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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.