Cover Image: Only Ashes Remain

Only Ashes Remain

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Member Reviews

A dark sequel filled with layers of story from the first novel. It's twisted and the plot will having you turning page after page. A very intriguing following up to Not Even Bones.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for E-arc copy of this novel

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Thank you to NetGalley for my eBook ARC in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to the author for bringing us Kovit, he is too precious for this and any world.

In this sequel to Not Even Bones, we catch back up with Nita, now in INHUP custody after the fire destroyed the black market hub. She is there with the boy who sold her to the black market in the first place; a young man named Fabricio. She first met Fabricio in a cage that her unnatural hunting, black market merchant mother stored him in. Plotting revenge on Fabricio, Nita looks for a way to take his life without revealing her intentions to the INHUP agents.

She is transferred to Toronto, Canada and begins to try to establish a reputation for herself as one not to be triffled with. At the end if Not Even Bones, the video of her power of self healing is still on the darkweb, making her a target of assassination attempts by other black market dealers. She reunites with the Zannie we know and love, Kovit. Together they try to build a safer life for themselves away from the darkweb while still trying to extract some vengence on those who have wronged them in the past.

Introducing a delightful now monster cast, Only Ashes Remain continue building a rich and diverse world that is dark and violent while perpetuating characters you already know and love. It brings deep questions to the forefronts of our minds, masterfully woven into a story that moves at a perfect pace. Are unnaturals always monsters? Or are the monsters lurking just beneath our own skin?

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I really enjoyed Not Even Bones so I was super excited when HMH Teen approved me on NetGalley for Only Ashes Remain. After the end of Not Even Bones I was eager to see where Nita's story was going next. She destroyed the black market. She's "safe." But she is now in protective custody with Fabricio, the boy who sold her to the black market. Let the revenge begin.

Only Ashes Remain took a dark twist real early on in the book. The whole book was dark actually. The destroying black market and the things Nita had to do to save herself and Kovit toughened her. We see the darkness inside Nita come to the surface and how she battles and embraces it. Where in the first book she simply dissected the bodies her mother left for her, in Only Ashes Remain, Nita does her fair share of killing.

I think the moral dilemma between Kovit and Nita was interesting to watch. Kovit is a Zannie, which means he feeds off of pain and if he doesn't he will weaken or die. Kovit use to be part of a Mob Family and was forced to do terrible things, not all of which he enjoyed. But Kovit has one rule: He won't cause pain to people he knows. Though Kovit doesn't seem to have a moral compass because of what he is, he does. The struggle between Nita's and Kovit's relationship is how Nita can kill who ever she wants, whenever but it bothered her when Kovit would torture to feed. It's messy and I am probably not describing it well, but I really enjoyed how Shaeffer included it all.

Overall, I can't say too much about Only Ashes Remain with out spoiling it but I hope to see these characters again soon. There are a lot of unanswered questions and things that I am still eager to see resolved.

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I absolutely loved this book. I admit when reading the synopsis, I didn’t see the part about it being a sequel. So, I read this one without having read Not Even Bones, the first book. There were references to things that happened in the first book and there were enough of them that I didn’t feel lost. I thought this book was so unique and like nothing I’ve read before. I will say if you’re squeamish, you may not be a fan. There is quite a bit of violence and gore. I loved the relationship between Nita and Kovit and how it developed through the book. I love how the main characters in the book are morally grey at best. I think that is so fun to read. I’ve always been a fan of villains and morally grey characters. The book kept me very interested the whole time with Nita and Kovit working together to handle the people from the black market who were after her. I didn’t feel like there were any lulls or slow parts in the book. I would highly recommend this book and I give it 4 stars.

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This book was received as an ARC from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Children's Book Group - HMH Books for Young Readers in exchange for an honest review. Opinions and thoughts expressed in this review are completely my own.

What if Suzanne Collins and Victoria Schwab and combined books and they had a book baby? That baby would be Only Ashes Remain. Every page was an new discovery and immediate change to the plot that nobody will see coming. Escaping kidnappers and constantly having to fight for survival is always tough and Nita will do whatever it takes to make it go away, even when it comes to sacrificing the people that she loves and everything she has been taught or knows. Nita's plan was not to escape but become the most dangerous woman and that approach was so out of left field that it made the book more enjoyable to borderline addicting. Fans of Hunger Games and Darkest Minds will definitely love this book.

We will consider adding this title to our YFiction collection at our library. That is why we give this book 5 stars.

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3 stars.

I'm definitely in the minority (at least, thus far), when I say that I didn't like this one as much as the first. The "romance" seemed pretty cringy and forced to me and nothing really happened throughout the entire book, to the point that a series didn't feel warranted.

I may read the third if this is going to only have three books, but I don't feel like getting invested in a longer series. blah.

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Actual rating: 3.5, rounded up to 4 because I do like books that are twisted

Welcome to the sequel to Not Even Bones. This book actually manages to be more fucked up then the first one!

We continue the journey of Nita's morals (or lack thereof) in this book; she definitely comes to terms with some shit in this book. However, she also is not very good at learning her lesson, which can be very frustrating after 300+ pages.

The author admits that she struggled to write this book, and, unfortunately, it definitely shows. The book is unevenly paced; Nita's emotions in regards to her father's death are all over the place. She angsts about it for like 5 pages and then forgets about him for like 5 chapters. There's a few other plot points that just disappear and reappear seemingly on a whim.

This book also seems to have middle child syndrome; at the end of the day, this is definitely a filler book. That being said, it was still a good book. It started off a little slow and while I'm still not sure if the plot actually went anywhere, it was an enjoyable read. Nita is a twisted protagonist and there's just not enough of those in YA lit. The diverse cast of characters and the continual questioning of morals and limits isn't something that you see every day.

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I couldn’t put this book down. Once I got somewhere between chapter three and five, I had to keep going. I ended up finishing the book in one day. It’s that engaging.

Nita sure does make a mess of things. She is quick to formulate a plan but her plans don’t always go the way she intended them to. Often because she doesn’t consider all angles. It makes you want to sit her down and try to talk some sense to her, but you know she’s not going to listen.

I was ecstatic to see Kovit back as he was a favorite of mine from book one. I enjoyed immensely getting to meet Adair and seeing an interesting arc from Nita’s fierce mother.

The pacing of the book was perfection. It moved along and kept the story going forward, It’s probably why I was able to read it in one day. The characters grew and their growth felt genuine and believable.

This is one of my most anticipated books for the year and it didn’t disappoint. I can’t wait for it to be released so I can talk about it freely. I’ll definitely be reading it again and already have my physical copy on pre-order.

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Absolutely loved it! It has action jus like the first one. I loved reading about the characters falling for each other. Can't wait for the next one.

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I was so excited when I saw that I got approved for Only Ashes Remain, given how much I loved Not Even Bones. I usually worry about sophomore titles,they sometimes don't live up to the expectations of greatness I have based on the author's debut. No need to fear for the dreaded "Sophmore Slump" with Only Ashes Remain though. This was action packed and as twisty as the first book. We get a bit more character development, which was appreciated.

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Nita and Kovit are back, with a very interesting dynamic of what is morally good and evil. Another suspenseful read, with a roller coaster of PHEW! and OH NO! . Sets up for a book three, so be prepared for another cliffhanger.
Great for fans of Dexter.

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