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abby_ace_of_books 's review for:
Rise Up from the Embers
by Kristen Simmons, Sara Raasch
I'm so glad everyone in the reviews collectively agrees that a certain set of scenes in this book was not only freaky but never got properly addressed.
Rise Up from the Embers is the stunning conclusion to the Set Fire to the Gods duology, a YA fantasy series with gods, gladiators, and elemental magic. I'm glad that I finally read the second book, and I think I would've even rated it higher than the first if it weren't for the ending.
Overall, I really enjoyed the plotline of this book. I read the second half at work, and I didn't want to put it down. Now that Anthrasa - the Mother Goddess - is back, she intends to take control of all six countries...but Ash and Madoc refuse to let that happen. Determined to sway the other gods to their side, Ash and Madoc embark on a mission to turn Ash into a warrior capable of defeating Anthrasa. The storyline is extremely fast-paced for the most part, which I appreciated. There weren't many plot twists in this one, but I didn't mind because the tension approaching the ending was so high. My main issue is that a) this book is much shorter than the first, but it could've benefitted from some extra chapters just to allow the implications of certain scenes to play out (which I'll describe with spoilers below my review), and b) the ending was very unsatisfying, in my opinion. It just felt rushed and anticlimactic, given how powerful the villain was supposed to be.
This book introduced a few new characters, specifically in the form of the gods. I thought Hydra was okay, but Florus was more interesting. Biotus was a jerk, and Aera was...crazy? Disgusting? I don't know what to say. I wish we had gotten to see more of Elias and Ilena, too. I really enjoyed Ash's arc in this book as she pits her humanity against her divinity. I think I liked Madoc's POVs a bit more again, but his chapters also just had more tension in general.
I know some fans were disappointed in Rise Up from the Embers, but personally, I liked it as much as - if not more - than the first book.
4/5
Rant About Implications
INCLUDES SPOILERS
I want to talk about the Aera scenes specifically; although I have some stuff with Ash, I want to discuss, too.
But first...Aera.
If you've read the book, you know which scenes I'm talking about. In case you don't, I'm referencing the scenes where Aera a) makes out with Madoc and b) is implied to possibly take advantage of him. Which, first of all, is disgusting in its own right. I understand (vaguely) the point of including these scenes, but the fact that, by the end of the book, Madoc still doesn't know whether or not Aera actually took advantage of him while he was under Anthrasa's mind control bothers me a LOT. I'm pretty sure the dude is either a minor or a very young adult, which makes it all worse. In general, I think any book with mind control tropes - especially where the victim is forced to commit acts like murder against their will - needs to address the implications of that, and this book does not.
Also, Ash catches the make-out session or whatever between Aera and Madoc, and it feels like it never properly got addressed? Ash just kind of moves on from it - she and Madoc literally have a child together, which I also want to touch on later - and that implies (at least to me) that Madoc never discusses what was done to him, which is a conversation that I really wish had taken place.
In the same vein, there is never any "on-screen" discussion of what happened to Ash's trauma from Florus. While I wouldn't consider any of this to be "miscommunication," it is a lack of communication of sorts that makes the epilogue feel less believable to me because there characters never talk about events that emotionally affected them deeply. And though I understand that Ash's previous reluctance to think about forming a family was partially brought on due to wanting to break the cycle of slaving away for Ignitus (so it makes sense that part of her arc involves having a child), it felt very out of place for her and Madoc, who had never discussed their relationship in detail. Also, the fact that it's only three years after the story feels way too soon for characters I pictured to be between 16 and 18.
So although I really enjoyed this book, I really wish the authors could've spared 50 pages or so just to address Ash's and more specifically Madoc's trauma.
Rise Up from the Embers is the stunning conclusion to the Set Fire to the Gods duology, a YA fantasy series with gods, gladiators, and elemental magic. I'm glad that I finally read the second book, and I think I would've even rated it higher than the first if it weren't for the ending.
Overall, I really enjoyed the plotline of this book. I read the second half at work, and I didn't want to put it down. Now that Anthrasa - the Mother Goddess - is back, she intends to take control of all six countries...but Ash and Madoc refuse to let that happen. Determined to sway the other gods to their side, Ash and Madoc embark on a mission to turn Ash into a warrior capable of defeating Anthrasa. The storyline is extremely fast-paced for the most part, which I appreciated. There weren't many plot twists in this one, but I didn't mind because the tension approaching the ending was so high. My main issue is that a) this book is much shorter than the first, but it could've benefitted from some extra chapters just to allow the implications of certain scenes to play out (which I'll describe with spoilers below my review), and b) the ending was very unsatisfying, in my opinion. It just felt rushed and anticlimactic, given how powerful the villain was supposed to be.
This book introduced a few new characters, specifically in the form of the gods. I thought Hydra was okay, but Florus was more interesting. Biotus was a jerk, and Aera was...crazy? Disgusting? I don't know what to say. I wish we had gotten to see more of Elias and Ilena, too. I really enjoyed Ash's arc in this book as she pits her humanity against her divinity. I think I liked Madoc's POVs a bit more again, but his chapters also just had more tension in general.
I know some fans were disappointed in Rise Up from the Embers, but personally, I liked it as much as - if not more - than the first book.
4/5
Rant About Implications
INCLUDES SPOILERS
I want to talk about the Aera scenes specifically; although I have some stuff with Ash, I want to discuss, too.
But first...Aera.
If you've read the book, you know which scenes I'm talking about. In case you don't, I'm referencing the scenes where Aera a) makes out with Madoc and b) is implied to possibly take advantage of him. Which, first of all, is disgusting in its own right. I understand (vaguely) the point of including these scenes, but the fact that, by the end of the book, Madoc still doesn't know whether or not Aera actually took advantage of him while he was under Anthrasa's mind control bothers me a LOT. I'm pretty sure the dude is either a minor or a very young adult, which makes it all worse. In general, I think any book with mind control tropes - especially where the victim is forced to commit acts like murder against their will - needs to address the implications of that, and this book does not.
Also, Ash catches the make-out session or whatever between Aera and Madoc, and it feels like it never properly got addressed? Ash just kind of moves on from it - she and Madoc literally have a child together, which I also want to touch on later - and that implies (at least to me) that Madoc never discusses what was done to him, which is a conversation that I really wish had taken place.
In the same vein, there is never any "on-screen" discussion of what happened to Ash's trauma from Florus. While I wouldn't consider any of this to be "miscommunication," it is a lack of communication of sorts that makes the epilogue feel less believable to me because there characters never talk about events that emotionally affected them deeply. And though I understand that Ash's previous reluctance to think about forming a family was partially brought on due to wanting to break the cycle of slaving away for Ignitus (so it makes sense that part of her arc involves having a child), it felt very out of place for her and Madoc, who had never discussed their relationship in detail. Also, the fact that it's only three years after the story feels way too soon for characters I pictured to be between 16 and 18.
So although I really enjoyed this book, I really wish the authors could've spared 50 pages or so just to address Ash's and more specifically Madoc's trauma.