"Crimson Ash" by Haley Sulich is a gripping dystopian novel that immerses readers in a dark and dangerous world filled with secrets and survival. Set in a post-apocalyptic landscape, the story follows protagonist Ash, a fierce and determined young woman fighting to protect her loved ones and uncover the truth about her past. Sulich's writing is vivid and atmospheric, painting a vivid picture of the harsh realities of life in a society ruled by fear and oppression. With its compelling characters, thrilling action, and thought-provoking themes, "Crimson Ash" is a captivating read that will keep readers turning pages until the very end.

I unfortunately forgot to download the e-book on my kindle before it was archived and/or lost interest in the book because it’s been on my tbr for way too long, so I wasn’t able to read and review it (on time). Since I Must give a star rating, I’ve given it 3 stars to stay neutral/in the middle. Sorry to the publisher for not having gotten around to actually read it.

Sadly this book just didn’t grab as much as I hoped it would. I put it down and picked it up multiple times but I just couldn’t connect with it. Super bummed.

After finishing Crimson Ash, I didn't really....think anything of it. It was probably because I felt like I hadn't really read a fully fleshed out story. It felt like it was still in a first draft. The writing wasn't the best. It was as if we were thrown into a story that the reader should have already known and understood. So I was very confused by the world building and why things were the way they were. Nothing was really ever explained and I think that was why I didn't connect much with it, or the characters.

An edgy dystopian with harsh stakes. The entwined fates of the sisters have a steep arc, hurtling towards conflict and catastrophe. I often get bored of stories where separated sisters are brought back together to fight but this novel takes the trope and makes it work.

I read this book quite some time back after my request for a review copy got approved on NetGalley. The blurb and the cover, both intrigued me enough for me to request a copy in the first place. But I had mixed feelings about the book once I finished reading it.

Crimson Ash is the story of two sisters set in a dystopian world. Solanine and Ember are sisters whose lives were changed completely the night their government kidnapped Ember. Erasing the memories of people to turn them into effective soldiers is just one of the tactics that the government uses to keep the general mass under control. But Solanine is not ready to give up. She is determined to rescue her sister and for that she ventures on to find the rebel camps along with her fiancé. But not everything goes according to her plan and the loss of her love hits her hard. With secrets between them, when the sisters finally find their way to each other… will everything they have done and faced be worth it to keep them together?

What I loved about the book was the theme of choices and their repercussions throughout. It is something that always makes me stop and think… what choice would I make? Would I be able to live with the results of that choice? Whether it is Solanine or Ember, their choices have impacted each other and others around them and the crux of the plot came down to the question whether they could live with it. This in turn helped the plot to touch upon the theme of self-destruction, something we could all learn from. The thing that I love about dystopian novels is the fact that when well developed, the dystopian world can actually help us realize a lot of things about our realities; One reason why I loved Margaret Atwood’s ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ and one reason why I loved this book.

On the other hand, the first half of the book was really slow. Given the fact that I still have questions about the world setting, not enough world building was done in the first half to make concessions for the slow start. The pace picks up after about 60% of the story is done and as such it was difficult to really get into the story at the beginning. I also felt that the dialogues (especially the ones that were meant to be hard hitting) were just bland.

Would I recommend this book to someone? I probably would, but with ample warnings about the pace and trigger content.

This was entertaining at some points and frustratingly slow at others. Overall I did enjoy it, but I'm not sure I'd recommend it to anyone.

This one for me was ok, but didnt really pull me under. It took me a while to finish and I kept moving to other books before coming back to it.

This book brought me back into the feeling of dystopian societies. I haven't read a dystopian book in a while, so this was a nice refresher to the genre. Haley Sulich knocked it out of the ballpark with this book. There was just one problem; it's way too long.

I felt that she could have broken this up into two books at the minimum, especially since there were so many chapters. After the first fifty chapters, the first thing that I thought was, "This book is really really long." Don't get me wrong, I love long books. It's just, you got the feeling that it was going on for too long.

Besides that, I loved everything about this book. The characters--Solanine, Quinn, Kane, Tucker, Cahira, Ember, Nightshade--everyone, was amazing. They all had amazing character development, and they definitely helped to build the story and plot. I was really sad for Quinn, for he barely got any time in the book. In fact, let me go over a few things about the characters that I liked.

Solanine - Even after eight years, she still wanted to save her sister from the City of Soldiers. I give her the "semi-best sister award" for that. I also want to give my condolences for losing her fiancé. That must have been awful to go through, and I hope I never have to go through that in the future.

Ember - Though she couldn't remember anything, I give her credit for at least holding back a little bit. She fought against what she was doomed to suffer with, and I think that's really brave. The relationship she and her sister have is pretty complicated, but I'm glad that they at least have one. I am also not a big LGBTQ+ reader, but she was really used well to express that in this book.

Quinn - Though we didn't get to see him much, he was a great beginning to the story. You could physically feel the love he had for Solanine radiating off of him, and he's a fictional character! I really liked how he, I guess you could say, sacrificed himself for his fiancee.

Tucker - Best big brother award over here! The way Tucker protected his sister as soon as she got back to the camp was actually amazing, and I loved his addition to this story. I liked how he kept his dreams, even after all hope for the world was gone. He was also there for Solanine after her fiancé died, so he deserves the best friend award too.

Kane - Prosthetic arm or not, this dude is amazing. I loved his character and seriously fell after he helped Solanine conquer her addiction. He was PERFECT. I almost died when some of the events occurred (I can't tell you because that would be spoiling, and I'm not about that life). Seriously, give me a Kane to love over here! Indiana boys are too boring and uuuuuugly.

Cahira - This girl scared me a bit. I was happy with her character at the beginning of the book, and most of the way through. Then, things kind of went off the hill. I get that this book also centers on self-harm, suicide, and multiple other things, but I felt like it was overused, if you know what I mean. Cahira's character was all good in the beginning; she was relatable and understanding. But then she did something twice, and it became kind of unbelievable in the "it's not unbelievable in a good way, but unbelievable as in it's unbelievable". That probably made no sense, but oh well.

Nightshade - I liked that Haley included a mother figure in this book. As you know, most, if not all, of the characters lost their parents (this is a Dystopian book, so that's not really a spoiler). I liked how she had her secrets but then released them to the girl she trusted (*cough cough* Solanine *cough cough*). I also liked how she contributed a lot when it came down to rounding up the ex-soldiers. She was like the mother to everyone.

Like I said before, I really enjoyed this book. The plot was well thought out, the characters were well developed, and the story moved along. For everything I've listed, I give this book 4/5 stars. I really hope to read more from Haley Sulich in the future.

This book was all over the place. Not much context is given and very little explanation is present. Even the world-building is almost non-existent.

Crimson Ash has an interesting concept, unfortunately it reads like any other interchangeable YA dystopian. It took me forever to finish, most because I was bored with the story and couldn't connect with the characters. When there was dialogue, the sentences were short, choppy, and repetitive. If you love anything YA-dystopian, then this might be the book for you; I just couldn't get into it.

Unfortunately for me, this was really just an Ok read; I originally requested a copy of this because I was oh so intrigued by the actual blurb.
It really captured my attention and sounded ever so intriguing in its overall description.
But this one; for me was one that worked much better on paper than in its actuality.
Initially, I found myself rather bored and uninvested I also had real issues getting into and immersing myself in the story plot.
I'm not really sure why that was, as it had all the necessary ingredients that usually work for me.
Just something seemed to be missing from the recipe which was a shame as It was one that I was really looking forward to reading.
So after several stops and false starts, I finally bit the bullet and managed to get through the first few chapters and once accomplishing this feat I then found myself much more interested in what was to come next.
Basically "Crimson Ash" is a YA future dystopian tale set against a surreal post apocalyptic landscape.
Our story though encompassing many characters is really the saga of two sisters Ember and Solanine; told by focusing individually on each sister and then alternating POV "Crimson Ash" bounces back and forth weaving a fantastical web.
A war is raging between two opposing factions drawing all into the crossfire whether wanted or not.
So this has all sorts to offer its readers; deep tragedy action and romance all combined together to bring forth a fresh new voice in Dystopian YA fiction and once I connected here I did then enjoy myself; there were still things that for me spoilt things, but for the most part, I was satisfied with the eventual conclusion we were given.
The main grumbles I had that caused me to drop my rating a smidge was the constant back and forth between the rebels and the government; I did find this slightly tedious and I also thought some of the secondary characters could have been a tad better developed than they were.
ultimately though this wasn't a bad read just one that wasn't really my flavour at times.
Maybe it will be a better fit for you; as at its heart, this was a good solid YA read that was at times just so bittersweet and poignant in nature.
Thank you to the authors for providing me with a Review copy of "Crimson Ash" of which I have reviewed voluntary.
All opinions expressed here are entirely my own.

Quick thoughts:
- cw for self-harm, suicide, PTSD, alcoholism
- eerily dark atmosphere
- focus: sibling relationship
- themes: depression, healing
- shaky/unclear motives from antagonist
- a bit more polishing needed tbh

* Review to follow!

I tried reading this a few months back and couldn't really get onto it. I thought I would wait and try again. I have now done that 3 or 4 times and each time I'm less interested than the time before. This just isn't for me. I could not finish it.

You may live as a soldier or face death. Choose wisely.

Solanine Lucille wants her little sister back. Eight years ago, the government kidnapped her sister Ember, stole her memories, and transformed her into a soldier. But Solanine refuses to give up. Now that she and her fiancé have located the leader of a rebel group, she believes she can finally bring Ember home. But then the soldiers raid the rebels, killing her fiancé and leaving Solanine alone with her demons and all the weapons needed for revenge.

After raiding a rebel camp, sixteen-year-old Ember doesn’t understand why killing some boy bothers her. She’s a soldier—she has killed hundreds of people without remorse. But after she fails a mission, the rebels hold her hostage and restore her memories. Ember recognizes her sister among the rebels and realizes the boy she killed was Solanine’s fiancé.

Ember knows she can’t hide the truth forever, but Solanine has secrets too.

As their worlds clash, the two sisters must decide if their relationship is worth fighting for. And one wrong move could destroy everything—and everyone—in their path.

* * * * *

Books set in the dystopian genre are rather hit or miss with me. I have read some truly spectacular ones and have found others that bore me to tears. I have found that it all boils down to whether I can relate to the characters.

CRIMSON ASH started off rather slowly for me and I was starting to think that this was going to be one of those misses. However I found that Solanine had snuck up and became a character that I cared about. I started to cheer her on as she would get back up after a defeat. And I really liked one of the secondary characters, Kane, who tended to stay in background but was always there.

This really is a coming of age story. Both Solanine and Ember have some growing up before they even have a chance to rebuild their relationship and possibly the world.

I wouldn't say that CRIMSON ASH was one of those spectacular reads but I found that I enjoyed the story. The characters grow on you and the some of the plot twists surprised me. The pacing however was slower than I really prefer. Also it felt as though the finale was rushed once you finally reach it almost as though the author had reached a word limit.

I really don't know if I would recommend this book. Some of my readers might really enjoy it. Others might find the slow pace irritating. This book does contain a lot of violence but no explicit sex.

***I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own and not influenced by the publisher or author.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me a copy to review.

2.5 stars

This book was quite the experience. If I was to use three words to describe this it would be nostalgic, longwinded, and heartfelt.

Nostalgic

I have come to learn that I don't really like Dystopian the way a used to. This book reminded me of the not so great ones that I read when I was in middle school. So yes, middle school me would have loved this book but college me found it tiring to get through.

Longwinded

I am not sure if this is the best word that I can use to describe what I was feeling when I was reading this book but it is the best that I can come up with. I like books where I can fly through the pages and I can read for an hour and have 50 or so done. With this book, I would read for what felt like a half an hour and I had only read 10. Also, the exposition was over a hundred pages. I detest long expositions. I like books that get you into the action within the first few chapters.

The plot was also not formed well. I kept forgetting why the characters were doing what they were doing and it felt rather slow. The pace did pick up a bit towards the end but for the first 150 or so pages (the book was 382) it was not fun. Also the world needed more details! Why did the soldiers exist is my biggest one but it just needed more little details to make it feel real. Though from the little bit that I could understand about the City of Graven, made it definitely one of my top ten places to NEVER SET FOOT IN. It was creepy and totally dystopian.

Heartfelt

I LOVED THE CHARACTERS IN THIS BOOK! It was probably the only redeeming fact about the book besides City of Graven. The two sisters that the book is centered around, Ember and Solanine were fabulously written. They and all the other characters acted like real humans and made mistakes and hated and cried and laughed. I kept going back and forth on whether or not I agreed with Solanine for rescuing her sister in the beginning of the book or if I thought it was selfish of her. I loved how Ember tried her best at no longer being a soldier with Solanine and adjusting to her new life. I definitely think that I would have enjoyed the book if it was centered more around the sisters reforming bonds at the camp instead of including the whole Ember in the City of Graven plot.

Solanine Lucille and Ember Lucille are living in the same world but under different roofs. Escaping the government’s grasp, Solanine lives as a rebel, together with her fiance, Quill, outside the walls of the infamous City of Graven. On the other hand, Ember is a government’s soldier, robbed of her memories, tasked to give the “Choice” and trained to be emotionless.

Now there’s a rebel group of ex-soldiers and Solanine just needs to figure out if her sister is among them. But when an unexpected ambush resulted to the death of Solanine’s fiance, Solanine vows to avenge Quill and bring back her sister from the government’s hand. Little did she know that her fiance died at the hands of Ember.


The moment I saw Crimson Ash on Netgalley, I thought: “Wow I think I should read this book. It sounds interesting to me, so why not?” Well, to be honest, I did enjoy the first chapter. It was a great starting point but after reading the following chapters, everything went downhill for me. It wasn’t catching my attention anymore, and I’ve told myself several times already to DNF this book but I couldn’t. And there’s a good reason for that.

The characters were very diverse. A kaleidoscope of people were represented and I think that makes the story three-dimensional. Every individual was well-described and readers will appreciate that. The characters were strong-willed, though at times, vulnerable. Additionally, their names were unique! Say for example, Cahira, Quill, Nightshade, etc. Two point of views were used: Solanine’s chapters were written in third person while Ember’s is on first person.

The story is fast-paced and I think it fits well with the story, considering that it’s packed with action in almost every chapter. The concept piques my interest and keeps me reading, and I can say that this is the book’s charm. There is a certain uniqueness to it that I just had to keep reading. Some parts of the story is written poetically and it could be an additional fascination for readers. Some of its themes include friendship, and survival.

However, when it came to world-building, my thumbs are somehow pointing downward. It was difficult to imagine the world that I was currently in, especially when it’s not the planet Earth, when insufficient details are given.

The story was definitely fascinating and I think it has great potential. Unfortunately, it wasn’t good enough for me, but hey. Maybe you’ll enjoy it better than I did! If you’re up for a SciFi read, then you might want to try Crimson Ash!

I liked the premise of the book and the beginning. It is a Dystopian world ravaged by a virus. Now there is city where people live predictable lives and there are soldiers who have been brainwashed. As the soldiers find resistance or people outside the city they give them a choice - live in the city or die. The book begins with Ember giving that choice to someone she knew from her old life and who is her sister's fiancee (Quill) - but she doesn't remember any of that and she kills him. She is "rescued" soonafter and her memories are restored but now she has to live with what she has done - not only to Quill but to many others. Then there is Solanine - she wants her sister back but the damage is extensive.
I liked the fist half of the book but then things started going back and forth - captured, escape, under mind control, not under mind control and there were so many issues - cutting, suicide, death, regret. It was pretty heavy. In addition, the pov changed from 1st to 3rd depending on whether it was Emmy or Solanine and it was jarring.

Whew! I am glad I set aside some time to read this book. I started it and the next thing I knew, I had finished it. It was an enthralling read, full of angst and sorrow and loves lost & found. The characters were very true to life, and I really felt for what they were going through.

Oh this story. I loved this so much. This is defently to story of love for family.

We have 2 sister, Solanine Lucille and Ember, that were tore apart after a tragic kidnapping. You will experience one with memories and the other with memories on the government has programmed her to know. Solanine will stop at nothing to bring her sister back home. How far are you willing to go to save your family?

The fight and love to rescue her sister is amazing in this book. I highly recommend this.