present. The next book will be an interesting extension of this because she has given her allegiance to a group who supposedly wear white hats and want to train her as a weapon.
Staying true to form, there is very little in the way of romance in this book. I like the absence of insta love and spice but appreciated the tentative way one MMC's presence allowed Roxanne to enjoy a little human physical contact and emotional connection.
I'll definitely be back for book 2!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Confinement, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail