The Girl Who Talks to Ashes

by

Rachel Rener

Guest review by Constance Lopez

When Lilah doesn’t take her epilepsy medication one day, she lands herself and her crush in the hospital—and her father confesses two things: first, he’s not her father; she was abandoned at his fire station as a baby. Second, the medication she took stopped Lilah’s seizures… and her strange abilities that manipulate time. This knowledge sets her on a journey to find her mother… but to do so she must learn to control her power before someone else gets killed.

First off, let me just say that this book is really lovely. To be clear.

My biggest complaint is completely preferential, and may by a winning feature for some of you… But I am a wimp, okay? Like, I can’t watch Supernatural or Doctor Who at night because even a hint of creepy freaks me out and I like sleeping nightmare-free. That’s how much of a wimp I am. And this book has some creepy moments. It’s by no means horror, but there were a few scenes where I was reading(at night, cause I didn’t know—maybe I should have, given the title), and something beyond my creep-tolerable zone happened, and I went NOPE and had to stop and find something warm and fuzzy to read instead.

That aside, this story is fantastic. The prose is lovely, and the characters all felt real. I just LOVED the relationship between(first that there WAS a relationship, because, y’know, a functional parent in YA is a unicorn trope, y’all) Lilah and her dad Stanley. It was real and warm and complicated and made me want to hug my own dad.

And the subplot with Jace. SQUEEEEE. I SHIP IT. That is all.

It’s YA paranormal? Magical realism? Definitely not my normal genre, but I enjoyed it so much. Lilah’s ability is just… really cool. I’d love more books following her as she uses them to be Epic.

The plot went some wild directions I didn’t expect. I loved the twists, and how everything resolved in the end. Overall a satisfying read.

Find The Girl Who Talks to Ashes on Goodreads.

Guest Reviewer:

Constance Lopez knows magic is real. Dragons, faeries… and don’t even get her started on unicorns. She grew up having epic duels in the woods with her siblings, and nature is still one of her favorite places to be. If she isn’t out there working on her stories, she’s dragging her children and husband on adventures (they always enjoy it once they’re outside). Except in summer. For those months she hides inside, because Texas heat is real and it hates her.

Books have always been her haven and inspiration, and now she writes her own noblebright stories, hoping to pass those feelings along to others. Fantasy, of course. Because everything is better with magic.

Visit Constance’s website to learn more about Constance and her books.