From the Ashes discussion

Oh I loved Point of No Return, I think it just depends on what you are looking for with this book, I liked it.

Gigi wrote: "I'm all done guys! I'm afraid I'm with the majority and have to say I wasn't super impressed. I'm not ready to write a review because of fear of being too harsh. I think the fact that I was so exci..."

Ive been out all day so haven't had time to write my review but I tried last night and couldn't get it right! I'm having the same anxiety about it Gigi.... Everything I write sounds really negative and even though I didn't love it I didn't hate it either. Aaaaaargh! I'll try again but I might have to sleep on it again.

Mandy*reads obsessively* wrote: "Oh I loved Point of No Return, I think it just depends on what you are looking for with this book, I liked it."

Good! I'm glad to hear that. I've liked Daisy Harris in the past.

Eli wrote: "Mandy*reads obsessively* wrote: "Oh I loved Point of No Return, I think it just depends on what you are looking for with this book, I liked it."

Good! I'm glad to hear that. I've liked Daisy Ha..."

Me too Eli, I really liked the Holsum College books. I hope you enjoy this one. :)

Hey guys! I just noticed this discussion and thought I'd pop in... I know I'm not on your buddy read though. I'm currently reading this book! I'm about 25% in and... well.. pretty bored. At this point it's a bit of a chore for me to finish. Any of you guys further than me recommend continuing, or does it pretty much stay this way?
I can't bond with the characters. They move too quickly for me and start having feelings about each other without really knowing anything about one another at all. Plus they do things that just confuse me...
Any insight? Thanks!

Hey Natasha, it seems a lot of people have an issue with the very fast pace of the relationship. I found it to be pretty conflict and angst free, I sort of saw it as a sweet feel good fluff.

Hey Natasha - I'm really struggling with this too, find it boring, there's a bucket full of emotions that don't really add up and I can't connect.

Meep wrote: "Hey Natasha - I'm really struggling with this too, find it boring, there's a bucket full of emotions that don't really add up and I can't connect."

Hey! Okay, I'm glad I'm not the only one... I feel kinda bad because of a lot of my friends on here liked the book at least, but I just can't do it. I'm giving up about 30% through. I feel like if I continue reading I'm going to get more sour the more I read.

Natasha wrote: "Meep wrote: "Hey Natasha - I'm really struggling with this too, find it boring, there's a bucket full of emotions that don't really add up and I can't connect."

Hey! Okay, I'm glad I'm not the onl..."

Response to it seems pretty nuetral, I'm going to try and get further but yeah, I can't see me finishing it.
Nice to know I'm not the only one :)

Meep wrote: "Ok I'm really struggling with this, I read fast when I like a book but I'm still on about 15% and bored.

Sticking my thoughts(gripes) under spoilers to be safe, though I think everyone has read a ..."

Hey Meep. I couldn't agree with you more. :( This one is not working out for me either.

QUERY - Why was he giving up his schooling if it was too late to get the money back, how would that help anything?

Am I reading that wrong, maybe?

(view spoiler)[and I don't get Tomas' air punch at hearing Jesse was without options, if there was a connection maybe but it's too much like 'yay - on-tap sex of the kind I refuse to admit I want' or he's really happy at the chance to prove he's not homophobic! ;) --sorry I nitpick books I can't get into, should not read in reach of laptop!-- (hide spoiler)]

DaisyGirl wrote: "Hey Meep. I couldn't agree with you more. :( This one is not working out for me either. ..."

Hey there, I want to like it but it's just not working.

Meep wrote: "QUERY - Why was he giving up his schooling if it was too late to get the money back, how would that help anything?

Am I reading that wrong, maybe?"

Yup. Absolutely! I did not understand why dropping out was the best option when he was unable to get a refund. The only thing I could think of was that he could then work full-time? I dunno. There are several points throughout the story where I questioned the rationale or the reactions ... for both Jesse and Tomas. *sigh*

Meep wrote: "DaisyGirl wrote: "Hey Meep. I couldn't agree with you more. :( This one is not working out for me either. ..."

Hey there, I want to like it but it's just not working."

Me too. I want to like it. (I'm an unofficial fire-fighter groupie!) But it's just not working out for me either.

DaisyGirl wrote: "The only thing I could think of was that he could then work full-time?..."

That's the only thing I could think of, yet he didn't bother looking for work, ask (his ditzy female boss(kids/mortgage what little woman can cope with those stressors?!)) after more hours, or look for a place to stay.

When I don't connect I nit-pick.

Whew, finished. Now to try and think of how to review this one.

Meep wrote: "That's the only thing I could think of, yet he didn't bother looking for work, ask (his ditzy female boss(kids/mortgage what little woman can cope with those stressors?!)) after more hours, or look for a place to stay.

When I don't connect I nit-pick."

LOL. I'm the same way. And I'm not connected with this one.

I waited and waited for a more sunny outlook but finally gave up and wrote my review! I was pretty harsh. 2 stars. Biggest complaints were lack of chemistry and lack of anything firefighter related. *sigh* I was really disappointed. But I had fun chatting with you guys! I plan to keep up with this thread to see how others like it.

*sigh* Just finished. I'm in the did-nothin'-for-me boat. I didn't feel the chemistry and I wanted more fire fighting fighters, dammit! The cover almost feels like false advertising. Oh, well, moving on ....

I'm about 1/3rd done. I really liked the opening at the fire, and the rest has been okay for me so far. I'll wait until I'm done to read all the spoiler tags and get more into what others thought. So far a 3-4 star for me...

DaisyGirl wrote: "*sigh* Just finished. I'm in the did-nothin'-for-me boat. I didn't feel the chemistry and I wanted more fire fighting fighters, dammit! The cover almost feels like false advertising. Oh, well, movi..."

Yep he could have been an accountant, zero firefighter vibe.

I've plodded to 88% and my rating is between 1 and 2 stars.

(view spoiler)[-angry break-up sex - every virgins dream!
-Reactions to things don't add up
-Diego is an over macho caricature
-mi amor?!?! the guy speaks Spanish NOT French!
(edit:my error, I googled. think of it as french/italian, I was wrong.)
-chicken pot pie will fix all woes - pity I'm vegetarian. (hide spoiler)]

Mixed ages here - anyone else spot the ageism?

(view spoiler)[Daisy appears to see 60 as the end of the road:
Jesse's mother had him at 40, he's what 20 now?
So she's 60, and has bad mobility.
The secetary was 60 and losing her hair.

Retirement age for women in the UK is generally 65 - it's possible to be fit and capable well beyond that. (hide spoiler)]

Can I state again, how relieved I am that I chickened out:)

Vio wrote: "Can I state again, how relieved I am that I chickened out:)"

It was the wise choice :)

Meep wrote: "Vio wrote: "Can I state again, how relieved I am that I chickened out:)"

It was the wise choice :)"

Hugs to you all!

Unfortunately I'm also struggling with this one, been trying 3 times to dive into it but it just wouldn't engage me - dammit, already read 2 other books, so I'm going to shelve this for a later date. Yeah Vio, you made a good call ;)

Lena wrote: "Unfortunately I'm also struggling with this one, been trying 3 times to dive into it but it just wouldn't engage me - dammit, already read 2 other books, so I'm going to shelve this for a later dat..."

I'm sorry it didn't live up to its potential and was a huge let down for most of you:(

Lena wrote: "Unfortunately I'm also struggling with this one, been trying 3 times to dive into it but it just wouldn't engage me - dammit, already read 2 other books, so I'm going to shelve this for a later dat..."

I've read three other books while reading this. It doesn't hold my attention.

What does being a physics prof got to do with being open minded?

(view spoiler)[if he 'never waned kids' why did he even bother to call around and see him? (hide spoiler)]

So much doesn't make sense.

Hi, guys!

I finished this morning. I rated it 4 stars. I liked it well enough -- the writing was good and I liked the family drama angle. Probably my favorite aspect of the book was the El Salvadorian family. (view spoiler)[I liked how angsty/dramatic Diego was and then by the end he'd accepted it, and the parents too. (hide spoiler)]

My brother dated a Mexican girl for awhile and her family's culture was interesting--very tight knit and conservative, very family-oriented. So I just found that aspect of this story intriguing--how a tight-knit, conservative family like that would deal with a gay son. And also, how Tomas' own attitude about being gay evolved from being influenced by his family's attitude to being his own.

I can see the things others didn't like so much -- the insta-love on Tomas's part, the lack of real UST since they got together so quickly sexually (I prefer a much slower build myself), the sort of missed opportunity with the firefighter angle. Yes, it could have been better. But it was okay for me. I am looking forward to the next story--probably Michael's?

Thanks for letting me join in. I was going to read this right away anyway and thought it might be fun to try a buddy read. I've enjoyed everyone's comments!

I saw the next book is going to Henri's and it's not going to be out till spring next year......

Mandy*reads obsessively* wrote: "I saw the next book is going to Henri's and it's not going to be out till spring next year......"

Ah. Henri. He didn't make much of an impression on me in this book. She must be saving Michael for later. Michael and Rick maybe? ;-) Thanks for the info.

Yep, I threw Michael and Rick out there in my review, hoping it will make it so. :)
Henri gets a firefighter too, so I'm hopeful.

Think I'm more interested in Michael than Henri, but we shall see. :)

I hoped it would be Micheal and Rick, there seemed to be a subtle ' pairing ' in the story but I'd still read about Henri, wonder which fireman? Hmmmmm.....

Macky wrote: "I hoped it would be Micheal and Rick, there seemed to be a subtle ' pairing ' in the story but I'd still read about Henri, wonder which fireman? Hmmmmm....."

Logan..I'm not sure i remember him..After the Rain

Thanks Mandy Moo... Just followed the link. I'm not sure I remember him being mentioned either, will check. :)

Mandy*reads obsessively* wrote: "Macky wrote: "I hoped it would be Micheal and Rick, there seemed to be a subtle ' pairing ' in the story but I'd still read about Henri, wonder which fireman? Hmmmmm....."

Logan..I'm not sure i r..."

Thanks for the link. I hadn't seen that. Sounds pretty sexy and more "UST-y".

Eli wrote: "Mandy*reads obsessively* wrote: "Macky wrote: "I hoped it would be Micheal and Rick, there seemed to be a subtle ' pairing ' in the story but I'd still read about Henri, wonder which fireman? Hmm..."

Yeah I think so too.. :)

I went back and read all the bits where Tmas spent time wit his firefighting buddies and couldn't find me called Logan.

Is it too predictable for Rick to turn out to be gay?

Pjm12 wrote: "I went back and read all the bits where Tmas spent time wit his firefighting buddies and couldn't find me called Logan.

Is it too predictable for Rick to turn out to be gay?"

Maybe, but he's already got the antagonism going with Michael..and he's 'straight' which we know is a huge issue with Michael so I can see a lot of potential, but I guess we will just have to wait and see.

Pjm12 wrote: "I went back and read all the bits where Tmas spent time wit his firefighting buddies and couldn't find me called Logan.

Is it too predictable for Rick to turn out to be gay?"

I kindle searched - no Logan
I wouldn't be suprised if Saul turns gay too.

Yep Meep, Saul's reaction was def open to that possibility.

Pjm12 wrote: "I went back and read all the bits where Tmas spent time wit his firefighting buddies and couldn't find me called Logan.

Is it too predictable for Rick to turn out to be gay?"

It felt to me that Daisy was setting that up. Rick's over-the-top hostility for one, and there was that scene at the Halloween woods thing when (view spoiler)[Tomas told Rick he was gay and he saw 'fear' in Rick's eyes. So methinks Rick is in denial/in the closet. (hide spoiler)] Of course, I could be wrong.

I used to live on Capitol Hill in Seattle, so I liked the setting of the story. A bit o' me old stomping ground.