From Ashes (From Ashes, #1)

by Molly McAdams

Aside from her dad, who passed away when she was six, Cassidy Jameson has only ever trusted one man: her best friend, Tyler. So of course she follows him to Texas when he leaves for college. She just didn't expect to be so drawn to their new roommate, Gage, a gorgeous guy with a husky Southern drawl. The only problem? He's Tyler's cousin.

Gage Carson was excited to share an apartment off campus with his cousin. He didn't mind that Tyler was bringing the mysterious friend he'd heard about since they were kids ... until the most beautiful girl he's ever seen jumps out of his cousin's Jeep. There's something about Cassi that makes Gage want to give her everything. Too bad Tyler has warned him that she's strictly off-limits.

Despite everything keeping them apart, Cassi and Gage dance dangerously close to the touch they're both been craving. But when disaster sends her running into Tyler's arms, Cassi will have to decide whether to face the demons of her past ... or to burn her chance at a future with Gage.

• ISBN10: 006226771X
• ISBN13: 9780062267719
• Publish Date: 11 December 2012
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
• Imprint: Collins
• Format: eBook
• Pages: 416
• Language: English

Reviews

[Sam@WLABB]

Another cute, insta-love romance. I really enjoyed this book. I found myself hating Molly McAdams at several points during the book, but she redeemed herself, as always, in the last few chapters.

Again, McAdams gives us a broken female who men find irresistible. She leaves her miserable life in California and joins her "best friend" as he heads to Texas for college. There -- BAM! -- love at first sight. It may have been insta-love, but it is a courtship that is so difficult to watch. I was constantly yelling and almost threw my Kindle across the room.

Then, McAdams does her typical: create a character you fall in love with then do that! I will expound on what "that" is, because I hate reviewers who spoil the story. Let me just say, our (mine and McAdams') friendship was fragile at several points during this book. Don't get me wrong, this book has tons of humor and I got to laugh a lot. Not to mention, we had good ole Texas boys.

In the end, it had all the elements I needed: love, longing, lust, family, loyalty, friendship, pain, happiness, joy and an epilog that made me sigh with satisfaction.

[Leah]

I love New Adult books, and I bet people are sick of hearing me say that. But, it’s true. I love this brand new genre, and I was really excited to be offered two of Molly McAdam’s books to review, From Ashes and Taking Chances. I decided to read From Ashes first as I saw it was a stand-alone novel and I like to read books that are in a series at the same time, or, rather consecutively one after the other and so I went with From Ashes, and I have to admit, folks, this is a New Adult book that let me down.

One thing I’d like to point out is that there is an Amazon review that sums up this book for me PERFECTLY. I’d love to just steal it, but sadly, I can’t. But everything Sarah says on Amazon is everything I felt about the book. Tyler, Gage, Cassi, the whole physical abuse storyline, the whole Tyler being a douche thing. All of it, Sarah nails, so yeah, my review will probably sound similar but I can’t help it ‘cos we agree on it all. You can see her fab review here: http://www.amazon.co.uk/review/R25PE1K2MQXS5K/ref=cm_cr_pr_perm?ie=UTF8&ASIN=B009NF6IJA&linkCode=&nodeID=&tag=

I actually liked the premise of the novel, that Cassi had just this one guy who was always there for her. Always took care of her, even going so far as to drag her away from her California home to make anew life in Texas, when a lot of people would have just left her behind. Where that went pear-shaped for me was when this amazing best friend seemed to have a personality transplant and became convinced he and Cassi were meant to be together. It took the cake when Tyler started lying to both Cassi and Gage about each other to put them off each other. The entire thing was just icky. What I don’t get and what makes me SO frustrated is that Tyler is this guy who saw what was happening to Cassi as she grew up, he’s well aware of the abuse she suffers, and I don’t understand why he would suddenly start acting the way he was acting. It didn’t rub right with me at all, and it was a really crappy way to get Ty out of the picture by making his this weird creep. I wanted a love triangle, but I got a horribly mushy love story with a weird possessive creep for a best friend.

Cassi and Gage’s love story could have been amazing, I really believe that, but it was way too much, way too soon. They were in love before the end of page 5. I mean, what?! With the books I usually read (Chick Lit) you have to wait for love to be declared right til the very end, but Cassi and Gage knew they were in love with each other within nano-seconds of meeting, and I’m sorry to say, I felt Gage was just as possessive with Cassi as Ty was. I wanted Cassi to emerge this strong woman, but she basically did a Bella and flitted between Ty and Cassi (though, to be fair, the whole Ty thing was sorta forced on her; though, on the flipside to THAT, Cassi coulda told him to go to hell because best friends shouldn’t issue ultimatums like that ‘cos if they do they ARE NOT your best friend). I didn’t get the attraction to Gage. I don’t like when authors try to convey accents in novels. I prefer them straight up. No “y’alls” or “darlin”s, and so I always felt as if Gage was being a bit fake.

I just… From Ashes didn’t work for me. It had an interesting premise but I felt it could have been executed so much better. The ending was really rather lovey-dovey and a bit too far-fetched for a nineteen year old and a twenty-one year old. That’s the whole problem with the novel, everything was instant. Cassi and Gage’s love for each other, Ty’s personality switch, the ending. Too much, too soon. I just didn’t want to continue the novel, I can’t even believe I finished it because it was like car-crash book reading. There were a few bright spots, I quite liked the characters of Jesse and Connor, both of whom appeared out of nowhere, but were actually nice additions, and characters I was interested in. But, again, the whole Jesse & Connor thing added fuel to my fire that Gage was just as creepily possessive as Cassi. In fact, so was Connor, for that matter. I like boy characters who care about their girls, but not to the extent of Gage, Ty or Connor who really took the biscuit. If I was Cassi I’d have been running in the opposite direction. Here’s hoping I like Taking Chances a bit more, because this was a bit of a hot mess.

[Kelly]

Darlin'.
Darn, I do love me some hot southern charm, sugar
I enjoyed From Ashes. The lack of communication between Cage and Cassidy left me wanting to throttle them both, but it does allow for a more intense journey. Just a warning, there is brutal abuse present throughout the book in doses (past tense and reflective scenes). It is quite confronting, but important to the storyline as it helps readers understand the journey and mindset of the main character involved. Overall, the characters have more heart and integrity than those in Taking Chances, and perhaps that happy ending that we're all hoping for.