I stumbled across a review today that really resonated with me, and, after getting permission from the original poster, I wanted to share it:
Jayne brought up such a good point here, one I've been struggling to overcome anytime I try to (un)successfully market this book: In addition to the fact that this book is a serious genre-bender (SFF + mystery + coming of age + mild horror + time travel), the hardest part of convincing my readers to read The Girl Who Talks to Ashes is that it comes across as fairly dark. (I've pasted the blurb below so you can see what I mean.)
To clarify, yes, there are some darker themes (and, 𝘺𝘦𝘴, I did admittedly have to turn on all the lights in the house once or twice because truth be told I'm a total baby when it comes to horror), this book is so much more heartfelt and uplifting than the blurb initially suggests. Yes, there is loss, and a certain creep factor (mostly because Lilah's powers aren't quite what they seem), but there's also: ⏳ found family (Lilah's adoptive father is one of my favorite characters EVER) ⏳ first love - seriously, the MMC, Jace, is SO SWEET. ⏳ a "disability" that's transformed into a strength ⏳ humor ⏳ blue pop tarts ⏳ and a SUPER cool storyline about a gal whose seizures cause time to fracture around her.
PLUS - and you didn't hear this from me - there's going to be a big Ashes-related reveal later this summer. So if you're thirsting for more books of mine, definitely don't shy away from this one! After all, there is always light at the end of every dark tunnel.
🖤Rachel
Aforementioned blurb:
Fifteen-year-old Willow is terrified of her new baby, Lilah, who has a peculiar form of epilepsy. Every time Lilah's eyes glaze over, terrible things happen: flowers shrivel, food goes to rot - even Willow's long, auburn hair turns stark white. But it's the death of the family cat that becomes the last straw; in the middle of the night, Willow and her mother dump the infant at the fire station two towns over – and are never heard from again.
The next morning, Chief Stanley Quinn takes Lilah home and cares for the toddler as best as he can. With medication, her epilepsy remains under control... For the most part.
But as a teenager, Lilah isn't always keen on taking her pills, and when she sneaks away to a rock concert with the cutest boy in school, something terrible happens, landing both of them in the hospital. After Stanley breaks down and confesses everything to his adopted daughter, she decides to track down the young girl who gave her up sixteen years ago; the young girl who never made it home that night… The young girl who is now presumed to be dead. Soon, Lilah's quest to find her birth mother becomes a quest to solve a sixteen-year-old missing persons case. She has everything she needs to find her – she just needs to learn how to control her peculiar ‘gift’ before she kills someone.
Again.
So, what do you think? Are you interested to venture outside your own comfort zone and give The Girl Who Talks to Ashes a shot? 🍎
Bring it on.