Out of Splinters and Ashes

by Colleen L. Donnelly

Cate is a runner. She prefers to help her fiancé run his New York senate race, but she finds herself running instead to fix what’s broken between her grandparents before he finds out—her grandmother has moved out of the family home, and her grandfather is accused of a pre-WWII relationship with a woman in Germany.
Dietrich is a German journalist with a spotless reputation. He prefers facts, but he finds himself lost in a world of fiction instead to prove his novelist grandmother couldn’t possibly have been the lover of a US runner in Berlin’s 1936 Olympics—especially when that runner’s granddaughter is Cate, a stubborn obstacle he should but can’t ignore.
Cate runs hard to cover up what Dietrich uncovers, until he shows her how it could have been—and how it could be again—that one can indeed love an enemy.

247 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 11, 2018

Reviews

[Geet · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book wasn't what i expected it to be . First few chapters were boring but Historical Fiction is my favorite genre so it kept reading .

Catherine and Dietrich unravels the history of their grandparents . Cate's grandpa and Dietrich's oma/grandma had a secret . They never told what happened between them in August 1936 , Berlin . But past never stays in the past everything starts reveling . The story was a bit boring in the starting but it's a good read .

[C. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sweet Historical Romance

I spent almost the whole book trying to understand what was going on, and honestly, I'm still not sure I understand it all. It's a mystery with an underlying romance, but is it the romance of the runner in Hitler's Olympics, or the romance of the runner in NYC. Hence, part of the mystery! But a writer of the past and a writer of the present, together bring romance to the forefront.
The narration was outstanding, but I don't have first hand experience of German accents.
Colleen writes such unique stories, blending books and authors from across the world and across different eras! This is my third book by her, and the second with this mystery, romance and book correlation!

[K.J. Sweeney · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book had a lot of promise. a lost romance, political intrigue, a mystery to uncover and the discovery of love in the next generation. Unfortunately, for me at least, it didn't quite live up to this promise.
Although the storyline was interesting it got lost somewhere in the pages and the plot seemed to swirl around lacking any real cohesion. Although everything was revealed at the end, I spent much of the book scratching my head and struggling to keep a grasp on the characters or what was happening.
The other problem with this book was that I didn't really care about any of the characters. The original love story between the runner and the writer that forms the basis for the whole story didn't really shine through and I couldn't become emotionally invested in it. In the modern day storyline, I couldn't make myself feel much sympathy for either the Grandmother and Grandfather or Cate and Dietrich. I don't know if it was me, but ultimately the book just didn't come together and drag me in.
It wasn't an awful read, but I went in expecting much more than it ultimately delivered and I was left feeling a little flat. This one just wasn't for me.
I received a complimentary copy of this book through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

[Kathleen Buckley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I stayed up past my usual bedtime reading Out of Splinters and Ashes by Colleen L. Donnelly. It’s not a novel that is easy to characterize. That’s not a criticism. With many novels, you know everything will come right at the end and all the loose ends will be tied up neatly. There’s nothing wrong with that; such books are like comfort food and reassure us all is right with the world. But sometimes we need something different to give us a new perspective. Dietrich is a German journalist trying to prove a woman’s birth mother is not related to his own family and Cate is a young American woman attempting to fix her family’s relationships. Their instant antagonism blends with secrets buried for decades to make a fascinating read. My one quibble is this: during much of the book, Cate acts more like a sixteen year old than her given age of twenty-six. But given her dysfunctional family, this may not be surprising. I’ll read Out of Splinters and Ashes again, because it’s that kind of book.

[Diane · Rating 5 out of 5]

This mesmerizing period piece is perfect for historical fiction fans, romance fans, WWII aficionados and anyone who enjoys a tangled mystery and that describes me to a T. I liked everything about this book, including this author’s writing style because much of the story is revealed through innuendo while both of Cate’s grandparents meet her questions with cryptic comments and odd behavior that I found just as confusing and infuriating as she did. As Cate struggles to understand the combative relationship between her grandparents she has to deal with the continuous intrusion of an inquisitive German stranger and a fiancé who is obsessed with appearances. This multi-generational family drama engaged my imagination as well as my emotions and I highly recommend it. I read a complimentary copy of this book provided by NetGalley and all opinions expressed in my voluntary review are completely my own.

[Teresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Out of Splinters and Ashes was an interesting book. There was a lot of innuendo in the book…you are left hanging with a few clues dropped here and there throughout. This is based on WWII and the present day with a lost love and political mystery. It was a struggle to try to figure out what was going on and how the story was going to be resolved.

I was hoping to enjoy the book more than I did. It was just a little abstract and difficult to follow the characters and where things were going.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

[InD'tale Magazine · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5/5.0

This intricately woven tapestry of past and present is eloquently written.

Read full review in the 2018 Oct issue of InD'tale Magazine.

[Jenelle Rodenbaugh · Rating 1 out of 5]

The review from net galley did not go through so I will repeat a little here. This book was poorly organized in my opinion. The story never seemed to come together.

[Ginger · Rating 4 out of 5]

They say there are two sides to every story and you can’t always tell a book by its cover. That’s what I concluded in Out of Splinters and Ashes. Colleen Donnelly has a unique way of drawing you with her writing style in this cryptic, with conjuncture, mystery, lies, suspense, innuendo, and a granddaughter that has the passion, love, to find the truth to set an injustice to right. April McIntire Borrow was the perfect narrator to bring this story to light.
Thank you Colleen for gifting me this audible book for a fair and honest review.