Beautiful Ashes (Broken Destiny, #1)

by Jeaniene Frost

[Melanie]

My review and an extended sample of the audiobook are posted at Hotlistens.com.

3.5 stars for story
3.5 stars for narration
3.5 stars overall

Title: The Beautiful Ashes (Broken Destiny #1)
Author: Jeaniene Frost
Narrator: Tavia Gilbert
Publisher: Blackstone Audio
Unabridged
Length: 8 hours 21 minutes
Publication: 8/26/14
Genre: New Adult/UF
Heat Level: Warm

When I heard that Frost was writing a new series, I was all over reading it. Then I heard that Tavia Gilbert was narrating, so I knew I would be listening to this. While I enjoyed this book, it was no Cat & Bones story.

Ivy has been seeing things her entire life. She always thought they were hallucinations. She finds out that they are real and her life is turned upside down. She is the last of a bloodline that allows her to see these demons. She runs into Adrian who offers to help her find her sister.

Adrian is also the last of a bloodline, but his bloodline gives him a fate that is not a good thing. He has been fighting his fated future for a while and it only seems harder when he meets Ivy. He knows that he is going to betray Ivy and has tried to convince her to stay away from him.

There is an impossible romance between Ivy and Adrian. While we have the fast-paced action of trying to find Ivy's missing sister, there is a lot of world-building as we learn along with Ivy about this world of demons, angels and humans with exceptional bloodlines. Ivy makes new friends along the way. There are also some losses, as well.

Narration
I love Gilbert's narration of the Night Huntress series and the other books from the Cat & Bones world. She really fits those characters really well. However, I just didn't get into her portrayal of these characters as much. I don't think she got Ivy's naivete. I did like some of the characters voices. I think that I could get use to the narration as I get more into the story. It wasn't bad, just not as good as the Night Huntress books.