Thursday, March 1, 2018

Review: Curses and Ash by Tiffany Daune with Giveaway




Curses and Ash 

The Siren Chronicles #2
by Tiffany Daune

November 11th 2017
YA Paranormal






Discover the spellbinding sequel to Coral & Bone…
A demented twin sister, a demon hijacking her powers, and a mysterious journal filled with more questions than answers—Halen needs her Guardian Dax more than ever. But if she confides in Dax, she fears he will never forgive her, not after all he sacrificed to help her vanquish Asair. Halen drowned Asair in a tornado of wings—at least, she thought she killed him. Why then does his mocking voice snake through her thoughts, enticing her to surrender her power? Maybe she screwed up—big time—but she will never allow Asair to control her magick. And when Etils’ fires threaten the Earth, suspicions surrounding Asair’s death rise, igniting restlessness within the realms. Her life in balance, Halen must race time, purge the demon’s soul before flames consume the Earth or the Tari strike first.

MY TIDBITS

This is the second book in the series and picks up where the first when leaves off. In other words, it's highly recommended to start at the beginning of the series before diving into book two.

Halen has destroyed Asair. . .or maybe not. The Etils' fires are still burning, and the threat to Earth is even greater than before. And the excitement and problems just shoot off from here. This is a packed book on so many levels—fast moving, hidden secrets, unexpected twists, and tons of character dilemmas. The first book already kept a great pace, but the sequel takes the tale to the next level.

Nothing is simple for any single one of the characters, and the author lets these problems weave in and out and all around, while still keeping them knit into an intricate plot. Halen is, at times, a little more difficult to grasp than in the first book, but then, she's up against quite a bit. Her decisions are sometimes rash, and her scope a bit narrow. Still, her character manages to pull through, and by the end of the book, it's impossible not to cheer her on. . .while clinging to the edge of the seat. While she shined in book one, this book tends to let the other characters come through a bit more and bring traits to life, which add much more shades of gray. In other words, a great set-up of book three.

Relationships, personal demons and driving forces take one unexpected twist after another, making it hard to see what is coming next. Tension is as high as the stakes, and there's never a boring moment. It's not a book easy to put down but keeps driving forward with full force. Halen is under time pressure to save them all, and the route to do this isn't easy or clear-cut. Add the dangerous Hunters, her twin sister, possible romantic interests which just don't want to take the easy path, and it's quite the ride.

What gives this one so much richness is the dive into the other characters problems and shadow sides. Especially Asair gains a wonderful amount of depth and understanding in this book, taking his role as the ultimate villain on a delightful spin. The interactions between him and Halen are simply a treat, and it will be interesting to see in which direction this leads. He definitely has gained rank on my villain scale, and the author has done a marvelous job at rounding him into an intriguing character.

The author knows how to use the moments to draw out emotions and isn't afraid to drive the characters into unexpected leaps or back them against a wall. Even in those moments, when Halen wasn't the most grabbing main character she could have been, the book doesn't let go. There's something about it which hooks and holds until the last page. And thanks to the cliff-hanger ending, makes it impossible not to want to dive into book three and see what happens next.

Fans of the first book are sure to enjoy this one, but should be prepared for some unexpected moments. I enjoyed this book more than the first and can't wait to see what still lies in store.


And here she is. . .


Tiffany Daune writes stories about magic, love and dark creatures lurking in the shadows. She is the author of Coral and Bone (The Siren Chronicles Book One) for which she also recieved a Watty Award in the category of Trailblazers. When not lost in Editland, you can find her reading a book from her towering TBR pile or kicking back and watching movies with her family. She lives on an island, in the Pacific Northwest, surrounded by mermaids that are much nicer than the ones found in her books.

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8 comments:

James Robert said...

Congrats on the tour and thank you for the book description/review and giveaway. I appreciate the opportunity to win.

Giselle said...

Thanks for being on the tour! This sounds like a great read and very well written!

Judy Thomas said...

Love the cover. Sounds like a great read too. Thanks for sharing it.

Mary Preston said...

Sounds like I need to red the first book.

katieoscarlet said...

Sounds fascinating. Haven't read the first book yet tho so need to catch up.

Sandra Watts said...

Sounds good. Great cover.

Veronica Lee said...

Sounds like a page turner. Love the cover.

debbie said...

a demon hijacking her powers? this sounds scary and intriguing love new ideas and concepts when reading books. Love to read this :)