Review of 'Ash' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
Probably would consider this either a contemporary fantasy or an urban fantasy. Modern era premise, more emphasis on the contemporary/urban life struggles, though they are framed as a penance for not using blood magic, it's not really elaborated on. The fantasy element is more around the mythical entities that fade in and out of the story.
I suspect my reception of the novel is more in lines of "not my genre" than mostly anything else. A literal long decline towards the end that made me note it was a thing that happened, and the "gotcha" of one character's motivations didn't seem like a payoff for me. Plot wise is very bait and switch, to the point where almost anything I say is spoilers. What one would expect of the blurb isn't the prevailing theme. It's different in that regard, and at least it isn't predictable.
The primary POVs of the …
Probably would consider this either a contemporary fantasy or an urban fantasy. Modern era premise, more emphasis on the contemporary/urban life struggles, though they are framed as a penance for not using blood magic, it's not really elaborated on. The fantasy element is more around the mythical entities that fade in and out of the story.
I suspect my reception of the novel is more in lines of "not my genre" than mostly anything else. A literal long decline towards the end that made me note it was a thing that happened, and the "gotcha" of one character's motivations didn't seem like a payoff for me. Plot wise is very bait and switch, to the point where almost anything I say is spoilers. What one would expect of the blurb isn't the prevailing theme. It's different in that regard, and at least it isn't predictable.
The primary POVs of the story are the LaLaurie family; Daniel, Jocelyn, and some Jared, with a few side characters mixed in. It's always interesting to see what part of the author shows up in which character. Jocelyn was very real and reflective of the LGBT experience, and if the POV was just attached to them the whole way through, I would have found this story to be exceptional. Unfortunately, it was mostly centered on Daniel. Daniel is victim uno of the story, thankfully not a "woe is me character," but he didn't generate enough interaction nor connection with the other characters (including the love interest) for not only me to be invested in him, but it also made me wonder why anyone bothered. At some point a character threw their life away for a man who essentially disregarded them as a myth, and continued to do so after the sacrifice was made. Thus my general issue with the novel was a lack of human connection and real human relationships in relation to Daniel. People sacrificed for a man who was uncompromising. Which is weird, because Jocelyn (up until the second half, when it was all about Daniel) was a true person, with moods and alliances and tentative romance and overshare.
My criticisms probably tie in with the genre of New Adult and anything sub-fantasy in regards to how relationships are portrayed. If you're into this genre, this is probably expected and even normal. If not, you'll be wondering why most of the characters are so invested in a person who does next to nothing to ingratiate himself to other people. But then we have people reading 50 Shades of Grey, so... I think you'll probably enjoy this more if it is your genre.