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miasbookreviews 's review for:
A Tale of Ashes
by Ann Dayleview
Read more reviews like this on my blog!
As someone who does not typically read fantasy, this book was the perfect way to ease back into the genre. Author Ann Dayleview blends fantasy and human worlds in a way that makes the setting easy to understand. By creating a society similar to ours today — with people facing prejudice, police bias, and hate even after being “equal under the law” — Dayleview is able to make commentary on our world in a creative and interesting way.
A Tale of Ashes also makes itself comfortable for inexperienced fantasy readers by centering itself on a mystery. This was what drew me to the book in the first place, and I loved that it took on the mystery through the lens of investigative journalism. It added another level of urgency to the story, with Freddie’s journalism deadline approaching, and by outlining all of the evidence, readers are able to solve the mystery along with Freddie. However, with so many different storylines happening at once, it sometimes felt as though the mystery was forgotten. It occasionally disappeared into the background, swallowed by romance and battle scenes.
All things considered, I am in no way complaining about the level of romance in this book. I loved the time spent on dates between Aiden and Freddie. I felt as though I was developing feelings for him along with Freddie, and I could understand her emotional torment as evidence stacked up against him. I also enjoyed how Dayleview portrayed Freddie’s lasting feelings for her ex-boyfriend, Pelrin. It never fell into a love triangle, but instead, it showed how being in a long-term relationship can cause someone to still care for another deeply, even if not romantically. This made Freddie feel so much more real, which added on nicely to her already relatable and likeable character.
Aiden was another amazing character in this novel. He was incredibly complex and multi-faceted, and Dayleview did a great job at showing the different sides of him, along with the reasons why he acts the way he does. I was worried that I would end up disliking his character because of my hatred for the “bad boy” trope, but Aiden is much more than that. By seeing how he acts in different settings along with learning about his past, Dayleview creates a realistic character almost expected to walk off of the page and into real life.
Although the characters were very realistic, A Tale of Ashes still included plenty of fantasy elements, including plenty of magical battle scenes. These were intense without losing clarity; I was able to follow what was happening, but the scenes were still fast-paced and exciting. There were also lots of fantasy elements through the variety of magical characters represented throughout the novel. As an inexperienced fantasy reader, this was somewhat confusing for me, as most of the types of fae were not clearly defined. However, this variety of fae made the fairy world more interesting, as it was richly diverse.
In conclusion, A Tale of Ashes is a fun, quick fantasy read that has something everyone can enjoy, whether you love fantasy, mystery, romance, or commentary on our world today, and I can’t wait to read what Dayleview writes next.
Thank you to Ann Dayleview for sending me an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
As someone who does not typically read fantasy, this book was the perfect way to ease back into the genre. Author Ann Dayleview blends fantasy and human worlds in a way that makes the setting easy to understand. By creating a society similar to ours today — with people facing prejudice, police bias, and hate even after being “equal under the law” — Dayleview is able to make commentary on our world in a creative and interesting way.
A Tale of Ashes also makes itself comfortable for inexperienced fantasy readers by centering itself on a mystery. This was what drew me to the book in the first place, and I loved that it took on the mystery through the lens of investigative journalism. It added another level of urgency to the story, with Freddie’s journalism deadline approaching, and by outlining all of the evidence, readers are able to solve the mystery along with Freddie. However, with so many different storylines happening at once, it sometimes felt as though the mystery was forgotten. It occasionally disappeared into the background, swallowed by romance and battle scenes.
All things considered, I am in no way complaining about the level of romance in this book. I loved the time spent on dates between Aiden and Freddie. I felt as though I was developing feelings for him along with Freddie, and I could understand her emotional torment as evidence stacked up against him. I also enjoyed how Dayleview portrayed Freddie’s lasting feelings for her ex-boyfriend, Pelrin. It never fell into a love triangle, but instead, it showed how being in a long-term relationship can cause someone to still care for another deeply, even if not romantically. This made Freddie feel so much more real, which added on nicely to her already relatable and likeable character.
Aiden was another amazing character in this novel. He was incredibly complex and multi-faceted, and Dayleview did a great job at showing the different sides of him, along with the reasons why he acts the way he does. I was worried that I would end up disliking his character because of my hatred for the “bad boy” trope, but Aiden is much more than that. By seeing how he acts in different settings along with learning about his past, Dayleview creates a realistic character almost expected to walk off of the page and into real life.
Although the characters were very realistic, A Tale of Ashes still included plenty of fantasy elements, including plenty of magical battle scenes. These were intense without losing clarity; I was able to follow what was happening, but the scenes were still fast-paced and exciting. There were also lots of fantasy elements through the variety of magical characters represented throughout the novel. As an inexperienced fantasy reader, this was somewhat confusing for me, as most of the types of fae were not clearly defined. However, this variety of fae made the fairy world more interesting, as it was richly diverse.
In conclusion, A Tale of Ashes is a fun, quick fantasy read that has something everyone can enjoy, whether you love fantasy, mystery, romance, or commentary on our world today, and I can’t wait to read what Dayleview writes next.
Thank you to Ann Dayleview for sending me an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.