Blood Soaked Ashes {Review}

Blood Soaked Ashes by Frankie Ash 

Book Two in Eramane Trilogy

Visit the Author's website HERE

Publisher: Self-published

Publishing Date: January 21, 2015

Goodreads Summary: 

A legion from across the sea wants her dead. The man she loves would die a thousand deaths to keep her alive. The demon she fears would cover the lands in blood-soaked ashes to have her again. Eramane is learning to accept her new life, a life that demands much from her. She is a Breather, and she has no idea how to be one. But when Eramane learns that a passage she opened between her world and the Reach cannot be closed, she will find herself on a treacherous journey searching for dangerous allies. In the north are the Cloud Walkers; across the South Sea is a kingdom with a massive army. Both could end up destroying her and all that she loves, if the demon she thought was dead doesn't do it first.

I received a copy of this book from the author for a blog tour in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. Buy a copy today! 

My Thoughts:

'Blood Soaked Ashes' is book two in a trilogy. I jumped in without having a chance to read book one first. I would never really recommend this with any series and especially not this one. Ash refers to events that occurred in book one through this entire story. So while I can manage to piece together what happened and who is who, etc., I could never get passed the feeling of 'missing out'. Readers and fans of book one may either be annoyed by this repetition or like the fact that the events of book one truly mattered. For me, it was tough to read and thus affected my view of the book :/

However, the plot was pretty interesting. Ash is going to be a good storyteller with more practice. And she is completely heartless when it comes to her characters! I found myself wondering if this is what fans of 'Game of Thrones' feel as they watch the show. The world building felt comfortable and thought out.  The story itself progresses well, albeit dramatically.

So why am I only rating this read with 2.5 stars?? Well besides the trouble I stated in paragraph one (which is completely biased on my experience!), I felt that 'BSA' needed time to marinate. The story was event after event after dramatic event with little to no breathing room. I needed 'inbetween time'; I needed processing time. That just wasn't found here for me. 'BSA' could have benefitted from some additional edits and slowing down to appreciate the work and story for itself. Overall, 'BSA' really wasn't a bad read, especially if I had tracked down book one like I had intended. If book three ever comes my way I would pick it up and find out Eramane's conclusion.