Ashes by Mary Martel – A Book Review

Posted April 28, 2019 by Booksandblurbs in Dark, PNR, Reverse Harem, Reviews / 1 Comment

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Ashes

(The River Pack – Book 1)

by Mary Martel
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Medium Burn, Dark Paranormal RH

Available on Kindle and in Paperback

Down and Dirty

Rough but good – there are parts I cringed and even cried, but the over all story makes it worth a look. Maybe.

What is is about?

(Blurb from GoodReads)

Cordelia has never known anything but the safety of her fathers guarded compound where she’s lived her entire life. A life that, as the alphas daughter, has always been a privileged one, albeit an incredibly sheltered one.

Until one night, life as she knows it, is flipped entirely upside down when she’s promised to another alpha in order to buy safety for her father’s pack. This doesn’t exactly sit well for Cordelia seeing as she has different plans for her life, even if she doesn’t know what those plans are just yet. Out of fear of what she doesn’t want her life to become, she does the unthinkable and tells her father the one thing he’ll never tolerate from anyone in his pack, especially not his daughter. She tells him no.
As a result, Cordelia learns just what kind of depraved man and alpha her father is and is left a broken, bleeding mess because of it.

After finding kindness and compassion from two strange men who show up at the compound and help her when she is no longer capable of helping herself, Cordelia does the only thing she thinks she can do in order to survive and not be stuck in a world of abuse and misery.

She runs.

Unfortunately for Cordelia, she doesn’t make it very far before she finds herself in trouble again and at the mercy of another male with alpha tendencies. This alpha also comes with a brother by blood and one by choice.

The problem is, Cordelia’s not so sure she could ever find a place in a pack again after everything she’s survived. She won’t have long to figure it out though because, no matter the cost, her father is determined to find her and bring her home.

Warning – Due to certain sensitive sexual subject matter and abusive situations, this book may contain triggers for some people.
It’s also a Reverse Harem book.

Thoughts

I’ll be totally honest here, this was a HARD book to read, at least in the beginning. There are parts that hurt my heart, broke my brain and wounded my soul – especially as I thought of women who have actually been through that. Oh, not the wolves, of course, but monsters wearing the guise of men. The ending almost makes up for the beginning, but truth be told, this is not a book I would read twice.

Please note

Please be aware of the trigger warnings and pay attention to other reviews. There is rape in this book, and incestual rape. It is not glorified, nor celebrated as some other books on Amazon have been wont to do lately, but it is very present and there is no glossing over what happens to this poor girl. While the scenes are not written in extreme detail, or even much detail at all, you KNOW what is going on. The incestual rape is a fade to black moment, but there is no doubt as to the outcome. I am expressly stating this, as people need to be aware of it prior to reading, as with awareness comes caution. But also, please note, these scenes are NOT what makes this book, nor are they cause to abstain from reading it unless you know they might cause you mental or emotional harm. Because, truthfully, it IS a good book and it is far more about the struggle to overcome and grow than it is about the event.

Perspective

First Person, Multiple POV

Ending Type

Episodic

Pros:

Personal revelations of the soulful kind. The FMC goes through Hades and discovers herself…. almost.
Flows well.
Emotional depth.
Rescue.

Cons:

VERY long winded dialogue and extensively long paragraphs. I normally don’t mind or even notice this, but when a single paragraph covers 2 pages, it catches my attention.
Emotionally hard to read. Trigger warnings for violence.

Verdict

4 out of 5 Stars

It’s a good book and worth reading, as long as you know what you are getting into.

Published February 28th, 2019

350 Pages

Please note, this is a Reverse Harem Series that features violence, along with sexual themes and scenes only suited to an Adult Audience. 18+ only.