Review: The Beautiful Ashes (Broken Destiny, #1) by Jeaniene frost

In a world of shadows, anything is possible. Except escaping your fate.

Ever since she was a child, Ivy has been gripped by visions of strange realms just beyond her own. But when her sister goes missing, Ivy discovers the truth is far worse—her hallucinations are real, and her sister is trapped in a parallel realm. And the one person who believes her is the dangerously attractive guy who's bound by an ancient legacy to betray her.

Adrian might have turned his back on those who raised him, but that doesn't mean he can change his fate…no matter how strong a pull he feels toward Ivy. Together they search for the powerful relic that can save her sister, but Adrian knows what Ivy doesn't: that every step brings Ivy closer to the truth about her own destiny, and a war that could doom the world. Sooner or later, it will be Ivy on one side and Adrian on the other. And nothing but ashes in between.

~ Goodreads

Source: ARC provided by Harlequin via BEA

Review:The Beautiful Ashes was…ok. It’s action packed right out of the gate, with a cool take on demon/angel mythology and a forbidden romance but I also had a few issues with it as well.

As I said, the action starts almost immediately but unfortunately that doesn’t allow for us to really get to know Ivy or her background very well. It’s all telling not seeing. I struggled to connect to the pain Ivy was supposed to be going through, having just lost her parents & trying to find her missing sister.

Most of that can be blamed on the romance which happens almost instantly and hit one of my rage buttons. Adrian is hot. OK – I expected that and hey – nothing wrong with that. But he kidnaps her and she’s more turned on than angry. Because he’s hot. Ivy ponders that if she ever gets kidnapped again she wants it to “be by an old, ugly guy” so that it would be less confusing for her emotions. No. just No. This is one of the best posts I’ve read on the topic of ignoring bad behavior just because it’s been perpetrated by a hot guy. Exchange the hot guy with an old or ugly guy and you KNOW you have a psychopath on your hands. Make him hot and he’s your soul mate. There was another moment where Ivy is depressed about her parents and sister and considers herself lucky to be around someone so distractingly good looking to keep her mind off things. I don’t know…if I lost my parents and thought my sister was being held as a slave by demons, I don’t think even a sex god could cheer me up. But that’s just me.

Any-hoo….moving on…

The second half of this book gets past the icky stuff and develops Adrian as more than his passive/aggressive studly persona to reveal his true motivations and develops Frost's world of demons and angels. It’s interesting and Ivy’s connection to Adrian is pretty cool. They have a rough road ahead of them that’s for sure.

This book represents a much needed expansion of the New Adult genre from contemporary to paranormal and that’s welcome for sure even though it had a more YA feel. Even so, the story fell a little flat for me. It’s interesting but not edge of your seat compelling.

If you love angel/demon mythology and are willing to take the time for the characters to develop then I would recommend this book to you. It's not bad - just not my cup of tea as they say.