The Beautiful Ashes
(Broken Destiny #1)
by
Jeaniene Frost
Pub August 26th 2014
by Harlequin
ARC for Review
Summary
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…
These Ashes Are Truly Beautiful
Um can I say that I LOVED The Beautiful Ashes!! I like to keep my reviews as spoiler free as possible but I will say this…Its about my most favorite things EVA!!! If you know me you can probably guess what that is. Any who I won’t come out and say it because it was a wonderful surprise while reading the book and I wan’t y'all to experience it as well. This is the first book I’ve read by Ms. Frost and it certainly wont be the last. I’m an insta fan and can’t wait to continue this series.
T-aken, Ivy has lost so much in the last few days of her life she will search and do what needs to be done in order to find her sister.
H-ope, coming across an older lady so seems kind is not at all what Ivy was hoping for. The shock of seeing her sister alerts Ivy as a threat now knowing her sisters location is only the beginning of her problems.
E-ncounter, meeting someone who calls to her every being isn’t what Ivy thought she would find in her hotel room. Adrian didn’t understand his reaction to Ivy he had orders to carry out and will take her to safety.
B-old, an officer who is not what he seems will shock Ivy into silence knowing her life is about to drastically change and needing answers going with Adrian is her only choice.
E-clipsed, fear will have to take a back seat Ivy needs answers. Adrian knows who to ask because he himself has a few questions.
A-nger, finding out who Ivy truly is brings a heavy cloud over Adrian’s head. Torn between what he knows he must do and what fate has always dictated Adrian lashes out at those nearest.
U-npredictable, having found out some answers Ivy still doesn’t know why Adrian’s moods shift with varying degrees and frequency.
T-rust, Ivy needs to find her sister and Adrian needs to fulfill his revenge working together is the only option these two have at the moment.
I-ntrusion, knowing they cannot acquire what they seek Adrian will in list the help of his trusted friends in order to escape once they have broken into the dark dimensions.
F-ighting, being lead by a higher calling everyone involved knows the risks of taking on pure evil.
U-nion, knowing who Adrian is and the fate everyone keeps labeling him with should prompt Ivy to run but something deeper calls to her soul.
L-ies, all of the pushing Adrian has inflicted on Ivy has been to protect her from him. Not wanting to give in but being caught in a moment of weakness unleashes something raw and deep out of his soul.
A-lone, being tested time and time again Ivy realizes what she must do and carries out her plans with pain but determination.
S-haken, finding the two things she has wanted most brings Ivy to her knees but in order to be successful she will have to face her worst nightmare.
H-ope, what Ivy thought to be betrayal turned into a sacrifice she would not accept. Fighting with all of her heart will prove to be her strongest weapon.
E-mbrace, knowing she reciprocates his feelings Ivy will fight till there is no strength remaining. Feeling Adrian’s arms around her fills her heart with new life.
S-ecrets, being kept in the dark has been par for the course but this last admission is too much knowing what she should have known all along Ivy will cast what her heart wants most aside and do what she must.
GAH! I can’t wait to get my hands on the next book this was soooooo good! Ms Frost’s pacing was great even though I guessed a couple of things before they happened it didn’t affect my love for this book. What a tragically great beginning to what I hope turns out to be an amazing new series. This one is definitely making my favorites list. I’d say it qualifies as a New Adult Paranormal. There wasn’t anything too steamy but there was a moment that I had to fan myself so I’d say 17+ but nothing too shocking. The chemistry between Adrian and Ivy is off the charts good! They are constantly fighting what they feel(for different reasons) but its an incredible rush anytime one of them breaks the others walls. *sigh the side characters were wonderful compliments to the storyline and fit marvelously. Get ready to devour this in one sitting, its that good!
My Rating
4.5 Car Accident, B&B, Old Lady, Dirty Cop, Hooded Figure, Archon, Safety, Relic, History, Realms, Obsidiana, Demetrius, Boy, Axe, Cage, Hound, Zach, Jaz, Fulfilling a Destiny Love Filled Stars! I’m dying to get to the next one so I know you will too! This is making fav’s so I definitely recommend it!! Eeeeeep! 
Excerpt
A familiar song was playing, but I couldn’t remember the name. That bugged me enough to open my eyes. A wall of black met my gaze, slick and smooth like glass. I reached up to see what it was, and that’s when I realized my hands were tied.
“Silent Lucidity” by Queensryche, my mind supplied, followed immediately by, I’m in the backseat of a car. One that was well taken care of, going by that flawless, shiny roof. With those details filled in, I also remembered what had happened right before I’d passed out. And who I was with.
“Why are my hands tied?” I said, heaving myself into an upright position.
For some reason Adrian didn’t have a rear view mirror, which was why he had to glance over his shoulder to look at me.
“Does anything make you panic?” he asked, sounding amused. “You’re tied up in the backseat of a cop-killer’s car, but I’ve seen people get more upset when Starbucks runs out of pumpkin spice flavor.”
Anyone normal would panic, not that it would do any good. Besides, I ran out of “normal” a long time ago, when I realized I saw things no one else did.
Speaking of which, why wasn’t I in pain? The lump where Mrs. Paulson had whacked me was gone, and my shirt was red from blood, but aside from a mild kink in my neck, I felt fine. When I pushed my shirt up, somehow, I wasn’t surprised to see smooth, unbroken skin on my abdomen. Well, that and a bunch of crumbs, like I’d eaten a dessert too messily.
“Why does it look like I have angel food cake on my stomach?” I wondered aloud.
Adrian snorted. “Close. It’s medicine. You were injured.”
“You can tell me how I’m not anymore,” I said, holding out my bound hands, “after you untie me.”
Another backwards glance, this one challenging.
“You may be the calmest person I’ve ever been sent to retrieve, but if I tell you now what you want to know, that will change. So pick—the truth, or being untied?”
“Truth,” I said instantly.
He let out a laugh. “Another first. You’re full of surprises.”
So was he. He’d just admitted that he regularly kidnapped people—which was how I translated “retrieve”—so I should be trying my damnedest to get free. But more than anything, I needed answers. Besides, I still wasn’t afraid of him, and somehow, that had nothing to do with him magically healing me.
“Truth, Adrian,” I repeated.
He turned once again and his gaze locked with mine, those odd blue eyes startling me with their intensity. For a moment, I could only stare, all thought frozen in my mind. I don’t know why I reached out, awkwardly touching his arm to feel the hard muscles beneath that bulky jacket. If I’d thought about it, I wouldn’t have done it. Yet I couldn’t make myself pull away.
Then I gasped when his hand covered mine. At some point, he’d taken off his gloves, and the feel of his warm, bare skin sent a shock wave through me. The touch seemed to affect Adrian, too. His lips parted and he edged over the back of the seats—
He yanked on the steering wheel, narrowly avoiding another car. A horn blared, and when the driver passed us, an extended middle finger shook angrily in our direction. I leaned back, my heart pounding from the near collision. At least, that’s what I told myself it was from.
“Dyate,” Adrian muttered.
I didn’t recognize the word, and I was at a loss to place his accent. It had a musical cadence like Italian, but beneath that was a harsher, darker edge.
“What’s that language?” I asked, trying to mask the sudden shakiness in my voice.
This time, he didn’t take his eyes off the road. “Nothing you’ve heard of.”
“I picked truth, remember?” I said, holding up my bound hands for emphasis.
That earned me a quick glance. “That is the truth, but you don’t get more until you meet Zach. Then we can skip all the ‘this isn’t possible’ arguments.”
I let out a short laugh. “After what I saw on Detective Kroger’s face, my definition of ‘impossible’ has changed.”
Adrian swerved again, but this time, no other car was near.
“What did you see?”
I tensed. How did I explain without sounding insane? No way to, so I chose to go on the attack instead.
“Why were you in my hotel room? And how did you heal me? There isn’t even a mark—”
“What did you see on his face, Ivy?”
Despite his hard tone, when my name crossed his lips, something thrummed inside me, like he’d yanked on a tie I hadn’t known was there. Feeling it was as disturbing as my inexplicable reaction to his clasping my hands.
“Shadows,” I said quickly, to distract from that. “He had snakelike shadows all over his face.”
I expected Adrian to tell me I’d imagined it, a response I was used to hearing. Instead, he pulled over, putting the car in park but keeping the engine running. Then he turned to stare at me.
“Was that the only strange thing you saw?”
I swallowed. I knew better than to talk about these things. Still, I’d demanded the truth from Adrian. It didn’t seem fair to lie in return.
“I saw two versions of the same B and B earlier. One was pretty, but the other was old and rotted, and my sister was trapped inside it.”
Adrian said nothing, though he continued to pin me with that hard stare. When he finally spoke, his question was so bizarre I thought I’d misheard him.
“What do I look like to you?”
“Huh?”
“My appearance.” He drew out the words like I was slow. “Describe me.”
All of a sudden, he wanted compliments? I might have finally met someone crazier than me.
“This is ridiculous,” I muttered, but started with the obvious. “Six-six, early twenties, built like Thor, golden brown hair with blond highlights, silvery blue eyes…you want me to go on?”
He began to laugh, a deep, rich baritone that would’ve been sensual except for how angry it made me.
“Now I know why they came after you,” he said, still chuckling. “They must’ve realized you were different, but if they’d known what you could see, you never would’ve made it out of that B and B.”
“You can stop laughing,” I said sharply. “I get that it’s crazy to see the things I do.”
Lots of kids had imaginary friends growing up. I had imaginary places, though at first, I didn’t know I was the only one who could see them. Once my parents had realized that what I kept describing went far beyond childhood fancifulness, the endless doctor visits and tests began. One by one, diseases and psychoses had been crossed off until I was diagnosed with a non-monoamine-cholinergic imbalance in my temporal cortex.
In other words, I saw shit that wasn’t there for reasons no one could figure out. The pills I took helped a little, though I lied and said they got rid of all my hallucinations. I was sick of doctors poking at me. So whenever I saw something that no one else did, I forced myself to ignore it—until Mrs. Paulson and Detective Kroger had tried to kill me, of course.
Adrian did stop laughing, and that unblinking intensity was back in his gaze.
“Well, Ivy, I’ve got good news and bad news. The good news is, you’re not crazy. The bad news is, everything you’ve seen is real, and now, it’ll be coming for you.”
About The Author
Jeaniene Frost is the New York Times, USA Today, and international bestselling author of the Night Huntress series, the Night Prince series, and the upcoming Broken Destiny series. To date, foreign rights for her novels have sold to twenty different countries. Jeaniene lives in North Carolina with her husband Matthew, who long ago accepted that she rarely cooks and always sleeps in on the weekends. Aside from writing, Jeaniene enjoys reading, poetry, watching movies with her husband, exploring old cemeteries, spelunking and traveling – by car. Airplanes, children, and cook books frighten her.
For information on Jeaniene's books, reading the first 20% of each book free, book trailers, deleted scenes, creature mythology, and more, please visit: www.jeanienefrost.com
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