Book Review: From These Ashes by Davidson King

Reviewed by Nikyta

Title: From These Ashes
Author: Davidson King
Series: Haven Hart Universe #4
Heroes: Black & Quill
Genre: M/M Paranormal
Length: 204 pages
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: November 28, 2018
Available at: Amazon
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: A product of his past, Black spends half his time saving lives and the other half taking them. Every day, a hard choice must be made and he’s the man to make it. Long ago, he vowed to never love again; one-night stands with a willing body was all he ever needed. But along came Quill, and Black’s life is irrevocably changed. He never expects something as simple as Quill’s persistence to alter the way he not only sees the world, but how he lives it.

Quill has bad taste in men and equally horrible luck. Growing up wasn’t easy, surviving is even harder. When his past and present collide, he’s convinced he’ll finally witness his own destruction. But when an unlikely antihero steps in to protect him, his life is turned on its head. He’s spent months flirting with the man of his dreams and hoping he’d take notice. But it turns out, being on Black’s radar isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, and his idea of protection varies greatly from Quill’s.

Unknowingly sharing the same goal—burying their own pasts deeper than the fires of hell can reach—they’re both unaware that jumping into that fire will do more than ignite their feelings, it could lead to their own demise. Will Black and Quill be consumed by the flames, or from these ashes, will they find their own happily ever after?

Review:

When I first started this serious, I was obsessed with it and couldn’t get enough of it. Since then, I’ve read the series at least three times and each time I still have the feeling that I can’t get enough so I was super excited to see we were finally getting Black’s story because he is quite literally the head of the assassins I’ve grown to love. And I was not disappointed! I loved seeing how hard and unrelenting Black was in the beginning, how ice cold he was but except for one little flaw… his inability to just let Quill be. He couldn’t kill him and he couldn’t just let him go on about his life.

Quill wiggled himself under Black’s skin without Black even realizing it so when Quill was in trouble, Black dropped everything and came running… so to speak. I loved that about this book. The intensity in Quill and Black’s feelings when Black finally came to terms with what he wanted and stopped denying what could be between them. I loved that this one was about Quill and what he’s lived with his whole life because it allowed Black to come in all knight in shining armor. I also loved that Quill embraced it and didn’t fight the protection Black was giving him. As for Black, I really loved getting to know him more and seeing how he ended up not just owning a successful security agency but also running the world’s best assassin agency. I really adored the chemistry between them and seeing how much Black melts for Quill.

I really enjoyed this one but I was saddened to see that this book didn’t have as much on-screen action and suspense as the previous books. Add to that, while the ending showed a strong relationship between Quill and Black, I didn’t feel the development on that throughout the book as I did with the others and I was a little disappointed because I wanted to physically see the walls crumbling with Black as we did with Riordan, Mace and Christopher. Instead, one moment Black is yelling at Quill that they’re done once this is over and the next, he won’t let him go. There was no in-between, which is not a bad thing overall but I missed that only because I’ve gotten it with the other big bad men in this series.

All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed this one. I loved getting Black’s story and so happy that he ended up with Quill. I also really loved getting to know more about Quill and how Black ended up where he did. There’s so much potential for other couples but really hope we get Jones and Lee’s book next because sparks flew in this one between them! And of course, I want Poe!! And I hope we finally get to find out who the Hart Heir is soon because the suspense might kill me! Definitely give this a go if you’re looking for a little assassin with a little bit of angst.

Overall Impression: I really liked it

*I received a copy of this book from the author in return for a fair and honest review.*