From Ashes. A Review

 Get your tissues out! This is not a book for the faint hearted. Molly McAdams gives us the sad tale of a young girl who never got a break in life in, From Ashes.

I am going to review this book a little differently.

 

First let me tell you that in a span of two days I had two different people, who do not speak to each other or even know each other, tell me about this book. When that happened I knew that no matter what I needed to read this book.

 

Brief Synopsis:

 

Cassidy has been abused her whole life by her mother and stepfather. She has only survived because of her best friend Tyler. Now that he is going away to college in Texas he takes Cassidy with him and finally frees her from her parents wrath. With in hours of being in Texas Cassidy meets Tyler's cousin Gage and is immediately smitten. Gage also is taken with Cassidy and can not stop thinking about her.

 

Enter the love Triangle: This is not your usual triangle. The thing that KILLS me is that Gage and Cassidy are in love with each other and Tyler gets in the way on purpose. And they let him. It was infuriating! This book takes place over about two years of time and it is excruciating to read at times! As if Cassidy has not been through enough Molly McAdams continues to put Cassidy through the ringer ten times over.

 

Basically this book is about a girl finding herself  and finally facing the demons that have haunted her from the time her mother decided to not protect her as a child or a teenager for that matter. And of course, it is a love story.

 

My problem? I hate violence for the sake of violence. If I felt like there was a reason why, Cassidy as a character NEEDED to go through the pain and torture that McAdams continues to put her through, then I think I would deal. But it just felt like...well....enough was enough. I was so worried for Cassidy at every turn of the page. She is the proverbial punching bag. She just kept coming back no matter how much she was beat.

 

I should say that I did like this book. Will I EVER read it again? No. TOO sad and not enough happy. The way her "friend" treated her was just not okay with me. I feel like maybe this would be a great movie.  Maybe it could translate better on film. For a 500 page book I was just dying to get it over with so Cassidy could finally be at peace and not almost die. AGAIN. She is, I feel like, McAdam's version of Darling Cruel. There is never enough torture where this character is concerned.

 

I want to leave y'all with this. The book has amazingly sweet moments along with funny and almost magical moments. For those moments I say, read this book. It is worth the download if you need to shake things up a bit.

 

                                                           Rising up from the ashes has never been so painful

                                                                                       Lisa :)