This is the second book of Matthew S Cox’s that I have read, after the previous book in the series – Grey Ronin. I immediately fell in love with the style of that novel, and was pleasantly surprised to find that his style continued into the fourth book in the series – Daughter of Ash.

The good thing about this series is that – although they are connected to each other – they are self-contained stories that don’t necessarily require a great deal of prior knowledge about the other books in the series.

The main character is a genetically engineered super-weapon who wields the power of pyrokinetics. She is able to summon fireballs at will, but those same powers mean that her internal temperature is several thousand degrees, and she burns anything she comes into contact with. Be it clothing, shoes, or other human beings, Kate is a literal danger to anyone she comes into contact with.

She serves as an enforcer for a local mob boss, but her old life, and her old masters come back to haunt her, and she goes on a journey to find her origins, and whether there are any answers, or cures for her condition.

The book really reminded me of a mix between the Fallout universe, and the television show Dark Angel. It takes the ‘best’ of these things – a post-apocalyptic wasteland environment, with so many people just trying to survive; and very relatable human super-soldiers – and smashes them together with excellent results.

Cox writes in a very accessible style, and his characters feel very relatable, and fleshed out. I thoroughly enjoyed Daughter of Ash, and would recommend it to fans of post-apocalyptic fiction, and the Fallout series.

I received a review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

I haven’t read the rest of the books, but I didn’t have too many issues picking up on the little nuances of the world building. I thought the plot premise was fascinating, and the details were great, from the clothes that she had to wear to the materials that she could touch and even eat! Despite her powers, she’s a little cold but that’s understandable given her horrible past. It’s a unique look into the nature vs. nurture argument. Book rarely has any slow moments, and the characters are unique and engaging. Excellent read!

Daughter of Ash (The Awakened #4) by Matthew S. Cox is a book that had me glued to the pages! Oh my goodness! I have the other books in the series, and read two of them but out of order but it didn't seem to make any difference. This book was so awesome! This gal has been engineered by the government and they thought of her as a mistake. So at the age of 7, they were going to kill her but that didn't happen, she made it out. She is lonely because she can't have body contact because she is 6-800 degrees. Needless to say she says bare a lot. She is one kick ass assassin. She might have found a way to be cured but it is far away, past the Badlands...but she is going to try if it kills her. AWESOME!!! I loved the plot, the well developed characters, the uniqueness of the story, and Cox is one of my favorite authors for his never-fail-your-readers books. Full of action, adventure, crazy fantasy/sci-fi, great dialogue, and it is one HOT book :P
I was allowed to read this book from Curiosity Quills and I am very thankful. The review was not required.