For readers who crave complex, emotionally charged fantasy stories that probe the intricacies of family dynamics, self-discovery, and the struggle for identity, In an Orchard Grown from Ash by Rory Power is a must-read, offering a gripping and stimulating conclusion to a mythic epic duology that will resonate deeply with those who enjoy character-driven narratives and morally ambiguous themes.

Giving this a 3-star rating, but even that feels a little high. This book was touted as having "twisted political games and heart-rending relationship drama" -- but I didn't buy it. Rhea and Lexos were supposed to be on opposite sides of a rebellion, but their positions were tenuous at best. Most of the "drama" was just that -- unnecessary drama that could've been resolved by, I don't know, having a conversation. The pacing was also so off, especially compared to the first book. The first book was a little weak, but at least followed a comprehensible story line; the second book just felt so different and didn't have any qualities similar to the first. In an Orchard Grown from Ash just didn't make any sense and was ultimately so disappointing.

I wanted to like IN AN ORCHARD GROWN FROM ASH because I loved the first book so much. However, I just couldn't connect with the story this time around. I don't know if it was the span of time from when I read the first book, but I wanted more from the finale. It wasn't as all-consuming as the book was for me.

After reading In a Garden Burning Gold I was really looking forward to the sequel. I had such high hopes for this story and it crashed into a fiery explosion of disappointment.

rory power has done it again, folks. without belaboring her characters and their motivations, she has managed to succinctly craft a poignant duology of rebellion, betrayal, heartbreak, and self-discovery.

i was in a wicked reading slump for months and this book clawed me out of it. enough said.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book.

I absolutely adored the first book in this series, and I do really like Rory Power, but this book just didn't fully do it for me. It took me ages to get into and for the first third of the book I found that I just didn't care much for any of the characters anymore.
I do think that adding more POV's was unnecessary, and somehow instead of connecting me to the characters more, I felt a lot more distant from them.
The story line also seemed to progress very slowly...one single event would drag on for dozens of pages, with every minor description, feeling, and moment captured on the page. It made me lose interest in what was happening, sometimes even forgetting what was happening because I had to put the book down for awhile.
Overall I was really disappointed with this one and don't think ill continue with this series...

Kind of a sloggy follow up to a great first novel. To my understanding, this is a duology, and personally I would like to see a redemption arc for Rhea, she really deserved better. Overall, this book had a lot of plot threads that strayed away from each other, and as much as Power tried, didn't really tie up at the end. It felt like a tangled ball of yarn that was just like that and didn't really evolve into anything else.

Rory Power continues to be an autobuy another for me. I love this duology so much! I have actually purchased this and the first book after receiving the ARC copies and have lent them to so many friends at this point,

I really enjoyed the first book in this series and was under the impression it was slated to be a trilogy. After learning it was a duology, I was bummed, but still happy to have more time with characters I love in a world that definitely had room for more explanation. But this book..... just kept setting up things that needed more reason. We did get more world building, and for that I was grateful. But it seemed to assume there would be another book until the last 20% and then panicked us through an ending that wasn't an ending. I just needed more....or less.....but not this. I would have preferred to have this story end with one book that really inspired some wonder and not a second book that muddied the waters.

2.5 stars, unfortunately. The biggest redeeming quality for this book which bumped it from a 1 to a 2.5 was my darling Chrysanthi.

I went into this book believing it was a middle book for a trilogy, and if it had been, I think I would have given it a 4 or 4.5 (granted, it would need a different ending but that's a given). With that in mind, I spent 75% of the book believing that this was setting up so many threads that would be huge in a third book. But then I got to about 80% of the way through and realized that this was actually the end, and that's where my opinions changed.

If it had been all set up for a final book, I would have said this was so well done and so well written and that I absolutely loved it and had plenty of theories for book 3. But because there were so many pieces that were set up that then just... fell apart or went away?? Completely tarnished the ending. The only character who saw any true resolution was Chrysanthi, and she had next to 0 scenes in the first book so this was unneeded (even if I enjoyed her chapters the most).

I can't believe there was this giant, beautiful fantasy world set up all for it to be thrown away. My theory is Rory Power didn't know what to do with the rest of the series, so just decided to end it as soon as possible with whatever came to mind.

Very sad, because I was loving the book until I realized we would have nothing more once it was over and that meant no resolution. Don't recommend.

I really wanted to like this story but about halfway through unrealized there wasn't enough book left to give a satisfactory ending for the characters. This feels like the middle book in a trilogy and there should be something more after it ends.

3.5 stars!!!

This felt like such a different story than the first book, but that isn't necessarily a bad thing! I enjoyed the exploration of the world and the magic that was done, it helped answer a few of the questions I had after my reread of In a Garden Burning Gold. My biggest complaint is that the main character still feels a bit flat and I still don't understand her motives and why she does the things that she does. Overall, I enjoyed this and I hope that there's more books in this series! Like always, I'll read anything Rory Power writes even if I don't absolutely LOVE it.

Reviewed on TT: https://www.tiktok.com/@manda.lyn_reads/video/7277957109906623790?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc&web_id=7264539609161778731

What a great sequel! I had such a good time reading this book. If you liked book one, you'll totally enjoy book two..

Thanks to Del Rey for a copy of the arc in exchange for an honest review.

I didn't enjoy this read at all, sadly. What I liked about the first book of this duology was the relationships between the characters, but those were purposefully destroyed in the second book, and there was nothing left for me to hope or root for. The second book didn't seem to have much of a plot, but rather the characters meandered to try to get to each other, but the purpose for that wasn't even clear. By the end I was left more unsatisfied than by any other book I can recall reading. I just don't understand what the point of this book was, when there was no story.

Do not attempt to read this book, if you have not read the first one. I was confused with all the characters and places in the first book, and things didn't get any better for me in the sequel. Sibling rivalry rules here, which I find very depressing. The author did add a list of characters at the beginning to help, but I would have also appreciated a map. I wanted there to be some resolution between the siblings, but it was just so sad. I realize that some people like book like this with lots of angst, but I am not one of those.

I read an ARC provided by the author via NetGally.com. This is my unbiased and voluntary review.

In an Orchard Grown from Ash is an interesting continuation of the story of the Argyros siblings. While I enjoyed being back in this world, I did not understand Rhea’s choices in this book. Due to this, I enjoyed the story less.

I don’t have anything else to say. I really like Rory Power, and will continue to read whatever she writes.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an arc in exchange for my honest review.

What is plot? This book has no idea.

The first book in the series wasn't the worst, but it was great. I had hopes that this one would be better since the world has already been set up for us. That was not the case. This sequel is honestly quite boring. Characters that are set up to be important in book one have suddenly disappeared in book 2, there's no advancement at all in the world building, and the world outside of the characters just suddenly stops existing?

The finale of this epic duology is unexpected and quite shocking. It's action-packed and keeps you on the edge of your seat. The actions of their father tear apart the four Argyros siblings. When it comes down to it, the price of power and their legacies costs them more than they thought they were willing to pay.

Thank you to Random House Ballantine and NetGalley for this eARC!

This book follows In a Garden Burning Gold, which had an incredible twist at the end and had me excited for the sequel. While the first book follows only Lexos and Rhea, this book also follows Nistos and Chrysanthi, which I think both adds and subtracts from the sequel.

I was a bit confused about the first book's goal. It felt like Game of Thrones but only following one family and the dynamics between them as they fought for power both without and within. The beginning of this book, then, confused me, as the family was no longer physically together and the political goals outside of the family seemed to be emphasized.

This book had me searching for the bigger picture until the end, and I mean that in a good way. I have read Rory Power's Wilder Girls, and I can tell that she is not a writer that wants to hold the reader's hand. Not everything is going to be explained, and not everything has to have its ending tied up in a bow. This was disappointing to me in Wilder Girls, where I felt the ending lacked any sense of completion. Here, however, I felt like the reader can learn a lot from what Power chooses to leave out.

I was really enjoying this book throughout, more so than I did the first, but the ending is something that I think is going to stick with me for awhile. If you enjoyed the first book at all, I would recommend this one.