They were a storm I never saw coming, an unforeseen heartbreak on the edge of a dangerous cliff.
In AMBER TO ASHES (Atria Paperback; June 9th, 2015), Amber Moretti’s life changes in the span of minutes. An orphaned outsider, she is desperate to start fresh the moment she walks onto campus. In the time it takes to cross the university’s dining hall, she meets two men who bring color, air, and light to her darkened world.
They became my addiction, each a needle to my next hit, my high.
Brock Cunningham’s appeal is dizzying, a potent force Amber can’t deny. A green-eyed smooth talker, he instantly attracts Amber. It doesn’t take long for him to consume her every thought, her every breath.
Ryder Ashcroft, a blue-eyed, tattooed, and pierced bad boy, turns Amber off immediately—that is, until he kisses her, stealing a piece of her heart, her soul.
They were as opposite as fire and ice, yet I ached for them equally.
Never knowing she could be broken down in so many unexpectedly beautiful yet petrifying ways, Amber finds herself falling for both men.
Immoral? Maybe. I say undeniable. Uncontained.
But one devastating event changes everything, shattering each of their lives...and Amber isn’t sure she can recover from it.
In AMBER TO ASHES (Atria Paperback; June 9th, 2015), Amber Moretti’s life changes in the span of minutes. An orphaned outsider, she is desperate to start fresh the moment she walks onto campus. In the time it takes to cross the university’s dining hall, she meets two men who bring color, air, and light to her darkened world.
They became my addiction, each a needle to my next hit, my high.
Brock Cunningham’s appeal is dizzying, a potent force Amber can’t deny. A green-eyed smooth talker, he instantly attracts Amber. It doesn’t take long for him to consume her every thought, her every breath.
Ryder Ashcroft, a blue-eyed, tattooed, and pierced bad boy, turns Amber off immediately—that is, until he kisses her, stealing a piece of her heart, her soul.
They were as opposite as fire and ice, yet I ached for them equally.
Never knowing she could be broken down in so many unexpectedly beautiful yet petrifying ways, Amber finds herself falling for both men.
Immoral? Maybe. I say undeniable. Uncontained.
But one devastating event changes everything, shattering each of their lives...and Amber isn’t sure she can recover from it.
4 Star Review by Jen Hagen
Amber hasn’t had the easiest of lives. She has grown up in the foster care system
and only in the last couple years has had a stable home environment, with her
last foster parents adopting her. She is 19 years old and hoping to start a new
life at college. Amber is quite adept at blending into her
surroundings and is extremely mortified when attention is suddenly called upon
her on her very first day of college.
She literally crash lands into Ryder and while she desperately wants to
get away, he continues on with his one-sided sexual innuendo-filled convo,
complete with kiss and all.
“And what’s
happening between us is sexual tension at its finest. It’s good –healthier than a cold glass of milk. Just go with it.” - Ryder
Then she meets Brock just a chair away who saves the day
and rescues her from the onslaught of Ryder.
At this point I’m Team Brock – clear as a crystal ball I
am going to be Team Brock. I don’t have
the same thoughts mulling through my head as Amber – what’s there to
question? Seemingly insane or
stable?
It’s here, on the
first day of my freshman year of college, that I’m aware a fork in the road of
my life has reared its ugly head.
I’m going with stable Brock, yep 100% Team Brock. Brock is a football superstar and
entrepreneur. He comes from a wealthy
family, but his family has all but disowned him because of an event that
occurred when he was 16 years old. Brock
seems to be all light, but there is darkness to him and that is part of the
allure towards him.
Unable to release
himself from the guilt—no matter what he did to cover up the pain – Brock’s
been forever changed. His soul
disappeared in an instant, never to be found again.
138% Team Brock.
Ryder is a tattooed, appears to throw his cares to the
wind, kind of a guy. He and Brock are
best friends, do some business together, and light up the football field
alongside each other. They share a lot
of common interests (wink, wink). Ryder always has the women falling over him,
and if there’s one thing that Amber can relate to is their common ability to
hide behind sex. “We’re both broken whores.”
I am 152% Team Brock. Brock is the first to break through
Amber’s walls and therefor no matter how much Ryder desires Amber, he will not
go against the bro code…he will not steal his friend’s girl. No matter how much sexual tension emanates
between the two when they are together, he is honorable to his friend. That doesn’t mean that he can’t react to what
is certifiably scorching between he and Amber when they find themselves alone
together.
“And who’s the one
driving who nuts, Amber?” Eyes still pinned on hers, I point at my hardened
cock. “I didn’t do this on my own. You’re a fucking tease.”
And I am 166% Team Brock…Ryder is an ass.
As the story progresses I realize Ryder isn’t all tattoos
and big talk. He’s a guy with a soul, a
soul that aches heavily for the people that he loves and will carry their
burdens. I think he’s starting to break
through my armor along with Amber’s.
Amber falls victim to his invisible charms and steals a kiss during an
unguarded moment. Ryder was not the
instigator…I repeat…Ryder was not the instigator. He stopped the kiss before it
went too far. I don’t think he’s such a
bad guy now. Hmmm…I’m having to change
my tune. I am now 81% Team Ryder, even
with his crude talk.
“I know my kiss has
those panties needing a thorough washin’, but I don’t need your last bit of
sanity hanging on my conscience. It was
the moment – that’s all. You hear me?”
Changes are coming because of actions that will forever
impact the direction of their lives…
I clamp my eyes
shut, nightmares of what I’ve turned into – what I have yet to become – seeping
into my thoughts.
The direction of a friendship…
“After everything
you and I’ve been through, the countless times we had each other’s backs, our
friendship’s done?”
“Yeah. It’s as simple as that.” I nod tightly,
knowing there’s no going back but hating the fact that there’s not.
And finally the direction of
where we go with the next book.
As the minutes
creep by, ticking into silent hours, I can’t help but feel like we’re all
standing in the path of a dangerous storm.
A storm I’m positive is gonna take one of us out.
Both Brock and Ryder obviously love her and Amber cares
for both of them. She has a tough
decision to make. So where do I
stand? 167% TEAM RYDER!!!
I did find the beginning part of the book to be rather
slow moving. I usually find myself
docking a book because of not having enough depth, but for this book I found
myself docking it because it had too much.
I felt like it was too wordy and even with everything being described, I
never felt like I could bond with any of the characters, least of all
Amber. The last 25% is where I finally
felt like the book was going somewhere and boy did it move quickly from that
point on. Talk about a cliffhanger…this
is going to set the sequel up nicely and I believe the next book will take us on
quite a ride. Let’s hear it for Team
Ryder! Whoop whoop!!
About the author:
Gail McHugh is the author of the New York Times bestsellers Collide and Pulse. She is the mother of three beautiful children and has been married to her husband for fifteen years.
AMBER TO ASHES by Gail McHugh
Atria Books Paperback | On sale: June 9, 2015 | 480 pages
ISBN: 9781476766010, $15.00 | eBook ISBN: 9781476766041, $7.99
Visit Gail online at:
Twitter: @Gail_McHugh
Facebook: www.facebook.com/
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