Reviews with content warning for Chronic illness - Out of the Ashes

Reviews tagging 'Chronic illness'

Out of the Ashes by Kara Thomas

2 reviews

yvo_about_books's review against another edition

3.25

Finished reading: April 30th 2023

"Memories were a riptide. Innocent enough on the surface, but let your guard down and next thing you know, you're drowning in four feet of water."

*** A copy of this book was kindly provided to me by Netgalley and Thomas & Mercer in exchange for an honest review. Thank you! ***

I've read some of Kara Thomas YA titles in the past, and I remember really enjoying her writing. I was curious to see how her work would translate to adult fiction; combine that with the fact that I was intrigued by the blurb of Out Of The Ashes, and I've been more than curious to pick it up. Now that I've had the chance to finish the book, I'm not sure what to make of it though... I'm not saying it's a bad read, but it did lack that je ne sais quoi that would take this story to the next level for me.

The premise of Out Of The Ashes has without doubt a lot of potential, with the death of the main character's family never solved and her returning to her hometown after so long. Somehow, the execution of the plot didn't really work for me though. I'm having a hard time putting my finger on the why, but I think it has partly to do with the pace itself. The pace is considerably slow during most of the plot, and it took me a lot longer than expected to actually finish what is quite a short book. Somehow, the story never managed to grab me completely, and I kept hoping something would happen that would speed up the pace. Which is strange, because technically a LOT does happen during the story...

I also felt that there were way too many characters introduced, and as a result most of them felt rather one-dimensional and underdeveloped. I struggled to remember where everybody stood in the story, and this only slowed down the pace even more... I also felt that some of the side stories were unnecessary; they didn't add much to the plot nor were they given a satisfying closure to wrap things up. The mystery itself didn't really stand out for me either, and I had mixed thoughts about the way things ended with the mystery around that night so long ago.

The main character Samantha herself has potential, but there were things about her character that annoyed me. And this especially relates to her behavior and the way she keeps putting herself in dangerous situations... I'm not sure her irresponsable behavior fits what her character seems to stand for; either way, it really irritated me. There were also quite a few cliches involved in general, and most of the characters weren't exactly likeable in the first place.

All in all I ended up having mostly mixed thoughts about Out Of The Ashes. Like I said before, it's not a bad read, but it's also sadly not a story that stood out in any way for me. In fact, I much prefer her YA books so far...

Content Warnings

rainbowbean's review

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adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

I received this as an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Thank you NetGalley as well as Thomas & Mercer for this fantastic 5 Star read! NO spoilers ahead.

Kara Thomas can we be best friends?! I just loved this book! If you're a "crime junkie" this has a very "ripped from the headlines" feel. The past crime/ current investigation storytelling reminded me of the real life storytelling on the Counter Clock podcast. This was fast paced from the start and I did not want to put it down.

+1⭐: Excellent relatable writing style. It wasn't forced and didn't try too hard to be flowery with language. Which is great because the main character was not a flowery person (for good reason).

Main Character (no spoilers):

Sam is clearly intelligent and she endured so much trauma she seems stuck in triggered mode and acts accordingly with good reason. She is intensely perceptive as an adult of others and it's clearly a trauma response, but it's also what's driving her to put the pieces together about what really happened to her family. Sam is every Millennial who has seen some shit. She is perfectly flawed and her questionable behavior matches her character's life.

+1⭐: Plot:

If there were any plot holes I didn't notice because I was just enjoying the story and main character so much. Fast paced, quick read that I didn't want to end though I was desperate to know the answer.

+1⭐: The Perp & Ending. No spoilers here. It's too good to ruin. There were so many directions this could have gone. This was a masterpiece of a story.

Trope Talk:

The MC returning to a small hometown full of people with a complicated history trope was executed with perfection. I was there with Sam in Carney.

+1⭐: World Building:

The author's ability to sew so many nuances of literally everything in current political/social/pop culture into this story to make me feel and relate to the environment was beautifully done.

I so much appreciated the attention the mc (a nurse) brought to how the opioid crisis and chronic pain affect people. Specifically an explanation of a character's rheumatoid arthritis and the conversation between two characters about chronic pain was so well written. Anyone who has chronic pain or has in any way been impacted by what that can lead to will feel seen and understood.

A++ for accurate modern world building.

+1⭐: The Unexpected:

I did not expect this book to be funny but certain lines had me crying from laughing so hard. I AM the target audience for this book for sure. I cackled when Sam was working a shift and the author describes "a Mary Kay scented hand" touching her. Something about this nurse who is into MLM products was just hilarious, there's at least one on every hospital floor so this just perfectly set the scene and is probably the most funny way I have ever heard a character described. Another line about over-priced stitch fix clothes sent me. The adoration of cinnasticks. 🤣 Little quips about Millennial behavior were spot on. The political jabs and calling out the "Thin Blue Line" bullshit were 🤌 *chef's kiss*.

Miniscule Gripe:

Every person with a scar/tattoo was described the same: "a crescent shaped scar/shape from XYZ". It was just repetitive enough to slightly irritate me by the 3rd+ time.

Trigger Warnings:

Heavy on the topic of parental/sibling loss and death by fire. Also for OD'ing/drug use disorder and sexual assault. All are absolutely necessary topics for the story and handled with no judgment and great care and by the author.

Overall: I would recommend reading this and when it comes out I will be purchasing for my shelf and a re-read. I will be adding Kara's other titles to my "To Read" pile.

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