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From the Ashes
When she was found barely coherent and staggering over sand dunes, word spread fast that the prophecy had finally come to pass and Lacáruna had been delivered to initiate the next expansion of this world. The trouble is no one seems to understand how. Neither does Lacáruna: Amy Darlidale, though a CEO back in her world, is way out of her league, has a price on her head, and really could use a relaxing soak in a tub. Along with the young companions who found her, Licha and Jandro, Amy has accompanied the swaggering Colonel Dack Sangcertigre—a member of the Trotéjo, the secret society sworn to protect her—to his home nation in search of a plan to fulfill the Promise of a New Morphósis. But when Dack is taken into custody Amy is left to fend for herself. As the body count rises and she is confronted with raving rulers, military machinations, and crafty clergy, she quickly realizes there must be much more at stake than merely finding the prophecy. Despite dark clouds that seem to follow her and the maddening peculiarities of an unfamiliar world, Amy is determined to succeed. And, since she hasn’t a clue as to how she might return to her world, there really is no other choice. A firm believer of jumping into the fire, Amy is forced to put her trust in her small core of devotees as they struggle to push forward through unidentified destructive forces.
286 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 29, 2014
202 people want to read
About the author
H.L. Cherryholmes
21 books27 followersH.L. Cherryholmes, author of The Lizard Queen Series, The Reminisce, Come Back for Me, and A Slight Touch is from Albuquerque, New Mexico, but has spent most of his adult life in California. He attended the University of New Mexico where he received a BFA. and then went on to UCLA to get his Master’s degree in Playwriting. He lives in SoCal with his husband Ron Cogan.
You can follow HL's social media at:
http://facebook.com/HLCherryholmesBooks
You can follow HL's social media at:
http://facebook.com/HLCherryholmesBooks
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
November 30, 2019
The story picks up right where the last leaves off. Amy and Dack are soon sucked into the odd Viceroy's conspiracies and sent on a mission.
I must say I couldn't wait to read this second book in the series. I wasn't disappointed either. Where the first focused on discovery and world building to the detriment of action, this one managed to take the best of the first and make it much more exciting and dangerous.
I guess my only beef is that the story leaves of on another cliffhanger. I am very anxious to read the next. As I said in my last review, this is right up my alley.
On the whole, I really like this story, and I can honestly say I will be very pleased when book 3 comes out. I have followed the author on Amazon so I'll know right away when it is. I would recommend this to folks who like parallel worlds set in modern times. It's considerably less fantasy than Terry Brooks' Landover series, but awesome in its fantastical realism.
I received the review copy of this from the author via Pure Textuality.
I must say I couldn't wait to read this second book in the series. I wasn't disappointed either. Where the first focused on discovery and world building to the detriment of action, this one managed to take the best of the first and make it much more exciting and dangerous.
I guess my only beef is that the story leaves of on another cliffhanger. I am very anxious to read the next. As I said in my last review, this is right up my alley.
On the whole, I really like this story, and I can honestly say I will be very pleased when book 3 comes out. I have followed the author on Amazon so I'll know right away when it is. I would recommend this to folks who like parallel worlds set in modern times. It's considerably less fantasy than Terry Brooks' Landover series, but awesome in its fantastical realism.
I received the review copy of this from the author via Pure Textuality.
December 1, 2021
Continuing my re-reading of The Lizard Queen series I was as enthralled during my second reading as I was during my first.
In "Book Two: From The Ashes" the first thing that came to mind was a paraphrase of the movie Ghost- "Amy, you in danger girl" as is everyone around her.
In "Book One: This Shrinking World" she wakes to find herself protected by a religious sect call the Carados. They take her to The Winter Outpost in search of assistance from the Trotejo, a secret society sworn to protect Lacaruna, who they believe Amy to be. There with her Carados companions, Lich and Jandro, she meets Colonel Dack Sangcertigre, a member of the Fensore and the Trotejo. Though all have sworn to protect her, there are enemies at every turn challenging Dack's military training and the Carados members' innocence.
In "From The Ashes" the plans to keep Lacaruna (Amy) safe while they learn what she needs to fulfill the prophecy she is charged with becomes even more dangerous. Thwarted at every turn, the four become five battling deranged despots and harrowing situations keeping everyone on on their toes and the reader on the edge of their seat.
Book two finds the reader learning more about Amy and her traveling companions through how they deal with adversity. H. L. Cherryholmes begins a more in-depth examination of themes of faith and religious beliefs that runs through the entire series. Each character is challenged as more truths behind their beliefs are unveiled and they are faced with how the words have been twisted over time.
This books is deliciously descriptive. Go ahead and purchase Book Three now because you're going to need it.
In "Book Two: From The Ashes" the first thing that came to mind was a paraphrase of the movie Ghost- "Amy, you in danger girl" as is everyone around her.
In "Book One: This Shrinking World" she wakes to find herself protected by a religious sect call the Carados. They take her to The Winter Outpost in search of assistance from the Trotejo, a secret society sworn to protect Lacaruna, who they believe Amy to be. There with her Carados companions, Lich and Jandro, she meets Colonel Dack Sangcertigre, a member of the Fensore and the Trotejo. Though all have sworn to protect her, there are enemies at every turn challenging Dack's military training and the Carados members' innocence.
In "From The Ashes" the plans to keep Lacaruna (Amy) safe while they learn what she needs to fulfill the prophecy she is charged with becomes even more dangerous. Thwarted at every turn, the four become five battling deranged despots and harrowing situations keeping everyone on on their toes and the reader on the edge of their seat.
Book two finds the reader learning more about Amy and her traveling companions through how they deal with adversity. H. L. Cherryholmes begins a more in-depth examination of themes of faith and religious beliefs that runs through the entire series. Each character is challenged as more truths behind their beliefs are unveiled and they are faced with how the words have been twisted over time.
This books is deliciously descriptive. Go ahead and purchase Book Three now because you're going to need it.
February 19, 2016
Note: This work was provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.
The best approach in tacking "From the Ashes" is to weigh this out via Pros and Cons.
Before proceeding, I do want to let everyone know that this book is not a standalone work. Even though there are scant references here and there about the events of the first book ("This Shrinking World"), if you read "From the Ashes" without reading its predecessor, you will be completely lost.
Pros
• I do like the uniformity of the cover concept.
• There was a tremendous amount of growth in the main character—Amy was more eager to question things and challenge behaviors and events which did not make sense to her.
• I was drawn to the strength and stealth of supporting character Sheng and liked the dynamic of whether he could truly be trusted.
• More action was mingled in the pages, marking a better balance between dialogue and discovery.
• Syntax opportunities were minimal.
• Some conflict opened up in "This Shrinking World" was resolved in "From the Ashes".
Cons
• I’m still not a fan of the block divisions—where it’s just parts, instead of parts, then chapters.
• There is still a lot of emphasis in food, bathing, clothes, and description of characters’ bodies and I’m uncertain whether this is truly the author’s signature of providing setting or just an over preoccupation of said things. With the exception of one particular food (its importance I won’t give away), the excess doesn’t make a lot of sense to me. The story would have still existed if these components were trimmed.
• I’m torn as to how I feel about Licha. In "This Shrinking World", her character was depicted as rather resilient. In this book, as Amy became stronger, Licha’s composition was weakened. Licha’s reactions to things in From the Ashes was very repetitive, somewhat overplayed—to the point where it was predictable and, at least for me, got annoying.
• More drama was added to the unresolved predicaments laid out in the 1st book. I do understand that there are seven more books after "From the Ashes". However, if too much conflict is presented at once, it can make it hard for the reader to keep up—especially if only a couple out of the many get resolved.
Verdict: actually 3.25 stars (but give it a 3 here)
"From the Ashes" scored slightly better because of it being a better showcase of action and main character development. Although there are some people who like the “cliffhanger effect”, I do confess that for this particular series, it does not strike my fancy—mainly because the quotient between conflict presentation and conflict resolution is a bit too unbalanced.
If you don’t mind this type of thing, then I encourage you to start with "This Shrinking World" and follow Amy and her friends. My journey, however, will stop here.
The best approach in tacking "From the Ashes" is to weigh this out via Pros and Cons.
Before proceeding, I do want to let everyone know that this book is not a standalone work. Even though there are scant references here and there about the events of the first book ("This Shrinking World"), if you read "From the Ashes" without reading its predecessor, you will be completely lost.
Pros
• I do like the uniformity of the cover concept.
• There was a tremendous amount of growth in the main character—Amy was more eager to question things and challenge behaviors and events which did not make sense to her.
• I was drawn to the strength and stealth of supporting character Sheng and liked the dynamic of whether he could truly be trusted.
• More action was mingled in the pages, marking a better balance between dialogue and discovery.
• Syntax opportunities were minimal.
• Some conflict opened up in "This Shrinking World" was resolved in "From the Ashes".
Cons
• I’m still not a fan of the block divisions—where it’s just parts, instead of parts, then chapters.
• There is still a lot of emphasis in food, bathing, clothes, and description of characters’ bodies and I’m uncertain whether this is truly the author’s signature of providing setting or just an over preoccupation of said things. With the exception of one particular food (its importance I won’t give away), the excess doesn’t make a lot of sense to me. The story would have still existed if these components were trimmed.
• I’m torn as to how I feel about Licha. In "This Shrinking World", her character was depicted as rather resilient. In this book, as Amy became stronger, Licha’s composition was weakened. Licha’s reactions to things in From the Ashes was very repetitive, somewhat overplayed—to the point where it was predictable and, at least for me, got annoying.
• More drama was added to the unresolved predicaments laid out in the 1st book. I do understand that there are seven more books after "From the Ashes". However, if too much conflict is presented at once, it can make it hard for the reader to keep up—especially if only a couple out of the many get resolved.
Verdict: actually 3.25 stars (but give it a 3 here)
"From the Ashes" scored slightly better because of it being a better showcase of action and main character development. Although there are some people who like the “cliffhanger effect”, I do confess that for this particular series, it does not strike my fancy—mainly because the quotient between conflict presentation and conflict resolution is a bit too unbalanced.
If you don’t mind this type of thing, then I encourage you to start with "This Shrinking World" and follow Amy and her friends. My journey, however, will stop here.
January 17, 2016
I did like this one more than the first one. You learn more, although you still don't understand -well, neither why, nor how, not even what, but there is much more action than in the first book. Some of it is very depressing, as things close to the travelers are destroyed or killed. Amy still feels ill-at -ease in this strange world, although now, she wants to understand what it is about, because she cares about her companions, Licha, Jandro, and the colonel Sancertigre. Is she the queen? what part does she have to play? is there any truth in the prophecy? what about the aranota? is she coming back, as some are whispering, or is it just a legend? Actually, all those questions are the same as what you wonder about after the first book, but now, I really want to know the answers. Like the first book, this one is well written and easier to read, because you already are acquainted with the weirdness of this shrinking world.
I just realized the series includes nine books. A lot more than usual (usual means three, as many books come in the batch of three!). Nine is like what used to be written yeas ago, with series having the same characters, but books that could be read separately. Maybe we will find that, as I have the feeling the next book will give us some explanations. That does not mean their adventures will stop, but that the fog we are in may be dissipating.
An enjoyable reading, just frustrating to wait for the next episode.
I just realized the series includes nine books. A lot more than usual (usual means three, as many books come in the batch of three!). Nine is like what used to be written yeas ago, with series having the same characters, but books that could be read separately. Maybe we will find that, as I have the feeling the next book will give us some explanations. That does not mean their adventures will stop, but that the fog we are in may be dissipating.
An enjoyable reading, just frustrating to wait for the next episode.
October 30, 2015
Faster paced than the first. The great world=building is still on display, but the danger has been ramped up something fierce. I blazed right through this one.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews