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A review by kerrihugs
Only Ashes Remain by Rebecca Schaeffer
4.0
Trigger warnings: blood, murder, torture, emotional abuse, a kiss between a 17 year old and a 20 year old, loss of a loved one
***I was granted an ARC of this by the publisher for the blog tour, put together by FFBC. All opinions are uninfluenced.***
NOTE: THIS REVIEW WILL CONTAIN MINOR SPOILERS FOR THE FIRST BOOK
Is it the middle of the night? Yes. Am I sick as a dog? Definitely. Did I stay up until this ungodly hour struggling through coughing fits because this book was just that addictive? You bet your sweet ass I did.
Only Ashes Remain picks up literally right where Not Even Bones ends (like, literally with the final line of the first book being the opening line of the second book). Nita has escaped el Mercado de la Muerte (Death Market) and is safe in the custody of INHUP, the international organization that regulates, hunts and even protects unnaturals. But who else is in the INHUP’s protection? Fabricio, who sold Nita to el Mercado in the first place. Plus, everyone is on the hunt for Nita and her special healing abilities. With nowhere else to go, Nita will have to team back up with the torture-loving Kovit to take down Fabricio and everyone who wants her dead. If you can’t beat ’em, be better than ’em.
This series is absolutely incredible, guys. I won’t lie, the plot is a bit slow and not as fast paced or intense as the first book, which took place in el Mercado, but the character arcs are what keep you reading here.
Nita and Kovit are both such hecking interesting characters. Nita did what she had to do in el Mercado to survive but now that she’s out and seeking revenge, how far is too far? Even Fabricio, Nita’s mother, and the mob family Kovit used to work for are filled with contradictions and moral complications. Schaeffer does an impeccable job of making you fall in love with monsters and people who do monstrous things, and I cannot commend her enough for tackling such serious topics with such a delicate and nuanced hand.
Like I mentioned, the plot of this one is slower and less tense than the first book. We’re out of el Mercado and on the run (in Canada of all places lol), and ngl, a lot of hanging out and musing over what Nita has done to get to this point and the moral ramifications of that will be in your future if you pick up this book. And I usually hate slow-moving books. If shit isn’t happening, why are we here, ya know? BUT, let’s be real, we all got hooked on this series for the characters anyway, right? The world Schaeffer has built is incredible and the plot of the first book was killer, but we all remember the characters most of all. Our destructive, evil bbs are what stay with us and keep us coming back for more.
If you enjoyed Not Even Bones, you are going to fucking LOVE Only Ashes Remain. And if you read this whole review without having read Not Even Bones, sorry for the spoilers but you should still go read the series because it’s absolutely incredible. Definitely an all-time favorite and I cannot WAIT for the final book!!
***I was granted an ARC of this by the publisher for the blog tour, put together by FFBC. All opinions are uninfluenced.***
NOTE: THIS REVIEW WILL CONTAIN MINOR SPOILERS FOR THE FIRST BOOK
Is it the middle of the night? Yes. Am I sick as a dog? Definitely. Did I stay up until this ungodly hour struggling through coughing fits because this book was just that addictive? You bet your sweet ass I did.
Only Ashes Remain picks up literally right where Not Even Bones ends (like, literally with the final line of the first book being the opening line of the second book). Nita has escaped el Mercado de la Muerte (Death Market) and is safe in the custody of INHUP, the international organization that regulates, hunts and even protects unnaturals. But who else is in the INHUP’s protection? Fabricio, who sold Nita to el Mercado in the first place. Plus, everyone is on the hunt for Nita and her special healing abilities. With nowhere else to go, Nita will have to team back up with the torture-loving Kovit to take down Fabricio and everyone who wants her dead. If you can’t beat ’em, be better than ’em.
This series is absolutely incredible, guys. I won’t lie, the plot is a bit slow and not as fast paced or intense as the first book, which took place in el Mercado, but the character arcs are what keep you reading here.
Nita and Kovit are both such hecking interesting characters. Nita did what she had to do in el Mercado to survive but now that she’s out and seeking revenge, how far is too far? Even Fabricio, Nita’s mother, and the mob family Kovit used to work for are filled with contradictions and moral complications. Schaeffer does an impeccable job of making you fall in love with monsters and people who do monstrous things, and I cannot commend her enough for tackling such serious topics with such a delicate and nuanced hand.
Like I mentioned, the plot of this one is slower and less tense than the first book. We’re out of el Mercado and on the run (in Canada of all places lol), and ngl, a lot of hanging out and musing over what Nita has done to get to this point and the moral ramifications of that will be in your future if you pick up this book. And I usually hate slow-moving books. If shit isn’t happening, why are we here, ya know? BUT, let’s be real, we all got hooked on this series for the characters anyway, right? The world Schaeffer has built is incredible and the plot of the first book was killer, but we all remember the characters most of all. Our destructive, evil bbs are what stay with us and keep us coming back for more.
If you enjoyed Not Even Bones, you are going to fucking LOVE Only Ashes Remain. And if you read this whole review without having read Not Even Bones, sorry for the spoilers but you should still go read the series because it’s absolutely incredible. Definitely an all-time favorite and I cannot WAIT for the final book!!