I was interested in seeing where the story went but was bored with the writing style. It felt like the author was trying to be mysterious but instead it was just vague and cliche.

Shivalri witnessed a traumatic car accident when the sky broke. After her mom's death and her brother's recovery, she decides to visit her grandmother and cousin near Salem, where she finds out that everyone in her family was a witch and she herself is a witch and so much more.

The first half felt like a YA novel for a younger audience. The world-building was based on stories the grandmother told. It didn't feel as natural, and it wasn't as much fun as it could've been. It all felt almost childish?

The second half was way better. But it felt like it was a different story. The FMC didn't talk like she had in the first half. She sounded more mature. I enjoyed this much more.

It is a Hades x Persephone retelling but with witches, demons and other creatures. I surely enjoy myself a good retelling but this felt more "meh". It was too repetitive (e.g.
the banter between the family) and the FMC whined a bit too much.

The cover design for this book doesn't fit the vibes and is honestly misleading.

I will read the second book, and I hope for a bit more action 🧐

3/5 ⭐️

I thought this was very good and I will have to add this to the shop shelves. Thank you for the chance for us to review.

As someone who is very into the themes this book holds, I definitely think this was well written. All the dark themes and magic mixed well together. I will say it took me a while to actually get into the books and a few of the characters I wish had more depth to their stories, however, if this was a teens first fantasy it would be great! The cliffhanger was nice and I will definitely be reading the next in the series!

Overall: 4/5
Setting was amazing!
The plot could use a little more depth but I’m sure the second story will help.
The romance was vague but Pyre grew on me.

Thank you netgalley for making this review possible!

Thank you to Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

For the sake of this review, I finished reading it, but I can't attest to the quality of my reading, so keep this in mind while considering my review. At about 50% through, I began to skim read because I found the writing style incredibly jarring.

This book could have benefitted from a better editor, because all of the plot points for a decent fantasy novel were there - they were just lost in the pacing and confusing narrative.

Unfortunately this is not for me.
There is entirely too much useless chatter that is easy to skip and still follow the story.
I think the premise is interesting but the characters irked me. The teens in the book occasionally speak like they're from the regency era which completely took me out of the story.
I just felt like this could have been a novella.

It took me a while to finish this book. I loved the idea and the story line was unique. I also am obsessed with the cover. I do feel that it could use a good edit to help the flow and keep the readers attention.

The events in this book can be fitted in a single 20-minute episode. There was too much internal monologue and the narration was repetitive. I was practically begging the book for something new to happen. 75% of the book took place in the Under Realm and it was just Shivalri training. Also, the minute romance? I didn't vibe with it that much. It felt forced and weird. I'm just relieved I'm done with this.

This one was so interesting for me! A story line unheard of. Her learning of her witch-hood and having to navigate life and fates to do her duty of making sure the gates don’t unleash hell or heaven on earth.

The book is not bad, but the beginning felt kinda cringe, like high-school kind of writing cringe.

The story follows a highschooler that finds out about her magic heritage, which could be a amazing journey, instead the story take a turn and she finds herself betrayed and in a place that's just not good. Keeping this spoiler free is really hard, but the romance doesn't feel natural and it feels like an icky kind of lust.

It could be a nice book, but for now it's kinda all over the place and the pacing is weird.

Disclaimer: I received a free copy in exchange for my honest review

I tried. I made it to 35% after dropping and picking up multiple times throughout the last few months. There just wasn't any progress of some of the events that happened nor point to some of the conversations between characters. Just felt like I kept reading, and reading, and reading but got no where closer to the end.

After reading some other reviews, I may end up picking this book up again where I left off. I'm just hoping the story picks up shortly after.

Yeah, it's gonna to be a no from me, dawg. The cover drew me in and so did the synopsis. I saw that it wasn't listed as adult, but new adult, So I figured the characters would still act in the adult fantasy range. However, they were just written to sound so young. I felt like the beginning was a little too all over the place and didn't make a whole lot of sense. I found myself cringing at even how young the teachers sounded. So I am going to put this down and move on. I made it about 30% in.

I think maybe this book wasn't for me but would appeal to someone a little younger.

3⭐️
The storyline was unique! It’s about a girl who is on a journey to uncover who she is only to find out there are SO many more mysteries than she imagined! Having never believed in magic before, she eventually discovers that she is the key to fulfilling an ancient prophecy.

There is a lot of world building so I felt like it dragged quite a bit in the beginning.

✔️YA
✔️Witches
✔️Dark fantasy
✔️Disability representation
✔️Strong FMC
✔️Influenced by Greek mythology
✔️Ends on a cliffhanger

A Fate of Smoke and Ash by Shania Scichilone took me on a journey through realms of magic and destiny that left me with mixed feelings.

At first, I struggled to stay engaged with the slow pace of the beginning, but as the intricate mythology unfolded, I found myself drawn deeper into the story. Scichilone's skillful weaving of magic and prophecy added layers of depth to the narrative, although I felt that some parts could have been trimmed to keep the pacing tighter.

It wasn't until halfway through the book, when the mysterious male main character and the underworld were introduced, that my interest truly sparked. The dynamic between the characters and the exploration of the underworld brought a new level of intrigue to the story.

Ultimately, while A Fate of Smoke and Ash wasn't entirely to my taste and I don't foresee myself continuing with the series, I would recommend it to readers who enjoy immersive world-building and intricate plots.

I'll be honest and say this book wasn't for me. I initially got caught by the cover and when I read the description it sounded like something I would like. I was wrong. The writing of this book is sub-par at best and the characters felt bland and I couldn't really connect with them. I feel as though this book has a lot of potential and just fell a little short for me.

I’m for sure one of those readers that a cover can make or break if I read the book or not. The synopsis of this book felt kind of convoluted for my taste but the cover was the deciding factor for me to read it. Dark, Mystique from the X Men inspired and mythology inspired.
We meet Shivalri, a regular senior in high school whose life gets turned upside down. Her life takes a blow when her mother dies in a car accident but even she couldn’t guess that the same day the sky would split open. The veil between the earth and the gods realm has been torn open.
Going into this book I really did not know what to expect. Reading it felt like a Persephone and Hades sort of retelling.
Mix in witches, demons, gods, and heaven and hell. And you got this book. It doubly was a pleasant surprise of a book. I found myself getting sucked into the story with its unique world building and history. It did have some points where it kind of dragged but overall this book left me feeling like I had to read the sequel now.
Would I recommend it? Sure I actually enjoyed this book more than I thought I would.
I would give it 3.5 stars.

Thanks to the folks at NetGalley and the publishing house for this book for a copy of this book. My review is a honest reflection of my feelings towards this book.

A Fate of Smoke and Ash is a YA fantasy about a normal, teenage girl named Shivalri who's life is turned upside down after her family is in a horrible car accident. Shivalri decides to turn to her eccentric grandmother during this tough time. Upon arriving at her grandmother's house, her grandmother reads her tea leaves and Shivalri receives a prophecy that will change her life even more than it already has been.

There were a lot of interesting elements to this story but unfortunately, I had to DNF this one. I only got 25% in before deciding to put it down. The characters in this book read a lot younger than they are. Our main character is supposed to be 18 but she read more like a 14 year old to me. The writing style also was not working for me and was a bit confusing and slow. Again, there were a lot of interesting concepts in the story but it just didn't work for me personally.

This book extensively delves into world-building, primarily conveyed through dialogues. The initial half unfolds at a leisurely pace as we delve into Shivalri's lineage. While the mythology is intricately woven and beautifully executed, I sensed that some parts could have been condensed without losing vital information. Initially, I almost abandoned the book but persevered based on reviews mentioning an upswing in the narrative around the 60% mark. This is where the story truly captivated me, introducing elements of enemies-to-lovers and the underworld trope. The latter half was particularly engaging, concluding with loose ends that hint at a potential sequel. I would recommend this book, especially to those who appreciate slow-burn narratives and immersive world-building.

This story had promise. The pacing was off and I struggled to get through it. The plot sounded right up my alley and I was a bit sad to see it fall so flat. Pure was so so hard to like and I don’t ship him with Shivalri at all. Hopefully the next book isn’t quite as hard to get through!

Really enjoyed this book. Can’t wait to read more from the author. Loved the characters and the story.