From Our Ashes: Book Two

by Alex Cross

They burned everything down.

Four years ago, Sebastian Langley walked away from the only man who ever made him feel real. He told himself it was for Ethan’s good. For his future. For all the reasons that made sense in his head, even if they shattered Ethan’s heart.

Now Ethan is back… whether Sebastian is ready for it or not.

Ethan has learned how to survive without him. How to be sharper. Stronger. How not to fall apart every time Sebastian Langley’s name crosses his mind.

But some things don’t stay buried.

The pull between them is still there. So is everything that was left unsaid. Between complicated families, buried resentments, and lives that have only grown more tangled in their absence, loving each other isn’t just about what they feel. It's about what it costs.

These second chances won’t come gently. They will come with truth, reckoning, and the risk of losing everything again.

From Our Ashes is the emotional conclusion to Ash and Ethan’s story, a second-chance MM romance about love, regret, and choosing each other when the world around you is still on fire.

Genres: M M Romance, Second Chance, Found Family, Romance, Forced Proximity, Slow Burn, Spicy

432 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 4, 2026

Reviews

[Laura Jane ♡ (need to catch up) · Rating 5 out of 5]

”hello darling”

my booksta edit/review

i read the end twice through my puddles of tears. i love them so much you don’t understand 😭
my heart aches and feels healed all in one.
i don’t know how alex does it but the way she wrote ash and ethan makes me feel so much, they are real to me and i feel blessed to have witnessed their second chance and hard fought road back to each other.
everything about this story and their ending was absolute perfection. no notes. just perfect in every way possible.

ethan brought a whole new game to this one. all that time and boy did he grow, evolve and develop into a fierce and head strong man. i loved seeing him go for what he wanted but still exploring his vulnerability. oh and he had ash on his kneeessss!!!

ash, ugh, i just want to hug him and cry. he finally learnt how to let his walls down, face his fears and let himself fully love, be loved and accept support from his people.
there is a moment in this that has me bawling, it was always ethan for him 😭

their banter, chemistry and undeniable tension was still so tangible & electric the whole way through. the slow burn and heated sexual energy had me GAGGED. they are so hot together. alex writes immaculate spice.
but their tenderness and devotion never stop seeping through, and everything they went through together & individually was so worth it because through all the stubbornness, the doubts, the pain and the highs - they always knew their end game was with each other 🥺

i’m beyond words and beyond happy they got their happy ending, like i genuinely miss them so much already. i know im going to have to reread these two books very soon because i feel like im missing a piece of myself without them.

special mention to ethan and henry’s friendship. one of the most beautiful dynamics of unwavering platonic love and loyalty. i need henry’s book more than air because my sweet angel has so much to deal with 🥺

i have SO many highlights and quotes, it’s so hard to pick a few!
alex has put me through every emotion possible and all i can say is thank you!!! thank you for one of my new favourite couples i’ve ever met 🥹
god tier couple. god tier duet. GOD TIER MM!!!! ash and ethan are my everything. i literally miss them so much, i’m genuinely so sad its done. i need a novella 😫

some quotes

A quiet breath left me before I could stop it, and despite everything pressing in around me, I found myself smiling back. He’s here.

That shy smile he gave me, caught between genuine pleasure and mischief, felt powerful enough to tilt the world on its axis.

“I’m sorry for ever making you feel like I don’t. That’s the biggest lie I’ve ever told.”

I used to wonder what it was about him. Why he had this effect on me. Why he made me feel seen and… safe. Of all the people in my life, why him? I’d asked myself that question for years…. And somehow, in the middle of everything falling apart, he made the chaos feel fucking beautiful.

It felt like impact—like collision—like every second I’d spent holding myself back finally snapped. His breath left him in a broken sound against my lips. I kissed him like I needed to feel it in my bones. Like it had to hurt a little, just to know it was real.

“Slow, my darling,” he murmured against my shoulder. “Let’s fuck so slow we burn this bed to the ground.”

“but dinner is still served” when you know, you’ll know 😛😛😛😛😛😛

[369Pages · Rating 5 out of 5]

5⭐️
Hello, darlings, and welcome to my long-ass review of From Our Ashes. This duology is absolutely god-tier for me!
Ever since reading When We Ignite (book 1) last year, I’ve been in love with Ethan and Sebastian. Like, I read hundreds of books a year, but they were the one couple from last year that really STUCK with me. This book is the epic conclusion to their love story, happening 4 years after the scandalous beginning in book one.

This book has tropes like:
-second chance
-age gap
-boss/employee
-cheating (not between MCs)
-yearning (but in a very dramatic way)
-family drama (but I love the family sooo much)

Guys, this one made me cry. Like, mostly in a good way. Alex Cross’ writing is honestly exceptional.
Pacing? Excellent.
Story? So intriguing, exciting, and dramatic.
Writing style? Gorgeous.
Characters? Flawed, but developed SO well and SOOOO lovable and well done. Even random side characters make you love them.

This series is masterful. Like, how are you going to take elements like bad communication, cheating, and family drama, which I usually hate, and make me obsessed with it??? Fantastic.

The character writing is so good too. Ash and Ethan are so similar in so many ways, yet also foils for each other. They learn important lessons from each other, and their HEA made me cry happy tears.

Ethan! That man GREW UP! I’m so proud of him. Truly he found his spark. I was proud of him… and he’s a fictional character. Why am I proud of a fictional character?? Anyways he studied Bitchology between book one and book two because he was SERVING the whole book and I was loving it. It was so much more than this though, but I don’t want to spoil!

And Ash?? I’m maybe even prouder of him? He learned how to let people in, and he truly got the arc he deserved.

And don’t get me started on Henry!! What an amazing character. I can not WAIT for his book.

Anyways, this is the best MM duology ever and I’m willing to die on that hill.

Go read When We Ignite right now so you can read this when it comes out in May!!!

[Grace Harper · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5🌟

I love Ethan and Sebastian so much 😭😭😭🫶🏻🫶🏻❤️❤️❤️❤️ so happy they finally got their happy ever after 🥹🥹🥹🥹

I loved seeing how Ethan grew into himself over the last 4 years and how these two found their way back to each other again.

Alex Cross, I will read absolutely anything you write. Literally cannot wait to get my hands on whatever you put out next!!!

I mean it when I say that the characters she writes feel so real. She truly has such a gift for making you feel like you’ve effortlessly joined them on their journey. I adored Ethan/Ash and I can’t wait for Henry’s book 🥹

[Vedeneeva Yulia · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5/5⭐️

Я була безмежно рада повернутися до цих героїв. І я кажу не лише про Ітана та Еша. Генрі, ти мій любімка 🩷
Нарешті я побачила фінал на який вони заслуговують. Я побачила як нарешті руйнуються бар'єри, з'являється довіра, ніжність та потреба бути поряд. Я нарешті побачила зміну. І в першу чергу Еша. Хочете вірте хочете ні, але я його вже просто придушити була готова. Йому, бляха, вже про душу та місце на кладовищі б подумати, а він все мнеться і фігнею страждає. В першій книзі я дійсно його розуміла. Можливо не з усім погоджувалася, але могла зрозуміти. Але в другій... 🤦‍♀️
Щодо Ітана, то він просто мені подобається ще з першої книжки. Цей малий це стихія, це вогонь. Я відчуваю його силу та енергію. Я йому навіть заздрю. В мені цього ніколи не було, навіть коли була набагато молодша. Це дуже підкуповує (ох як я розумію Еша 😄) Я навіть йому пробачаю ту дурнувату поведінку. Бо окрім сили, Ітан ще й мілашка.

І отут питання. Якщо мені сподобалось, то чому не 5⭐️?
По-перше, ну не можу нічого з собою зробити, але перша книга, то любов любовна. І якщо їх порівнювати, то ця для мене слабкіша
По-друге, що це за істерика у першій половині книзі? Що Ітан, що Еш неначе сказилися і виробляли якусь дічь. Не так я уявляла їх зустріч через 4 роки, якщо чесно. Добре, що у 2 половині книжки все вирівнялося і було тим чим мало бути

Але не дивлячись на всі недоліки, це було приємне повернення.
А ще дуже сподіваюсь на приємне продовження про молодшого брата Ленглі. Генрі заслуговує на свою історію кохання 💕

[Daje1968 · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have to admit that I got weird about this book. I read the first part of this duet, When We Ignite, about a year ago. Excellent, smoking hot book, no HEA. I was not happy, but I moved on. Then about a month ago, I decided to reread it because I knew From Our Ashes was coming out, and somehow it gripped me even harder the second time around. And then I got feral.

I have been literally counting down the days to May 4. My Instagram algorithm fully understood the assignment and started tormenting me with ARC readers screaming about this book nonstop. I am sorry to admit that one night I woke up at like 4 a.m. with the genuinely enraged thought: “What do you MEAN Ash has a boyfriend?!?” and could not get back to sleep. True story.

So obviously there was no way this book could live up to the expectations I had built up in my head, right?

Reader, it did.

First, Alex Cross is a truly gifted writer. She has only been publishing for a few years and somehow already writes with the confidence and emotional precision of someone who has been doing this forever. I’ve now read all four of her books, and every single one has been both excellent and emotionally devastating. She does not pull punches.

The funny thing is, I’m not even someone who usually seeks out super angsty books. I SUFFER reading her stories. Yet I love every miserable minute of it. I can’t even fully articulate why except to say she gets deep into the heads of her characters. Her writing never feels paint-by-numbers. It feels more like a mosaic — hundreds of tiny emotional pieces slowly clicking together until suddenly you’re staring at something cohesive and beautiful and painfully human.

Her dialogue is so real. The emotional reactions always make sense for the characters involved. Her plots will enrage you, but she never asks you to suspend disbelief just to force drama. (Okay, fine, nobody needing to speak Spanish while living in Madrid stretched credibility a tiny bit, but honestly, American expats probably do get away with that nonsense.)

Now for the blithering section of the review where I clearly needed a book club and instead decided to emotionally projectile-vomit onto Goodreads.

Okay. I kind of hate Ash. I love him, but I also hate him.

At the art cocktail party, when he deliberately went to flirt with Ethan because he sensed Ethan pulling away after seeing Ash and Luca looking all happy together? Oh my god, CLASSIC shithead dude behavior. That thing where a guy senses someone slipping away and suddenly swoops back in just enough to keep them emotionally hooked? Yeah. That scene unlocked ancient buried memories from my early twenties and I was ready to fight him.

And then Chapter 10 at the club. Ash absolutely had a point about Ethan hurting him especially with his brother, but this line made my skin crawl:

“You know I try my best not to show any kind of affection,” he cut in, dark eyes finally locking on mine. “Not in front of you. I told you I would never do that to you.” Something in his voice made my grin falter. “What are you talking about?” “With Luca.” My stomach dropped. But he wasn’t done. “I don’t do it because I don’t want to hurt your feelings. Because I fucking care about you.”

I think I was maybe supposed to feel empathy for him, but personally? I had smoke coming out of my ears. That somehow felt both patronizing and weirdly manipulative at the same time. Like, thank you for graciously hiding your affection for your boyfriend from the guy you know is in love with you? It also heavily implied that he was affectionate with Luca behind closed doors, which made the whole thing sting even more. Ash has this tendency to treat Ethan like someone fragile he needs to manage emotionally, and sometimes it made me want to throw my Kindle across the room.

That said… the chemistry between them is genuinely insane. The steam takes a while to arrive, but when it does? FIRE. I honestly cannot remember the last time I read two characters with this much tension and emotional gravity pulling them together. Every interaction felt loaded.

Also, anyone who loves groveling? Congratulations. This book delivers. And as it should, because Ash, respectfully, you are a massive pain in the ass.

Let’s also talk about Henry being the omniscient truth-teller in the club scene. Every single thing out of his mouth was correct. I need his book immediately. Mateo seems cool enough for him, and frankly I am already deeply invested. I can’t leave this review without shouting out Henry and Ethan’s beautiful friendship. I’m sure there were times when Henry was sick of playing Miranda to Ethan’s Carrie Bradshaw going on and on about Big, but he was also such a supportive champion of the relationship. And the whole “babe” thing? It was a small detail but felt so real. I can almost imagine the night they started using it.

On to another monologue, about Ash and his relationship with Oliver and his father. I never thought Ash was in the wrong regarding the family situation from When We Ignite. His father was awful to him in a cold, humiliating, late-stage-capitalism kind of way that genuinely made my chest hurt. Oliver was put in a terrible position, yes, but he was still sneaky and dishonest about what he knew was happening. Why exactly is Ash carrying all the guilt here? Even Ash being so deeply torn up about his father’s health issues in this book surprised me a little because let’s be so for real here, his dad was a dick.

And I’m sorry, but Charlotte and Oliver occasionally annoyed me with their perfect little marriage and moral superiority floating around in the background. Happy for you guys, but maybe climb off the pedestal for five minutes.

Also — and this is the tiniest spoiler reason for using the spoiler tag — THANK GOD they don’t want kids. Let these men live their fabulous gay lives in peace screwing to their hearts’ content without hammy little cockblocks getting in the way.

Anyway. If you somehow stumble across this review having never read Alex Cross before, PLEASE go read When We Ignite and then immediately read From Our Ashes. When you’re done, come back and thank me so I can feel validated in personally spreading the Alex Cross agenda.

She is that good. Absolutely worth the suffering. Absolutely worth the wait.

And Mateo better have been at that wedding with Hennie or I swear to god.

[Sofi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Full RTC

I need a moment because… god, this was messy, complicated as hell, but so, so freaking beautiful. Ash and Ethan have my heart, and I will indeed be dramatic about them.

I also have to say, this author’s words are just… WOW. There’s something about her writing that never fails to hit me, so now I have like half the book highlighted, and I don’t know how to choose the perfect quotes because there are so manyyyy. Beautiful writing, beautiful character growth without forgetting human mistakes… I just love this series.

[Ecd · Rating 3 out of 5]

From Our Ashes — a long review no one asked for:

I love this universe. The Langley Brothers, the Bennett siblings, the company drama—all of it. I’ve loved spending time in it. And Ethan Bennett is one of my favorite characters I’ve ever read, top five all time. So when I say this sequel doesn’t work, I’m not nitpicking for the sake of it. I’m frustrated because I care.

When We Ignite was one of those rare, lightning-in-a-bottle romances for me. The pacing, the emotional build, the way Ash and Ethan’s relationship unfolded through small, meaningful interactions: it all felt intentional and earned. By the end, they chose each other with full awareness. That’s what made it so powerful.

Which is exactly why this sequel doesn’t work the same way.

The biggest problem is that From Our Ashes spends most of its runtime undoing emotional ground already covered. Ash’s arc in the first book was about letting go of control and allowing himself to feel. We watched him arrive at that realization in real time. Retreading the same journey across hundreds of pages doesn’t feel like growth. It feels redundant.

Structurally, this reads like two different books stitched together. The first half drags: artificial distance, repetitive reminders that Ash is a “control freak,” and a long Luca detour that stalls the relationship at the story’s center. Then the second half suddenly works. The pacing tightens and you can see clearly that the author still knows how to write these characters. Which only makes the first half more frustrating, because it proves the detour wasn’t necessary.

Ash’s characterization is where the book loses me most. His arc is framed as growth, but what we actually see through the first half of it is the same patterns: control, avoidance, not showing up emotionally when Ethan needs him most. His development is mostly tied to external events rather than the deeply relational growth he’d already started in book one.

Then there’s the reasoning behind the separation. We’re supposed to believe that Ash loved Ethan so deeply that he bought a ring, decided Ethan was too young, walked away “for his own good,” and left him to years of doubt, all while getting into labeled relationships with other people and planning to return when Ethan was “ready.” That’s not selfless or even tragically misguided. It reads as control that goes beyond a character trait and turns into something that geniunely caused harm. You don’t get to decide someone’s life for them, leave them to suffer the consequences, and frame it as love, especially when the story ultimately circles back to the same endpoint anyway.

The introduction of Luca only amplifies this huge imbalance. It creates unnecessary comparison and tension. Ethan, who has already gone through so much, is put in a position where he’s being measured against someone else—while Ash gets to maintain emotional distance.

And here’s what makes that decision even harder to accept: the story needed a reason for it to feel pressured and complicated, something that would make a man like Ash, with all his control and complexity, feel genuinely trapped into making that choice. Luca is the cheapest possible answer to that problem. There were so many more interesting ways to explore this. Instead the narrative reaches for the easiest external variable available and calls it depth.

The “characters make messy decisions because they’re human” defense is the most common response to this kind of criticism, and it’s worth addressing directly because it’s not a defense of craft. It’s a deflection from it. The question was never whether Ash could make a terrible decision. The question is whether the reader is given enough interiority to understand, feel, and ultimately forgive it alongside Ethan.

And the answer is no, because we’re handed summaries instead of scenes.

“I was ruined without you” is a conclusion. It’s not an experience. We never live inside Ash’s regret the way we live inside Ethan’s pain. We never spend a night with him staring at the ceiling thinking about what he did. We never feel the weight of his guilt accumulating in real time. Instead we get sentences that are expected to carry his entire internal conflict, and they fall short because the groundwork was never laid. So when he gets on his knees to ask for forgiveness and another chance, it doesn’t stick. Not because the moment isn’t written with intention, but because you can’t cash a check the story never deposited. His biggest punishment being the absence of Ethan from his life is told to us. It is never shown. And that gap is where the emotional payoff collapses.

There’s also a larger issue with the reader contract, and I want to be specific about what I mean, because this isn’t puritanism.

The first book doesn’t just tell a love story. It actively trains the reader to understand Ash and Ethan as emotionally and physically exclusive, even without a label that requires it. That wasn’t incidental. It was the foundation the story was built on, and it worked precisely because of it. You felt the weight of what they meant to each other through that exclusivity. It was the whole point.

So when the sequel introduces external distractions to manufacture distance, it doesn’t just create conflict. It breaks the illusion retroactively. Suddenly the reader is being asked to recontextualize a relationship they already understood, already invested in, already loved, on terms they never agreed to.

Romance readers self-select for exactly these dynamics. Staying away from certain books and seeking out others isn’t purity policing—it’s how the genre works. The first book made a specific promise about what kind of story this was. The sequel changed the rules after the reader was already in.

What makes this harder to dismiss is that the author’s own social media announcement flagged the cheating element before the book released. Which means she knew it was a big departure. And while that disclosure is appreciated, it also confirms that this wasn’t a natural evolution of the story. It was a choice, made knowing it contradicted what book one established. You can respect the choice and still feel like you didn’t sign up for it.

The jealousy that should hit hardest ends up being the lowest-stakes version. When Ash finally makes his feelings visible in the club scene, the reader already has full visibility into the dynamic he’s reacting to and knows there’s nothing there. The tension is defused before it even lands. But Luca creates the opposite problem. With him, there’s genuine ambiguity about what he and Ash actually are to each other, which puts the reader in Ethan’s exact position: uncertain and unable to get a clear read. Except instead of building charged tension, it just creates noise. Luca doesn’t carry enough narrative weight to make that uncertainty feel meaningful. So the moment that should have been explosive is muted, and the dynamic that could have created real tension just irritates. The jealousy payoff lands in entirely the wrong place.

The big reveal at the end is supposed to reframe everything and make the first half worth it. It doesn’t. Ethan’s anger resolves too quickly, the payoff isn’t adequately set up in the first half, and the reveal doesn’t justify the detour that preceded it.

The handling of accountability in this book follows a pattern that becomes impossible to ignore. Every adult in this story makes catastrophic decisions that damage Ash and Ethan, and almost none of them are held to meaningful account.

Ash’s father, whose actions were central to the damage in book one, gets a hospitalization that sends Ash rushing to his bedside, spending the night consumed by regret over how things were left between them. It’s an emotionally manipulative shortcut that reframes the father as someone to be grieved over rather than someone who owes his son a real reckoning. The harm he caused doesn’t get confronted. It gets quietly dissolved by a health scare. Ethan’s parents fare no better. Even Henry, who actively contributed to the fallout, is positioned as reasonable rather than responsible. It creates a pattern: the people who cause the most harm face the least direct consequences.

And yet when it comes to Ethan’s mistake (the cheating storyline), the narrative suddenly finds its moral backbone. Everyone clutches their pearls. It becomes the confrontation the book has been building toward. The tonal whiplash is staggering when you line it up against everything that preceded it without consequence. It reads less like earned storytelling and more like a public service announcement: cheating is bad, you must own it, no justifications accepted. Sure. In a universe where a 39-year-old man unilaterally decided the course of two people’s lives, ruined four years of Ethan’s, and faced no equivalent reckoning from anyone else but Ethan (which wasn’t strong enough in my opionion).

The Luca apology mention makes this even harder to take seriously. We’re told Ash was upfront with everyone he was with, that they all knew his heart belonged to someone else and he couldn’t promise anything beyond the physical. If that’s true, then Luca walked into that situation with open eyes. So the framing of Ethan’s apology as this significant moral moment doesn’t hold up against Ash’s own stated reasoning. It actually contradicts it. A half-line acknowledgment that Luca told him to fuck off and he deserved it is not the same moral weight as what everyone else in this story walked away from without consequence.

The book is harder on Ethan than on anyone else, and he is the one who was wronged the most.

Which brings me to Ethan himself, because I need to say this clearly: he is extraordinary. After the scandal broke, he went to his classes anyway. He aced his way through his education while people whispered behind his back and mocked him to his face. He lost his entire trust fund to his own father, a man he had wanted desperately to believe was on his side, only to get blindsided and financially destroyed by him. He loves fully and without reservation, even after being let down in the most painful ways by exactly the people who were supposed to protect him. And at the birthday party, after Ash had broken his heart for what felt like the millionth time, he still dropped everything when Ash got the news about his father, because that’s who Ethan is. Once he’s in, he’s in.

He was never immature. He was never “acting his age.” He was a person who had earned every single one of his reactions. Suggesting otherwise, especially coming from Luca, who entered a situation he fully understood and then had the audacity to call Ethan “desperate” and imply he was being ridiculous for having feelings about a man who had been rewriting his entire life without his consent, is one of the most frustrating moments in the book. Luca doesn’t know him. Even from Ash’s POV during the breakup scene, the narrative doesn’t push back nearly hard enough.

Even the intimacy loses something along the way, and I want to be specific about what, because this isn’t about explicitness or frequency or structure.

From the very beginning of book one, the physical was never just physical with these two. A thumb tracing over bare skin at a dinner table, nothing more than that, and the page was on fire. What made it work wasn’t the touch itself. It was everything underneath it: Ethan’s body betraying him while his words said the opposite, Ash reading him completely and calling it out with quiet, unhurried confidence. The goosebumps weren’t just physical. They were the moment Ethan’s defenses started losing. Every touch carried psychological and emotional weight specific to these two people and where they were with each other in that exact moment.

Even the messy, laughing pantry scene near the end wasn’t really about the sex. It was about watching Ash become unguarded, the walls finally down, everything Ethan had ever wanted reflected back at him in one open expression. The intimacy was always a vehicle for revelation.

The sequel loses that. And the deliberate withholding of their reunion until seventy percent into the book makes it worse, because it actively works against the specific chemistry that defined them from the start. Ash and Ethan were never restrained or calculated with each other. Even when Ash was in his “control freak” era. They were urgent. Spontaneous. The kind of desperate, every-second-without-touching-you-is-unbearable energy that didn’t wait for the right moment because every moment felt unbearable without it. That urgency wasn’t separate from their emotional connection. It was an expression of it.

So when the reunion is stage-managed and withheld until it can be delivered as a set piece, it can’t feel spontaneous anymore. It feels like a transaction. Here is the scene you have been waiting for. Here is your payoff. And then the scene arrives and the language reaches for sensation rather than interiority. Bodies moving. Lines describing the surface of the experience rather than what it means to finally have each other back after four years of loss and damage and longing.

That reunion should have been the hottest thing in the entire series. Not despite everything they went through, but because of it. Two people who loved each other that much, finally on the same page, no more walls, no more uncertainty, no more distance, nothing left to hide behind. That should have made even the simplest touch feel like it could burn the whole page down, the way a thumb on bare skin did when they were still strangers who hadn’t even admitted anything yet. The emotional weight of that moment was the highest it had ever been. The physical should have reflected that completely.

Instead the pressure just dissipates. Quietly. Without the explosion it had spent two books earning. And after all that buildup, that’s not just a missed opportunity. It’s the emotional climax of the entire story landing without the weight it was supposed to carry.

The core is still there. But instead of building on what made the first book exceptional, this one loops back, stalls, and re-derives what we already knew.

I didn’t need them to rediscover their love. I wanted to see what happens after they already knew.

[Alisia alis_reads_ · Rating 4 out of 5]

4🌟2.5/3🌶️Loved them soooooo much!!

Ahhh this was great! Alex, I love you for writing my these characters and their stories!!

Second chance
Book 2
Slow burn
Flipping scene 🤤
Cheating
age gap

Obviously book 1 was my favorite but I’m really proud of Ethan in this book. Like soooo proud of him. He really came into himself in this book and he’s one of those characters I wish was real so we could hang cuz we’d have the best time. I’m off to fantasize a friendship with him now.

[Anna · Rating 2 out of 5]

I thought, after the 3 or 4 year break the two MMCs would be a little bit more mature. But nope.
The biggest turn-off: obviously they confess their love to each other (FINALLY). But tell me why Ash has this full explanation that he even bought an engagement ring and that he knew Ethan would be endgame, but in the first 50 FUCKING % of the book he couldn’t break up with his boyfriend?!? The „boyfriend“ who was clearly in the way between him and Ethan. Make that make sense.

[Kim Reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

I said it once, I say it 200 times - Alex Cross is one of the most underrated, superb authors to write stories and this book proofed that again ❤️‍🔥

The way I jumped when I received this arc copy 🤭 I've been anticipating this release like crazy since I finished the first book.

Ethan and Sebastian have one of these complicated relationships. You know, a 15-year age gap and the fact that they are brothers-in-law. Oh, and Ash moving to another country after some things happening what were definitely not planned 😭

These two are messy and for sure will make you laugh, then cry, then swoon. You truly will feel all the feelings, cause Ethan and Ash feel them, too.

I love, LOVE them. They are my roman empire.

Oh, and Henry's speech? Described the relationship perfectly and really knocked the breath out of me. I love him so much, he is one of the best brothers/best friend someone could ever ask for. Just beautiful 🤎

[Aly Guz · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was perfect. Everything about it. So happy Ethan and ash got their happy ending 😭

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I went into this sequel so excited. I loved the first book, and after a full year of waiting, I had built up so many different ideas of how their story might continue, which definitely shaped my experience with this one.

I really enjoyed being back with these characters. Seeing how much Ethan had grown over the years was one of my favorite parts, and their development felt genuine and earned. The writing was beautiful as always. it was very easy to fall back into this world.

However, I think what didn’t fully work for me was the lack of tension compared to the first book. Their relationship was such a central source of conflict before — especially with the age gap and complicated family dynamic — and I expected that to carry more weight here. Instead, it felt like those issues were resolved quite quickly, which made the emotional impact a bit softer than I had hoped.

At times, it felt like everyone was simply rooting for them, and the obstacles that played such a big role in book one weren’t really present anymore. For example, the shift in Ash’s father’s reaction felt quite sudden to me, and I personally would have loved to see that explored in more depth.

Overall, I did enjoy this and I’m still invested in the characters and the series. I think for me it’s less about the story not working, and more about needing time to adjust to the direction it took, especially after having a year to imagine so many different possibilities.

This is just my immediate reaction after finishing the book, and I could see my thoughts evolving with a bit more time.

[-`♡´- · Rating 5 out of 5]

Alex does it again.

[Royesha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Colossal Disappointment

Ugh, the level of disappointment I have in this book is unreal. To me, this was the first book all over again except in a different country and a pointless extra relationship thrown in. And I do mean POINTLESS! I loved Ethan in book one, I even loved Sebastian in book one. But the way she wrote both of them in this book completely ruined their characters for me.

Ethan was DESPERATE, selfish, and straight up mean. The way he behaved towards Luca was despicable. This was a cheating trope done absolutely wrong. And Sebastian, at the big age of 39 you can’t just say what you want? You can’t open up to the only person you’ve ever supposedly loved? This first 53% of this book was BS and pointless.

Alex had the opportunity to really do this couple justice. They could’ve reunited and worked through the traumas of the past four years on page, shown their familial struggles and mending or permanently walking away from burned bridges. Instead, we get Ethan acting like a desperate selfish brat and Sebastian just being an idiot for over half the book. Once they finally got together, I didn’t even want to read anymore. It was pointless to me. And most of the side plots, that would’ve been great to dive into sooner to help the momentum of the book were completely glossed over in the last three paragraphs. This was such a colossal disappointment and ruined this duet for me. 10/10 do not recommend.

[Emelie · Rating 5 out of 5]

FUCK!

No, but that’s just great. Make me cry, why don’t you?

This is just perfection in a book. Holy hell. I inhaled this in less than 24 hours.

I love Henry. 🖤


There’s something about these books that just makes it so fucking real.
The body language, the dialogues, the characters. Everything!

I loved it!

Bratty Ethan entered the chat and we fucking love him!

This was everything.

Ash + Ethan 4evah 🖤

[Bryoni Jayde]

Beta Read - I will rate and review after I read the published version of the book

[Nico •◡• · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is how not to make a sequel after a good first book, the characters were insufferable in this one

[Staygold · Rating 3 out of 5]

Spotify: play I’ll Believe in Anything

This was one of my most anticipated reads of the year. I screamed so loudly when I got approved for the ARC - Thank you so much to the author! I was so here for this book from the first chapter and hello, a Henry and Matteo book WHEN?!
Overall - I would highly recommend the duet, together they easily get at least a 4 star rating.

First off, the writing: I love all of the Alex Cross books and how she pushes herself to get better and move into new territory and this one was no exception. The writing is great, this book just affirms for me how she's always going to be an autoread author in my book.
Plot: Regardless of my critiques, I enjoyed this ALOT. They needed those four years, it was necessary. The plot did develop well. This book also felt heavier in a way, which was to be expected, it was in a good way though. I don’t know what it was but something was missing for me though, It may have been all the back and forth, or the lack of the intensity/tension as in first book. Some aspects are rushed, especially the ending which moved really fast and felt a bit lacking in the emotional connection department.
The cheating: I detest cheaters and the whole trope, but I knew what I was getting into so I went in with an open mind. Did I love how it all played out? No. But I also understand it, even if I do still feel that it's wrong. The ending justified the means.

The character development: Ethan is all grown up, wow, he really grew into a man and an individual in his own right. The sass and the bluntness, I loved that. He's the far superior version of what he admires in Ash, with his own personality. His friendship with Henry is so wholesome and adorable and one of my favourite parts. Full disclosure, I never especially liked Sebastain BUT he does grow a lot in this book, and learns a lot of important life lessons and becomes a more human character as opposed to, as Ethan calls him, a robot. The relationship between the three brothers was so strong and was a great part of the book.

Compared to book 1, there’s a lot less sex, but the feelings and tension made up for it, and there were reeeeallly hot scenes, and Ethan taking control and Ash letting go… I was squealing out loud. I'd like a reverse of that table scene ASAP pls.

Lastly: I repeat, I need that Henry book. As soon as possible please.

[k · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was pretty bad in terms of plot. If a second book was planned and the entire plot is both mcs wanting each other but one of them in a 2 (TWO) month relationship for like 1/2 the book then just don’t bother writing another book!

It’s was so trashy to make it a cheating thing like what’s the point and why tf would ash not break up with a guy after only two months come on it was trashy, lame writing and just character undevelopment for BOTH characters.
Then the dad has a heart attack and suddenly it’s all sunshine and roses and omg I love you Ethan my gosh.

I think the whole cheating plot was a really really weak point and it could’ve been really good if they just got to Spain together and just slowly got back together but clearly not.

Yeah the second half was better but at that points it’s just like the previous book a bit so why even need this book

[Brandy Donato · Rating 5 out of 5]

ALEX CROSS!!!

I love this book!!! You brought my boys the ending they deserved!

Ethan and Sebastian!! Oh where the heck do I even start with these 2. Ethan stole my heart, and Sebastian made me angry! It took a lot of work for Sebastian to gain some love from me but he did it!!! Ethan deserves the world and I am so so so glad he got it!!

Please if you haven’t read this series do it!! You won’t regret it!!!

[Daphne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Alex mentioned in her acknowledgments how hard she worked on this book and it shows. This book was phenomenal. Alex writes characters like no one else and after this book she is definitely a new favorite author. This book was so real and raw. I felt every emotion. I couldn't put this book down and now I'm sad it's over, but I'm also so happy Ethan and Ash got their HEA.

This is a 5⭐️ duet for me. My favorite duet ever. I already can't wait to reread these books.

[Kashtin · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a reader, I loved this book. The relationship felt authentic and it had just the right amount of angst. As an English teacher, I had a hard time seeing the frequent use of the em dash, as it is not easily accessible on the keyboard and is the most common indicator that AI has been used. This took me out of the story a bit… even if AI is just used for editing, it does ruin the flow of a story for me. I love all this author’s work though so I’m still giving it 5 stars.

[Mandy Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ahh!! I LOVED this! These two are magnets, it was inevitable from the start. I’m so glad this book concentrated in their relationship and didn’t put too many outside hurtles in their way. They already went through that, this time it was about just being there for each other. ♥️

[❥ Tracy · Rating 5 out of 5]

5++++++++++ stars!! This duet is ANGST and TENSION dialed up to the max! An addicting read I could not put down

[Sofi · Rating 3 out of 5]

te amo ethan sos mi evil blonde favorito en este mundo <3

[Layla Spice · Rating 5 out of 5]

*sigh*
‼️This is a long one‼️

This story includes:
•Bratty MMC
•Age Gap
•Hurt/comfort
•Slow Burn
•Brothers BFF
•Second Chance
•Cheating (not between MCs and VERY brief)

Alex Cross has done it again. This is her 4th book, the second of this duology, and second overall of this series.

Alex really said “I want to challenge myself by writing an age gap” and proceeded to give us the most heart wrenching 884 pages ever committed to text. When Ash Langley met Ethan in book one, an 18 year old tennis player, his future brother in law, and 15 years his junior, it was no shock book one ends where it does.

Three years, six months, and eight days later, Ethan arrives in Spain smarter, more confident, and if possible, even more beautiful than Ash remembers. It was approximately 2 Chapters into this book I began to wish violence upon a perfectly innocent italian fashion something or other (I’m sorry Luca, I’m sure you’re really cool and your job is probably badass). I think the most fascinating part of the first 2/3 of this book is Alex’s ability to explore the fascinating phenomenon of men maturing in the least mature way possible. She writes Ethan in a way that makes it obvious this is not the same boy he was in book one, while keeping the classic Ethan brattiness we all know and love. (Again, sorry Luca.)

Chapter 19-20 will remain rent free in my mind for the rest of time. Once again, Alex made the slow burn truly worth it. While it was all fun and games to watch them do their song and dance, it’s not until they’re together again that you really see how fair they have both truly grown. I went from hating Ash for most of this book, to remembering why I fell in love with Alex’ work in the first place.

The thing I have always, and will always love about Alex Cross is the fact that not anyone can write a story like this. The plot is hard to digest, the characters aren’t what society would consider ‘likeable’ and this is only her fourth publication. But that’s what makes Alex so special. This isn’t some dark violent romance. Smutty? absolutely. Angsty? I would expect nothing less. But Alex took this messy age gap, down right disastrous family dynamic, and two of the most memorable mcs you’ll ever meet, and wrote a story of diversity, equality, and more love than you’ll even know what to do with.

Speaking of disastrous family! Alex takes a really interesting take on the concept of a “found family” throughout this series. The two main forces driving these two apart in book one are Ethan’s age, and his sister’s upcoming nuptials to Oliver, the middle Langley brother. Though the resolution of these conflicts is quick, it’s effective. If you didn’t fall in love with the youngest Langley in book one, it’s almost impossible to not love Henry in this one. Combine that with Olis growing family, reintroductions to some of our old faves and some fresh meat, this found family quickly became one of my faves.

I cannot WAIT for this book to be released to the public so the world can finally see the HEA we all deserved!

[nessa · Rating 5 out of 5]

i don’t even know where to start!!! this book seriously kept me on my toes from start to finish. i was absolutely hooked from the moment ash and ethan met again. the tension, the push and pull, the chemistry… it was intense in the best way. i really have to take a minute to praise alex’s writing as well, because there were two pretty big plot devices that are usually pretty big no’s for me in this book and i still ate it tf up!! the first one was the cheating, which i’m not gonna get too deep into because i don’t wanna veer into spoiler territory, but i think she wrote it as tastefully as you possibly could write cheating and i’m glad that it ended when it did. the second is the miscommunication/misunderstanding trope… boy do i hate this trope lol. i will legitimately put a book down if i’m told it has miscommunication. i am simply never in the mood to read grown characters struggle to talk about their feelings like a bunch of two year olds. but somehow it just worked for these characters. especially ethan, i felt like it was a great reminder that he IS still very young and still has some growing up to do. ash frustrated me juuuuust a tiny bit with the back and forth but in the end i do understand his caution and his hesitance to let his walls down. i just think it was really nicely done and written in a way where it felt necessary and not just an excuse to continue to drag things out.

the characters were phenomenal of course. ethan is my little sunshine and i love him so much!!! reading him come out of his shell and speak his mind and fight for what he wants was so beautiful and i was so proud of him as if he’s a real person 😭 his character arc was amazing and i’m so happy he got his happy ending. and ash!!! as i said, he frustrated me from time to time but mostly my heart just hurt for him he’s had to be the strong one doing everything he can to protect his loved ones since he was just a kid and he never knew anything else 🥲💔 my heart really broke for him while reading more about his feelings and how his mother’s death really impacted him and i just felt so proud of him for finally allowing himself to be loved and supported the way he deserves because he should have never felt like he had to carry everything alone. their love was so sweet and intense and so palpable, it’s like i really know them and have experienced their journey firsthand. i felt the same way after reading echoes of us and becoming us, like these characters are real people that i know and love and i think that really shows just how talented alex is at creating these beautiful and amazing characters that you just can’t help but root for.

i’m gonna think about ash and ethan and their story for a long time. i smiled, laughed, and cried right along with them during their whole journey, and i’m so happy they got the happy ending they deserved. 5 stars from me! 🌟 thank you so much to alex cross for providing me with this ARC!

[Anisa Worthington · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was angsty, witty, and real. Everything I expected and wanted from a sequel.

I don't even know where to begin ... Can I quote the whole book? 😆 Seriously, I had such high expectations for this book, and every single one of them was met.

This is a story of redemption. Of fight. Of hurt. Of confidence. But that's what love is, if it's true. You have to work for it. You grow and become a better person. The drama to get there — that's why we read fiction 🤭
And Alex does a wonderful job of keeping readers entertained in a character-driven story that still has actual plot.

Writing wise, this book felt like a sequel, which was great! I loved book 1, so diving right back into the swing of the Bennett/Langley world was perfect prose. That said, there were still enough gaps in the book to keep me entertained. Things that had happened within the four years the boys were apart that needed explanation in this book. That's where the emotion came in.

And boy did we get it 😎

Alex, you are a magician at writing beautiful toxic relationships.

I love how E & Ash are meant for each other, how they know each other like no one else does. Was the possessiveness hot? Yes. But the sweet vulnerability was even more romantic.
It was real emotion. And that's what stuck with me.

Not to mention, all the 'fights' & banter read so natural — like how brothers/couples/friends really do fight. It was honest.
That realism added another layer to the story that entrapped you. It was fast-paced, yet slow-building at the same time.

I love the overarching idea of these toxic relationships that heal, so long as both parties are willing. It's romantic and independent and hopeful ... the healing nature of letting go and getting/asking for help is very powerful.

I adore how cute Ash is in a relationship.
Henry at the end was perfect. Wow. Need his book ASAP 👀
If I could quote the whole last page, I would. That's how you end a story.

Utter. Perfection.

Oh, and the constant metaphors of Ash & E being like fire? Burning hell and protecting warmth? Eternal? So instinctive, and what a lot of people crave/want/try to keep.

Sebastian and Ethan are the best "IT" couple.

Thank you for letting me be witness to their story 🫶

Favourite Quotes.....

“Hello, darling”

The breath that filled my lungs felt shared, like we were breathing for each other

The rest of the fuckong world was just going to have to deal with the fact that we were meant to be

“Inappropriate--but cute.”
“That could be our motto.”

Becuase the rest of him looked like sin carved into flesh

“Slow, my darling ... let’s fuck so slow we burn this bed to the ground.”

“Blowies for breakfast”

Like something in me was wired to find him when the ground gave away

“Let’s love the fuck out of each other.”

Only sunlight from now on

[Lowri · Rating 4 out of 5]

ARC Review (thanks so much to the author and team for giving me an early copy to review 🙏)

Before I talk about this book, a bit of context:

When We Ignite is one of my favourite books of all time. I can count on one hand the number of books I've enjoyed enough to reread and I've reread WWI so many times I've lost count.

Very few fictional couples have hooked me like Ethan and Ash, so to say I was hyped for this book is an understatement. I was checking the author's Instagram multiple times a day for months for updates and teasers. I was making playlists and moodboards. I was HYPED.

So did From Our Ashes live up to my expectations? Well... Sort of.

*The Story*

The first half of this book was absolutely everything I wanted it to be. Fantastic character moments, hilarious dialogue, sizzling sexual tension and delicious angst.

But midway through one of the biggest points of tension is resolved and the stakes feel much lower. From that point onwards I still LIKED the book but I wasn't LOVING it any more.

It's not that the stakes were completely gone from that point, just different. But as a diehard lover of angst and mess and drama, my excitement kind of trailed off as the story progressed.

*The Characters*

I already loved Ethan in book one but his evolution between books was everything. I saw one reviewer say he "got a degree in bitchology" in between books and honestly... Accurate. He really does NOT hold back and I love him for it. He gets to be extremely petty and immature and sassy and slutty in a way that's an absolute delight to read. That said, he also gets to grow and mature throughout the story and really embrace his strengths. Basically, I adore him.

Ash on the other hand... I didn't quite know what to make of him in this book. The problem is that while we do get his POV there's context behind his motivations that isn't revealed until later on which creates a sense of distance in his chapters that makes him hard to connect to. For a character who has been previously shown to be extremely observant, he also seems bizarrely oblivious to other people's feelings in a way that felt a touch OOC (though it does make more sense later on)

Henry was wonderful and I loved seeing his friendship with Ethan. (Because of my aforementioned love of mess and drama) I would have preferred it to cause a bit more conflict between him and Ash but it was still great.

TLDR;

While I personally prefer my romance with a little more angst, this was a great sequel and I would genuinely recommend it to anyone who loved When We Ignite.

It's funny, sexy, emotional and fun and a lovely ending to Ash and Ethan's story.

[Zoë · Rating 5 out of 5]

WHAT A FUCKING BOOK! I just finished this and I’m in awe of how beautiful this book was. Absolute perfection for Ash and Ethan. They are chaos, they are fire, they are EVERYTHING!

I waited to read book one until right before this came out so I’m freshly processing both books. I absolutely love Alex’s books and this is a masterpiece. The Duet is a masterpiece and I will treasure these books forever. This is a story that sticks with you.

We pick up four years after book one. Ash is running his company in Madrid with Elena. Ethan has graduated and is going to grad school, also in Madrid. After a housing issue arises, Ethan ends up moving into Henry’s spare room.
Ash doesn’t know what to do now that Ethan has showed back up. It complicates so many things in his already stressful life. He knows he should avoid Ethan but life doesn’t want to let that happen easily.
With every up and down that is thrown at them and no matter what tries to pull them apart, Ash and Ethan are inevitable. They will always find each other.
•
•
I feel like I don’t have the right words. This book is so so good. Everything they go through is perfectly them. It’s rough, it’s messy, but it’s necessary for them to grow to what they need to become to be together.

I love when an age gap has people who genuinely act their age. This was exactly that. Book one with Ethan being 19, it was completely believable. Not a case of a 19yo who acts 40. And my man Sebastian…myyyy man. That’s all for him.

Alex knows how to write amazing side characters that I love almost as much as the MMC’s (maybe more sometimes). I think we are getting a Henry book in the future and man do I love him already. He’s such a kind soul and absolutely hilarious as well. I want to hug him.
Vanessa and Ole and Char and Mateo have my love as well!

For the spice, it’s second half heavy. If I recall correctly it was close to the 60 % mark. But once it gets going it’s 🥵. My goodness I was blushing. 3.5/5 🌶️
The pacing is the spice is perfect for the story. I know a slow burn isn’t everyone’s cup of tea but it makes so much sense for the story so even if it’s not your thing just roll with it. Trust me! It pays off.

I’ll finish off with reiterating how beautiful this Duet is. It was raw and emotional and funny and sexy and cute and inspiring. It’s a lesson in putting in the effort for those we love and choosing them when it gets tough. It’s about wanting someone to choose you and to do it loudly when it matters most. It’s about not getting in your own way and accepting you deserve to be happy regardless of what anyone else thinks.