Witches of Ash & Ruin

This was definitely an interesting book. I really enjoyed all of the witchy aspects of the book! It starts off pretty quickly but it wasn’t until the second half of the book that it really picks up. The first half is definitely a developmental stage of the characters with a lot of angst between Dayne and Meiner. While I like multiple POVs, I thought this book had two too many – Cora and Sam. I would have liked more of the environment instead of these two point of views. They really didn’t do anything for the story, especially the ending. Everything finally picks up and is so fast pace but the quick change of point of views didn’t really do it justice. There was never enough build up for one character because as soon as something happened, it switched to a different point of view. This great ending was just average due to the constant shifting. There was also a great setting but I felt like it could have been expanded on more. But, the story was really strong and interesting to unravel. I really enjoyed it overall.

Dayna was a great main character to follow. Her story was my favorite because of how she became a witch and balancing her super religious Father and town. I felt like this isn’t explored too much in modern novels and it definitely fit this book great. Meiner was okay. She was just so angry so much of the time and her temper quickly ramped up, sometimes without warning. But this did make her character the way it was supposed to and the more time from her perspective, the more I enjoyed her character. I was really glad that she was one of the point of views. Then there were the three villains, where their story is told through Dubh. I always find it really interesting when we get the other sides point of view as well, and it definitely fit in well with this story. Like I said above, I really didn’t care for Cora and Sam’s chapters. They felt more filler than important to me and I feel like they could have been told differently and more effectively.

FINAL THOUGHTS
Overall, Witches of Ash & Ruin by E. Latimer was a really good read. It definitely filled all of the witchy needs I was hoping for and the setting was very interesting. The story flew and had a really good pacing once it finally picked up. The beginning is definitely developing the characters. While I enjoy multiple points of view, I don’t feel like five was necessary for this book. I do also wish more of Ireland’s setting was used. This was the perfect place for a story like this but I felt like it wasn’t taken to it’s full advantage. I do highly recommend this book if you are looking for a fantastic witch story and a really close coven with a lot of angst between two of the main characters.