This book is not just a very spicy romance novel; it also deals with painful topics and the often-neglected subject of mental health. In this regard, as much as I enjoyed the different plot and characters, I admit that I struggled with the way mental health is approached...let's say that approaching specific triggers as described is not the right way, realistic or with any scientific basis...which made part of the plot lose credibility and become just a gimmick to the love story.

This book was not at all what I expected. I picked it up mostly because of the cover. But this was more than just a hot romance, so much more. It addresses some really difficult topics, and I appreciate how it raises awareness about men’s mental health, which is often overlooked or dismissed.
However, I felt like the happy ending was a bit too rushed, the therapy worked way too quickly and too well to feel realistic to me. Wish there were more struggles along the way, the path to recovery is never linear.
Aside from the unrealistically quick recovery and the insta love, this was a very sweet and well thought out story.

Review for Of Ash and Angels by K.C. Decker
* * * * *
A romance that has you all kinds of emotional and sucked in until the very end, as one man heals from devastating losses with the woman who got him to not feel entirely whole...by happy once again.

Justin has lost his son, his beautiful little boy.
Now he has lost his mother, his biggest supporter and carer.
He's barely there in life, and his friends are concerned. So, like any good friends, they send someone to help care for him. To cook and clean and communicate.
They just didn't plan on Norah.
Norah has had it up to here with men. After her ex posted private pictures to the public, she loses her teaching position and is now taking up a job as a carer. One of them being the questionable Mr. Abernathy.
He's handsome. He's a tease. He's complicated.
She just does not realise how much until he finally allows himself to open up to her, revealing the pain and love he still carries with him daily and how it is crippling.
Norah is not going to run.
She will be with Justin to find the happiness he deserves.

Absolutely fantastic read! I was not prepared for how deep the emotions would be, even after reading the summary and gaining some idea of the larger topics in the plot. I have read many books where parents have lost there children, but never as much detail was given as it was in this read, or how a parent/character ended up with agrophobia. Norah's determination and ideas on helping him get out of his shell were fantastic and how she never took the flight mode most would when it comes to such pain was inspiring.
The tension and teasing between them also was attractive and only spiced and steamed up the book between the other endering moments.

The first thing I will say about this book is make sure you have tissues nearby as this made me an emotional mess!

I knew going into it, it was gonna be emotional but man some of those scenes really got to me!

Great writing, good story but be prepared it very emotional!

This book is sweet, sexy, emotional, and great. As you are reading; you can feel everything that the author is expressing. You feel the fear and the love. The growth that happens to both of them is great. Hope you enjoy as much as I did.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book follows Norah and Justin. Norah has just lost her job as a teacher began working for Hand to Heart. Justin becomes one of her clients and she is hired to help him round the house. Justin is dealing with a large amount of trauma that has impacted his life. We follow their relationship as it develops, exploring it from both Norah and Justin’s points of view.

I enjoyed this book. I particularly liked that it focussed on male mental health which isn’t often talked about. I feel the story was much more focussed on Justin and we learned a lot more about him than we did about Norah. The chemistry between both of the characters was really well written.

It fell a little flat for me towards the end. We had spent most of the book following their relationship as Justin tried to battle his mental health while building a relationship with Norah. I felt like once they had decided they were are item, things seemed a little rushed - Justin started therapy and suddenly we jumped ahead and he was all fine again. This just seemed a little unrealistic to me and I would have like to see a bit more of the ups and downs as he battled his demons.

I love this second chance at life type novel!

So heart-breakingly sad at points but also so uplifting at others! I love the progress and development and how real the issues were.

The writing flowed well and kept the attention of the reader well.

Life gets shitty sometimes, it's about how you deal with it that matters.

Love the outlook this book teaches you.

honestly, I don’t think this book was for me. The writing seemed very childish, and the conversations between the two main characters seemed like they were teenagers. I was struggling to get through it, and I also didn’t like how in the beginning there was a kink shaming. Not really a book for me.

This is my first K.C. Decker novel. I loved the beautiful love story that develops between Justin and Norah. I love the healing journey Justin goes on after loosing his son and mother. I love the confidence Norah has in him to achieve his dreams. The fun banter and spicy scenes only added to this novels greatness!

I’m shocked I liked this as much as I did.

I’m normally into dark and twisted, though this story has some strong and emotional elements, it was such a feel good story. Both characters I found very relatable. I do think that issues discussed (PTSD, agoraphobia) should have been better researched, but in the same light I can see that focusing on these too much can lose the feel good experience.

4.5 stars and I rarely go over 4 stars but I found myself smiling like a fool reading this story blossom!

4.5⭐️
I choose love over fear -this book

Of Ash and Angels by KC Decker was a steamy romance that I really enjoyed. It was a realistic fiction that kept me glued to the pages. I loved the romance and how well these two characters complemented each other. There intimacies were special and unique. Will I read another by this author? Absolutely!
Thanks IBPA via Netgalley.

A very steamy and fun read, an emotional ride reading this one, but full of great chemistry, humour and great banter between characters, recommended


I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Wow! This book was so moving. An emotional roller coaster for Justin to overcome the thing that has crippled his life for several years. When Norah enters his life things begin to change. Their heart felt journey is one I won’t quickly forget. From raw emotion to passionate love and beyond. I hope to read more of KC Decker’s books if they’re as good as this one!

Woohoo that was steamy. I wouldn’t read it public! It’ll get you hot and bothered. The plot was already but the heat was very much there!

Grab your pearls and a fan because this one is sooooo hot.

Norah gets fired from her job after her ex leaked some compromising photos which the school she worked for didn't care much for it. This leads to an inbetween job where she is helping seniors with day to day tasks. But then she gets scheduled to Mr Abernathy... and he definitely isn't a senior citizen.

Justin Abernathy is definitely a mystery to Norah except she knows what kind of man she thinks he is. One who has a revolving door of women and is arrogant to boot.

The constant back and forth banter is amazing and leads to show just how connected they are before they truly realize it. What follows is a hesrwsrming story of overcoming what life throws at you along with some hot and spiciness.

Overall a great book but did seem to be drug out a bit toward the end of the book.

Intense and dark slowly developing love story - how someone can be trapped within unimaginable tragedy, yet emerge from the dark with trust and love - and a lot of patience. Not your average romance, and some definite triggers to watch out for if you have any. But a definite must read.

This book took me by surprise. I honestly I don’t know what I was expecting. I kind of went in blind, but what an emotional ride this book was. This relationship feels real. It doesn’t gloss over the normal struggles that people deal with every day such as mental health disorders and loss. I also really appreciated the recognition of the misconceptions about certain anxiety disorders and the clarifications. It’s not all heavy though there is a sweet romantic relationship that develops through all of this as well as a pretty good amount of spice. Do check your trigger warnings though.

This is more than a love story because of the heavy topics that it brings forth. The story will make you laugh and it will also make you tear up because the despair is real. I like that this story brought awareness to men's mental health. This is a very important topic that is often neglected. The characters were interesting and felt like real people with real problems. I enjoyed the funny banter and the palpable chemistry between Norah and Justin. The dual point of view created a bond between the couple and the reader, in my opinion, it worked really well.

My issues with the book was with the insta love and also how quickly the therapy worked. It didn't feel realistic.

A good story that kept me interested and invested the first half of the book, until the climax, then it was to predictable. I believe that this is a story you either like or dislike.

3.5 stars