Of Fire and Ash (The Fireborn Epic, #1) in ⋆.ೃ࿔࿐ྂfaith & fantasy⋆.ೃ࿔࿐ྂ

Jan 24, 2025 Sharon Loves to Read rated it it was amazing

Shelves: fantasy-ya, christian-fantasy, eye-and-ear-read, favorites

Amazing!!🤩 Best fantasy book I have read in a while! This book exemplifies the reason I give out very few 5-star ratings: when I give one, I want it to really mean something. That isn’t to cast shade on other fantasies I love but only gave 4 stars to, but this book ticked all my boxes:

🐎complex plot
🐎multiple POVs in third person-past tense
🐎slow-burn, budding romance
🐎intricate world building without long, boring setting descriptions
🐎clash of cultures, including a powerful, conquering empire
🐎huma ...more

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Nov 28, 2021 Madisyn Carlin rated it it was amazing

The word "epic" possesses a few different meanings when applied to literature. Two of them are: a book long in length and a captivating tale the reader cannot put down. This book is both.

The plot is complex. An exiled princess, a prince-in-hiding, and a former slave find themselves ensnared in war. Betrayal is wrought, pain is suffered, and victories are gained. There's so much more to it than that, but you'll just have to read the book to uncover the full depth of what's going on.

The settings a The word "epic" possesses a few different meanings when applied to literature. Two of them are: a book long in length and a captivating tale the reader cannot put down. This book is both.

The plot is complex. An exiled princess, a prince-in-hiding, and a former slave find themselves ensnared in war. Betrayal is wrought, pain is suffered, and victories are gained. There's so much more to it than that, but you'll just have to read the book to uncover the full depth of what's going on.

The settings are masterfully crafted, and same goes for the worldbuilding. We are taken through a jungle set near a sea, covert, clever hiding spaces, lands shredded by war, and a land with Gaelic/Celtic/Scottish influence (think clans and such). Each individual setting draws the reader in and makes you feel like you're there, listening to the monkeys, smelling the sea, in the midst of a deranged engineer and the evil, nasty people plotting world domination, avoiding stone-eye tigers, watching the Outriders thunder across the landscape, or hearing winged horses fly overhead.

The characters. The author does equally well in crafting antagonists, protagonists, and every type of character in between. Cerridwen, Rafi, and Jakim are excellent and well-developed, but Finnian is my favorite. I'll refrain from voicing my indignation at the antagonists, and there are many, since that would be a major spoiler.

THE HORSES! So many different types! I want a Shadower. The others are great, but that breed is my favorite.

This book well deserves it's five-star rating. While a tale you must take your time reading, else you'll get lost, it draws you in and, when you finish the last page, you'll immediately want the second in the series. I'm still a bit muddled-brained from the epilogue. The ending was such a cliffhanger. I'll be counting down the months until Book Two is released.

Of Fire and Ash is an excellent book that must grace the bookshelves of every fantasy reader. Adams weaves a riveting tale that sweeps you into a world aflame with war, chaos, strength, struggle, and faith, and leaves you spellbound and longing for more.

I received an ARC of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review. ...more

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Apr 15, 2025 Brittany rated it liked it

Shelves: 3-star-reads, christian-fiction, fantasy, year-2025, buddy-reads

3 Stars ✨

Fantasy

“Life was cruel. It pitted the weak against the strong and never even blinked when the weak were crushed.”

Of Fire and Ash most certainly fits the mold of an Epic Fantasy. The writing was fantastic, and world building in a league of its own. I just wish I could say I enjoyed this as much as other reviewers did. I think it’s due to the fact that I don’t read a ton of dense books, I struggled a lot with the storyline. It followed 3 different POVs, with lots of side characters. I f ...more

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Sep 20, 2022 Grace Ann rated it liked it

Shelves: fantasy, adventure

Lovely characters, but I actually didn't find the story very interesting. 😬 (view spoiler) And the character development felt extremely slow. I really enjoyed reading about the Solborn! Two thumbs up from this horse lover. I am still looking forward to seeing what happens next. 😜 In the meantime, I'll be reading more ...more

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