A review by goliathfrog
Ashes to Ashes by Lucinda Dark

3.0

I love the premise of this story, but I REALLY struggled with Barbie’s personality. She shows pretty much no character growth throughout the series. I get that she’s supposed to have the independent and bitchy vibe, but she’s SO stubborn and ornery and you really don’t see any softer side to her at all. She’s pretty mean to both Maverick and Torin and pushes them away every chance she gets (she doesn’t stop fighting their relationship until around 50% of book 3 and she continues to be pigheaded and reckless all the way until the end). She also constantly fights her demon and her vampire even when they’re offering sound advice. She’s mean and rude to her one and only friend for the entire series. I understand the character who pushes people away, but Barbie does that to the extreme and ultimately she never really lets down her guard. I just didn’t see any redeeming qualities in her character to offset her abrasive nature and give her a little more balance.

I anticipated we’d see a big breakthrough for her in this book, but the little moment at the time of the funeral wasn’t really big enough.

The actually story is really good though! I loved Torin and Mav. If you can handle a super frustrating female lead then I’m sure you’ll love the series.