Review: The Beautiful Ashes – Jeaniene Frost

Posted 8 December, 2014 by Linda @ (un)Conventional Bookworms in Reviews / 12 Comments

Review: The Beautiful Ashes – Jeaniene FrostThe Beautiful Ashes by Jeaniene Frost
Series: Broken Destiny #1
Published by Harlequin on 26 August 2014
Genres: Paranormal, Romance, Young Adult
Pages: 384
Format: eBook
Source: Kindle Purchase
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4 Stars

In a world of shadows, anything is possible. Except escaping your fate.

Ever since she was a child, Ivy has been gripped by visions of strange realms just beyond her own. But when her sister goes missing, Ivy discovers the truth is far worse—her hallucinations are real, and her sister is trapped in a parallel realm. And the one person who believes her is the dangerously attractive guy who's bound by an ancient legacy to betray her.

Adrian might have turned his back on those who raised him, but that doesn't mean he can change his fate…no matter how strong a pull he feels toward Ivy. Together they search for the powerful relic that can save her sister, but Adrian knows what Ivy doesn't: that every step brings Ivy closer to the truth about her own destiny, and a war that could doom the world. Sooner or later, it will be Ivy on one side and Adrian on the other. And nothing but ashes in between…

The Beautiful Ashes is a good foray into Young Adult by one of my favourite authors! Using a different kind of paranormal, while developing both the characters and the story on the go, I was caught in the net Ms. Frost weaved for me.

My The Beautiful Ashes review:

The Beautiful Ashes is a fast-paced story, written in first person point of view, past tense, from Ivy’s perspective. She hasn’t had just a bad day, she’s had a bad month, and at the start of the story, it seems to just be getting worse! Ivy can see other dimensions superimposed on the dimension here on Earth, and her whole life she has thought she was hallucinating, and that what she was seeing couldn’t be real. After her sister disappeared and  her parents were killed in an accident, she decided to try to find her sister herself, and went asking questions in all the wrong places.

The different paranormal creatures are many and varied, there are angels, demons, hell-hounds, dragons and others, and they all have their role to play in the upcoming battle between good and evil. Ivy seems to have a role to play, too, but she doesn’t know much about herself until she is practically kidnapped by Adrian – who is saving her from a cop who isn’t really a cop.

The Beautiful Ashes involves a complex world, and even at the end, I don’t think I had achieved a full grasp of that, or the mythology. I did learn enough, however to enjoy the story, the action, the plot and the amazing fights that happened. Entering a realm that that is very different from those I usually enter through books contributed to my enjoyment, as did the characters who were all willing to put their lives on the line for their cause.

The writing is good, I mean, it’s written by Jeaniene Frost, right? However, the story and the characters are very different from her adult series – and I enjoyed that as well. Seeing a favorite author branch out into a different genre, and going into places that are far beyond the usual was really pleasing to me, and I can’t wait to see what will happen in the next instalment in the Broken Destiny series.

Some of my favorite The Beautiful Ashes quotes:

The car’s interior light showed a hint of stubble trying to break though the smooth skin along his jaw, shadowing it in a was that was far too attractive. His exotic accent wasn’t helping either. 

Was it me, or did something happen when we touched? Something more than lust, although I had that bad, too. Could this be the supernatural bond Demetrius had spoken of? If so, he was right. It was getting stronger.

What Adrian described couldn’t be true. Good couldn’t give a complicit shrug to evil, and the faith of billions of people from eery race, background and creed couldn’t be worthless to whoever the Archon’s “boss” was.

 

Linda @ (un)Conventional Bookworms

About Linda @ (un)Conventional Bookworms

Linda is an English as foreign language teacher and has a Master's degree in English Language and Literature. She's an avid reader, blogger, compulsive one-clicker and a genre omnivore. Ever since she learnt how to read she has been seen with a book or two in her hands everywhere she goes.

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12 responses to “Review: The Beautiful Ashes – Jeaniene Frost

  1. While I enjoyed this book, I didn’t like it nearly as much as Cat & Bones. I just wasn’t as into the characters. I did love the mythology. I think I gave it three stars. I can’t remember. I hope that I like book three more. That more time can be spent on the characters, since a lot of the worldbuilding is already done. Great review.

    Melanie Simmons (@mlsimmons) recently posted: Best Audiobooks of 2014 Blog Hop Giveaway Sing ups. #audiobooks
    • It’s definitely very different from Cat & Bones, and that’s what I expected, since this one is YA and all. I’m looking forward to continuing this series, Melanie, and hopefully, you’ll enjoy the next one more 🙂

  2. I’m glad you liked Frost’s foray into something new, Lexxie. I happen to love Angel stories so the battle of good vs evil has me excited. Plus, I like the variety of supernaturals you mentioned. And those quotes have me curious about Ivy and Adrian. 😉

    Beautiful Ashes is on my Christmas wishlist, so I’ll keep my fingers crossed! I hope you’re having a marvelous Monday, my dear!! **BIG HUGS**

    • I thought the mythology was very well done, and I’m glad the quotes made you curious! Hopefully, Santa will bring it to you 😉
      *BIG HUGS*

    • She’s one of my faves too, Christy. And I thought her take on YA with lots of paranormal elements was well done 🙂 We can be excited about the next one together 😉

    • This one is YA, though, Stormi so I can understand it if Kathy expected something like the Nighthuntress series she didn’t enjoy The Beautiful Ashes that much. I expected younger characters and a completely different world, and I was quite happy with the result 🙂

    • YAY we can be the weird ones out having fun with Frost’s YA, Carmel! For me, it depends on how the angels are done… But I so do enjoy demons, they are so bad, and their justifications always get to me for some reason 😀

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