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A review by stephdaydreams
From the Embers by Aly Martinez
5.0
Romance with dead best friend’s spouse is basically a no go for me. I happened to read (ok I purposely looked, heh) a spoiler for one of the twists in this one and that changed my stance completely. I am so glad I gave this one a go: it was heartbreaking, gorgeous, angsty, swoon-worthy, with an action-packed finale that will boggle your mind while making perfect sense!
》The Leads《
Eason! Truly one of the best male leads I’ve read in a while. His family is his heart. He wants to do his best by them, but he also has dreams, dreams he would love to pursue but will drop in a second if it meant keeping his loved ones first in his life.
He is a stand up husband, friend, and human being. If only his wife and best friend recognized that in time, heh.
I loved how he didn’t give up on Bree, no matter how difficult a start they had in their partnership. He saw past the perceived cold surface into the warmth beneath, and I loved how it always tended to keep her fire going. I loved him!
I saw some negative reviews towards Bree and I have to say I don’t understand them at all. Yes, Bree begins standoffish, judgmental, seemingly more sharp than soft in many ways. But that’s such a shallow view of her.
She’s deeply warm, soft, vulnerable, and so fiercely loving, protective, and loyal. Her less-than-stellar views of Eason are 100% due to her so-called best friend who chatted in her ear for years about his “failures.” It’s no surprise Bree doesn’t begin with much warmth towards him, but she comes to see who Eason is as he becomes a permanent fixture in her life. Just as he quickly dismantles his own prejudices towards her when he sees what a wonderful, caring mother and woman she is— and how she pushes herself forward with each step even when all she wants to do is collapse.
They are marvelous leads.
》The Romance《
Ok, so like I said at the start— the trope or whatever you want to call it of romances featuring dead best friend’s spouse is an ick factor for me. But this is a massive exception— and surprisingly not just because we find out the “dead” spouses were cheating on our leads with one another. We begin the story with our leads frankly not liking each other. They tolerate and maybe, at most, respect one another. Their initial thoughts of the other lean towards negative. No hidden crush, no simmering attraction, they don’t view each other as anything more than the spouse of their respective best friend. That alone sold me. Even without the cheating dead spouses, the way we begin their story by firmly seeing how they had no underlying feelings made the start of their romance feel more earned, more true.
They had to first move past begrudging respect to steadfast companionship to all-encompassing friendship to soulmatism. They are 100% soulmates and by the time they realize it, the reader is deep in the trenches rooting for the pair to come together. And they do, so very beautifully.
》More Filler Please《
I think my biggest gripe is, once Bree and Eason recognize the attraction brewing they fall into a relationship too quickly. I wanted more push-and-pull. More guilt. They first discovered the cheating of their “dead” spouses and then hopped into a relationship. I think I would have liked more angst in terms of them feeling guilty at the emergence of feelings and trying to pull away from one another but realizing how meant to be there were. Maybe throw in some jealousy, like Bree being set up on a blind date or something. Don’t get me wrong, I adore how their romance was written but I think I’d have loved it even more if it was drawn out a touch more.
I also would have loved more insight into their future once Eason’s career took off. He’s now a Grammy winner! How much time away from the family does he spend? Does he tour, or releasing albums is as far as it goes? This is less of a gripe and more of a personal lingering curiosity.
》Twists and Turns《
I noticed a lot of mixed reviews about the big twists, I personally loved them! Sure the third act could have featured the typical couple break up, maybe here we see a strain occur due to Eason’s advancing career, etc. etc.; but instead, there’s no breakup, there’s only dramatic revelation. And it had me wholly engaged, enthralled, anxious, and excited! Rob isn’t dead! Not only is he a cheater, he’s a murderer! He wanted to kill his wife for money and for honey! He wanted Jessica at his side, but Eason needed out too to make it happen. But how? He only wanted to off his wife. Oh! he’s in luck, because Jessica is just as evil! Jessica is also a cheater and murderer (and dead for real)! She threw in Eason into the murder plot.
But only Jessica died. And Rob’s accomplice died in his place so he ran off until he decided to kidnap Luna in an effort to get millions of dollars.
I’m sorry, but I ate it all up! Yes, these revelations serve to dismiss any lingering guilt our leads have over their survival and love. But it also served me well! I’m glad we didn’t have a plot where they’re just feeling guilty over moving on from their loving dead spouses. I’m glad their spouses were crap people, murderous crap people! This made the ending all the more satisfying. Rob gets to rot in jail realizing his affair partner was as horrible a manipulator as he, and he gave up a good life, a good wife, a good family for nothing, while seeing his best friend take hold of that family with true sincerity and love— and money, because my man Eason hit it big on the stage! Eason and Bree won big. They won true love, family, success, and happiness.
So yeah, I’m here for the twists, so I can avoid the sad violin music at the end where the leads visits the graves of there deceased love one to tell them all about their new life alongside their best friend. I’m sorry, but I needed a green light and the dead spouses being horrible, deceitful people, gave that to me.
I think the only thing I would have hated would have been Luna not being biologically Eason’s, I was so relieved we didn’t get too soap opera-y by not letting Rob being the bio dad. If the opposite had happened I may not be as content with these twisty turns.
》Encore《
Oh how I wish I could un-read this book to read it all over again for the first time. I went through a rollercoaster of emotions, and in the end, I left immensely satisfied.
6 (edit on July 10-- changed the rating from 4 to 5 because I can't stop thinking about this one)
》The Leads《
Eason! Truly one of the best male leads I’ve read in a while. His family is his heart. He wants to do his best by them, but he also has dreams, dreams he would love to pursue but will drop in a second if it meant keeping his loved ones first in his life.
He is a stand up husband, friend, and human being. If only his wife and best friend recognized that in time, heh.
I loved how he didn’t give up on Bree, no matter how difficult a start they had in their partnership. He saw past the perceived cold surface into the warmth beneath, and I loved how it always tended to keep her fire going. I loved him!
I saw some negative reviews towards Bree and I have to say I don’t understand them at all. Yes, Bree begins standoffish, judgmental, seemingly more sharp than soft in many ways. But that’s such a shallow view of her.
She’s deeply warm, soft, vulnerable, and so fiercely loving, protective, and loyal. Her less-than-stellar views of Eason are 100% due to her so-called best friend who chatted in her ear for years about his “failures.” It’s no surprise Bree doesn’t begin with much warmth towards him, but she comes to see who Eason is as he becomes a permanent fixture in her life. Just as he quickly dismantles his own prejudices towards her when he sees what a wonderful, caring mother and woman she is— and how she pushes herself forward with each step even when all she wants to do is collapse.
They are marvelous leads.
》The Romance《
Ok, so like I said at the start— the trope or whatever you want to call it of romances featuring dead best friend’s spouse is an ick factor for me. But this is a massive exception— and surprisingly not just because we find out the “dead” spouses were cheating on our leads with one another. We begin the story with our leads frankly not liking each other. They tolerate and maybe, at most, respect one another. Their initial thoughts of the other lean towards negative. No hidden crush, no simmering attraction, they don’t view each other as anything more than the spouse of their respective best friend. That alone sold me. Even without the cheating dead spouses, the way we begin their story by firmly seeing how they had no underlying feelings made the start of their romance feel more earned, more true.
They had to first move past begrudging respect to steadfast companionship to all-encompassing friendship to soulmatism. They are 100% soulmates and by the time they realize it, the reader is deep in the trenches rooting for the pair to come together. And they do, so very beautifully.
》More Filler Please《
I think my biggest gripe is, once Bree and Eason recognize the attraction brewing they fall into a relationship too quickly. I wanted more push-and-pull. More guilt. They first discovered the cheating of their “dead” spouses and then hopped into a relationship. I think I would have liked more angst in terms of them feeling guilty at the emergence of feelings and trying to pull away from one another but realizing how meant to be there were. Maybe throw in some jealousy, like Bree being set up on a blind date or something. Don’t get me wrong, I adore how their romance was written but I think I’d have loved it even more if it was drawn out a touch more.
I also would have loved more insight into their future once Eason’s career took off. He’s now a Grammy winner! How much time away from the family does he spend? Does he tour, or releasing albums is as far as it goes? This is less of a gripe and more of a personal lingering curiosity.
》Twists and Turns《
I noticed a lot of mixed reviews about the big twists, I personally loved them! Sure the third act could have featured the typical couple break up, maybe here we see a strain occur due to Eason’s advancing career, etc. etc.; but instead, there’s no breakup, there’s only dramatic revelation. And it had me wholly engaged, enthralled, anxious, and excited! Rob isn’t dead! Not only is he a cheater, he’s a murderer! He wanted to kill his wife for money and for honey! He wanted Jessica at his side, but Eason needed out too to make it happen. But how? He only wanted to off his wife. Oh! he’s in luck, because Jessica is just as evil! Jessica is also a cheater and murderer (and dead for real)! She threw in Eason into the murder plot.
But only Jessica died. And Rob’s accomplice died in his place so he ran off until he decided to kidnap Luna in an effort to get millions of dollars.
I’m sorry, but I ate it all up! Yes, these revelations serve to dismiss any lingering guilt our leads have over their survival and love. But it also served me well! I’m glad we didn’t have a plot where they’re just feeling guilty over moving on from their loving dead spouses. I’m glad their spouses were crap people, murderous crap people! This made the ending all the more satisfying. Rob gets to rot in jail realizing his affair partner was as horrible a manipulator as he, and he gave up a good life, a good wife, a good family for nothing, while seeing his best friend take hold of that family with true sincerity and love— and money, because my man Eason hit it big on the stage! Eason and Bree won big. They won true love, family, success, and happiness.
So yeah, I’m here for the twists, so I can avoid the sad violin music at the end where the leads visits the graves of there deceased love one to tell them all about their new life alongside their best friend. I’m sorry, but I needed a green light and the dead spouses being horrible, deceitful people, gave that to me.
I think the only thing I would have hated would have been Luna not being biologically Eason’s, I was so relieved we didn’t get too soap opera-y by not letting Rob being the bio dad. If the opposite had happened I may not be as content with these twisty turns.
》Encore《
Oh how I wish I could un-read this book to read it all over again for the first time. I went through a rollercoaster of emotions, and in the end, I left immensely satisfied.
6 (edit on July 10-- changed the rating from 4 to 5 because I can't stop thinking about this one)