Reviews

Ash: A Destined Novel by Darci Manley, Shani Petroff

laughlinesandliterature's review against another edition

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3.0

* I received this book from Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review*
Ash is quite like a few other series out there right now, I found myself still enjoying it. It’s a dystopian world where everyone has a destiny!, and it makes for a pretty unfavorable caste system. The premise isn’t new, in fact it reminds me alot of Red Queen, Delirium, Matched, etc. However the character development was pretty amazing, and I felt like Madden and Dax both were very similar to each other. It is obviously intentional but it was a nice correlation between the two girls. I didn’t love the point of view switching (do I ever?) but I will admit that it was quite necessary to the plot. Overall it wasn’t that bad, and I never had a moment where I dreaded switching point of views.

Most of the book was pretty straightforward, and the caste system had a unique caveat to how it worked in the ‘reading’ of destiny. I wasn’t surprised by the big twist, but there was a smaller twist that caught me off guard. Mostly because it popped up in the first book, it really felt like it was a subplot that would have been better served for the second book. These characters were pretty average, there was nothing ground-breaking in this book, but it is a solid presence in the dystopian genre.

Overall I would give the book 3 out of 5 stars.
*http://moonlightgleam.com/2016/06/ash-by-shani-petroff-review.html*

pepgiraffe's review against another edition

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adventurous fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix

4.0

I didn't realize that I didn't review this when I read it years ago, but I remember really enjoying it. The caste system they use is interesting. 

skundrik87's review against another edition

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3.0

https://librarianonthelake.wordpress.com/2015/03/17/ash-by-shani-petroff-and-darci-manley/

mwhitney's review against another edition

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4.0

I received a copy through Good Read's Giveaways.

You meet Dax Harris and Madden Sumner, two girls who's lives couldn't be more different.
In a world where people are prescribed their "destinies" right at birth, which also coincides on how your to spend you life. Your whole life leading up to one moment a small ripple in the pond of life.

Where that premise kind of bummed me out, it defiantly had a lot of plot twists, but it takes a little bit of time to really dig into, so be prepared to get 100+ pages in to really start getting the story rolling.
All those tiny events are actually going somewhere, we just don't see it yet.

Over all I liked it, and look forward to reading what happens to Madden and Dax, how will their decisions change the world they live in.

chaotic_ramblings's review against another edition

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4.0

I purchased this book in Feb. of 2016, after reading a few reviews on Goodreads I decided not to read it right off the bat. And with other books coming out, and working it just sat on my kindle. Well, I honestly don't know what most of the lower starred reviews were talking about.
I loved this book and had to force myself to put it down just to get some sleep.
Dax and Madden are the main characters and the story switches between their points of view. Dax is a "Blank" Ash and Madden is a Purple. There are a total of seven rings of color within the New City. This is all the "New World" after a catastrophic event happened that wiped out most of the world's population. Now everyone is classified at birth based on their extracted destinies.
The story is actually well written and kept me swiping page after page until 3 am. The first half does drag a little, but it soon picks up with action and mystery. all surrounding Madden and Dax.
Definitely can't wait for the next book, though I see it may be a bit longer as only one of the authors is now taking it over.

xxes13's review against another edition

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5.0

Beğendim ben bu kitabı ya. Klasik distopya iƟte diyebilirsiniz ama bu kader olayını sevdim ben. DĂŒĆŸĂŒnsenize, doğduğunuzda kaderinizin ne olacağını biliyorsunuz. (DĂŒĆŸĂŒnemedi. :D) Yine de bilerek yaƟamayı istemezdim. Artıları olduğu kadar eksilerinin de çok olduğuna eminim. Devamını okumak için sabırsızlanıyorum.

romiress's review against another edition

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2.0

God this was generic. The 'preventing another event' division. The plot twists you could see from a mile off. I feel like I've read this book six or seven times before. The entire thing could have been done just as interestingly without a clear color caste system. It was just completely unnecessary.

teenage_reads's review against another edition

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4.0

Destiny are the events that will necessarily happen to a particular person or thing in the future. Something no one knows till it happen, or even after the fact. People claimed they know what destiny is, saying “it’s my destiny to do this”, or “we are destined to be together”. But who can truly predict the future? In a society that is coming off the damage of a major event changing the way they live based off who they are destined to be.

Color rings in order: Purple, Crimson, Green, Yellow, Brown, Slate and Ash. The Purples are the mightiest of them all, leading great destiny and are the leader of tomorrow. From there you go downhill to the want-a-be-purples the Crimsons, Greens, Yellow, Brown, Slate and finally the lowest of the low the Ashes. Ashes live in the outer edge of the town, barely able to survive. Their destiny are low, giving nothing to the world. Some don’t even have destiny and are called Blanks. Blanks are very dangerous and are violent people, most are locked up before they are even able to try to live a normal life. People have all sorts of destiny from “making the future leader laugh”, “having a girl”, to even “dying before your eighteenth birthday”, each are extracted a few minutes after the baby is born, and if extracted early enough you can have a time stamp showing the exact day and time your child’s destiny will be completed. This sounds like a good system, dividing people into rings, “classes”, and allowing people to complete their destiny, giving them purpose in their life.

Dax Harris is an Ash with a blank destiny. The only reason why she is allowed to live free is that her two older brother (two of the five) Link and Aldan are Purples. Before she was born her family was bumped up to Crimson based off of Aldan’s and Link’s destiny, but when Dax was born an Ash, it brought her family down to the Yellow ring. But Dax doesn’t mind and neither does her brothers, only her mother seems to care that Dax is an Ash. It is the love of her brothers and father that kept Dax going, ignoring the stares and remarks of her classmate.

Madden Sumner’s destiny is highly important, as it is to be the Future Minister of the 7. The Minister of the 7 is their government, where Madden is destiny to lead. To start with she is dating the current Minister of 7 grandson Bas, and spends her times hanging out with other Purples. Yet Madden has a soft spot for Dax, after all before she was dating Dax’s brother Link, someone she still has feelings for. Madden is a strong believer in the system, after all she’s going to be head of it one day. Yet when the system killed Aldan for failing to complete his destiny, Link flew off the handles landing himself in jail, Madden’s world starts to fall apart. Looking into her family history Madden world turns upside down as she discovers the truth about her society and herself.

Together Shani Petroff and Darci Manley wrote an amazing book. The whole society is cool though as what you are meant to be, determines who you are to the system today. From the coloring rings dating back to old times where only royalty got to wear the color purple, it reminds you a bit like the Divergent series as what class you are determines what color you can wear. Shani Petroff and Darci Manley have such similar writing patterns you cannot tell that Madden and Dax are written by two different people. The best part was finding out other people’s destinies, as you know all the characters Dax and Madden interact with have one, making you wonder what they are meant to do in the world and when. The book ended off on a cliff hanger, making you know this book is probably going to be a trilogy. Overall it is a great book with lovable characters and a definitely must read.

itsmikka's review against another edition

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3.0

Sort of reads like your typical YA novel. Nothing about the world-building really stands out to me, and I didn’t feel that connected to any of the characters. I will say the plot had some curveballs that I didn’t see coming, and at least the romances are (mostly) healthy relationships.

ofbooksandbone's review against another edition

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5.0

Lenamaybooks.wordpress.com

Ash by Shani Petroff and Darci Manley
Published by Polis Books
March 2015
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Divergent meets Hunger Games in this thrilling dystopian novel. That being said, I haven't actually READ the Divergent series, but the movies count. Only for this post, I promise! In a world where everyone's destiny is determined within minutes of their birth, Ash is the lowest ring in the society and Purple is the highest. Madden Summer is the up and coming minister of the seven and top leading a brilliant purple life. However Dax Harris isn't only and Ash but a blank...someone with no destiny and one that's costing her family in taxes and status. These two worlds collide in a series of unfortunate circumstances...or is it destiny?

Have you ever read the first book in a series and than played the waiting game for book two? It's the worst. Strike that...the worst thing happened to me after I read Ash...I can't even find book two! UltraViolet is currently out of print and impossible to find anywhere. I don't hand out the five star reviews often but Ash definitely deserves it. And now I'm curled in the fetal position, sucking my thumb because I can't get my hands on book two. Okay...yes I'm being mellow dramatic but it's THAT good. Im hoping one of the authors/publishers will take pity on me and help me out here.

Seriously, go grab a copy of Ash and if you happen to find UltraViolet....come talk to me. I might sell my soul for it.