This is a review for the third and final book in the Burn for Burn trilogy and will contain spoilers from the previous books.
Ashes to Ashes by Jenny Han and Siobhan Vivian
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Release: 9th October 2014
Genre: YA, Thriller
Source: Received from the publisher in exchange for an honest review
Synopsis:
"New Year's Eve ended with a bang and Mary, Kat and Lillia may not be prepared for what is to come. After Rennie's death, Kat and Lillia try to put the pieces together of what happened to her. They both blame themselves. If Lillia hadn't left with Reeve...If Kat had only stayed with Rennie...Things could have been different. Now they will never be the same. Only Mary knows the truth about that night. About what she is. She also knows the truth about Lillia and Reeve falling in love, about Reeve being happy when all he deserves is misery, just like the misery he caused her. Now their childish attempts at revenge are a thing of the past and Mary is out for blood. Will she leave anything in her wake or will all that remain be ashes?"
Review
The Burn for Burn series came as such a pleasant surprise to me. When I first picked up Burn for Burn I wasn’t sure if I’d like it but after devouring the first two books in the trilogy back to back it quickly became one of my favourite series. Ashes to Ashes was easily one of my most anticipated releases of 2014 – I couldn’t wait to see how this series would conclude!
For the most part Ashes to Ashes delivered everything I love about these books. The book begins with Lillia and Kat grieving over Rennie’s death whilst Mary comes to terms with the fact that she’s a ghost and begins to question her existence and what she was put here to do. Mary’s been a ticking time bomb throughout this whole series and her hunger for vengeance really builds the tension throughout this entire book.
I was really enjoying this book up until the very end. I was expecting the showdown of all showdowns with Mary’s anger building to a crescendo but it all felt very rushed and didn’t have the impact I was hoping for.
I also felt the same way regarding that three page epilogue. The girl’s futures felt really random to me and I didn’t really understand the choices that lead to them. Three pages to wrap up these characters stories didn’t feel like long enough and for me the ending felt detached from the rest of the series and lacked emotional impact.
Overall I enjoyed this series as a whole and this book for the most part but unfortunately those last few chapters have tainted my love for these books.
