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A review by aforestofbooks
Memories of Ash by Intisar Khanani
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
I know I've said this before, but I regret not picking up this series sooner. As soon as I finished Sunbolt, I knew I needed to read the next book immediately because I could not stop thinking about this world and these characters.
Intisar writes books that are diverse, but still have that older fantasy vibe that I fell in love with as a child. I grew up reading Tamora Pierce and C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien and all the other classics. My heart goes all warm and fuzzy thinking about that period of my life and those books and how attached I became to the world and the characters. The only thing that was lacking was diversity and representation that I could relate to. I think one of the reasons I'm so hesitant about reading newer YA releases is because of how romance-focused publishing has become, which is definitely influenced by booktok. Tropes sell. And enemies-to-lovers and smut in YA is a thing now, and if you don't have either of those or the other tropes that people are obsessed with, publishing won't want your book. It's actually really sad.
Intisar's books feel so refreshing but also familiar. And this book was no different.
I had trouble putting it down because I was so immersed in what was happening and what was going to happen. Hitomi is now one of my all-time favourite characters. She dives right into trouble, determined to help the people she loves even at the expense of her own life. She's definitely a "main character" in the sense her magic doesn't act like other mages, but she's down-to-earth and loveable because she doesn't see herself as above the people around her.
Because I'm obsessed with one (1) fanfic series, aka The Rigel Black Chronicles, I spent the entirety of this book feeling like Hitomi was just like Rigel Black/Harriet Potter. And Kenta is Leo. The similarities were striking and honestly made me scream sometimes. So I've totally done my best to convince the HGSS discord server to read the series.
The one-line that really summarizes this book and also The Rigel Black Chronicles:
<blockquote>"Even though you have the annoying habit of nearly getting yourself killed for other people on a regular basis."</blockquote>
Just AHHHHHsdjfsklfjskf
Anyway, back to the book. As a Tamora Pierce fan–this is not shocking–my least favourite book of hers was A Woman Who Rides Like a Man because of the Bazhir rep. And while Tammy has addressed this, it is still something I have to brace myself for every time I pick up that book.
Memories of Ash though is 'what if A Woman Who Rides Like a Man was done well'. The plot is not exactly the same, but we do get a glimpse of the desert tribes and their hospitality. Their culture is clearly influenced by Middle Eastern/Arab culture. And it was done so well! It actually made me smile and so happy, and I have a feeling we're going to see even more in the third book, which makes me even more excited.
I think I mentioned in my review for Sunbolt how resourceful Hitomi is. Well, that doesn't stop in this book. Whenever I know Hitomi has a plan or is up to something, but as the reader we don't exactly know all the details yet, I get so giddy. It does remind me a lot of Rigel, so that's probably why, but also, there's something so thrilling about not knowing what the character is up to, but also knowing at the same time that whatever they're going to do will be epic in some way. I just love Hitomi so much and get so excited whenever she's planning how to take down evil people.
I think my favourite side characters were the lycan guards, especially Osman Bey. I just had a feeling about them and it turned out to be right and I'm still sdfdksjfsdklf about their role in this book.
We finally get to see some old friends again, which was so bittersweet because Hitomi doesn't have a lot of her memories. I really, really love Kenta so much and his determination to not let Hitomi do things on her own and protect her was also very Leo-esque. We also get to see a reunion of a sorts, that was more painful than I was expecting. And we get to see a certain breather again!!!
Honestly the interrogation scene under the truth-spell was probably my favourite scene in this book. I get chills thinking about it.
Hitomi herself goes through so much in this book, but I also thinks she learns to accept help from others instead of trying to do everything on her own. She still struggles with putting others at risk, but by the end I think she learns that people are more than capable of understanding risk and it's not her job to try and protect everyone all the time.
I cannot wait to see what happens next. I miss this world and these characters already and I can't stop thinking about them. I wish the third book was already out in the world, but I'm even more excited to reread this series. Also, I badly need a map of this world. LIKE BADLY.
10/5 stars for this book.
Intisar writes books that are diverse, but still have that older fantasy vibe that I fell in love with as a child. I grew up reading Tamora Pierce and C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien and all the other classics. My heart goes all warm and fuzzy thinking about that period of my life and those books and how attached I became to the world and the characters. The only thing that was lacking was diversity and representation that I could relate to. I think one of the reasons I'm so hesitant about reading newer YA releases is because of how romance-focused publishing has become, which is definitely influenced by booktok. Tropes sell. And enemies-to-lovers and smut in YA is a thing now, and if you don't have either of those or the other tropes that people are obsessed with, publishing won't want your book. It's actually really sad.
Intisar's books feel so refreshing but also familiar. And this book was no different.
I had trouble putting it down because I was so immersed in what was happening and what was going to happen. Hitomi is now one of my all-time favourite characters. She dives right into trouble, determined to help the people she loves even at the expense of her own life. She's definitely a "main character" in the sense her magic doesn't act like other mages, but she's down-to-earth and loveable because she doesn't see herself as above the people around her.
Because I'm obsessed with one (1) fanfic series, aka The Rigel Black Chronicles, I spent the entirety of this book feeling like Hitomi was just like Rigel Black/Harriet Potter. And Kenta is Leo. The similarities were striking and honestly made me scream sometimes. So I've totally done my best to convince the HGSS discord server to read the series.
The one-line that really summarizes this book and also The Rigel Black Chronicles:
<blockquote>"Even though you have the annoying habit of nearly getting yourself killed for other people on a regular basis."</blockquote>
Just AHHHHHsdjfsklfjskf
Anyway, back to the book. As a Tamora Pierce fan–this is not shocking–my least favourite book of hers was A Woman Who Rides Like a Man because of the Bazhir rep. And while Tammy has addressed this, it is still something I have to brace myself for every time I pick up that book.
Memories of Ash though is 'what if A Woman Who Rides Like a Man was done well'. The plot is not exactly the same, but we do get a glimpse of the desert tribes and their hospitality. Their culture is clearly influenced by Middle Eastern/Arab culture. And it was done so well! It actually made me smile and so happy, and I have a feeling we're going to see even more in the third book, which makes me even more excited.
I think I mentioned in my review for Sunbolt how resourceful Hitomi is. Well, that doesn't stop in this book. Whenever I know Hitomi has a plan or is up to something, but as the reader we don't exactly know all the details yet, I get so giddy. It does remind me a lot of Rigel, so that's probably why, but also, there's something so thrilling about not knowing what the character is up to, but also knowing at the same time that whatever they're going to do will be epic in some way. I just love Hitomi so much and get so excited whenever she's planning how to take down evil people.
I think my favourite side characters were the lycan guards, especially Osman Bey. I just had a feeling about them and it turned out to be right and I'm still sdfdksjfsdklf about their role in this book.
We finally get to see some old friends again, which was so bittersweet because Hitomi doesn't have a lot of her memories. I really, really love Kenta so much and his determination to not let Hitomi do things on her own and protect her was also very Leo-esque. We also get to see a reunion of a sorts, that was more painful than I was expecting. And we get to see a certain breather again!!!
Honestly the interrogation scene under the truth-spell was probably my favourite scene in this book. I get chills thinking about it.
Hitomi herself goes through so much in this book, but I also thinks she learns to accept help from others instead of trying to do everything on her own. She still struggles with putting others at risk, but by the end I think she learns that people are more than capable of understanding risk and it's not her job to try and protect everyone all the time.
I cannot wait to see what happens next. I miss this world and these characters already and I can't stop thinking about them. I wish the third book was already out in the world, but I'm even more excited to reread this series. Also, I badly need a map of this world. LIKE BADLY.
10/5 stars for this book.