An inherited secret. An ancient rival. A magical legacy.Briana Spurrier turned her back on her heritage as a reincarnating witch to chase her dream career. But when a tragic accident calls her back to her small town island roots, a spell cast in her grandmother’s dying moments opens her to Oracle powers she’s spent her whole life avoiding. Now, an enemy of old has surfaced, hungry for …
Now, an enemy of old has surfaced, hungry for vengeance…and Bri’s soul. Unprepared and untrained, she must harness the magic buried deep within her before the demon of her past hunts down everyone she holds dear.
This is the first book in the Skydancer series. Book 2 releases Winter 2017.
more
What does it mean to protect a relic that has been passed down from generation to generation in your family? Knowing that some of your family members have died to protect this thing can be an enormous burden on your shoulders. Would you do the same? What would happen if you failed? Mitchell has an interesting spin on this new urban fantasy world shrouded with mystery, betrayal and secrets.
Briana has a nice, cushy lifestyle in Sydney, while everyone whom she ever loved remains in tight knit covens within the States. What does it mean to run away from your life? To run away from the every fiber of your conscience that tells you who you are and where you belong? Knowing that something is missing, Briana lives her life the best she can, but doesn’t realize how truly unhappy she is until she heads back to the states after seeing her grandmother in spirit after her passing. What Briana doesn’t expect is to be placed right back into the life that she so missed–as if she’d never left. Her friends are the same, her family is the same and the people in the town are the same, forever fearful of the curse that is supposedly tied to her family. When more people in the town start dying, Briana has no choice, but to stay and figure out how to defeat the murderer.
Mitchell has an enjoyable, creative and original urban fantasy novel with this first installment. The character development is great and the pace is genuinely pleasant. There are a lot of mysteries that are still present which leaves the reader wanting to read the second installment which can be quite a good quality. Unfortunately, the narrator’s take of certain personalities in this book was a bit disturbing. The character voice relay was very light and didn’t hold the depth of some of the scenes like the author appears to intend; however, this should not critically hinder the enjoyment of the novel. If you are a reader of paranormal fiction and urban fantasy, you may enjoy this book. With this being the first installment in the Skydancer series, readers can jump right in.
An audiobook was provided to Turning Another Page by Audiobookworm Promotions and in no way affects the honesty of this review. We provide a four-star rating for Rain of Ash by Gwen Mitchell.
This is my first book by Gwen Mitchell. It will not be my last though. Rain of Ash is the story of Briana Spurrier. The last of her family has passed away and she must return to her home town. Years before Bri turned her back on everything and everyone including her magic to be a concert pianist. Now that she is back she must unleash her magic to battle a demon to save herself and everyone else.
She hooks back up with her friends from childhood. Astrid her best friend and Lucas her first love, to try and break the curse against Bri. Along the way we also meet Kean, who feels that he is getting a fresh beginning now that Bri has returned, and Eric from her present life as a pianist.
The book was very interesting and full of action, magic, and love or lust. i was not crazy about Kean and his attitude an the way he handled things but there’s pretty much one charater in every book you just can’t fall in love with. Bri was not always where she needed to be but i still liked her character pretty much. I do feel that she would of been stronger if she wasn’t lost. I personally do not decide if most series are going to be good or bad until after book 2. Which I am fully willing to read, I enjoyed this book and can see it only as getting better.
The book was narrated by Daniela Acitelli. She done an Ok job, but Bri’s character came off a bit whiny at times, when I felt that the passage had her being a bit more tough. Other then that I enjoyed her narration.
I received this audiobook as part of my participation in a blog tour with Audiobookworm Promotions. The tour is being sponsored by Gwen Mitchell. The gifting of this audiobook did not affect my opinion of it.
Rain of Ash by Gwen Mitchell is a paranormal and supernatural tale of a curse, a legacy and Briana Spurrier, the Skydancer that will be called upon to defeat the demon. The story has been told before – good magic vs bad magic, but I lost myself in the fantasy world of demons, legacies, magic, danger and death created by Gwen Mitchell.
Briana had left her home, her passion the piano and her desire to be a concert pianist drove her to deny her heritage. But, the curse and her legacy was not be denied. When a disaster brought her home, she was at a disadvantage. She did not know the danger lurking at every turn.
Regrets, sure, she had plenty. Her powers had been bound, but even before she returned it was pushing through, entering her life and refusing to be denied – candles light on their own, doors close by themselves, precognition, psychic echoes, regressions, astral visits – makes me think of Charmed and Supernatural, a couple of TV shows all paranormal lovers like me know about.
Kean, it was as if his life restarted when she returned. But there was also Eric, who was in her “real” piano world. And Lucas, from a long ago past that she fought to forget. So I guess you could call this a quadrangle, but there is really only one…I think. 🙂
I love Astrid, her best friend. Briana had thought she would hold a grudge because of abrupt departure, but it was almost as if they had never left. If you have ever had a best friend that lives far away, you will know what I mean. Distance and time make no difference, each time you meet it is if no one had every left.
The three friends band together and decide to form their own coven. The accidents are not accidents and they are determined to find the answers. They must plead their case before the council.
The magic world has its own set of rules and punishment. They cannot be allowed to run AMOK.
There were a couple of ceremonies that made me think of scenes on Supernatural – where they slash their palm, squeeze the dripping blood into the cup and drink it. Yuck.
The fading (orbing) made me think of Charmed.
I am liking the new coven, their backbone, confidence, strength and determination.
The Soul Eater comes for Geri and the battle goes into overdrive. I can picture the fight from watching Charmed and Supernatural. The Soul Eater is deformed, a hunched, winged fanged, powerful demon able to raze a house and shred human flesh. It revels in the pain and anguish wreaked by its fangs and claws.
I love all the magic, the tension and pacing drawing me in. As the demons and witches, goblins and werewolves, Oracles and Soul Eater begin the battle for the relic and Brianna, I find myself wondering who will survive. Who will die? How many? Gwen is not afraid to kill off her characters in a brutal, horrific, gruesome way.
Rain of Ash started out okay, but when the Soul Eater came to visit and the action really began, the battle was so wildly, magically, horribly supernatural and fantastically charmed I became hooked on the series and am eager to read Book II.
I received a copy of Rain of Ash by Gwen Mitchell in return for an honest and unbiased review.
To see more visit http://www.fundinmental.com
Couldn’t put it down until I finished!
Audiobook review: Rain of Ash was an interesting adventure in urban fantasy. The romance is complicated, the storyline has many twists with mystery, danger, death & magic in abundance. Character development is nicely done and well rounded. The narrator did a nice job but was a little slow for my taste. I received a free copy of this audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.