Through the Ashes

The Division Chronicles #2

by Connie L. Smith

The war has begun. The battle’s unfolding. And victory feels so distant…

The Essenced had prepared and trained, but never imagined the true horror of watching demons tearing through the Division to invade the realm. Every claw is horrific—every snarl disgusting—and the responsibility of keeping that vile terror from expanding beyond the battlefield’s borders rests in the teenagers’ hands. They thought they were ready for that challenge…

But then their confidence is shaken when a deadly new weapon emerges from the enemy’s arsenal, and well-kept secrets from the Essenced’s angelic superiors begin to surface.

In the midst of the carnage, can the teens find the strength within themselves, and among themselves, to grasp victory in blood-tainted hands?

282 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 24, 2014

About the author

Connie L. Smith spends a decent amount of time with her mind wandering in fictional places. She reads too much, likes to bake, and might forever be sad that she doesn’t have fairy wings. And that she can’t swing dance. Much of her preferred music is severely outdated, and as an adult she’s kind of obsessed with Power Rangers. She has her BA from Northern Kentucky University in Speech Communication and History (she doesn’t totally get the connection either), and her MA in English and Creative Writing.

Reviews

[A Voracious Reader (a.k.a. Carol) · Rating 4 out of 5]

*Book source ~ Many thanks to the author for providing a review copy in exchange for an honest review.

It’s Go Time! The war for all humanity has begun and Nicholai’s army of teenage Essenced is as ready as they’ll ever be to fight the demons coming through the Division. The ultimate question of whether they have a hope in Hades of saving the world is about to be answered.

The first battle is upon them and Smith did a great job with the fighting scenes. They weren’t overly long and they weren’t too skimpy. Plus the multiple POVs gave me a good idea of what was going on all over the battlefield. The aftermath of the battle is definitely a focal point of the book. How they handled the fighting, the grief at the losses, the tracking of the escaped demons and various other missions as well as facing the hard truth about what it means to be fighting a war. They know this is only the first battle and there are more to come. Will the reality of it all break them? Or make them more determined than ever?

This book begins with a battle and ends with a battle, but the ending is also a cliffhanger. Cliffhangers are not something I like. Yes, the first book ended just as the battle was about to begin, so that wasn’t truly a cliffhanger, in my opinion. However, what happened at the end of this book leaves me hanging, so I took some points off for that. AJ & Julius are settling down and except for one massive dumbass selfish move on their part, I’m actually liking them better now. I loved learning more about the various characters and the plot is all coming together. I’m really looking forward to the next book.

[Dianne · Rating 5 out of 5]

…And the impending battle between the combined forces for good and the demons coming through a tear in the Division between worlds begins. My heart was racing just listening to the lineup and battle tactics for the Essenced and the angels as each group was called out in their place in the lines. Author Connie L. Smith doesn’t just start out big, she plunges the reader headlong into the fierce battle! Each group did their job, with precision, with valor and together they make a formidable show. Picture a massive battlefield, filled with combatants, all with supernatural powers. The only thing missing was heart-pounding music, which I think my brain supplied for me. The demons appeared to be easily routed, even as they poured from the tear, but something happened that no one could plan for and demons escape into the human realm. They now have a power even the angels cannot defeat. And they are loose.

The Essenced are teens empowered with supernatural gifts from ancient supernatural fighters and the world has placed a lot of weight on their abilities, their camaraderie, have they finally coalesced into warriors after starting out as just regular teens? Can they handle the loss of friends in battle? Will they be able to honor the wishes of the angels to obey orders when they learn their families are in danger?

Through the grief, the fighting and an unknown future, these young warriors still find hope in love, still have escapes into being a normal teen, if just for a minute, and it’s wonderful to see. Some characters find their strengths in battle, some find the responsibility of being an alpha too painful to endure at times.

Connie L. Smith’s world is fast-paced, frightening and powerfully realistic. Her ability to make the reader believe in what is happening and to care about her characters is unsurpassed. The fact that she allowed each character to have a distinct personality and to be a teen at times was what brings this story to life. She writes with a vivid imagination and never misses a beat in layering subplot over subplot and bringing everything together for a conclusion that was as powerful as the beginning, and it took my breath away. I highly recommend this series as a powerful, action-packed, YA fantasy read!

I received an ARC edition from Connie L. Smith in exchange for my honest review, as part of the Emblazed Release Day Spotlight at Tome Tender February 24, 2014.

Series: The Division Chronicles - Book Two
Publication Date: February 24, 2014
Soon to be available on Amazon! Look for it!

[Monica H at The Readathon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this sequel. I thought the writing was better in this book than it was in the first book. The different points of view continued throughout the entire book instead of only the second half. I liked watching the progression of the different characters, and I liked it when they found out their powers performed in different ways. I thought A.J and Julius were a much better couple in this book. They weren't as annoying, and I started to like their relationship better. I liked watching Johnny and Kenna as well. I thought the battle scenes were well done. I would have liked more information about the Division. What did it look like? How could they tell it was there? Could they see into the other side? Could they touch it? A few main characters died, which was sad. One death, in particular, was gruesome and painful. There is no language and no "intimacy" scenes, although there is kissing and some innuendos. It was a bit more violent than the first book was, but is not over-the-top or too much. I was glad that Johnny's smoking was not a main topic in this book, and I was glad that there weren't any more drunken teenagers. I would recommend this book for older teenagers (17-18) and up. You may read more of my review on my book blog: www.the-readathon.blogspot.com.