Ashes to Ashes - Review

Title: Ashes to Ashes
Author (s): Jenny Han and Siobhan Vivian
Synopsis (from Goodreads): 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?
Part of a series? The concluding book in the Burn for Burn trilogy.
Rating: 4.5 stars.


This was just as tense and exciting as the other two books in the trilogy. Ashes to Ashes was also pretty heart-breaking, the epilogue especially! It rounded everything up and didn't leave any loose ends, so the trilogy truly feels finished, however much I didn't want it to end!


*SPOILER FROM THIS POINT ON!*




For those of you who have read my review for Fire with Fire (and my review of Burn for Burn, which is lurking somewhere on my Tumblr...I don't know how to use Tumblr, ok?), you'll know that I love Reeve and Lillia. Like, I REALLY love them together. In Fire with Fire,  this was hard, as it was kind of a forbidden love and a part of me knew that I shouldn't want them to be with each other. Happily, however, in Ashes to Ashes I could fully ship them with no guilt! They were adorable, and when he bought her the rose I had a large fangirl moment.


Which was why the ending was painful. I think a lot of people like Alex and Lillia together, but I'm not one of them. I don't like Alex as a character; he just feels too perfect. Reeve and Lillia not ending up together hurt, but at least they were moderately happy after Mary.


Mary was quite terrifying at times! I wasn't expecting her to become a proper, revenge-seeking ghost after she's been so kind and timid throughout the first two books, but she certainly did it well! I think the scariest moment was when she ruined Lillia's room and made her leave Reeve; the fact that Han and Vivian put that scene after a happy one made it much more effective. I liked how we still had chapters from Mary's point of view, even though she's a ghost, as it was interesting to read from the 'vengeful spirit's' perspective.


Kat remained my favourite character, staying strong and adding humour to an otherwise quite angst-y book. She helpfully provided us with a life lesson or two, such as 'reading and driving is some dangerous shit' and 'quitting smoking during a freaking ghost exorcism was a dumb-ass move'. Her loyalty towards Mary at the beginning was touching and showed how true she believed her friendship with her to be.


Ashes to Ashes didn't feel slow or boring at all, and while there were a few moments that occasionally didn't flow as well as usual, it was a strong conclusion to a strong trilogy. I liked how Han and Vivian took elements of a typical ghost story- the vengeful ghost, the abandoned house - and weaved them into a relatable, refreshingly new plot. I was not expecting for the Burn for Burn trilogy to go in the direction it did, but I love it!