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Ashen Earth Saga #1
Ashen Green
Rory Everet has survived by staying small, hidden, alone—until a chance encounter binds him to Trent, a man as dangerous as he is magnetic. Trent offers shelter, warmth, protection. But safety in this world is never free, and Rory begins to sense the cost of his new bond.
As the days bleed into nights, Rory finds himself caught between gratitude and unease, comfort and control. The closer he stays, the harder it is to tell the difference between kindness and possession.
And in a world where trust can mean life or death, Rory must decide whether surviving is enough—or if there’s still room to fight for something more. Ashen Green is a haunting tale of survival, intimacy, and the fragile line between love and power.
As the days bleed into nights, Rory finds himself caught between gratitude and unease, comfort and control. The closer he stays, the harder it is to tell the difference between kindness and possession.
And in a world where trust can mean life or death, Rory must decide whether surviving is enough—or if there’s still room to fight for something more. Ashen Green is a haunting tale of survival, intimacy, and the fragile line between love and power.
256 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 13, 2025
11 people are currently reading
110 people want to read
About the author
Emily Miller
3 books6 followersEmily has been spinning stories since childhood, drawn to the darker edges of love and human desire. After years of gentle persuasion—and not-so-gentle insistence—from friends and family, she finally decided to share her writing with the world. Her novels delve into the spaces where passion meets danger, exploring what happens when people who shouldn’t fall in love find themselves unable to resist. With tension, forbidden feelings, and tangled power dynamics at their core, Ashley’s stories invite readers into a world where love isn’t always safe, but it’s always unforgettable.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
October 6, 2025
This is a post apocalyptic survival story that follows Rory.
He ends up being saved by Trent and spends time with him at his cabin in the woods.
There is danger, suspense, and a bit of them being intimate (closed door/fade to black).
But it’s not a romance. That’s why I’m not sure how I feel about it. It spends a lot of time focused on the two men together and this growing bond between them. Sometimes it felt like Rory was being too harsh, closed off, and in his head. Other times you could feel the unease in Trent’s actions or words. It definitely makes you feel that fine line between control and actual feelings. I didn’t always agree with Rory but I think I just wasn’t picturing the scenes correctly. I was playing them as a dark romance reader so more often than not I got frustrated with Rory and not Trent. It’s not until closer to the end that things become more clear. And that twist was enjoyable. I did see it coming as soon as Rory reached a certain location.
As a survival story about a man staying alive and hoping to find his family one day it was good. It was atmospheric and played out like a movie or show in my head. It’s just slightly confusing with so much of the focus being locked on the two men together at the cabin. Like it wanted to lean into romance but also didn’t and just wanted to stay as a horror/survival thriller/drama.
He ends up being saved by Trent and spends time with him at his cabin in the woods.
There is danger, suspense, and a bit of them being intimate (closed door/fade to black).
But it’s not a romance. That’s why I’m not sure how I feel about it. It spends a lot of time focused on the two men together and this growing bond between them. Sometimes it felt like Rory was being too harsh, closed off, and in his head. Other times you could feel the unease in Trent’s actions or words. It definitely makes you feel that fine line between control and actual feelings. I didn’t always agree with Rory but I think I just wasn’t picturing the scenes correctly. I was playing them as a dark romance reader so more often than not I got frustrated with Rory and not Trent. It’s not until closer to the end that things become more clear. And that twist was enjoyable. I did see it coming as soon as Rory reached a certain location.
As a survival story about a man staying alive and hoping to find his family one day it was good. It was atmospheric and played out like a movie or show in my head. It’s just slightly confusing with so much of the focus being locked on the two men together at the cabin. Like it wanted to lean into romance but also didn’t and just wanted to stay as a horror/survival thriller/drama.
November 6, 2025
Este libro fue por mucho una de mis mejores lecturas del año.
Una de las reseñas de más abajo, habla de como a veces se sentia frutadx con Rory por como se comportaba con Trent y estoy de acuerdo. En la sinopsis que yo leí, mencioaba Dark romance y hasta cierto punto (todavia bien al principio) yo esperaba eso. Pero también me sentia contrariada con el comportamiento de Trent, nadie NADIE en el fin del mundo te deja quedarte y usar sus suministros por pura buena voluntad.
Me gustó mucho la forma en la qué la autora muestra a Trent, siento (Al menos para mi) que no lo está romantizando, yo sentia el puro terror y lo contrariado que se sentia Rory. Como sentia que le debia todo a Trent por haberle salvado la vida, pero a la vez como queria correr porque el tipo está loco de remate. Me queria salir de mi piel por culpa de Trent, que miedo. Hasta poco antes de la mitad del libro tenia la esperanza de que Trent no fuera un loco psicopata, pero esa es la cosa con este tipo de relaciones no? Uno se queda esperando que en realidad no sean abusivos y controladores y que algun día van a cambiar, pero eso es mentira, así que CORRAN. Lo que termino por darme terror de Trent fue cuando dice que las personas ahora no son amantes, sino que son bienes y compara a Rory con un cuchillo? wtf. Mi bebé le salvo la Vida yendo a ese pueblo y enfrentandose a esos hombres como para que Trent lo compare con un cuchillo
La forma en la que Trent dejo llegar a Juniper me dice que tal vez Juniper sabía quien era Trent desde un principio y de lo qué era capaz. Ella no se merecia esa muerte tan horrible. Despues del final se hace claro que todas las cosas que Juniper y Rory encontraron (como el caballo y el lugar sobre los arboles para descansar) siempre fueron de Trent y por eso estaba tan adelantado a ellos. En serio que ese hombre me da terror, realmente no siento como esto puede ser salvable en algun punto para que se convierta en romance. En los libros de dark romance el prota siempre está medio loquito y obsesionado por la otra persona, pero siempre es tipo: te amo de una forma enfermiza y quemaria el mundo para protegerte. No de está forma enfermiza de: Eres mi bien y si no soy yo, entonces te quemo a ti y al mundo entero. Y ese guiño que le da el malparido?
La forma en la que la autora le da vida al world building me parece excelente, los infectados no me parecen simplemente zombies, sino que parecen verdaderamente enfermos. A pesar que la historia no se centra mucho en el tema de fin del mundo, si no más bien en la relación de Trent y Rory, se siente el peligro en todo momento, se siente como de verdad podria salir alguien de algun rincon dispuesto a matarte.
No esperaba que fuera una saga, para mi ese fue un excelente final porque no estoy segura de aguantar otro libro más con Trent respirandome en la nuca.
10 de 10 este libro, que no se repita nunca por fa
Una de las reseñas de más abajo, habla de como a veces se sentia frutadx con Rory por como se comportaba con Trent y estoy de acuerdo. En la sinopsis que yo leí, mencioaba Dark romance y hasta cierto punto (todavia bien al principio) yo esperaba eso. Pero también me sentia contrariada con el comportamiento de Trent, nadie NADIE en el fin del mundo te deja quedarte y usar sus suministros por pura buena voluntad.
Me gustó mucho la forma en la qué la autora muestra a Trent, siento (Al menos para mi) que no lo está romantizando, yo sentia el puro terror y lo contrariado que se sentia Rory. Como sentia que le debia todo a Trent por haberle salvado la vida, pero a la vez como queria correr porque el tipo está loco de remate. Me queria salir de mi piel por culpa de Trent, que miedo. Hasta poco antes de la mitad del libro tenia la esperanza de que Trent no fuera un loco psicopata, pero esa es la cosa con este tipo de relaciones no? Uno se queda esperando que en realidad no sean abusivos y controladores y que algun día van a cambiar, pero eso es mentira, así que CORRAN. Lo que termino por darme terror de Trent fue cuando dice que las personas ahora no son amantes, sino que son bienes y compara a Rory con un cuchillo? wtf. Mi bebé le salvo la Vida yendo a ese pueblo y enfrentandose a esos hombres como para que Trent lo compare con un cuchillo
La forma en la que Trent dejo llegar a Juniper me dice que tal vez Juniper sabía quien era Trent desde un principio y de lo qué era capaz. Ella no se merecia esa muerte tan horrible. Despues del final se hace claro que todas las cosas que Juniper y Rory encontraron (como el caballo y el lugar sobre los arboles para descansar) siempre fueron de Trent y por eso estaba tan adelantado a ellos. En serio que ese hombre me da terror, realmente no siento como esto puede ser salvable en algun punto para que se convierta en romance. En los libros de dark romance el prota siempre está medio loquito y obsesionado por la otra persona, pero siempre es tipo: te amo de una forma enfermiza y quemaria el mundo para protegerte. No de está forma enfermiza de: Eres mi bien y si no soy yo, entonces te quemo a ti y al mundo entero. Y ese guiño que le da el malparido?
La forma en la que la autora le da vida al world building me parece excelente, los infectados no me parecen simplemente zombies, sino que parecen verdaderamente enfermos. A pesar que la historia no se centra mucho en el tema de fin del mundo, si no más bien en la relación de Trent y Rory, se siente el peligro en todo momento, se siente como de verdad podria salir alguien de algun rincon dispuesto a matarte.
No esperaba que fuera una saga, para mi ese fue un excelente final porque no estoy segura de aguantar otro libro más con Trent respirandome en la nuca.
10 de 10 este libro, que no se repita nunca por fa
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 16, 2025
I am actually unwell after finishing Ashen Green. Like… how dare a book do this to me?? Rory is the softest disaster of a human being (my poor little matchstick of a man 🥺), and Trent is just—chainsaw daddy protector who makes me question my morals every other page. One second I want to run, the next I want to crawl closer. The tension?? The dread?? The intimacy that feels like a cage?? I need therapy.
Also the worldbuilding??? The green swallowing the cities, the silence, the infected—it’s so vivid it lives in my head rent-free.
If you want a book that makes you gasp, cry, and then side-eye yourself for shipping something you definitely shouldn’t… read this immediately.
Also the worldbuilding??? The green swallowing the cities, the silence, the infected—it’s so vivid it lives in my head rent-free.
If you want a book that makes you gasp, cry, and then side-eye yourself for shipping something you definitely shouldn’t… read this immediately.
October 11, 2025
Amazing book! I really enjoyed reading this book. I liked that you really couldn’t predict what was going to happen. And I’m angry/ excited that the book ended the way it did. Can’t wait for th sequel!
November 15, 2025
Well…
I don’t know how to feel about this book. It wasn’t a romance and It wasn’t a zombie survival adventure.
I think maybe it was the progress of an abusive relationship in a remote cabin?
🚩 🚩 🚩 🚩 🚩 🚩
Trent was a red flag from the start and progressively got worse with time. I love dark romance, but this plot had no romance so I can’t really say it falls under that category. If you were to remove the “minuscule” zombie threat, this is a story about a guy who is rescued by an abusive man who keeps him prisoner in the middle of the woods and Stockholms him into thinking he is in love.
🤦🏼♀️That plot twist at the end was a… choice.
I guess if the goal of the book was to describe the plot of an abusive relationship that doesn’t end with a happy ever after, then it definitely did its job!!
I just wish it had been marketed that way.
I don’t know how to feel about this book. It wasn’t a romance and It wasn’t a zombie survival adventure.
I think maybe it was the progress of an abusive relationship in a remote cabin?
🚩 🚩 🚩 🚩 🚩 🚩
Trent was a red flag from the start and progressively got worse with time. I love dark romance, but this plot had no romance so I can’t really say it falls under that category. If you were to remove the “minuscule” zombie threat, this is a story about a guy who is rescued by an abusive man who keeps him prisoner in the middle of the woods and Stockholms him into thinking he is in love.
🤦🏼♀️That plot twist at the end was a… choice.
I guess if the goal of the book was to describe the plot of an abusive relationship that doesn’t end with a happy ever after, then it definitely did its job!!
I just wish it had been marketed that way.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 16, 2025
I don’t even know how to put into words how much this book wrecked me in the best way.
Ashen Green isn’t just another survival story — it’s aching, raw, and unsettlingly intimate. Rory is one of those characters you want to wrap in a blanket forever: soft, shy, fumbling way, so painfully human in a world that’s lost all of that. And then there’s Trent. Oh. My. God. Trent. The chainsaw-swinging, steady-voiced, terrifying protector who walks the razor-thin line between savior and captor. He made my stomach twist in fear and want at the same time.
The atmosphere? Absolutely haunting. You can feel the vines crawling over broken highways, the silence pressing down on every scene. It’s post-apocalypse but the real horror is how close tenderness and possession can look when the world is ending.
This book gave me:
✨ found-family softness
✨ “you’re safe here” said with a scary smile
✨ the constant dread of “is this love or control?”
✨ AND survival horror tension so sharp I couldn’t breathe
I finished it at 2AM, sat staring at the ceiling, and whispered: what the hell did I just read… and when can I read it again?
If you want something dark, beautiful, and addictive — this is it.
Ashen Green isn’t just another survival story — it’s aching, raw, and unsettlingly intimate. Rory is one of those characters you want to wrap in a blanket forever: soft, shy, fumbling way, so painfully human in a world that’s lost all of that. And then there’s Trent. Oh. My. God. Trent. The chainsaw-swinging, steady-voiced, terrifying protector who walks the razor-thin line between savior and captor. He made my stomach twist in fear and want at the same time.
The atmosphere? Absolutely haunting. You can feel the vines crawling over broken highways, the silence pressing down on every scene. It’s post-apocalypse but the real horror is how close tenderness and possession can look when the world is ending.
This book gave me:
✨ found-family softness
✨ “you’re safe here” said with a scary smile
✨ the constant dread of “is this love or control?”
✨ AND survival horror tension so sharp I couldn’t breathe
I finished it at 2AM, sat staring at the ceiling, and whispered: what the hell did I just read… and when can I read it again?
If you want something dark, beautiful, and addictive — this is it.
March 6, 2026
As a rule, I do not review books I have DNF'd.
I made an exception.
This book has either been heavily edited by ChatGPT, or the author writes like an autonomous machine trying to build suspense and develop a character without ever having a discussion with a genuine person.
If you are familiar with AI writing quirks, then you already know. The short, strange dialogue trying too hard to be quirky. The odd and unecessary repetition and drawing out of scenes(looking at you, grocery store). It is all here. It is both obvious and quite bad.
I think the human author had an idea and wasnt confident enough in their own art. I assure you, anything you write will be better than what AI can. "Technically" correct isnt always best.
Besides...wasn't it enough to use AI for your cover? :/
I made an exception.
This book has either been heavily edited by ChatGPT, or the author writes like an autonomous machine trying to build suspense and develop a character without ever having a discussion with a genuine person.
If you are familiar with AI writing quirks, then you already know. The short, strange dialogue trying too hard to be quirky. The odd and unecessary repetition and drawing out of scenes(looking at you, grocery store). It is all here. It is both obvious and quite bad.
I think the human author had an idea and wasnt confident enough in their own art. I assure you, anything you write will be better than what AI can. "Technically" correct isnt always best.
Besides...wasn't it enough to use AI for your cover? :/
October 28, 2025
Agora isso sim é uma novela sombria que mexe com o psicológico. Não tem romantização de abuso. Essa é uma novel criada, construída e que apresenta muito bem o abuso psicológico e manipulação. Você não precisa de violência física para exercer controle e essa história demonstra isso. Parabéns ao escritor pela delicadeza crua que conta essa história. Eu mesma me vi como o protagonista: apaixonada pelo jeito manipulador do MC e me questionando se não estou exagerando, até mesmo concordando com a "proteção" dele. Que plot twist foi esse, meus amigos. Não esperava. Elevou a manipulação dele para outro nível.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 23, 2026
Love it!!
Loved this book so much! I can’t wait for the next book, it ends on a cliffhanger which sucks but now I’m even more invested in the story. It also doesn’t have a lot of spice, which I don’t mind because I think some mxm have too much. I like how the author describes some of what’s going on and then kinda skips over the whole sex scene. I’m more interested in the plot than the spice. Can’t wait for the next one!!
Loved this book so much! I can’t wait for the next book, it ends on a cliffhanger which sucks but now I’m even more invested in the story. It also doesn’t have a lot of spice, which I don’t mind because I think some mxm have too much. I like how the author describes some of what’s going on and then kinda skips over the whole sex scene. I’m more interested in the plot than the spice. Can’t wait for the next one!!
November 28, 2025
I don’t know how to rate this book. The world building was great. Trent was horrible, but well written, the epitome of an abusive partner. Rory’s dread was tangible.
Having survived a relationship like this the ending made me sick.
So although I hated this book. It was good.
Having survived a relationship like this the ending made me sick.
So although I hated this book. It was good.
January 3, 2026
my heart was in my a**
I’ve never felt suspense quite like this my heart is still beating funny and pumping hard that was amazing absolutely amazing 10/10 would read again or would love a sequel
I’ve never felt suspense quite like this my heart is still beating funny and pumping hard that was amazing absolutely amazing 10/10 would read again or would love a sequel
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews