Ash Reads Stuff

Hero at the Fall  by Alwyn Hamilton Publication Date:  March 6th, 2018 Pages: 463 (hardcover) Genre: Young Adult Fantasy My Goodreads Rating: 4 Stars Goodreads Synopsis: When gunslinging Amani Al'Hiza escaped her dead-end town, she never imagined she'd join a revolution, let alone lead one. But after the bloodthirsty Sultan of Miraji imprisoned the Rebel Prince Ahmed in the mythical city of Eremot, she doesn't have a choice. Armed with only her revolver, her wits, and her untameable Demdji powers, Amani must rally her skeleton crew of rebels for a rescue mission through the unforgiving desert to a place that, according to maps, doesn't exist. As she watches those she loves most lay their lives on the line against ghouls and enemy soldiers, Amani questions whether she can be the leader they need or if she is leading them all to their deaths. My Review:  It's been a hot minute since I've actually had time to sit down and read a book, let alone write...

The Names They Gave Us by Emery Lord Publication Date : May 16, 2017 Pages: 384 (hardcover) Genre: Young Adult My Goodreads Rating: 5 Stars Goodreads Synopsis: When it all falls apart, who can you believe in? Everything is going right for Lucy Hansson, until her mom’s cancer reappears. Just like that, Lucy breaks with all the constants in her life: her do-good boyfriend, her steady faith, even her longtime summer church camp job. Instead, Lucy lands at a camp for kids who have been through tough times. As a counselor, Lucy is in over her head and longs to be with her parents across the lake. But that’s before she gets to know her coworkers, who are as loving and unafraid as she so desperately wants to be. It’s not just new friends that Lucy discovers at camp—more than one old secret is revealed along the way. In fact, maybe there’s much more to her family and her faith than Lucy ever realized. My Review:  I love Emery Lord, but I was a little wary going ...

The Song of David  by Amy Harmon Publication Date:  June 13, 2015 Pages:  260 (kindle)  Genre:  Fiction/Romance My Goodreads Rating:  4 Stars Goodreads Synopsis: She said I was like a song. Her favorite song. A song isn’t something you can see. It’s something you feel, something you move to, something that disappears after the last note is played. I won my first fight when I was eleven years old, and I’ve been throwing punches ever since. Fighting is the purest, truest, most elemental thing there is. Some people describe heaven as a sea of unending white. Where choirs sing and loved ones await. But for me, heaven was something else. It sounded like the bell at the beginning of a round, it tasted like adrenaline, it burned like sweat in my eyes and fire in my belly. It looked like the blur of screaming crowds and an opponent who wanted my blood. For me, heaven was the octagon. Until I met Millie, and heaven became something different. I became ...

The Law of Moses  by Amy Harmon Publication Date:  November 27, 2014 Pages:  333 (kindle)  Genre:  Fiction/Romance My Goodreads Rating:  5 Stars Goodreads Synopsis:  If I tell you right up front, right in the beginning that I lost him, it will be easier for you to bear. You will know it’s coming, and it will hurt. But you’ll be able to prepare. Someone found him in a laundry basket at the Quick Wash, wrapped in a towel, a few hours old and close to death. They called him Baby Moses when they shared his story on the ten o’clock news – the little baby left in a basket at a dingy Laundromat, born to a crack addict and expected to have all sorts of problems. I imagined the crack baby, Moses, having a giant crack that ran down his body, like he’d been broken at birth. I knew that wasn’t what the term meant, but the image stuck in my mind. Maybe the fact that he was broken drew me to him from the start. It all happened before I was born, and ...

Leave Me by Gayle Forman Publication Date: September 6, 2016 Pages:  352(kindle) Genre: Adult Fiction/Contemporary  My Goodreads Rating:  4.5 Stars Goodreads Description: International bestselling author Gayle Forman's trademark humor and insight abound in this masterful adult debut, showing us that sometimes you have to leave home in order to find it again. For every woman who has ever fantasized about driving past her exit on the highway instead of going home to make dinner, for every woman who has ever dreamed of boarding a train to a place where no one needs constant attention--meet Maribeth Klein. A harried working mother who's so busy taking care of her husband and twins, she doesn't even realize she's had a heart attack. Afterward, surprised to discover that her recuperation seems to be an imposition on those who rely on her, Maribeth does the unthinkable: She packs a bag and leaves. But, as is so often the case, once we get to where we're going,...

When I'm Gone  by Emily Bleeker Publication Date: March 15, 2016 Pages: 366 (kindle) Genre:  Women's Fiction My Goodreads Rating: 5 Stars NetGalley Summary: Dear Luke, First let me say—I love you…I didn’t want to leave you… Luke Richardson has returned home after burying Natalie, his beloved wife of sixteen years, ready to face the hard job of raising their three children alone. But there’s something he’s not prepared for—a blue envelope with his name scrawled across the front in Natalie’s handwriting, waiting for him on the floor of their suburban Michigan home. The letter inside, written on the first day of Natalie’s cancer treatment a year ago, turns out to be the first of many. Luke is convinced they’re genuine, but who is delivering them? As his obsession with the letters grows, Luke uncovers long-buried secrets that make him question everything he knew about his wife and their family. But the revelations also point the way toward a future where love goe...

Hooray, another Top Ten Tuesday (a weekly feature brought to you by The Broke and the Bookish ). This week's topic is ten books to read if you're in the mood for ________. My list is the Top Ten Books to Read If You're in the Mood to Cry Your Face Off. This is probably a terrible idea, but here we go! (Click the books to go to Goodreads!) Well, there you have it. Get your tissues ready. 

The Summer I Found You  by Jolene Perry Publication Date: March 1, 2014 Pages: 261 (Kindle) Genre: Young Adult My Goodreads Rating: 3 Stars Goodreads Synopsis: All they have in common is that they're less than perfect. And all they're looking for is the perfect distraction. Kate's dream boyfriend has just broken up with her and she's still reeling from her diagnosis of type 1 diabetes. Aidan planned on being a lifer in the army and went to Afghanistan straight out of high school. Now he's a disabled young veteran struggling to embrace his new life. When Kate and Aidan find each other neither one wants to get attached. But could they be right for each other after all? My Review:  This was definitely an interesting premise and it kind of reminded me of I'll Meet You There in the sense that the characters were going through some of the same things. Kate is struggling with learning to live with diabetes and Aidan is home from the war learn...