Piper Jones can’t catch a break. After a lifetime of animosity and indifference from the supernatural community, she thought she’d finally found a home with the vampire king’s enforcers. Then the dark and mysterious Merc walks into her life, and it takes a disastrous turn for the worse. Now under attack by enemies both known and unknown, Piper has little choice but to flee her refuge–and start … start over in a place few vampires ever go. Rural Alaska seemed to fit the bill, except for Knox and his crew of werewolves. The pack shares a connection with Piper that few of them can explain, and none of them can escape. With time running out for answers, Piper must fight the demons of her past to ensure her future–or die trying.
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This is a story where things seem to be going too well to early, and by well, I mean not an absolute complete shit show . You know it is going to hit the fan, and hit the fan it does. But this provides the opportunity for Piper to begin her road to discovery about herself.
Piper has had a hard life, she was orphaned at a young age and never fit in anywhere going up. She then discovered the supernatural world, hoping that is where she fit in, but as she is unable to access whatever magic she has, she still has no true place. This first book is the start of Piper discovering who she is and where she belongs.
I loved this book, and I am so excited to see where Piper’s story goes next.
Diving into this one tonight!
A few years ago I discovered a book titled, Caged, by this author. I fell in love with the characters and the story and read them all until the series was finished last year. I have read this book twice now-once a few months ago, and again yesterday. I thoroughly enjoyed myself both times. And that’s because for a first novel in a series, Amber has exceeded my expectations and has written a book that is just as good as Caged, if not better. That’s something I never thought I would say!
Piper Jones has made her home with the vampire enforcers of New York City. Taken in a couple of years before by the King of the vampires, she had never really had a home until now. When vampire enforcer Merc comes home after a long absence, Piper is inexplicably drawn to him, as he is to her. But Piper has very dangerous enemies and ends up leaving to hide out in Alaska-in the middle of nowhere. It’s not long before she realizes that she didn’t leave the supernatural world in New York, instead she has moved in close to a werewolf pack-one that wants to befriend her. And just so we’re clear, I am not going to mention what supernatural creature(?) that Piper is-or isn’t. That’s just part of the mystery in this story.
The characters in this book were pretty incredible-at least I thought so. Piper has to be one of the strongest characters as far as inner strength that I have read in quite some time. She has been through a lot and continues to persevere even as more is thrown at her. Merc was perfect as a handsome, enigmatic vampire with a tortured past. Knox, the pack leader in Alaska, was my personal favorite of the group. He’s down to earth and caring and seems to be a very sweet man. And he loves his pack and treats them well. It doesn’t hurt that he’s mega good looking! Rounding out the group are Kat, Piper’s best friend and a werewolf from New York City, as well as Dean and Jase, vampire enforcer brothers also from NYC, that have anointed themselves as Piper’s protectors and honorary big brothers. I also should mention a character named Grizz-he doesn’t have a big part, but I absolutely loved him, and look forward to seeing him in future books. He was definitely the comic relief. I will leave it to the reader to discover why.
This story was filled with suspense and life and death moments. Whether it was happening in NYC or Alaska, the action never lagged, nor did the development of the characters or story line. It’s also a romance and probably the most sexual of any books by this author. And yes, I am being intentionally vague about the story line due to spoilers. One more thing, From the Ashes was a pretty perfect title of this book based on the story, and I thought the cover was pretty great as well.
In the end, I came away from the book, both times I read it, wanting more. I would like the second book as early as yesterday! Amber has proven once again to me why I enjoy her work-not that I ever doubted her! I adored this story and highly recommend it to both paranormal romance fans as well as urban fantasy readers-as long as they are adults. Adult, due to sexual situations and violence. I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for a fair and honest review.
(Originally posted on Rabid Reads)
ORIGINALLY POSTED TO THE PURE TEXTUALITY PR BOOK BLOG:
https://puretextualitypr.com/2016/04/05/release-day-review-by-jena-from-the-ashes-force-of-nature-1-by-amber-lynn-natusch-amberlnatusch/
And she does it again!
So, be jelly, readers. Be very jelly. When Amber Lynn Natusch was writing this book, I was lucky enough to get to read it AS she was writing it. As she finished chapters, she would send it to me. If you ever have the opportunity to beta for an author in this fashion, it’s kind of awesome. It’s like waiting for your weekly fix on fanfiction.net. lol Except I was getting it every day.
From the Ashes kicks off a brand new series from Amber Lynn Natusch. If you’re familiar with the Caged series and expecting another Ruby, you’re not going to find it here. Piper is a brand new character and she’s distinctly different from Ruby. She’s got her own world of trouble to deal with and while it’s nothing like the Caged series, Natusch’s familiar writing and snark are readily recognizable from the first page.
What paranormal romance would be complete without a book boyfriend? Well, fret not, ladies. From the Ashes has a whole CAST of book boyfriends. Each guy has an original personality and as the reader, I fell in love with each of them right off the bat. You’ve got your alpha male types, the lovable types, and the types that you kind of want to slap around a bit right before you force them into a bear hug. You guys are very familiar with my penchant for bad guys and Natusch has a couple to choose from in this adventure.
Overall, I love it end-to-end, and I cant wait for the next book in the series. The author has created a new world that somehow feels familiar without also feeling like just another chapter in her existing series. The characters are complex and well written, the dialog is witty, and the action is never-ending. If you like urban fantasy series such as Mercy Thompson or Kate Daniels, then you’d like From the Ashes.