Seeing Through Ashes

EchoMind #1

by Sigrun Lien

Being a War Photographer in the Demon-infested Europe is not the safest occupation, but when Herais Blackburn is deployed to desolated France to join the team of elite Demon-Hunting-Soldiers, called Purifiers, she realizes that some humans pose bigger threat than the monsters. Forced to navigate between the complicated dynamics of her new squad, the harsh life in the military compound and surviving in the post-apocalyptic world, she soon discovers that staying sane in those conditions could be tricky — and not only because of the Demon's power to send madness onto all men in their proximity.

As the threat of the enemy grows and the power struggle between soldiers and politicians on top intensifies, Herais discovers that the reality of the war is not at all as it seems, and the network of secrets surrounds her both in the world of people, and the realm of the monsters.

Seeing through ashes is the first installment of the planned EchoMind Series and it's set in the demon-infested, post-apocalyptic Europe, following the story of five soldiers and their new war-photographer.

allies to loversSlow burnPost-apocalyptic settingMilitaryWhy chooseDemons & monstersMultiple POVs

Genres: Dystopia, Why Choose, Slow Burn, Enemies To Lovers, Romance, Paranormal, Science Fiction

729 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 17, 2025

About the author

Sigrun Lien is an independent author writing for readers who crave complex characters, high-stakes action, and stories that embrace the darker side of fantasy and romance. Her work weaves together elements of horror, mystery, and a fusion of fantasy and science fiction, creating worlds where danger lingers beneath the surface.

Her characters are flawed yet determined to become better, and their relationships are shaped by difficult choices, hidden struggles, and the quiet weight of what remains unspoken. The author of EchoMind Series.

Reviews

[Rain]

Upon finishing the first chapter, I instantly recognized that excitement, similar to the first time I picked up an R Lee Smith story. And that feeling did not dissipate over the next 730 pages. I was ALL IN.

The brief premise: Seeing Through Ashes is a dark fantasy novel following Herais Blackburn (23), a war photographer deployed to demon-infested France. She joins elite Demon-Hunting-Soldiers and discovers that some humans pose a bigger threat than the monsters themselves.

This story is dark and moody, it had an overarching feeling of tired troops stationed in a trench during WWII. It was dirty, emotionally messy, so aggravating, yet genuinely intriguing and highly intelligent.

“I don’t photograph for comfort. I photograph for truth.”

It’s been a long time since I have read a fmc that made me so damn proud. No matter what obstacle she faced, she got right back up again and completed her job. She wasn’t nasty, she wasn’t vindictive, she just kept her head low and took those photos, preserving the knowledge she was hired for. She literally gets punched in the face her first day on the job… and she keeps going. But please don’t think she’s a pushover, she has a sharp tongue, but knows when to use it.

Downsides: Spelling errors, editing errors, and it was incredibly confusing the way these men were called by their first name, a version of their last name, or a nickname. Who, wait what? At one point, Captain Quade was being called Mag, and I thought this was a new character.

There are some plot holes, I kept wondering why the military didn’t just bomb the shit out of these areas instead of sending teams in? Perhaps this is the machine/electrical issue some of the monsters create?

Curious why they didn’t give the Sentinels birth control shots to completely stop their periods.

Everyone is smoking cigarettes in the story, but it seems to work as this is set in France, and all of my French relatives smoke like chimneys.

Upsides: Extremely creative writing. Holy shit this was unique. Incredibly strong, intelligent fmc.

At one point, they are discussing her monthly period, when she expects it to arrive, and how heavy her periods are. It was surprising, but it shouldn’t have been as the monsters are attracted to blood. Hallelujah for authentic storytelling when involving a female character.

Inch by inch, these characters learn to trust one and another. It is painfully slow, and I didn’t care one bit because the writing kept me afloat the entire time. This is a genuinely GOOD story.

Tropes/themes:
Set in France
Dark fantasy/sci-fi
Military fiction,
Post-apocalyptic/dystopian
Supernatural horror
War Photography
Demons/zombies/gouls
Political intrigue
Humanity barely hanging on
Complex relationships
Physical violence
Bullying
OW you love to hate
Nonexistent sloooooooooooow burn

I hesitate to even say this is a reverse harem, because it feels that cheapens the plot. There is a reason for this set up, which makes complete sense, but you will not find the themes of a true RH in this first story. This is an adult story written for adult readers, not someone looking for a quick, one-handed reading experience.

I really appreciated all the photography elements incorporated into this story. It added such a unique twist to see the world through her lens.

Ultimately, this is a story about war. All of these characters are heavily traumatized, and that affects how they interact. This doesn’t excuse one of the characters for being an absolute cream-of-the-crop asshole. I really wanted to see him get his head bit off by a demon at some point….and the obnoxious, bitchy OW as well.

*I’ve read rumors that this is going to be a six book series, so I am feeling a little concerned that things may be stretched a bit too thin. But I will remain cautiously optimistic.

**Vee says it gave her ‘Edge of Tomorrow’ vibes, and I agree. Thank you for your excellent review and bringing the story to my attention!

[cha]

⟢ 5 stars amazing incredible perfect no notes!!!

god, finding this book was like coming up for air... i've been struggling with finding good RHs lately and this book was like finding a gold mine. perfect world building, distinguishable characters, badass fmc you can't get sick of.. basically all i ever wanted in an RH.

i'm so sleep deprived right now because i went to bed at 6 am i just couldn't put the book down. I!! JUST!! HAD!! TO KNOW!!

⋆⭒˚.⋆ the book
it's a post-apocalyptic why choose military romance set 15 years after the demons outbreak. man.. the action in this book was intense, the plot was great and kept you hooked the entire time. our fmc is a photographer hired to work with a team whose job is to purify locations from demons. it was not an easy job for our fmc let me tell you... she was struggling because the team did NOT make it easy for her at least at the start.

⋆⭒˚.⋆ the romance
the romance was GLACIALLLL BURNNNNNN man it kept me flipping pages after pages just for more crumbs of romance. at some point in the 90% mark (YES!! 90%!!) one of the mmcs got jealous and I!! FREAKED OUT!!!

and don't even get me started on the delicious enemies to lovers arc with one of the mmcs, like seriously you're not gonna like him at all and that's the way i like it. it's hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel for this relationship because he HATESSSSSS her. i have faith in the author tho i better see some groveling in the future.

⋆⭒˚.⋆ the drama
now i can't believe i'm saying this but i lovedddd the nasty ow drama in this. the ow was just HORRIBLE not only towards the fmc but also just in general. i loved how obvious it was that the ow was a loser because it evoked rage in me and i enjoyed it.

⋆⭒˚.⋆ the fmc
what i liked the most about this book was the fmc. she was smart, skilled, and did everything exactly how i wanted her to. she just kept proving everyone wronggg man the PRIDE i felt for her????

this book is in multiple pov's but i just loved being inside our fmc's head. i found myself always waiting for her pov.

anyways incredible experience i can't wait to dive into book two.. can't wait for it to consume me again the way this one did. i lived and breathed this book for the last couple days and i wouldn't want it any other way GIVE ME MORE

[Vee]

This was military men to the fullest 😆🙌 It gave me ‘Edge of Tomorrow’ vibes, plot-wise, but in my head I imagined every single man as someone from Top Gun 2. That film had the BEST casting, I swear. 😂

In this post-apocalyptic world, Herais was sent to a military base in France as a research photographer. Alongside a team of, let’s say, ✨pricks✨, she snapped shots of demons while the team purified the land: two birds, one stone.

I inhaled this book. Absolutely inhaled it. I would never pass up a post-apocalyptic book, and the push and pull of the romance had me hooked from the start. Also the action!

The whole team underestimated Herais. Her appearance and age made her an easy target for insults and doubt, but in this world, you have to grow up fast, and Herais had well and truly been put through the wringer. They should have known better than to underestimate her

In terms of men, we had:
Quade: Viking esquire Captain.
Voxx: Depressed Medic.
Hitchcock: Emotional bad boy.
Julius: Fuckboy extraordinaire.
Seth: Little bitch researcher (Take him with a pinch of salt)

Now, the men were complicated and, more often than not, made me absolutely enraged 😤

Take Seth. The second time he met her, he punched her in the face. So, you can imagine my enthusiasm for this man was somewhat limited. That first impression was hard to forget,

At least with Seth, you knew what you were getting. Quade, on the other hand, was the most frustrating of the lot. He was the Captain, and he frequently encouraged Herais to be vocal and not let people walk all over her when they insulted her. So she did exactly that, and, shockingly, it went to shit every single time.

Terrible advice, Quade. Surely, after years in the army, he understood the concept of a chain of command? Yet he kept pushing her to demand respect from people who outranked her, then seemed genuinely surprised when they told her to sit down and shut up. Sir, what exactly did you think was going to happen?

This isn’t to deter you from reading it, it’s just to say the men take some warming too. The other thing that you will probably never warm to is Eve, but I will let you discover that OW drama. (Also, a slight warning: stick it out through the beginning. It did get wordy, and the inner monologues could run on a bit. But it was all information you needed.)

It was the slowest burn and a pretty long book, so when intimate moments did happen, a trapping against a wall or a long, drawn-out graze, I was kicking my feet and screaming for them to kiss already.

I think we got one kiss in book 1 and then it’s an equally slow progression in book 2 (reading now). Very fleeting moments, but I lived for them. Especially when the guys started to change for her…..

Thanks for the rec, Rose ✨

[Tima]

Y’all, no. I won’t rate this because i didn’t finish it but man, this was very poorly written. I know many readers don’t mind that but I can’t immerse myself in a story if it’s not written decently enough.

One thing I won’t do is read a why choose and not like any of the mmcs. Helloooooo, I’m here to have fun and if the mmcs aren’t for me then no fun will be had.

The dialogue was no bueno - it didn’t read naturally. And how are these guys meant to be serious soldiers and they’re anything but.

I’m glad people are loving this and discovering a new favorite reverse harem. It didn’t work out for me unfortunately.

[Darcey]

This book was INSANE. All 700 pages flew by like nothing, and I had the time of my life with every chapter. Our heroine was INCREDIBLE - she learnt from mistakes, and always did what was best for her. She was tough, brave, mature, and really REALLY intelligent. I loved it!

This is some true enemies-to-lovers, slow burn, why-choose romance. Some of these men are near irredeemable… so I can’t wait to see how they try and weave their way into her good graces. The angst was crazy.

But honestly, the main plot of this book was intriguing military politics (good military - only killing evil demons, not other people), disturbing post-apocalyptic vibes, crazy demonic creatures, and some zombie ish things! We know I love zombies. Plus I loved the photography, science research aspects - really unique.

A long book but a really interesting one. It truly sucked me in from the first chapter, and I could NOT put it down. 3am nights are healthy, I’m sure…

Slow at times, but always incredibly compelling and unique. Some editing issues, but apparently the author will go back and professionally edit in the future - either way, they didn’t bother me! I need the entire series on my kindle STAT.

[Hot Mess Sommelière ~ Caro]

POSTAPOCALYPTIC RH ROMANCE X ELDRITCH/BIBLICAL HORROR (&ZOMBIES)

This is book 1 in a projected 6 book series so don't expect much progress in the romance sector

The plot is plotting!!!

The world-building is world-building!!!

Genuine 5 Star experience

[Rose]

Holy shit. This was so good. It’s been a while since I’ve read a good science fiction book and all of that was so good here. I was on the edge of my seat throughout like the whole book. The plot, actions scenes, relationships all of it had me engrossed. I wanted to fly through it to get some peace from all the anticipation and anxiety but also never wanted it to end. I haven’t read this much creativity in a book in such a long time. I really liked the FMC and how she processed things and come to the conclusions she’s did. It does get very wordy and the characters can be in their heads a lot but I didn’t mind because I found all of their thought processes so interesting. I loved the jaded, untrusting, battle wary Hs. It was so satisfying every time she earned just a tiny bit of their trust and I loved those scenes when she surprised them with her strength, character, and knowledge. For a while there I was worried she would never be able to break through and it was such sweet relief when she did. They really only give her an inch though, lol. These relationships are going to be well earned. Will I survive?

Overall: 4.5, I wish I could give this a 5 but it needs to be edited so badly.

[laughingzebra]

This is for the first two books.

Despite a desperate need for editing, this is an exceptionally good story. I can’t remember the last time I was willing to read 1300 pages of a RH straight through. I didn’t even take breaks to read other things when I was annoyed.

I listen to books via Alexa, who isn’t great at fast forwarding and cannot be sped up, so excessive wording is torture. On the positive side, I can easily jump over to visual reading and skim when I need to, and I did a lot of that. There were just so many words. It left room for my brain to run in circles, so I have a long list of specific thoughts. I’ll put them in a color coded list I think. Green- good, red- not so good, purple- acceptable but I have thoughts.

🟢 The plot itself is compelling across both books. This is the most important factor for me. I just want to be told a good story. I want to be emotionally engaged enough to stay focused outside of reality, while at the same time not emotionally triggered to the extent that I have to be pulled back into reality. It’s a balancing act that this story maintained well, which is why it gets 4 stars despite all the complaining I’m about to do.

🔴 This story comes out of the gate taking the bullying thing way overboard. It exceeds the realities of human nature. The male character literally punches the very small FMC in the face... twice? The verbal abuse goes beyond believability. The other MMCs act like it’s totally normal. None of this is justifiable. There are truly awful, nightmarish people out there. I’ve known some of them. They aren’t meant to become romantic interests in a book though. There are standards.

To be fair, 99% of RHs have this same character in them. The one that is just “untrusting” or whatever. This one goes past the threshold though. A punch in the face? Seriously?

🔴 Similarly, the OW goes past the point of acceptable evil. Her actions are just ridiculous and living through those many scenes just got exhausting.

🟢 I personally consider this book to be safe. I’m pretty touchy about this subject so I like to be specific, so this bullet point will have spoilers. In book 1, I don’t consider Seth to be a viable romantic interest. I’m not sure I ever will. So the fact that he’s having sex with the OW doesn’t bother me. None of the other guys have sex with or show physical affection to the OW. They don’t even like her. But she is upsetting. I don’t mind OW drama at all if it’s set up this way. It adds some interest.

The FMC (photographer) is entering a team that already has a sentinel. She (OW) isn’t a very good match with this group of guys, so she’s very insecure and jealous, which is perfectly believable. As previously mentioned, her other behavior is not.

** At the very end Magnus mentions that he met with Eve two days ago. I’m choosing to believe that they didn’t have sex. That wouldn’t fit his character in general. That character is written erratically though so I can’t say for sure. I’m sure that will be clarified in the next book. If they did, I would consider that cheating and it would be an automatic DNF for me. This story has been safe for over a thousand pages though so I will have faith in it for now.

🟢 All of the other females in both books are normal characters, with good and bad but mostly good.

🟢 This is a good FMC. She’s independent. She’s got a spine. She doesn’t allow herself to become emotionally dependent on any assholes. There’s an acknowledgment of how good looking the guys are, but I don’t have to listen to descriptions of how hot they are when they’re being despicable. There is an annoying obsession with height but it’s fine. She’s never used as an idiot prop (the audience is never watching her do stupid shit.. she mostly makes the same decisions the reader would).

🟣 The guys are.. less fine. Seth is unacceptable in any reality that I can imagine. Flirty guy is acceptable. Quiet guy is acceptable. Bossy guy and Sassy guy both have some very confusing scenes that made very little sense between sentences, leading to some nonsensical actions. To accept them at all you have to dismiss their complicit behavior in the beginning though, which I would never do in any reality that I can imagine. But I showed up for a good time, not a realistic one so..


🟣 What is with all the smoking?? This isn’t 1985. It’s the weirdest and most unnecessary detail that I’ve seen in quite a while.

🟣 There is a lot of hair being described for a military base.

🔴 Plot holes aren’t typically a problem for me. I just ignore them. But there are some big ones and I’ll make this my place to list them.

- There is no way that the humans of earth would make it to the point of fiscal greed BEFORE panic bombing the planet to oblivion in the event of a zombie/demon apocalypse. Panic is the only thing that can defeat greed in the general population imo. The idea that we’d be sending teams into cathedrals to defeat monsters in a dungeon setup rather than dropping a bomb on it just isn’t remotely believable. It would be less entertaining though so…

- This weirdness with the building markings and the military really doesn’t make any sense at all. You aren’t going to tell these teams that this sign doesn’t mean what they think it means anymore? Like, just let them die? There aren’t that many teams. It just doesn’t make sense even logistically. Either there are betrayals or the demons have figured out the system and can copy it.

- Magnus’ mentality is so unrealistic that it counts as a plot hole. Since psychological plot holes are the only ones I actually care about, I consider it to be the most egregious. Seth is an unrealistic bully. Ares makes some nonsensical decisions, but they stay constant as a whole. Magnus gets used as a plot pivoting point, but all believability is sacrificed to make it work. He’d have to be completely psychotic to think the way that character does. At least it isn’t the FMC acting crazy. I’ll give points for that.

🟢 As a habitually silent person, I’m really enjoying a story about those particular struggles. Silence isn’t natural for a social species, so it causes problems. People see the lack of info and rather than accept that as blank space, they write their assumptions over the top of it. Things like privacy are a top commodity. To me, that’s not the same thing as keeping stupid secrets. These aren’t common plot points and it’s very interesting.

🟢 I really really appreciate that the FMC doesn’t let the MMCs get away with shit. She tolerates a lot for too long, but she doesn’t just forgive or get over anything. She makes some excellent speeches and holds the line. On the flip side, she also isn’t too stubborn to accept groveling later in the story.

🟢 I like the complex illustration of victim blaming. It’s so well done that the audience struggles with it. Yes, we all want to strangle to the FMC for not speaking up. That’s great hypothetically. In real life? I know better than most how useless and counterproductive speaking up against men is. But I was still tempted to forget that. The point eventually comes home though.

So many authors attempt to make this sort of illustration, but they forget to bring the circle all the way back to make the point, which leaves the audience unsure. The most popular example is when Nox assaults Ollie in the Broken Bonds series. It’s absolutely assault. The audience is inside Ollie’s POV at the time. But since she has an orgasm she never fully accepts that it’s entirely his fault. The author never delivers the verdict in any way, which does more harm than good imo.

I was expecting to watch Seth’s arguments stand, because they made sense. They weren’t technically wrong. But the reality is eventually delivered by the sentinels at the outpost. I really appreciated that.

🔴 While I don’t get bothered by it, the spelling, grammar, and sentence structure were atrocious. I’m going to believe that English is not this authors first language and accept it. If English IS this authors first language, that would be.. regrettable. But honestly? If it gets the story to me faster, I don’t care.

[Amanda]

Seeing Through Ashes by Sigrun Lien is not the book I expected to devour in two days. A post-apocalyptic why-choose romance with zombies sounds like a fever dream pitch and yet here we are.

Let me be upfront: this book has elements I would normally flag as problematic. One of the romantic leads is introduced through an act of physical violence toward the protagonist and remains largely unrepentant throughout. In theory, this should have sent me running. In practice? I read the whole thing in two days and gave it five stars, so clearly theory can go screw itself.

What disarmed me was the protagonist. In a genre that frequently lobotomizes its heroines in the name of romantic tension, she is neither naive nor desperate. Yes, she is surrounded by five objectively gorgeous men. Yes, she notices. She also notices that most of them are, to varying degrees, insufferable, and she does not perform blindness about either fact. She feels attraction and maintains her dignity simultaneously, which sounds like a low bar until you've read enough romances to know it absolutely is not.

The pacing is where Lien genuinely earns her stars. The rhythm is almost architectural: tension, action, character depth, emotional closeness, repeat. You don't realize you're being managed until you look up and it's 2 AM.

As for me, I started the second book before I even had time to write this review. Make of that what you will.

[Clarice]

Giving this 4 solid stars for sheer originality.

Yes, there are a lot of typos and overall miss use of English syntax. But based off of this I’m guessing this author’s first language is not English and also very young based off of the Gen Z social media slang used throughout the book. I couldn’t imagine being a young teen or 20 something publishing a 700+ page dystopian novel not in my native language.

With that said, this really took me back to my Wattpad days, in a good way. I don’t think I’ve read something so original in a long time.

This is for the people who like a dark military, dystopian setting with a very, very slow burn reverse harem romance.

I don’t think this is for everyone. And while this took me awhile to get through due to the language barrier, I still highly enjoyed reading this.

This would be for people who enjoyed Lyx Robinson’s Stolen by the Wolves series, the Alien movie franchise, and the video game Resident Evil.


Notes: Author’s website https://www.sigrunlien.com. FAQ section mentions that she is having book 3 professionally edited and will go back and update books 1&2 in the future. Looks like book 3 is coming out in late 2026.

[Liz]

Contender for series of the year

Wow. Just, wow. I'm genuinely giddy at coming across something so real and different from everything out there. This is absolutely a contender for series of the year for me. It may take it all. We need to build some hype for getting all the reads on this gripping story. If you're looking for anything that remotely resembles your typical reverse harem plot, this is going to feel like you entered another genre entirely. Be prepared for a story that is ALL plot and character driven, and these characters are not "nice", they are not perfect, they may not all be redeemable but I guarantee you'll feel all the feelings with this apocalyptic supernatural series. I've already made it through book two and when I was halfway through book two, I stopped and purchased both books because this story needs to be mine to own. If you are ready for something that 100% different from anything else out there, read this.

[Sova Bien]

Wow. I have no words. Okay, I have some. I wish these books have as many readers as possible. Bc they are unique and absolutely incredible.

You know when you feel dizzy and somewhat hallow after a book/movie/gig? Because it's over, now you should live in the real world but you just can't yet. Yes, that feeling.

The series is some kind of horror why-choose (MMFMMM) with Alien/One of Us/Walking Dead (you name it) setting. But it doesn't really matter because the books are great as genre-neutral work of literature. Not as endless smut, there aren't any spicy scenes in the 1st book and only one in the 2nd.

Actually it's a very rare case when the whole RH-situation kind of makes sense and not forced by some lazy tropes. Rare case when actual adult writes for actual adults and not horny teenagers.

I wonder who the author is. There's only a vague site, no social media. It's obvious they know what they are writing about (I mean military, not polyamorous units). Some personal expirience, war photography, maybe? Or deep research.

Yes, there's a lot of typos, so some spellchecking would be great. Also some editing (what with all these 'shaking heads' on every page?). But, I repeat myself, the series is fantastic as it is.

[Steph]

Oh. My. Good. God.

This was absolutely fantastic. The post apocalyptic world building, the characters, the plot, the mystery, the SLOW BURN.

This honestly might be my best read of 2026 so far. It’s definitely NOT without moments where I wished Herias fought back harder or some moments where the MMCs were outrageously out of line.

But everything else more than made up for it.

I will update this review later but I’ve just downloaded the second book on Kindle and I NEED to get into it right now.

[Maggie Brown]

I’ll start by saying this: the editing almost made me DNF this book several times—especially at the beginning, when I wasn’t yet invested in the characters or the plot.

That’s not something I say lightly, because underneath the grammatical errors, missing words, and awkward sentence structure is one of the most original fantasy worlds I’ve read in a long time. I genuinely hope this series gets another round of editing someday because it deserves to be experienced without readers constantly having to mentally rewrite sentences.

Once I pushed past that hurdle, though, I found myself completely invested.

The premise alone is unlike anything I’ve read—a post-apocalyptic Europe overrun by demons, where military teams fight to reclaim the continent while the enemy attacks not only the body, but the mind. It feels equal parts military fantasy, horror, and dystopian survival, and somehow it all works.

Herais was probably my favorite part of the book. She’s capable, dependable, and refreshingly competent without feeling invincible. There were definitely moments where I wanted to shake her and tell her to let people in emotionally, but that guarded nature also made perfect sense given everything she’d endured. Her flaws made her feel more human, not less.

The men… tested my patience more than once. 😅 While each of them had distinct personalities, there were times they handled conflict with the emotional maturity of teenagers rather than seasoned soldiers. Still, I appreciated that the story never ignored why they behaved the way they did. Their trauma doesn’t excuse everything, but it added enough depth that I found myself extending them far more grace than I expected.

Between the action, the mysteries, and the sheer creativity behind the world, I kept wanting to know what was around the next corner.

Ultimately, this was a five-star story trapped inside a four-star reading experience. The editing kept me from rating it higher, but the imagination, worldbuilding, and originality absolutely kept me reading.

PLEASE get this edited so other readers can experience this wonderfully imaginative story the way it deserves to be read. At this point, I’d honestly volunteer to do it for free because I think it would make that much of a difference to an otherwise phenomenal novel.

[Luli]

Holly misogyny

Couldn’t take it after 35%, just one more author that writes about FMCs getting abused by those who are supposed to end up with her.

Also, there IS a line that shouldn’t be crossed in my opinion, and that’s being punched in the face by one of the possible romantic partners.

[Elizabeth Beveridge]

The premise of this story is so good. I really like the fmc. However, the writing is in rough shape. There is way too much nonsense, internal dialogue and over-explaining. An insane amount of grammatical errors or very confusing sentences that are worded all wrong. And typos galore! Such a shame because I am totally invested in the story, but I'm skimming through so much crap in order to get to the good stuff. A really harsh and detailed editor could probably turn this story into something amazing

[Tied_Up_Cutie]

Best RH I’ve had the pleasure to read in ages, if not ever. That’s the truth. Unfortunately, the genre is overflowing with the same stories and it’s become very hard to find novelty. This was much more than a breath of fresh air, it was well written and thought out. The characters all have a lot of depth and differences between each other. Can’t wait for the next books to come out!

[Meg]

This book is a rarity in this genre. It’s a debut novel, but a very good one. You can really see the author growing. The story is one of the best I’ve read recently. You can easily overlook the minor typos, as the rest more than makes up for them.
Especially in reverse harem stories, it happens far too often that the characters are so similar that it’s hard to match a name to a person. Not so with „Seeing Through Ashes“. And it’s incredibly nice to read a solid story with good dialogue and absolutely no smut :D

[Leah]

I devoured this book like a starving zombie. Seriously, it was an unexpected feast that left me breathless. The plot is so tightly woven and the action scenes are so intense that I was literally sweating with anxiety.

For years, I’ve been praying to the book gods for a RH FMC who is composed, strategic, and values the big picture over petty drama. Finally, my prayers have been answered. It’s so refreshing to see a heroine who doesn’t chase after men, refuses to be a doormat, and sticks to her principles no matter what. She is the rational anchor in a sea of chaos.

That said, this book also cured my low blood pressure—because the way the MMCs treated her made my blood boil. The insults, the slander, the sheer lack of trust... it was infuriating. I know the FMC is mature enough to handle it, and I know there's backstory involved, but I’m a petty, vengeful reader. I want to see these men bleed, cry, and crawl. Especially Seth. If he’s a love interest, he better be thrown into a metaphorical crematorium and roasted until he truly repents.

This is a gritty, realistic masterpiece that balances emotional turmoil, complex human nature, and the madness of politics and war. I am desperate for the next book!

[Samantha]

I’m normally a 50/50 gal that need equal romance to plot, but this masterpiece, absolutely perfect. Had to fight myself not to skipped forward to more action.

My brain decided this was an anime. I blame the descriptions of the demons. Which made me completely obsessed.

Yes there’s spelling errors, there’s also added articles that suggest English may not be the author first language.

Now for the worst news ever. There’s no paperbacks available for purchase. What am I supposed to do with my life without my five star trophy for my shelf. Sigrun Lein, if you read this, paperbacks now please!

[gangstareads]

MFMMM - bully, dystopian post apocalyptic RH. This had a lot of potential. I liked it enough that I finished it despite all the grammar mistakes and the desperate need for an edit. The word order in sentences was a constant problem. I enjoyed it anyways because I like this style of FMC who acts cold and aloof and is focused on her own goals.

[Lola]

Holy fuck this book is so insanely good. I can not stop thinking about it and am so relieved the next one it out!!! So unique, well paced, well thought out, amazing characters and the action literally had my heart racing. I mean a million out of 10!

It does read to me like this was translated to English from another language, and if you go into it with that mindset versus focusing on grammatical errors you will have a much better time. It reminded me of watching a dubbed international show. I actually found that thinking of it like that helped a lot of other things as well. So while yes, like everyone has mentioned, some English editing would be helpful it is truly for that only. There is not a sentence or plot that needs revisions. Gahhh so happy I get to dive right into the next one!

Very VERY dark but fun unique world where the harem makes sense as a part of the world, the OW drama makes sense, the FMC is strong, smart and likable and not a pushover. Sort of an Aliens vibe but make it demons and with amazing plot, very slow burn but like in the best way. Try it!!

[Alisha Crawford]

The writing is a bit funky, but this book hit’s *all* the tropes, I swear. And it has everything I need and more. I’m a sucker for a post-apocalyptic zombie/sc-fi romance and man does this book fulfill that. These aren’t zombies in your traditional sense, but honestly I like those so much better. The world building is insane, and I feel like I understood the terminology at the same rate as Herais (no, I still don’t know how to pronounce that), which was super helpful.

While one character repeatedly gets on my nerves (in the way where you hate him, but also reallllly want them to get together because you just know it’s going to be epic), the longing you can already feel from the other men (even if they don’t know it yet) is just so sweet.

I’m excited for where this will go!!

[carmen⋆.˚]

my obsession with cod fanfic brought me here

and i promise that i will read book 2 IMMEDIATELY after i survive my finals, wish me luck

[Amanda]

Honestly, I was hesitant to pick this up after reading about the behavior of some characters (mmc & OW) but ultimately I’m so freaking glad I gave it a chance.

Even with the typos and editing mistakes, this series is one of my favorite reads so far this year.
Some characters made me want to scream but the story and world building had me hooked.

Will be thinking about this story for a long time and probably re read when the 3rd comes out, just so I can immerse myself in this world again.

[Ariel]

Average but Interesting

“How else are you going to find a connection if you don’t work through your differences together? If you consider every fight a red flag, and every disparity a crossing of your boundaries?” (59%)

Herais Blackburn is a War Research Photographer. The European continent has been overrun by a zombie (Imbued), ghoul (Detested) and Demon outbreak. The plot follows her on her a new assignment with a Demon Slayer team.

Themes include:

Trust and suspicion
Factions and opposing views 
Wartime culture

If you take a reverse harem bully romance and combine it with an average military story and an average zombie story, this book is what you will get. The combination of elements is what makes it unique, but the story is not particularly special or compelling outside of that.

There are some inconsistencies. At one point, the team discovers something about her past and gives her the silent treatment for days. Later, one of the main male characters tells her that he researched her before she was chosen for the team. The thing about her past was discovered via the first results of a single Google search. Even after this revelation, our supposedly intelligent female lead questions whether she was forced onto them.

Herais felt a lot like an angsty teenager, but her character had depth. Quiet Mountain Man was just that without much depth until around the 94% mark. Playboy Golden Retriever gained the most depth throughout the book. The Jokester likes movies. We never learned the Neurodivergent Man’s abusive backstory, nor did The Big Bully have more than a past that was alluded to. The only depth that Predictable but Beautiful Mean Girl gained was through Herais giving her the benefit of a doubt.

The only character who actually grew in this book was Herais. 

Several of the characters felt an instant attraction to each other. Not exactly InstaLove, and not as strong as InstaLust usually is. Several of them feel a bit forced, with Herais going against her natural instincts in the beginning for no discernible reason. However, most of the relationships start to feel more organic as the book continues.

For the most part, the only emotions that I felt during this book were varying degrees of annoyance. I did connect with Herais, despite her clearly being Not Like Other Girls.

I enjoyed the photography details and the many action scenes did keep me invested.

There are hints of Political Intrigue throughout the book. However, it doesn't quite warrant a tag because it's mostly just discussion without planning or maneuvering. This aspect will likely be fleshed out more in future books.

The Writing. English is not this author’s first language. The syntax strongly reminds me of Google translating French to English. The further into the book, the more editing errors were found. I highlighted every time weird sentence structures or editing errors threw me out of the story. That means that I didn't highlight them all. I also gave the benefit of a doubt when it was just technically correct. I had 256 highlights.

The level of detail and descriptiveness mostly suited my tastes. You won't find excessive or overly flowery descriptions of clothes, architecture, or the weather in this book. At times the description of buildings was a little more than I personally would have liked, but it usually had a purpose or wasn't terribly lengthy.

The pacing is Slow-Medium. 

Overall, I give this book 3.5 stars for being average but interesting.

[Han]

This hit an itch I didn’t even know needed scratching

[Anne]

Spectacular!! Great plot, high stakes. I cant wait to finish reading the series.

[Sissy Beer]

DNF at 7%

I was excited for the premise of this book but the syntax is atrocious. The wrong verb tense is used so often I started wondering if it was intentional. “He teared down the wall”. There were missing words, missing agreement between subject and verb, phrases ordered wrong, inconsistency in tense, weird dialogue structure, etc. I’d probably try again if it were to get a couple rounds of editing.

[Nessa]

4 upped to 5 stars because I stayed up til 4am reading it, so I figured that garnered a five star rating. Lots of grammatical errors, and the switching between first and last names was confusing at first, but they’re in the military so I get it.
The story though, awesome. I love the authors take on these zombie like creatures and “demons” that infest Europe. The bullying in the harem was a tad extreme at one point; my mouth literally dropped open, and really had me hating this member, so the whole enemies to lovers aspect…well played. But man, he better grovel or SOMETHING later.
I loooove a glacial burn reverse harem, and this scratched my slow burn itch.