Listen, is this just the CW's Supernatural but for lesbians? Yes.

Is that exactly what I WANTED it to be? ALSO YES.

This has all of the urban fantasy vibes of all those WB shows from that era - Buffy, Supernatural, Charmed, etc. - but all our leads are queer women and they actually get to survive and win. It's fun, and exciting, and occasionally creepy as all get out. It's subtly romantic for most of the book, while our leads have the hots for each other but are too busy with REVENGE and GHOSTS and GHOST REVENGE to act on that feeling - but if there ever was a good reason to put your sexual chemistry on the backburner, it's while you're working on ghost revenge. (And they get together at the end, I promise - this book knows what we all want out of our paranormal romances, and is more than happy to give it to us!)

Five stars for feminist rage, monster-hunting nostalgia, and queer women getting to be center-stage.

There is nothing I love more than sapphic fantasy books! This was such a unique and immersive paranormal urban fantasy. The beloved monster hunter story but with queer characters is more than I could have asked for. The cover is also absolutely beautiful.

I liked this book -- I just wanted to *love* it, and I occasionally struggled with frustration at the points where it didn't quite go far enough for me to feel that love. (That said, please don't take this review as a negative one. I still really did like it!)

The positive: This is an extremely badass, noir-style paranormal investigation story with sapphic leads falling in love together as they fight monsters. The main characters are both legitimately cool in very different ways. It celebrates and uplifts a wide variety of women, and it deals with family struggles in a way that sparks through beautifully in places. There was a part in the climax I got teary.

The negative: It just feels like it needed a bit more structural editing than it had. It commits to the gritty noir narrative to the point that conversations are sometimes so dedicated to being ominous banter that they stop actually communicating meaning, we know the two leads are physically attracted to each other but we don't explicitly see what they like in each other, and it repeatedly undercuts its own dramatic revelations, which tends to remove tension. (One example: Dani overhears someone saying that she's a member of the Black family, and immediately after that, that person comes into the room she's in and TELLS her that she's a member of the Black family, and in the scene immediately after, the secondary character Emilie suddenly also discovers that Dani is a member of the Black family. This is is treated as a shock revelation by the narrative all three of these times. However... the chapters are labelled by character pov, meaning that we the readers have known that she's Dani Black since the first header of chapter one, so *none* of these three revelations actually land). The same thing happens for pretty much every hard-hitting twist -- it's revealed before the scene in which it's supposed to be hard-hitting. I could get past these things, but they feel like something that should have been fixed between first and second draft, which made them distracting.

That long and short of it is that it gave me tastes of something I really liked, while never committing to delivering the whole meal. I would still recommend this to someone looking for a fun sapphic read, because it gave me a lot of what I love in the paranormal genre while centering queer women, and it *almost* delivered on those other things. I'll definitely want to check out the author's subsequent books to see where the characters go from here, because if these elements were tightened up it would have been a five star read for me! So I'm excited to see where Karner goes from here.

I received a copy of this ebook in exchange for an honest review
This was not what I was expecting at all. I did not care for it. I trudged through and after finishing it decided i would not be reading any sequel.

I wanted to like this. I mean I wanted to LOVE this. And I simply didn't. It reads very dry to me. Like a textbook. I'm a huge fan of Pearl and this book, while fascinating and full of facts, just was dry as the desert and I struggled to finish it.

Thanks to NetGalley for a free copy in exchange for an honest review!

I'm torn on this one. It has all the elements I normally like in an urban fantasy, but it didn't quite click for me. There's plenty of action and magic, but I wasn't invested. I think this is a case of a few minor things adding up until there's an overall disconnect.

Both heroines have gaps in their memories, and all the side characters have the answers, but it's "not the right time" or "it's for your own good that we aren't telling you." That storyline always peeves me because your handcuffing characters so they are ill-equipped to handle situations even if the reasoning isn't always faulty (in this case, the lack of knowledge is keeping Emilie hidden).

Another aspect I struggled with is Spectre. He's the big baddie without any real weaknesses, and the motive behind his revenge seems lackluster. I know there are all sorts of crazy out there, but the fixation and resulting single-mindedness and long-planning of traps seems far-fetched.

Overall, writing was well done. Enjoyed the sappho element (though wish they explored more of a banter and "getting to know you" aspect). On the fence about continuing the series...

I really enjoyed the book. It didn't take me too long to read. I couldn't put it down. I like reading sci-fi, fantasy novels. This had a Supernatural vibe to it. If you enjoyed those books you will enjoy this one. I am looking forward to the next book.

NetGalley ARC Educator 550974

If you are fans of Castiel and Dean Supernatural fanfiction, you will love this book. Dani and Emilie burn the pages as they fight for freedom and revenge. Ms. Learned outdid herself, I'm hoping there's a sequel and then another after that. You will not regret adding this book to your collection.

3.50 Stars. I feel a bit conflicted about this one. I liked parts of this but there wasn’t anything here that I really loved. I think it is slightly above average story that wasn’t quite what I was hoping for, but on the other hand I would consider giving its sequel a read. I love paranormal books so much that I can be a bit picky with them so if you like this genre this may fit you better than it did me.

I had a lot of trouble with this one to start with. The beginning did not catch me at all. I actually picked this book up 4 different times but I just kept putting it down and moving to something else. I really thought this would be a DNF, but then I noticed that a couple of my Goodreads friends ended up enjoying this. I also don’t like to DNF review copies so I pushed through and in the end I’m glad I did. I never did connect to this book in the way I hoped, but it did get better as the book went on and it would not have deserved a DNF from me.

I’m not a huge fan of paranormal or fantasy books where a main character is pretty special in some way yet they don’t know it yet. Well that part doesn’t bother me so much, since I’m used to it in these types of books, but what bothers me is when the main character doesn’t know anything, but everyone else does. Family, friends, whoever, they are all in on the secret yet they won’t give answers because it’s not the right time, or the quest isn’t finished, or whatever. And because no one will give any answers, the main character is running around like a chicken with no head and they keep getting hurt or almost dying. Sometimes this idea can work, but it also can really drive me nuts. So you might imagine that I was not the biggest fan of this being a major plot point in this book. However, I have to give the author credit because while they choose this annoying “special person who is in the dark about why” fantasy trope, they actually gave a real reason for it. They reason the character could not know why actually makes some sense and it ended up being a well written idea.

While I enjoyed how most of the plot unfolded, and secrets came to light, I think my biggest problem was connecting to the characters. I liked them and enjoyed them enough to probably read a second book, but I wasn’t really feeling them. I didn’t feel so worried when they were in danger and I didn’t get any happy feels when a small romance started to SLOWLY develop. I can’t explain it any better than to say that I felt disconnected and that I didn’t care about them like I wanted to.

In the end I had my ups and downs with this one. I think this book was worth my time and I’m glad I read it, but to be honest it is a book I might soon forget. I think with where a sequel could go, and hopefully with it more romance, I might enjoy the next book even more. I also want to learn more about Dani, and why she is the way she is, and maybe that will help me to connect more. This was good book for a debut, but I’m hoping for even better with a book 2.

Cinder of Yesterday is the biggest surprise when it comes to book I have read so far this year. This urban fantasy tells a story from the two main leads. The story gives readers the back story of the two characters that helps explain why the characters are hunting down the evil in the world.
The story felt very in the moment and the flow was natural between the characters down the the city where everything takes place.
As someone who finds most urban fantasy over the top or full of sex. This author has changed my mind and I find myself excited to read more by this author.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of Jen Karner Cinders of Yesterday.

First time that I've read LGBTQ fantasy and it won't be my last! What a fun, sexy, amazing book! And the cover is breathtaking!

This book has a little bit of everything and I really enjoyed it. A bit of paranormal, a budding romance, action, and more!

I really hope that this develops into more of a series (even tho there is good closure there are a few open threads), i'd love to visit with these characters again.

Although I did not get a chance to download this through NetGalley, I did aquire a copy of it and it was everything I wanted at the time from a supernatural book. The author captured the small town vibes that I adore, and intertwined them with enthralling fantasy, fast-paced action, and wonderful tension both paranormal and queer. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and definitely will find this on my "to recommend" list.

I was given a copy of this to review on Netgalley, many thanks to the publishers.

Cinders of Yesterday by Jen Karner is an urban fantasy novel based around two protagonists, Dani Black and Emilie Lockgrove. Dani is a monster hunter with a grudge against a 'necromancer' named Spectre, and Emilie is a young woman coming back to her hometown only to be thrown into memories of a life long forgotten. The points of view switch throughout the book between the two women, and we are taken on a winding journey of family, loss, monsters and even love.

The book itself was extremely enjoyable as there really wasn't much downtime when it came to the action and world building that Karner succeeds in giving us. The two protagonists in Dani and Emilie are both so enjoyable and likeable that you feel yourself wanting to know more, wanting to follow them both on their journeys. There is a natural pull between the two women, one that is extremely believable and one that you root for throughout the book. It doesn't feel contrived, false or forced in any way and that just lends itself to an enjoyable experience in getting to know both Dani and Emilie.

The world building and lore is very interesting, the differences between the hunters and the Talented and the other side characters were something that kept me reading, kept me wanting more. I would have liked a little more exposition on some of the lore, but overall it really worked to bring you into the story. Spectre is a formidable foe, one that has charm and finesse, yet there does feel to be a little something lacking in regards to his backstory despite that being discussed and examined in the book. He needs a little more punch to his reasonings, and yet at the same time it worked enough for the story and the book and didn't really hold the storyline to a detriment.

Overall, I really enjoyed the book and the characters and I would definitely recommend it to my other reader friends. I will definitely look out for the next books in the series as I want to follow Dani and Emilie to see where they end up and who they'll face off against next.

Stars: 5 out of 5

Is it sapphic and does it slap?
This book. This book is sapphic and curb stomps you to oblivion.

Badass women with blades and guns? Traumatized mediums? Freaking necromancers?
Your majesty, you have been blessing me by the description alone!

Then came the dedication, and I just knew this was a book I would finish in a day. I was completely entranced by the phenomenal writing style and characters. You are introduced to the characters immediately and you love these characters as you watch their characters develop and go through this journey. The romance between Emilie and Dani was just a hint but I appreciated that as it gives us more room to develop it and wasn't rushed or forced.
This is truly one of my favourites and I can tell that this book will be one of booktok's favourite books in the near future.

Review can be found on Goodreads as well!

Cinders of Yesterday is a great fantasy romance read that will immerse you into a world of hunters, wraiths, talented, bladesingers, and sentinels. After Dani's partner was murdered by a necromancer called Spectre, she sets off to end him once and for all. Her quest leads to a small town, where she bumps into Emilie Lockgrove, who is unknowingly entangled in Spectre's web.

Though it takes a bit to understand this world, once Dani and Emilie start working together to end Spectre's destructive cycle, it becomes a very intriguing read as family history is uncovered. Amidst the action and plotting, there is a hint of romance as they start to rely on each other and let down their guard. I enjoyed this debut novel and the characters, especially Emilie. Excited that there may be more to their story.

experience had taught her anything, it was that men loved explaining things to women.”

“Are we more than the sum of our parts? Or just pieces of a puzzle, never finished, always evolving into something more. Something different.”

Dani is a hunter who has lived most of her life not knowing where she came from, but knowing that she was meant to hunt. She is a strong, independent character who knows what she wants and goes for it. She is on the hunt for the boogeyman which leads her to a seemingly quiet town.

Emilie has lost most of her memories and doesn’t know what she doesn’t remember, but she knows that she needs to go home to find out. She has spent years in psychological treatments and has been putting off going back to her small town of Dawson for a decade but with her Grandpa getting older, she has to go back.

I loved this story! It was fast paced and unlike anything I’ve read before.

If you enjoy urban fantasy and strong female leads who deal with their trauma, then this is the book for you!

Arc provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own

Thank you to the publisher for providing me an ARC in exchange for a review! All thoughts and opinions of this book are my own.

Cinders of Yesterday by Jen Karner is an urban fantasy that follows two main protagonists, Dani Black, a monster hunter, and Emilie Lockgrove, a medium that has had her memories shielded for most of her life. This story is based in the small town of Dawson, a town with many secrets and plenty of history. Much of the conflict is based around a necromancer, Spectre. Defeating him and bringing an end to him is no easy task, as it seems like killing him is next to impossible. Switching between viewpoints of both Dani and Emilie, this story follows their journey of coming to terms with the past and their future, despite everything that seems to be against them.

The main characters are truly what made this book extremely interesting to me. There are plenty of moving parts between Dani and Emilie’s backstories, which build up the lore of the book. I thoroughly enjoyed the connection between the two MCs and the development along the way. Even the side characters had a lot of build up and connection with the two main characters which aided in the overall development of Dani and Emilie. It was something that I found was done extremely well, even if certain characters only were there for a few conversations. It made the story feel very well built out and made it feel much more genuine, as if you truly were watching the story unfold in this small town.

The flow of the story is very fast paced, and there is action at almost every corner. Even when there is not necessarily ‘in your face’ action, there’s still a lot of good drama or good dialogue going on with the characters as they understand and learn more about their past. The two protagonists add a charm to the story with their striking personalities and add a flair that keeps you turning the page. They certainly have their charm, but also have a harsh side to the both of them which contrasts extremely well against the quaint, charming small town feel you get from Dawson, the center stage for the story. The story is balanced well against the descriptions and the build up of the lore and the backstory that builds into the drives of the main characters.

Overall, this was a refreshing tale that had me constantly on my toes. The two protagonists were charming, and I found myself really enjoying the build up and the development of all of the characters. The story was paced well, and while there were a lot of tense, action filled scenes, it felt very well balanced by moments that simply allowed the characters to connect and to build their relationships. I loved the general story a lot, and found it being somewhat of a refreshing read for me. There’s a lot of great chemistry and a lot of amazing lore to keep the reader engaged no matter what part of the story you’re in.

With the main characters, the paranormal, and the development throughout the entire story, this is definitely a book that I’d recommend to any fantasy lovers. With its charming main characters and storyline, I would definitely check out any other books in this universe to see how the story continues.