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A review by kfriend
Asher by Carian Cole
5.0
No one quite knows how to break my heart and then lovingly rejuvenated it like Carian Cole- she somehow puts the pieces back together again with such tender care, such beauty, that I feel like my heart is just learning to beat for the first time. Like I can see the world with more hopeful, more open eyes. Like I understand true love and devotion in an entirely new way- one that heals my own fractures and pain, just as it does her characters.
Fans have been awaiting Asher- we’ve grown to love him in other stories and got to see in Torn just how painful and heartbreaking this story would be. All I can say is that Asher and Ember are more than worth the wait. Their story is haunting, bittersweet, and heart shattering at times, but it is also beautiful, hopefully, and deeply moving. I had to force myself to slow down my reading so many times just to revel in the beauty of this story telling, to let me heart FEEL all that Carian inspires me to feel.
Asher and Ember had a perfect love story- jump started when they were so young. They never fought, loved fiercely- were the couple others dreamed to be, in perfect sync. Perfect soulmates. So what happens when that perfect love is ripped to shreds by tragedy, when your love story has to start over again? What happens when your soulmate is no longer the same person, doesn’t even remember your love? Are you still soulmates? Can love rebuild without the rich, soulful history of its creation? And what if you don’t even know who you are? What if the man you think you love is in love with another woman- the version of yourself that you no longer are, that you can’t even remember, that you no longer want to be? And when you try to find that love, whose love is it really- yours or the ghost of yourself? Can you love twice, when you aren’t the same people who feel in love with each other first?
I tear up just writing this now. This is such an emotional journey. Falling in love was easy. In fact, falling BACK in love was easy, too. What isn’t was Asher and Ember dealing with the complexities of doing so, reconciling their own identities when the foundational love that was the core of them is no longer there, and will never exist as it originally did. Carian writes her characters with such care and tenderness- they are dynamic, complex, and nuanced. Their alternating POV gives us such a tender and intimate insight into their hearts and souls. Both characters perpetually exist at the nexus of hope and despair in this story. I empathize and hurt with them, celebrated and rejoiced- their emotions so palpable I felt them deep within my chest. Their experiences are so artfully constructed, I was moved to tears more than once.
Even unbreakable love requires work, requires patience and intentional care. These two soulmates would never give up on the hope they had for their love- nor could they deny the deep, life altering way true love takes root within you, even if it isn’t easy, understandable, or carefree...or in this case, even familiar. Love isn’t a feeling- it is an act. And it doesn’t have to be perfect- it just has to breathe. What a beautiful journey this book takes us as we follow two incredible people fighting for love after everything came crashing down. This is now tied with Torn/Tied as my all time favorite, and the best in the series. I’m STILL emotional!
Fans have been awaiting Asher- we’ve grown to love him in other stories and got to see in Torn just how painful and heartbreaking this story would be. All I can say is that Asher and Ember are more than worth the wait. Their story is haunting, bittersweet, and heart shattering at times, but it is also beautiful, hopefully, and deeply moving. I had to force myself to slow down my reading so many times just to revel in the beauty of this story telling, to let me heart FEEL all that Carian inspires me to feel.
Asher and Ember had a perfect love story- jump started when they were so young. They never fought, loved fiercely- were the couple others dreamed to be, in perfect sync. Perfect soulmates. So what happens when that perfect love is ripped to shreds by tragedy, when your love story has to start over again? What happens when your soulmate is no longer the same person, doesn’t even remember your love? Are you still soulmates? Can love rebuild without the rich, soulful history of its creation? And what if you don’t even know who you are? What if the man you think you love is in love with another woman- the version of yourself that you no longer are, that you can’t even remember, that you no longer want to be? And when you try to find that love, whose love is it really- yours or the ghost of yourself? Can you love twice, when you aren’t the same people who feel in love with each other first?
I tear up just writing this now. This is such an emotional journey. Falling in love was easy. In fact, falling BACK in love was easy, too. What isn’t was Asher and Ember dealing with the complexities of doing so, reconciling their own identities when the foundational love that was the core of them is no longer there, and will never exist as it originally did. Carian writes her characters with such care and tenderness- they are dynamic, complex, and nuanced. Their alternating POV gives us such a tender and intimate insight into their hearts and souls. Both characters perpetually exist at the nexus of hope and despair in this story. I empathize and hurt with them, celebrated and rejoiced- their emotions so palpable I felt them deep within my chest. Their experiences are so artfully constructed, I was moved to tears more than once.
Even unbreakable love requires work, requires patience and intentional care. These two soulmates would never give up on the hope they had for their love- nor could they deny the deep, life altering way true love takes root within you, even if it isn’t easy, understandable, or carefree...or in this case, even familiar. Love isn’t a feeling- it is an act. And it doesn’t have to be perfect- it just has to breathe. What a beautiful journey this book takes us as we follow two incredible people fighting for love after everything came crashing down. This is now tied with Torn/Tied as my all time favorite, and the best in the series. I’m STILL emotional!