There are some heavy-duty events along with the resultant emotional cost going on in this story. I had thought the sibling relationship would the at the heart of the story. In the event, because this is an action-led adventure rather than all about the characters, while it is an important part of the plot, it doesn’t particularly drive it forward. Apart from anything else, the sisters spend a significant part of the book at cross-purposes with each other.

To be honest, I’m still not completely sure of my response about this one – there is a great deal of action and the world is bleakly awful, with a psychotic monster running the City of Graven. The consequences of existing within such a dark landscape, pervaded by loss are clearly spelt out – alcoholism and suicide are depicted within the story by some major characters and kudos to Sulich for having the courage to depict protagonists who are not invincibly cheerful in the face of hopeless odds against them.

But I did find the plot looped along a pattern, where something bad happens, one of our protagonists is cast down, painfully rallies to the point of fighting back, only for something else bad to happen so that they are cast down, before rallying… And this happened to most of the main protagonists. Fortunately, the final climax broke free from that.

I found the City of Graven really fascinating and would have liked a bit more insight into exactly how it was set up and why. Overall, it was an action-packed, intense read and is ideal for fans of YA dystopian worlds where it’s all about what happens next.
7/10

Goodreads Synopsis:
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.

My Review:
I chose this book because the cover looked mysterious, and the description sounded like something I would love. In reality, although I liked this book, I didn't love it. The viewpoints switch between two sisters, Solanine and Ember, and it begins with Solanine running through a forest, jumping right into the action. They're looking for someone named Nightshade, because if anyone will know where her kidnapped sister is, its her Nightshade has a massive army of captured and restored soldiers that used to be brainwashed by the government. They're able to restore their memory wipes because of neutralizing pills, giving back their memories but keeping their soldier bodies. The last time they heard anything about her, was about two years ago in the city of soldiers.

I really wanted to love this book, so full of action and such an interesting story, but I really felt like I was missing something. I checked a few times while I was reading this book to see if I had accidentally started in the middle of a series or something, but nope, just confusing. The government takes children at the ripe age of nine, and takes their memories and brainwashes them with horrible physical pain turning them into soldiers. Although the story is exciting, I felt like they were just doing the same thing over and over again. The ending was just as confusing as the beginning.

Although it's an easy read, it's not my new favourite. I'm glad I read it, although there's a lot of self harm and suicide attempts in this story. How did things end the way they did? This book left me confused more than anything. I liked the characters, they were almost realistic, reacting to things the way they did, but it wasn't enough to make me love this book. Check it out and see what you think.

Here's a link to the book on Amazon, and another link to the author's Twitter!

https://www.amazon.ca/Crimson-Ash-Haley-Sulich-ebook/dp/B079R1LGLZ/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1526499700&sr=8-2

https://twitter.com/HaleySulich?lang=en

Thanks for reading! Check out this review and more at my blog.
(Radioactivebookreviews.wordpress.com)

I have mixed emotions about this book. It is fast paced and action packed , but i felt something was missing. The narrative is interspersed with the perspective of Ember and Solaine , whereas  Ember's chapters are told in first person, Solanine were in third person, this was confusing  at times. The story is pretty dark and gory and talks about  alcoholism,suicide and grief. The concept and the world building was good , but the execution fell flat. My favourite character was Kane , for always being there for Solanine. I still don't understand the connection of the story with the title

I received a free copy of this for review from NetGalley **

2.5 maybe 2.75. I really liked this going into it but I think the pacing of the story from the middle to the end was super weird. There was so much back and forth and it was skipping months and years where I would've liked more explanation of what was happening. I liked the concept but the execution just didn't cut it for me. It kept me interested enough to finish it but I find it kind of forgettable.

There are stories that stay with you long after you've finished reading them. This might be such a story. It certainly is one I enjoy thinking about, discussing way more than actually reading it. Which sounds slightly negative, but it's not necessarily.

If you just want a relaxing read, this one isn't for you. But if you like your books dark, thought-provoking and tackling important and difficult topics such as guilt, grief, coping mechanisms and death, then keep reading. (Just know that this book doesn't shy away from showing exactly what happens when people break and suffer, so be sure you can handle that)

I've seen differing opinions, but I think this book is heavily character focused. The main focus of this story is the two sisters, Ember and Solanine and their effort to slowly get to know each other again after being apart for eight long years.
But they have let vastly different lives and struggle to understand each other. On top of that, they each have their own secrets and feelings of guilt.

Embers memories were 'cleansed' when she was captured eight years ago and she was turned into a soldier. She fought, killed and felt nothing for years. Including the moment she killed her sisters fiancé. She is not the same innocent smiling young girl her sister remembers. Nor can she be that ever again.

Solanine on the other hand always searched for her little sister and lost many people along the way. She fought her own demons while hiding and trying to locate and free Ember.

The world they're living in is unforgiving. A virus has wiped out most of the humans and now soldiers roam the earth to give people the choice: Life or Death. Live in the City of Graven, where dreams die or be killed immediately.
The setting was very vivid and I could picture everything, the atmosphere was very dark.

Solanine chapters were written in third person while Embers were first person which was a bit irritating at first, but I got used to it.
I think I liked Solanine and her story a tad bit more, probably because Ember was really emotionless for a large part of her story and that made it a bit harder for me to connect with her. Even though I really liked that part in hindsight. I don't want to spoil anything so I'm not going more in depth with this.
But the middle part is also the reason why I docked off a star. Ember was torn on what to believe, but she was a bit quick to change her thinking for me. I didn't find it that plausible. Though there were some truly chilling lines here, and the feeling of the City and the people living there was definitely conveyed well.
(But, next time ... dead eyes. I get it. Not necessary to repeat it quite that often! And some thoughts were worded really weird, I don't think anyone thinks like that, but oh well.)


I really appreciated that Haley Sulich went all out and wasn't afraid to really explore the dark topics she chose to write about. There were consequences for everything and a not really a fairytale ending. And I was pleasantly surprised with certain twists. I love it when I can't see something coming.


Tucker was a good addition to the story even though he did something which I really despise (being brave but stupid .. a pet peeve of mine) but I adored his loving and fun side.
Cahira was an interesting character and I enjoyed reading about her. She was smart and caring, sensitive and broken. And clever when her brother wasn't. Which I greatly appreciated. Her story is quite dark, too.

Nightshade, well. Hers is a tragic story but we didn't see enough of her for me to really care about her tbh.
Same with Kane actually, Even though I did like him and what happened with him.

The plot wasn't the strongest point of this book imo. It was too convenient from time to time. The ending, for example, felt too easy compared to the struggle before.

But overall I quite liked this book and am still thinking about it. Which is something I love.

In a future devastated by the virus the Devil's Dream, survivors are given a Choice: to die or to live in the government-run city where every moment is tightly regulated and observed for deviance. The Choice is given by soldiers, who are children stolen from families with their memories erased. They endure a harsh life in the City of Soldiers, and feel no emotion, which is considered a weakness. Sixteen-year-old Ember Lucille is one such soldier, stolen away eight years before the start of the book. She has no emotional connection to Solanine Lucille, who had found the leader of the rebels to try to help rescue Ember. Even getting her out of the government control isn't enough, because both sisters have secrets they are sure will devastate the other.

Crimson Ash is a book that deals with very heavy topics: child soldiers, teen alcohol abuse, self-harm, thoughts of suicide, mind control, and the live-or-die reality of this world. There are many moments when the characters are caught up in their own pain and loss, which is certainly understandable. They've all lost so much, with hope dangling just out of reach. The secrets that the sisters keep from each other are emotional bombshells, and it certainly increases the misery that they feel. As opposed to a number of other post-apocalyptic teen novels, this one really doesn't shy away from the horrors of war or scrounging for meals in the wake of disaster. The main characters are all teenagers, so they don't have very good ways to cope with the disaster that's befallen them.

The plot was a constant roller coaster of events. Just when I thought I could predict what would happen next, something different would occur. The villains aren't exactly one dimensional and are smart enough to have lived in this reality and reshape it to their will. There is no easy solution, and no pat ending full of puppies and rainbows. Ember has a good way of describing that eventually: "No matter how many times we say we're fine, there will always be a part of us that isn't because we are prisoners of our pasts. When we think we're free, the memories flood back and remind us where we came from." For those that have ever dealt with trauma, this will resonate. Recovery is a process, no matter the traumas and how people get there. "We live for the memories of the ones lost, to do what they never had the chance to do."

*I received this book through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review*
DNF @12%

I thought this would be an interesting book based on the synopsis, but upon reading it, it just didn't work for me.

It was starting to feel like the cliche things were coming and I wasn't sure how the how brainwashing thing would workout. And carving into people when they break from being a robot? I don't know... it just didn't seem right.

We start the book in the middle of action-- it was intense it was interesting... but then nothing was explained, so I wasn't able to care.

Also, the POV changes were... well they felt weird to me. I'm not sure if writing in different ways was supposed to show a different theme or atmosphere, but it just didn't work for me.

I wasn't able to stay interested, but I think people who like dystopias might find more interest in it.

I found the plot to be okay, but it was hindered by the very simplicity of the authors writing. It was another teen book, which similar themes as Hunger Games and Divergent.

The world was decimated by the virus, the Devil’s Dream. In a nightmarish tale that pits sister against sister, steals memories and free will, all that remains are the demons of the past and the monster that has warped the future.

CRIMSON ASH by Haley Sulich is a powerful tale of loss, emotional torment and choices when one sister flees to remain free and another is taken captive to become a robotic soldier without her memories, emotions or the freewill to fight against the false world she has become part of.

Solanine lives with the memories of the night she let go of her sister’s hand and lost her to a cruel and twisted government who stole her memories and created a killing machine. Years later, their paths will cross again, standing on opposite sides of the war. Ember has no memory of Solanine, or the man she just killed, but this time, it felt different. After being captured by the rebels, Ember is “cured” of the virus, her memories returned, but those memories could be the very thing that will drive a permanent wedge between the sisters.

Haley Sulich’s dystopian tale is filled with angst, self-doubt, self-destruction and heartbreak as a group of rebels fight back against the government that has destroyed their world. Gritty, dark and filled with a constant sense of turmoil, this edge-of-your-seat read has a shaky opening that gains ground and runs full-throttle throughout. Twists, turns and the seemingly impossible odds add a sense of action and adventure as David stands against Goliath, with an unknown outcome.

If you like your reading able to stay one step ahead of where you THOUGHT it was going with emotions running hot throughout, you’ll be lost in this “reality” as the hours fly by.

I received a complimentary ARC edition from Write Plan! This is my honest and voluntary review.

Publisher: Write Plan (May 10, 2018)
Publication Date: May 10, 2018
Genre: Sci-fi | Dystopian
Print Length: 382 pages
Available from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble
For Reviews, Giveaways, Fabulous Book News: http://tometender.blogspot.com

After a deadly virus eliminates much of the world's population, those who are left are divided into two factions. One is in the technologically advanced and military-centric City of Graven, where everything about the people from their clothes and hair are controlled and surpressed. The other is the rebel group living throughout the world in hiding, attempting to capture soliders from the City of Graven and undo the brainwashing they're sufferred through. Trapped on opposite sides of this war are sisters, Solanine and Ember. 

This was one of the first books I picked out when I started this reviewing adventure with Netgalley in December. I was really drawn in by the cover. It's beautifully done and completely original. I also have always been excited by post-apocolypic and dystopian worlds. There's something so chilling about getting a peak into a worst-case scenario for our planet. I've been eargerly waiting to read this book and couldn't wait to jump in. 

First off, the world of Crimson Ash did not disappointment. It's complex and well thought out. It's all at once alien and familiar, depending on which sister's point of view we're in. Learn about the Devil's Dream, the virus that infected most of the population, was intriguing and played a great role in the story. The two sides of the war were both also great to learn about, as both had good intentions for their fight, as well as poor execution. 

I really found myself excited and drawn in by the side characters in this book. The leaders of the two factions, Nightshade and Graven were fascinating and complex. In particular, I felt a strong connection to one of Ember's co-soliders Cahira, as she struggled to keep the people who cared about together. I really didn't feel much for the two sisters, unfortunately. I think part of the problem was that the story alternates point of view fo Ember and Solanine, making it more difficult to connect with them. Ember, as a brainwashed solider, is fairly cold and unfeeling so it's hard to relate to her. Meanwhile, Solanine's part of the story is told in third person, so it's difficult to get inside of her head as well. 

The biggest struggle with this book was the storytelling. As I started reading the first chapter, I felt like I was in the second book of series, rather than the first. I actually had to put the book down and google to see if I'd somehow missed that there was book before this one, which I usually research fairly well before reading a book. Instead, I was thrown into the middle of a fast-paced story that was already well into the action, so I had a hard time keeping up. I feel like this would make an excellent sequel to a book, but as the first book in a series or a stand alone book, it starts too much in media res for a reader for feel comfortable. 

Crimson Ash is a fast-paced and exciting dystopian fiction novel that fans of science, technology and fiction should check out. The beginning is a bit disorienting and it's difficult to relate to the main characters, but the world built is unique and well worth taking a look at. There are a number of graphic scenes in this book, including abusive drinking, suicide and violent deaths. I would recommend this book for older teens or young adults.

DNF 25%

Sorry, I could not finish this book. For starters, it seems like everything starts in middle of a story already going on. I'm just guessing on what's going on and at 25% I still don't care for any of the characters. The main female character is a whiny drunk that dedicated herself to find her sister, but gave up when she actually found her.

Crimson Ash is a set in a post-apocalyptic world, where a mad man rules most of the humans, leaving those captured with a choice; join the city, or die. Some aren’t sent to the city, where instead they’re turned into soldiers. Based on the stories, I’m not sure which is worse. Solanine lives in this world; having lost almost everyone she loves already, including her sister.
Warnings first: This novel covers a lot of seriously heavy and intense subjects, such as mind control, alcoholism, cutting, and suicides, as well as attempted suicides. On the whole most of these scenes aren’t gratuitous, but they are there and the author does not shy away from them. If any of these subjects are very upsetting for you, I would strongly urge you to reconsider reading this one.
I went into this novel all excited and hoping to love it; I liked the description, loved the cover, and adored the name. But I’ll confess I was a bit disappointed by it, all things considered. It has so much potential, but it didn’t quite succeed in capturing my full attention or emotions.
I think my biggest problem with the novel was the attempt to use serious and painful moments to elicit reader reactions and force character growth. This left me feeling like it was rushed, and ultimately like the author didn’t really understand the depth of which she was dealing with, which sounds harsh, I know, but these serious subjects (loss of a loved one, cutting, suicide, alcoholism) were mentioned so frequently and casually it feels borderline callous.
I did end up liking Solanine, despite everything. And while I never really got attached to her sister, Ember, I did find myself hoping they’d figure out a happy ending. Which at times felt like it was never going to happen. There were points where it seemed like the two sisters were stuck in a loop; one would lose something or someone, then the other would, and so on and so forth.
The conclusion came a few chapters later than I would have liked, as I feel like they could have cut out a few cycles of that loop and still had a fully formed and effective novel. By the time things were finally resolved I almost felt like some parts were overdone.
I will say that I really loved the cute romance between Kane and Solanine. They’re oddly perfect for each other, even if their romance was forced at times (mostly when other characters intervened to tell point out the obvious and encourage Solanine to tell Kane how she felt, despite having just lost somebody very dear to her).
I should probably mention the perspective switch between the two main characters. Solanine’s story and perspective is told in third person, while Ember’s is in first person. I didn’t mind this at first, but it was occasionally jarring to switch back and forth between the two. I know some readers are real sticklers about perspective changes, so I thought it best to mention.
I still can’t get over how much potential this book had, and maybe that’s why I’m being a bit harsh on it. I loved the concept of it, as well as the setting and world that Sulich has created. It was everything else that fell a bit flat for me. Despite that, I’m looking forward to whatever Sulich writes next – they have some great ideas, and experience will only help them here.

It's a weighty story with mature themes, very action-heavy. Will recommend for high school age and up.

It took me almost a month to read this, because it was such a struggle to get through that I had to stop, read a few other books, and come back to it. In the end, I skimmed the last 30% or so, because I just wasn't feeling it, but when I get something from NetGalley I feel obligated to finish it.

This book is just...not good. It read very much like the second book in a series, where the author didn't feel the need to explain everything (or anything, really) because all the background information was covered in the first book. Except in this case, this is the first book, so you just never learn. I mean, there's a character who can control people's minds (like Professor X) and we never discover how he gained this ability, why he's using it, or what his plan is. So I hope you're not the type of person who cares for answers, because you won't get any in this book. The world-building is subpar at best.

For the first maybe 60% of the book, there isn't much going on, which you think would be ample time to introduce and develop the characters, right? Well, you would be wrong. I didn't connect with any of the characters. None of their relationships felt real. The cover and the description makes it sound as though the story will focus solely on the bond between sisters Solanine and Ember. Okay, great. I have sisters; I love books about sisters. However, the actual story was not really about their relationship; they were simply the main characters. The decision for Solanine's chapters to be in third person and Ember's to be in first person felt less like a stylistic choice than a conscious effort to separate their POVs, because otherwise you wouldn't be able to tell them apart. The romances (of which there were several) were rushed and poorly developed. I felt no emotion in any of them. When one of the characters died, I just didn't care.

The last 40% of the book tries to make up for the lack of plot in the first part by having a ridiculous amount of stuff happen yet not go into detail on any of it. There are time jumps at the beginning of almost every chapter in the second part of the book. The first part happens over the course of maybe a week or so, the second part happens over a period of at least a year. Not to mention, the characters bounce back and forth so often that I couldn't help roll my eyes. In one chapter, Ember feels one way, in the next chapter another, and in the next chapter she's back to the first way. And these are not long chapters, so she probably waffles back and forth between extremes within 10 or so pages.

When the end finally comes, it's so anticlimactic that I actually felt angry. How dare this book waste so much of my time and then not even give a satisfying conclusion? Because the story is about the badly-developed characters and not the highly-more-interesting-yet-equally-badly-devleoped plot, I guess the author didn't feel the need to explain anything. I swear it's like someone flipped a switch and problem solved. MIND CONTROL. HOW DO YOU NOT EXPLAIN MIND CONTROL.

"Crimson Ash" alternates between two sisters, Solanine and Ember, in a dystopian-like future. In this future, there are emotionless soldiers who do the bidding of their leader and communicate through mind links and there is everybody else who is trying to avoid the soldiers. When civilians are captured, they are either killed or turned into a soldier- which means their memories are wiped and they are trained to be killers. At least, this is what I gathered over time. This alternate world is not well explained and I felt pretty lost.

Let's go to the sisters. I was pretty excited for a book about sisters, but the bonds and relationships between them seemed to fall short. Solanine's chapters were told in third person point-of-view while Ember's were in first person point-of-view. This may seem like it would take away from the confusion, but it felt like a mental shift to go back and forth between the points-of-view. Despite each type, every chapter focused more on actions than emotions/feelings, so it was hard to wrap your mind around the sisters and where they stood. We get some information about how they felt/thought but largely through their actions rather than introspection.

Things seemed a little too blunt/sudden without much context, and I felt like people were constantly changing their personalities. For instance, in one day, Solanine is saying she can't do anything to help and in the next, she is resisting leaving the battlefield because she knows she will be able to do more than others can. It seemed like a sudden flip that wasn't well explained. I felt this way about a lot of the plot, and I got pretty lost in the story. It seems like it just needs some massaging/further editing to really turn into something quite good.

Overall, I think it shows some promise, but I was a little lost in it and wish the background was clarified more and that there was a little more character development. Please note that I received an ARC through netgalley. All opinions are my own.

Solanine and Ember are sisters living in a dystopian world after a virus wipes out most of humanity. The two fight on opposite sides of this world, one fighting to get her sister back and one who has no memory of her life before becoming a soldier for The City of Graven. The relationships between all the characters in this book are underlined by grief and loss and there is a darkness in each of the characters that adds depth to them. I loved seeing that darkness come out and seeing the ways that a good support system can help to battle those darknesses. Not a lot of authors are comfortable bringing into their stories some of the real world ways that people use to escape the pain such as alcoholism and self-harm. I really liked that this author was unafraid to do so and it really added so much to the story line and to those individual characters but also added a layer to the relationships of the people who are trying to help those battling these things. From the moment I picked this book up I couldn't put it down. It brought back memories of reading other dystopian novels such as The Hunger Games, The Host, Divergent and Across the Universe, but it was so different from all of those. I also realized that this book could have most likely been split into two books but I really enjoyed that the author kept it going instead of turning it into a series like so many authors are doing currently. All in all, there was nothing I disliked about this book. I truly loved it and highly recommend it to anyone who likes action, young adult, and/or dystopian books.

Let me just preface this review with the fact that SO MUCH happens in Crimson Ash, plot-wise, character-wise, and everything-wise. I had not read a dystopian novel in such a long time that this book brought me back to my middle school and early high school years when that was all I read. I definitely need some dystopian novel recommendations below!

Likes

1. The concept of this story really drew me in through the synopsis, which is how I ended up reading my first e-book. While the sisterhood is the focus of the synopsis, SO MUCH MORE happens throughout the entire story. There’s so many layers.

2. The characters’ struggles were portrayed realistically. One character is an alcoholic, another one self-harms, and that’s just the beginning. No character was perfect in this story, and I loved it. Their struggles did not define them either. It was simply one part of their character arc.
I fell in love with two people I tried not to fall in love with. Immediately, I fell in love with Quinn and his quick wit and humor. Then along came Tucker and Kane. I definitely judged them both too quickly which I may or may not regret.

3. Everything surprised me. Okay, maybe not everything, but most things. There was plot twist, a break, plot twist, a break, and repeat. I couldn’t predict what would be right around the corner. I couldn’t set this book down.

Dislikes

1. My favorite character died immediately… within a few chapters. I immediately did not trust myself to like any character from then on. This is more of just a complaint than a dislike.
A lot of characters died in this book which my soft heart is no longer used to reading. Again, more of a complaint of a broken heart.

2. The only real dislike I had was probably HOW MUCH happened in one book. I didn’t really get to know a lot of the characters beyond the surface due to a focus on the plot.

This was a very interesting book but as I got farther into the book I found it to be not enjoyful for me personally for complicated reasons.

Solanine will do anything to get her sister, Ember, back from the City of Soldiers. When they are finally reunited, Ember struggles to reconnect with society now that she's an ex-soldier. Eventually Solanine, Ember, and a group of rebels work to take down the government.

I wanted to like this book. It seemed like a solid premise for a dystopian novel, but it was very dark and very poorly executed. The references to cutting were numerous, and focused on relying on other characters to "save me from myself." The romantic relationships were poorly developed and not believable. Lastly, all of the conflicts were miraculously resolved quite abruptly at the end. Definitely a disappointment.

For a standalone, there was a severe lacking in explanation and backstory.

The first chapter was great, everything else after was mediocre. There was a switching of tense between narration Ember and Solanine, and I don't like it when books do that, pick one and stick with it. There was nothing that really stood out to me in this book, aside from the switching of tense, the book as fairly well written, grammar was good, sentence structure, all those things you expect from any writing, was fine.