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3.77 AVERAGE
3.77 AVERAGE
First, a word of warningreassurance to wary readers of [b:Taking Chances|15739018|Taking Chances|Molly McAdams|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1344296221s/15739018.jpg|21424080]: there's no traumatizing, punch-you-in-the-gut tragedies in this one. Sure, you might cry at points, like you would with any good contemporary romance. But compared to its predecessor, From Ashes is all puppy kisses and fluffy marshmallows and happy happy joy joy.
Despite the ridiculously similar cover, this book is not a remake of Taking Chances. They share an author and a genre, almost share a cover, and initially focus on a girl with two boys who want her. That's pretty much where the similarities end.
This is not a love triangle. This is a straight line and a knife. This is a story about a boy who likes a girl, a girl who likes a boy, and their sabotaging, SOB cousin/"best friend", respectively. We learn immediately that Tyler has been taking care of Cassidy for 11 years while she suffers through a horrific case of abuse by her mother and step-father. And we see that Cassidy has no romantic feelings for Tyler, but Ty immediately tells Gage that he's actually in love with her. Of course, Gage and Cassidy fall in love at first sight, and Ty can't deal with the idea of Cassidy being with someone else after he's been taking care of her for so long and getting nothing but friendship in return. Admittedly, there is a love triangle of sorts over halfway through the book, but it's a very tall and narrow triangle, with Cassidy and Gage very close together at the bottom forming the base, and Connor forming the third vertex a long, long distance away. (I don't consider that a spoiler. By the time you encounter the name Connor, you'll already realize what's happening)
Some people are going on about how stupid these characters were with their "miscommunication". That's not quite true. In each instance, Cassidy and Gage were non-verbally communicating quite well with one another...until they're told something completely opposite by Tyler. And both of them trust Tyler implicitly, so while they're so confused as to how the other could lead them on, it never occurs to them that Tyler's lying. Instead of thinking of them as being stupid, put yourself in their position. You meet someone, you're immediately strongly attracted, and your mutual very good friend, who you've known for years, is telling you that the other is only acting or something. Are you going to trust your impression of someone you've just met, or are you going to believe the person who's actually talked to the love interest and who you trust absolutely?
I'm skipping over a lot of the other themes in this book, primarily the abuse. If you want to know more, read the other reviews--or read the book. Quite frankly, I don't want to waste even more time on this review.
I never really got into this story. Usually, I am sucked in by a story and think about the characters when I'm not reading the book, envisioning the different directions in which the book could go. But I can't recall a single moment that stood out as being interesting or worth remembering. In fact, even after finishing the book, I still keep thinking the girl's name is Harper. That's how much of a non-impression Cassidy made on me. Boring as the first two-thirds was, the book fell apart completely in the last third. And, for me, that is definitely something this book had in common with Taking Chances. Two books isn't really a large enough sample to draw a conclusion from, but it seems like climaxes (the literary kind) and conclusions are a major weakness of McAdams'.
I've read some reviews talking about a plot twist. Can someone please tell me where that was? Given that the synopsis describes over half the book, I never saw anything completely unexpected.
Despite the ridiculously similar cover, this book is not a remake of Taking Chances. They share an author and a genre, almost share a cover, and initially focus on a girl with two boys who want her. That's pretty much where the similarities end.
This is not a love triangle. This is a straight line and a knife. This is a story about a boy who likes a girl, a girl who likes a boy, and their sabotaging, SOB cousin/"best friend", respectively. We learn immediately that Tyler has been taking care of Cassidy for 11 years while she suffers through a horrific case of abuse by her mother and step-father. And we see that Cassidy has no romantic feelings for Tyler, but Ty immediately tells Gage that he's actually in love with her. Of course, Gage and Cassidy fall in love at first sight, and Ty can't deal with the idea of Cassidy being with someone else after he's been taking care of her for so long and getting nothing but friendship in return. Admittedly, there is a love triangle of sorts over halfway through the book, but it's a very tall and narrow triangle, with Cassidy and Gage very close together at the bottom forming the base, and Connor forming the third vertex a long, long distance away. (I don't consider that a spoiler. By the time you encounter the name Connor, you'll already realize what's happening)
Some people are going on about how stupid these characters were with their "miscommunication". That's not quite true. In each instance, Cassidy and Gage were non-verbally communicating quite well with one another...until they're told something completely opposite by Tyler. And both of them trust Tyler implicitly, so while they're so confused as to how the other could lead them on, it never occurs to them that Tyler's lying. Instead of thinking of them as being stupid, put yourself in their position. You meet someone, you're immediately strongly attracted, and your mutual very good friend, who you've known for years, is telling you that the other is only acting or something. Are you going to trust your impression of someone you've just met, or are you going to believe the person who's actually talked to the love interest and who you trust absolutely?
I'm skipping over a lot of the other themes in this book, primarily the abuse. If you want to know more, read the other reviews--or read the book. Quite frankly, I don't want to waste even more time on this review.
I never really got into this story. Usually, I am sucked in by a story and think about the characters when I'm not reading the book, envisioning the different directions in which the book could go. But I can't recall a single moment that stood out as being interesting or worth remembering. In fact, even after finishing the book, I still keep thinking the girl's name is Harper. That's how much of a non-impression Cassidy made on me. Boring as the first two-thirds was, the book fell apart completely in the last third. And, for me, that is definitely something this book had in common with Taking Chances. Two books isn't really a large enough sample to draw a conclusion from, but it seems like climaxes (the literary kind) and conclusions are a major weakness of McAdams'.
I've read some reviews talking about a plot twist. Can someone please tell me where that was? Given that the synopsis describes over half the book, I never saw anything completely unexpected.
First of all, I am 100% dumbfounded by the 12,000+ people who have given this book a 5-star rating.
Appalled.
Aghast.
Bewildered.
Dismayed.
Flabbergasted.
Floored.
Mystified.
Stunned.
I am without speech.
Like...WTF?
Honestly, this book is so problematic that I don't even know where to begin. The ONLY reason it gets two stars from me is because I reserve one-star ratings for the few, rare books that I don't finish.
I'm going to be very blunt with you. There will be no sugarcoating here.
1. Every plot point in this story has been overdone.
2. There are multiple time jumps. The transitions aren't smooth, and they occur without explanation.
3. The dialog is choppy, juvenile, boring, and unoriginal.
4. The main characters are nothing more than standard issue, carbon copies of an archetype. Zero depth, zero growth.
Examples: Cassidy is the beautiful, innocent virgin and damsel in distress. She makes a mean sandwich, enjoys watching sports, and even understands how the game is played (shocking, I know)! Every guy she meets wants her for himself, and she's constantly subjected to their unwanted sexual advances. Tyler is the sweet and handsome BFF and boy next door. He's secretly in love with Cassidy and morphs into the devil in disguise when she shows interest elsewhere. Gage is the hotter than sin cousin of Tyler. He's wealthy, yet generous. He's protective but not possessive. He has the sexual prowess of a Greek god and is perfect in every other way imaginable.
Cue eye roll.
(There's a lot of that.)
5. The secondary characters add absolutely nothing to the story, and the author failed to provide any context about them. On more than one occasion, I thought I'd missed something because I didn't understand how a specific character played into the story. (That's because they didn't.)
6. There are entire subplots that serve no other purpose than to showcase the desirability of the protagonist (for the umpteenth time...) and/or the hero's wealthiness and generosity. They added nothing to the story and were a complete waste of time.
Honestly, I'm starting to get annoyed just thinking about how dumb this book really is... so I think I'll leave it at that.
Appalled.
Aghast.
Bewildered.
Dismayed.
Flabbergasted.
Floored.
Mystified.
Stunned.
I am without speech.
Like...WTF?
Honestly, this book is so problematic that I don't even know where to begin. The ONLY reason it gets two stars from me is because I reserve one-star ratings for the few, rare books that I don't finish.
I'm going to be very blunt with you. There will be no sugarcoating here.
1. Every plot point in this story has been overdone.
2. There are multiple time jumps. The transitions aren't smooth, and they occur without explanation.
3. The dialog is choppy, juvenile, boring, and unoriginal.
4. The main characters are nothing more than standard issue, carbon copies of an archetype. Zero depth, zero growth.
Examples: Cassidy is the beautiful, innocent virgin and damsel in distress. She makes a mean sandwich, enjoys watching sports, and even understands how the game is played (shocking, I know)! Every guy she meets wants her for himself, and she's constantly subjected to their unwanted sexual advances. Tyler is the sweet and handsome BFF and boy next door. He's secretly in love with Cassidy and morphs into the devil in disguise when she shows interest elsewhere. Gage is the hotter than sin cousin of Tyler. He's wealthy, yet generous. He's protective but not possessive. He has the sexual prowess of a Greek god and is perfect in every other way imaginable.
Cue eye roll.
(There's a lot of that.)
5. The secondary characters add absolutely nothing to the story, and the author failed to provide any context about them. On more than one occasion, I thought I'd missed something because I didn't understand how a specific character played into the story. (That's because they didn't.)
6. There are entire subplots that serve no other purpose than to showcase the desirability of the protagonist (for the umpteenth time...) and/or the hero's wealthiness and generosity. They added nothing to the story and were a complete waste of time.
Honestly, I'm starting to get annoyed just thinking about how dumb this book really is... so I think I'll leave it at that.
Let me state first that I feel a little bad giving this book three stars but I could bring myself to rate it any higher.
I found myself struggling to connect with the characters or even really care about them. I've noticed a pretty consistent pattern with all of this authors books. Girl and guy meet, falling deeply in love instantly and of course they face problem after problem keeping them apart. Every book, every time. Another thing that annoyed me about this book was Tyler... I mean really? At first I thought he was kind of sweet, but that ended quickly. I'm pretty sure he was borderline nutty.
Moral of the story, the book was alright, but nothing special. I don't regret the read it was a nice easy read. Not sure if i'll keep reading from this author though.
I found myself struggling to connect with the characters or even really care about them. I've noticed a pretty consistent pattern with all of this authors books. Girl and guy meet, falling deeply in love instantly and of course they face problem after problem keeping them apart. Every book, every time. Another thing that annoyed me about this book was Tyler... I mean really? At first I thought he was kind of sweet, but that ended quickly. I'm pretty sure he was borderline nutty.
Moral of the story, the book was alright, but nothing special. I don't regret the read it was a nice easy read. Not sure if i'll keep reading from this author though.
Surprisingly saucy. This is NOT a young adult novel. Definitely 18+ very descriptive sexual scenes and graphic violent instances not for the faint of heart.
Cassidy grew up in a horrifically abusive home and her only solace was in the arms of her best friend and neighbour Tyler. Over the years Cassi came to depend on Ty totally and he began to fall in love with her. To free her from the decade long abuse, he packed her up and took her with him to college in Texas. She was to room with him and his cousin Gage. Cassidy and Gage had instant sparks but her past and Tyler had Cassidy keeping her distance.
I liked strong attraction between Cassidy and Gage but was frustrated by the obstacles that kept getting in the way of them being together. I was surprised by the very mature scenes throughout the book because I thought it was a YA book. The progression through time was a nice change noting that their feelings for each other grew over months and years. I enjoyed the pace of the story and that it was full of action from the beginning.
Cassidy grew up in a horrifically abusive home and her only solace was in the arms of her best friend and neighbour Tyler. Over the years Cassi came to depend on Ty totally and he began to fall in love with her. To free her from the decade long abuse, he packed her up and took her with him to college in Texas. She was to room with him and his cousin Gage. Cassidy and Gage had instant sparks but her past and Tyler had Cassidy keeping her distance.
I liked strong attraction between Cassidy and Gage but was frustrated by the obstacles that kept getting in the way of them being together. I was surprised by the very mature scenes throughout the book because I thought it was a YA book. The progression through time was a nice change noting that their feelings for each other grew over months and years. I enjoyed the pace of the story and that it was full of action from the beginning.
I'm a little bit in love with this book. It's definitely one of my new favorites.
"There are only so many times you can handle heartbreak with someone before you have to start protecting yourself."
Gage is officially my new favorite character. I'm tucking him safely away in the super-special-book-boyfriend category. And for the first time I actually found the southern drawl hot as hell. *wipes drool*
Seriously, he's awesome. I loved being in his head, and the his POV made the book.
He's outspoken, very honest, kind, caring and fiercely protective. Black hair, piercing green eyes, and a body to rival a god's. He's also a little bit of a hothead, which creates a few complications considering Cassidy's past.
Cassidy lost her father, her hero, on her sixth birthday. That's when the abuse started. It was bad. So much so that I got sick to my stomach when it was described.
"I'd learned a long time ago that if I cried, I got hit harder until I finally stopped, so I'd become a master at hiding my emotions."
In comes the knight in shining armor, Tyler. He's the one that has taken care of her every time she got beat, and that created a very special friendship. He's all she has, and when he moves to Texas, he brings her with him.
Enter sexy cousin. Bam. Instant connection.
"Whoa, got it bad for your cousin's girl already, huh? You gonna try to get with that?"
I eyed Cassi in Ty's arms and shook my head as I brought my beer up to take another long drink. "Nope." Yes, yes, I am.
Pretty early on it's revealed that Ty's feelings for Cassi isn't all platonic. He warns Gage to back off when he sees his interest in Cassidy, and that's when his character starts to fucks up royally. I wanted to rip his balls off on several occasions, and It wasn't exactly hard to pick sides.
"Sweet Cassi, she deserved parents and a man who cherished her. Not ones who beat her and a boy who sat back and let it happen."
Overall I loved the book, even though there were parts that were a little lacking. Like how Ty managed to fuck it up for them for so long without either of them letting something slip that would make the other wonder. There was also a lot of back and forth that wasn't necessary for the story.
The ending was phenomenal.
Similar books: Cass and Gage's chemistry reminded me of Rush and Blair in the Too Far series, even though the storyline is very different.
"There are only so many times you can handle heartbreak with someone before you have to start protecting yourself."
Gage is officially my new favorite character. I'm tucking him safely away in the super-special-book-boyfriend category. And for the first time I actually found the southern drawl hot as hell. *wipes drool*
Seriously, he's awesome. I loved being in his head, and the his POV made the book.
He's outspoken, very honest, kind, caring and fiercely protective. Black hair, piercing green eyes, and a body to rival a god's. He's also a little bit of a hothead, which creates a few complications considering Cassidy's past.
Cassidy lost her father, her hero, on her sixth birthday. That's when the abuse started. It was bad. So much so that I got sick to my stomach when it was described.
"I'd learned a long time ago that if I cried, I got hit harder until I finally stopped, so I'd become a master at hiding my emotions."
In comes the knight in shining armor, Tyler. He's the one that has taken care of her every time she got beat, and that created a very special friendship. He's all she has, and when he moves to Texas, he brings her with him.
Enter sexy cousin. Bam. Instant connection.
"Whoa, got it bad for your cousin's girl already, huh? You gonna try to get with that?"
I eyed Cassi in Ty's arms and shook my head as I brought my beer up to take another long drink. "Nope." Yes, yes, I am.
Pretty early on it's revealed that Ty's feelings for Cassi isn't all platonic. He warns Gage to back off when he sees his interest in Cassidy, and that's when his character starts to fucks up royally. I wanted to rip his balls off on several occasions, and It wasn't exactly hard to pick sides.
Spoiler
Thankfully he redeems himself after fucking up time after time, but I honestly think he got off easy. I was happy that he and Cassi got their friendship back eventually, though."Sweet Cassi, she deserved parents and a man who cherished her. Not ones who beat her and a boy who sat back and let it happen."
Overall I loved the book, even though there were parts that were a little lacking. Like how Ty managed to fuck it up for them for so long without either of them letting something slip that would make the other wonder. There was also a lot of back and forth that wasn't necessary for the story.
The ending was phenomenal.
Similar books: Cass and Gage's chemistry reminded me of Rush and Blair in the Too Far series, even though the storyline is very different.
I liked and enjoyed this book. It's definitely a "New Adult" rather than "Young Adult" book due to some of the steamier scenes. It had an interesting plot, and I had serious issues putting it down since I needed to know what happened next (even in the part where all three characters were annoying me for various reasons, which was of course resolved as soon as I complained to a friend about the annoyance). There were times where I thought Gage was almost too perfect, but that got better later into the book (and that may just me being cynical, to be fair). The author did really well in taking scenes that I initially thought were superfluous, because so very many things happened to them, and making those scenes matter to the plot in one way or the other. I would've liked more Austin-based references other than the UT ones and the one reference to Kerbey Lane, but that's inconsequential as it has nothing to do with the actual plot ;)
I really enjoyed this one. I never knew where it was going from time-to-time, so that made it even more exciting. I really enjoyed TAKING CHANCES, but I think this one is just a bit better.
This is the book that never ends. Yes, it goes on and on my friends. Some people started reading it, not knowing what it was. And they'll continue reading it forever just because - this is the book that never ends...
SPOILER ALERT. Also, this review is going to be all over the place.
So at one point during this book, I glanced at the percentage mark (27%) and did a triple take. 27%?! That can't be right. I'm clearly almost finished. The climax has happened, the antagonist has been busted, all we need is a resolution - surely my Kindle is being glitchy. There's no way I'm less than a third of the way through this hot mess.
But I was. Rather than end this book at its natural ending point, the author opted to just keep writing. It was a mistake. The story just kept getting more and more ridiculous. The main characters work out their insane miscommunication issue and "beat" the antagonist. (Is it over? No.) A brand new character is introduced, with a weepy back story of his own. That gets handled quickly. (Is it over? No.) The main characters have another issue, then there's a fire and murder/suicide! But wait! There's more! We're just over halfway through the book when a third love interest for the heroine is introduced. Are you kidding? She decides not to pursue this love interest and goes back to the other guy. (Is it over? No.) More things happen, and because we've gone twenty pages without any issues coming between the love birds, love interest #3 is briefly brought back into the picture. Then we've got illness. Then we've got a scorpion sting/near death. Then we've got an accidental pregnancy. I found myself laughing out loud every time something new would happen.
Another thing that bugged me: the repetition. Normally, if a character goes through an on-page event, you only have to go through it that once. When someone asks the character what's wrong a few pages later, it goes a little something like, "He asked me what was wrong, and I told him all about it". We know what that means, because we literally just read about it. In this book, whenever a character needed to be filled in about events from 4 pages ago, we were then treated to several pages of dialogue where the event was completely repeated. I did a LOT of skimming.
Two stars because it kept me entertained, even though I'm sure not in the way the author intended.
SPOILER ALERT. Also, this review is going to be all over the place.
So at one point during this book, I glanced at the percentage mark (27%) and did a triple take. 27%?! That can't be right. I'm clearly almost finished. The climax has happened, the antagonist has been busted, all we need is a resolution - surely my Kindle is being glitchy. There's no way I'm less than a third of the way through this hot mess.
But I was. Rather than end this book at its natural ending point, the author opted to just keep writing. It was a mistake. The story just kept getting more and more ridiculous. The main characters work out their insane miscommunication issue and "beat" the antagonist. (Is it over? No.) A brand new character is introduced, with a weepy back story of his own. That gets handled quickly. (Is it over? No.) The main characters have another issue, then there's a fire and murder/suicide! But wait! There's more! We're just over halfway through the book when a third love interest for the heroine is introduced. Are you kidding? She decides not to pursue this love interest and goes back to the other guy. (Is it over? No.) More things happen, and because we've gone twenty pages without any issues coming between the love birds, love interest #3 is briefly brought back into the picture. Then we've got illness. Then we've got a scorpion sting/near death. Then we've got an accidental pregnancy. I found myself laughing out loud every time something new would happen.
Another thing that bugged me: the repetition. Normally, if a character goes through an on-page event, you only have to go through it that once. When someone asks the character what's wrong a few pages later, it goes a little something like, "He asked me what was wrong, and I told him all about it". We know what that means, because we literally just read about it. In this book, whenever a character needed to be filled in about events from 4 pages ago, we were then treated to several pages of dialogue where the event was completely repeated. I did a LOT of skimming.
Two stars because it kept me entertained, even though I'm sure not in the way the author intended.