Review: Ashes (Fire Within #3) by Ella M. Lee

Ashes by Ella M. Lee
Verdict: THE BEST ONE YET
(book one here and book two here!)

Summary

After several shocking near-deaths and an even more shocking resurrection, Fiona is more determined than ever to unravel the mystery behind who is targeting her group and why. And after finding out some startling information about her infamous boyfriend’s bloody past, she is eager to come to terms with dating someone so driven to complete his goals.

As Fiona’s group edges closer to completing Nicolas’s and Daniel’s ambitious plans to change the magical world forever, they will need to work harder than ever to navigate problems with new magic and interference from old enemies…

Thoughts

Ella M Lee’s acknowledgements for this book start off like this: “I cried a lot while writing Ashes. I think you can imagine why.”

YUP I CAN, because I was still crying when I read the acknowledgments. In fact at one point while I was sobbing my way through the last quarter of this book, my boyfriend asked for help with something and I had to preface to him that yes, I was crying, but only because this book was SO GOOD. And twenty minutes later when he came upstairs, he was incredulous that I was still crying over this book. It’s just that masterfully done, y’all.

It’s a wild ride, y’all, this one. In book one, we met Fiona and Nicolas and Daniel, and started to see the seeds of change. In book two, we met a lot of the other characters and got an introduction to the future dynamics and Fiona’s new skills with her new magic. Book three is where all the backstory has settled; we know the characters and their goals; we are suddenly accelerated to sixty. Fiona struggles often with never getting a break to rest, and yo I feel that, because this book is busy in a fantastic way.

I don’t really feel like I have to say much more. This is the book where lots of plot things happen. There’s more interesting relationship and world building, but it’s all about the core of the story in here. If you’ve already read the first two, then you certainly shouldn’t be stopping now, because presumably you’re in it and committed.

Thanks to Booksirens and Ella M Lee for a free copy. This is my honest review.