Scan barcode
heyhellohowdy's review
4.0
Ellie is a unique individual. She has lived an almost sheltered live as a military brat, moving around the country because her father was a church chaplain. So when she is rather abruptly introduced to the shifter world...she spews up her guts...multiple times. Though, she rolls with the punches and grows as a person every time. I loved her closeness with her family and even her faith. She's a religious person (her did was a chaplain after all) and maintains her faith and often prays for safety for herself and her family.
Carter is more specific of an individual. He's pretty rough around the edges and can come off as mean and unlikeable at times. There are times where he goads Ellie, though I think he does that more for himself than for actual meanness. He's been mistreated by humans, so why does he think the human Ellie will treat him any differently?
I love the world the author creates with this story. It has shifters, though not just the typical werewolves, but including different mythologies like Greek with the Talos.
One thing I enjoyed was the different types of POV. It's mostly told in 1st person POV from Ellie's POV, with several from Carter told in 3rd person POV. I liked the other POVs included because I thought they added to the story.
I enjoyed the author! She does a fantastic job with the character voices. She manages to add the personalities of the characters to the voices she gives them.
Carter is more specific of an individual. He's pretty rough around the edges and can come off as mean and unlikeable at times. There are times where he goads Ellie, though I think he does that more for himself than for actual meanness. He's been mistreated by humans, so why does he think the human Ellie will treat him any differently?
I love the world the author creates with this story. It has shifters, though not just the typical werewolves, but including different mythologies like Greek with the Talos.
One thing I enjoyed was the different types of POV. It's mostly told in 1st person POV from Ellie's POV, with several from Carter told in 3rd person POV. I liked the other POVs included because I thought they added to the story.
I enjoyed the author! She does a fantastic job with the character voices. She manages to add the personalities of the characters to the voices she gives them.
fmcfranny's review
4.0
this was interesting. I was unsure what to expect but once I started I couldn't stop. I felt terrible for Ellie who was thrust into a world that was too harsh for her and only because she did a good deed. Honestly, I know she is mocked for her reaction but you cannot really blame her. She is terrified and in danger for being a good person and has a new world opened up to her, a terrifying one. Carter is a grump. I get the why but he harrassed Ellie for being scared of all shifters when he hates all humans because some were mean to him as a kid. Well shifters kept trying to kill her and she was scared of them all, and that's her first introduction to shifters. Shifter kids think they are human until puberty so it's not like they don't know humans exist. he was a hypocrite. but their dynamic slowly changes and it was good to take the journey with them.
khaleesimod93's review
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
2.0
I found this book through the authors tik tok. The overall concept about mafia mixed with mythology and shifters was so intriguing. I had to pick this book up. There were things, unfortunately, that caused me not to enjoy the book, which is super disappointing.
Let me start off with the good because it was perfection. The mythology and lore behind the whole story was "chefs kiss" perfection. Literally nothing wrong. It was complex, intriguing, and well done. There is nothing I can say that would have made it better. It's the reason I even finished this book.
Now, unfortunately, there is a lot that didn't work for me. Ellie and Carter were my issues. Ellie was a character I absolutely loved at first. She reacted exactly how I expected her to, but she got worse as time went on. She was so brave in the heat of the moment! I loved that for her. Her reactions to what she did and then what happened to her, understandable. What wasn't understandable is that she changed through the book into an extremely judgmental, whiny brat. The way she constantly called the Shifters "freaks" and "monsters" even after Carter explained why they stayed hidden just pissed me off. She's literally proving Carter's point!!! Then, getting offended at EVERYTHING Carter said or did. He is her what she needs, and she gets annoyed and embarrassed. Come on, girl. Get a grip. Tell the man what you need so he can go get it and stop arguing!!!! She did not get better.
Carter, I could really love him, but again, I had my issues with him. He constantly apologized to Ellie when I felt he didn't need to. He was doing a job. He was protecting her and taking care of her. He tried to be kind and understanding about her situation. She just flipped out on him and he apologized all the time! Then the calling her "kid" thing bothered me too. She's not a child. She's an adult even though she wasn't acting like it. Just ugh!
By the end of it, I was so over the antics of Ellie and Carter. The story could not overshadow how horrible the characters were to each other. And how horrible it was to read. Love the mythology and lore behind the story and the concept. I will definitely read more of this authors works, just not this particular series.
Let me start off with the good because it was perfection. The mythology and lore behind the whole story was "chefs kiss" perfection. Literally nothing wrong. It was complex, intriguing, and well done. There is nothing I can say that would have made it better. It's the reason I even finished this book.
Now, unfortunately, there is a lot that didn't work for me. Ellie and Carter were my issues. Ellie was a character I absolutely loved at first. She reacted exactly how I expected her to, but she got worse as time went on. She was so brave in the heat of the moment! I loved that for her. Her reactions to what she did and then what happened to her, understandable. What wasn't understandable is that she changed through the book into an extremely judgmental, whiny brat. The way she constantly called the Shifters "freaks" and "monsters" even after Carter explained why they stayed hidden just pissed me off. She's literally proving Carter's point!!! Then, getting offended at EVERYTHING Carter said or did. He is her what she needs, and she gets annoyed and embarrassed. Come on, girl. Get a grip. Tell the man what you need so he can go get it and stop arguing!!!! She did not get better.
Carter, I could really love him, but again, I had my issues with him. He constantly apologized to Ellie when I felt he didn't need to. He was doing a job. He was protecting her and taking care of her. He tried to be kind and understanding about her situation. She just flipped out on him and he apologized all the time! Then the calling her "kid" thing bothered me too. She's not a child. She's an adult even though she wasn't acting like it. Just ugh!
By the end of it, I was so over the antics of Ellie and Carter. The story could not overshadow how horrible the characters were to each other. And how horrible it was to read. Love the mythology and lore behind the story and the concept. I will definitely read more of this authors works, just not this particular series.
bookpup's review
4.0
I really really liked it. I have always been interested in mythology so this was a great read for me. There were a few scenes where I was like 'No! Don't do that. ' but it all worked out in the end.
mlcutter's review
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
So good! Ellie St. James is a nursing student who saves a little boy and unwittingly enters the world of shapeshifters. Her assigned protector Carter Ballis, who is also a bronze statue in his shifted form, tries to keep her alive when she is caught in a shifter war. I love that Ellie is feisty, but innocent. She's shell-shocked by the revelation that shifters exist and having to see brutality that she never expected. Love her. I'm reading through my TBR, but actually purchased the 2nd book because it was $1.99 and I need to read more of this series.
slightly__gothic's review
DNFed at 60%. This book started horribly. The pacing was awful and clearly the author just did not know how to start this story. But it was an interesting idea and I thought maybe it would redeem itself, but this book is just a huge mess. There’s multiple POVs and the FMC’s is first person while everyone else’s randomly third person? It really takes you out of the story and by 60% I realized it was going no where and the FMC was just too whiny. Also 60% of this book took place over the course of 24 hours. Literally nothing interesting happens.
jasmyn9's review
5.0
I fell in love with the shifter lore in Ashes to Earth. Pulling from many different cultures, Sarah Ashwood was able to show the mythical creatures from around the world in one place. Many of the main shifter characters seem to be based on Greek myths, so fans of Greek mythology may really enjoy this fresh take on the classic mythological characters.
Ellie, the human, is wonderful. She’s very well-balanced and when the fluff hits the fan, she freaks out – as any good human girl would do when a minotaur shows up in front of them. But she also reacts quickly. She isn’t a damsel in distress by any means, but she does realize her own limitation when it comes to standing up against these shifters. It was quite refreshing to have such a down-to-earth character be the heroine of an urban fantasy story.
I’m still trying to figure out Carter. he’s hard and stubborn, but I saw glimpses of something much more, but I’m not sure what that “more” is yet. He has a very dry and sarcastic sense of humor, which I loved, but not everyone in the story did. I feel like he may have been a little flat with a lot of her deeper self being described from his past instead of showing up in his actions in the present.
Carter’s job throughout the book is the protect Ellie from the other team’s shifters. And both sides get pretty creative in their attacks and defenses, which just freaks Ellie out even more. The reason for the war between the two sides comes out slowly, and we discover more about it as Ellie finds herself slipping further and further into the shifter world.
I will definitely want to pick up the second book in the Stones of Fire series. The story ends with a bit of a cliffhanger, but even without that, I know there’s more to tell and I really want to find out who is going to win in the end.
**I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book**
Ellie, the human, is wonderful. She’s very well-balanced and when the fluff hits the fan, she freaks out – as any good human girl would do when a minotaur shows up in front of them. But she also reacts quickly. She isn’t a damsel in distress by any means, but she does realize her own limitation when it comes to standing up against these shifters. It was quite refreshing to have such a down-to-earth character be the heroine of an urban fantasy story.
I’m still trying to figure out Carter. he’s hard and stubborn, but I saw glimpses of something much more, but I’m not sure what that “more” is yet. He has a very dry and sarcastic sense of humor, which I loved, but not everyone in the story did. I feel like he may have been a little flat with a lot of her deeper self being described from his past instead of showing up in his actions in the present.
Carter’s job throughout the book is the protect Ellie from the other team’s shifters. And both sides get pretty creative in their attacks and defenses, which just freaks Ellie out even more. The reason for the war between the two sides comes out slowly, and we discover more about it as Ellie finds herself slipping further and further into the shifter world.
I will definitely want to pick up the second book in the Stones of Fire series. The story ends with a bit of a cliffhanger, but even without that, I know there’s more to tell and I really want to find out who is going to win in the end.
**I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book**
audiobook_chaos's review
5.0
I loved the storyline and the characters were great . My only issue was Ellie was to whiny I know she was put in a difficult situation but whining about it and getting at Carter wasn’t going to solve anything. I was glad she mellowed out near the end. I haven’t listened to Mellissa Kay Bensons narration before and I enjoyed listening to her.
mamadragonbooks's review
4.0
3.5 stars .. I should have read the blurb. I was thinking it was dystopian. Oops. Didn’t disappoint though. Engaging. Ellie was naive, religious, and a sweetheart. Carter was either a jerk or sweet. Different take on shifters. Little bit of Greek mythology. Slow burn romance.