Ash (Hive Trilogy Book 1)

Moderately amusing, though very derivative (mashup of Twilight, Divergent, Hunger Games) in characters (personalities, roles, relationships) and plot elements. The series does not get better from here.

Welcome to a world where humans live alongside vampires and half-vampire/half-humans, called ash. "Ash" takes place in Portland, Oregon (not Portland, Maine) and the main character, Charlene (aka Charlie), is a college student in her senior year, majoring in marketing. As the fall school term progresses, Charlie finds her jogging times are speeding up and her hair and skin are looking better than ever. She is undergoing a transformation, becoming an Ash, the first female ash ever known. Her physical changes behind her, Charlie moves in to the Portland Hive, a compound where vampires and ash are isolated from human society, and she must start training for the culling, a gladiator-type spectacle where ash fight each other to earn a permanent residence at the Hive. Her fight trainer, Ryder, is no-nonsense and hot. He and Charlie build a chaste but emotional connection -- he is walled off, still mourning a former fiancée who died as he transformed to ash. The authors hold this relationship way back, maybe too much. She is adventurous and has had boyfriends; she is strangely turned into a nun at the hive. Let these kids off the leash, let them make decisions and mistakes. (These women/mom writers treat the characters like their own young children, with curfews, regular meals, clean laundry and sheets, and chastity belts. They are early 20s and need impulsiveness, poor decisions and more autonomy). My favorite part of this book is the YA language -- the authors know how kids talk and how they think: friends are a priority, sex appeal is a constant distraction, being locked up at a desk job is torture, and good hair is legit all that.

A twist on the usual vampire setup. Charlie, a regular college girl just looking to have fun, finds her life turned upside-down. Putting her in a place that she never dreamed she would be. It's a heart-stopping roller coaster ride with some twisted results. Add in a bit of romance here and there and some new friends and you have the basis for a killer story. Jaymin Eve and Leia Stone collaborate to put together a hard-to-put-down read. Plenty of action and plenty of thrills, a must read. If you are an Adrenalin junkie, this is a book for you.

Welcome to a world where humans live alongside vampires and half-vampire/half-humans, called ash. "Ash" takes place in Portland, Oregon (not Portland, Maine) and the main character, Charlene (aka Charlie), is a college student in her senior year, majoring in marketing. As the fall school term progresses, Charlie finds her jogging times are speeding up and her hair and skin are looking better than ever. She is undergoing a transformation, becoming an Ash, the first female ash ever known. Her physical changes behind her, Charlie moves in to the Portland Hive, a compound where vampires and ash are isolated from human society, and she must start training for the culling, a gladiator-type spectacle where ash fight each other to earn a permanent residence at the Hive. Her fight trainer, Ryder, is no-nonsense and hot. He and Charlie build a chaste but emotional connection -- he is walled off, still mourning a former fiancée who died as he transformed to ash. The authors hold this relationship way back, maybe too much. She is adventurous and has had boyfriends; she is strangely turned into a nun at the hive. Let these kids off the leash, let them make decisions and mistakes. (These women/mom writers treat the characters like their own young children, with curfews, regular meals, clean laundry and sheets, and chastity belts. They are early 20s and need impulsiveness, poor decisions and more autonomy). My favorite part of this book is the YA language -- the authors know how kids talk and how they think: friends are a priority, sex appeal is a constant distraction, being locked up at a desk job is torture, and good hair is legit all that.

A twist on the usual vampire setup. Charlie, a regular college girl just looking to have fun, finds her life turned upside-down. Putting her in a place that she never dreamed she would be. It's a heart-stopping roller coaster ride with some twisted results. Add in a bit of romance here and there and some new friends and you have the basis for a killer story. Jaymin Eve and Leia Stone collaborate to put together a hard-to-put-down read. Plenty of action and plenty of thrills, a must read. If you are an Adrenalin junkie, this is a book for you.