Weapon of Fire and Ash Complete Omnibus

by Brittany Matsen

The balance between good and evil comes down to one girl.

But is the darkness really so bad?

Emma Duvall has only one goal for her senior year of high school: stay in Seattle long enough to graduate. But when she and her best friend, Adrianna are lured into an alley they discover a supernatural world within their own; monsters that hunt in the night. And that Emma has the power to turn the creatures to ash with just one touch. The discovery brings with it the attention of a sadistic demon general, as well as a revenge-hungry angelic warrior. One vows to protect her, while the other seeks to possess her. Then there are the migraines plaguing Adrianna. When the truth confronts her, she will have to bid everyone she loves goodbye. War is coming, and everyone will have to decide which side they’ll stand on.

Genres: Fantasy

1391 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 11, 2022

Reviews

[Reece · Rating 2 out of 5]

ARC from NeGalley

DNF @ 25%

This was not good. I can't go on. I keep trying to force myself to at least finish the first book, but I don't care about anyone. The story is boring. The fucking love triangle situation is ultra creepy. At one point, the 200-year-old quasi-angel dude, described as looking younger than his age because of his attire, was like "Every time I remind myself that you're so young, you surprise me by acting ten times your age." This was the second time to my recollection that something along these lines was said. She acts like a fucking teenager, and an oblivious idiot teenager at that. How many times has that one dude used the same "damn Giboram (sp?)" line as his alter ego, and she gets the same feeling from him that she does the demons, but she's like oh no I will ignore my internal feelings of fear and weirdness and have emotions for you for no reason even though you are a cocky asshole and really creepy. I don't understand this obsession with pairing teenage girls with dudes who are hundreds/thousands of years old. Don't try and justify it with the whole 'oh gee you act so much older than your age' swill. That is fucking grooming-style gross.

Anyways, the gross age gap situation is the least of the problems with this book. It's boring and meandering. I don't care what happens to any of the main characters. They have no redeeming qualities. They aren't interesting or multifaceted. Also, the font in this e-book keeps alternating between some normal font at a normal size to like giant comic sans or something.

I should have done my due diligence and looked at some of these reviews more closely. I originally thought I would be reading the first book, and the reviews for that one are quite positive, but almost all of the glowing reviews are from other indie authors who apparently don't care about anyone respecting them or their opinions. I'm starting a shitlist. If you are an indie author who is trading positive reviews with other indie authors, I'm never reading your shit. I know you don't think this is an amazing book, because it isn't an amazing book. It's not a 5-star read. Don't be fucking disingenuous. Don't gush over it with a clearly scripted review. It's insulting.

[Marcia Arguelles · Rating 5 out of 5]

There aren’t enough words in the vocabulary to describe how I feel about this goddamn series.
The action, the drama, the twists and turns, the romance!! It has everything you could as for and more.
It does have a lot of different p.o.vs (from book 2 onwards), which, makes us kinda lost in the narrative. But everything about this series is seriously amazing.
The world is so interesting (with angels and demon and witches and whatnot), basically there are just so many things to unfold and it just makes you want to read more and more.
Tlahaz and Adrianna have a special place in my heart and I want to read their own book ASAP!

[Karolina · Rating 3 out of 5]

3/5 stars

This book contains all of the books in the Weapon of Fire and Ash series. To be honest I could barely get through The Mark of the Fallen Flame and I did read The Spellcaster's Weapon and I partially read The Throne of Broken Bones but I DNF'd the series after that.

The concept of the fantasy world sounded super interesting and that's why I originally requested the book on NetGalley. Essentially the book has the premise of being a story about good and evil fighting for the fate of the world with the author's own spin on the story. Unfortunately, as I started reading I wasn't interested in the book and I felt like I was forcing myself to read it.

The few things that I liked about the book is the the author's take of the good vs evil story with her spin on it where not everything is just good or just evil. I also liked the fantasy world that was created with some of the same mythical creatures that we can read about in other books but also new creatures I have never heard of. The author did include the love triangle trope which is one of my favorite tropes so I did enjoy reading that.

The things that I did not enjoy about the book was that many times throughout the book the characters were always repeating their actions too much. Barely a chapter would pass and the characters would be doing and saying the same things. I also did not like how there were so many things that had no clear conclusions or we had to wait for something to be wrapped up when it could have happened so many chapters ago. I understand the need to keep the story going, but it could have been approached a different way.

I think the author could have gone through another round of editing before publishing the books. I don't know if I would recommend this series but I will not read this version again. If the books ever get rewritten I would only then read them again and give my honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookwyrm Books for the opportunity to read and review this book.

[Vintagebooklvr · Rating 2 out of 5]

Let me start with that this is an omnibus and that has influenced my opinion. In the ARC I have, it isn’t clear from the table of contents where one book begins and the next one starts. All the chapters are numbered consecutively.

This has all the hallmarks of an epic fantasy and romance. It is a fight between good and evil for the fate of the world. However, good and evil aren’t completely good and evil. There are two couples who have epic romances and two people who might be considered the chosen ones. It makes the story more balanced.

Two young women on the cusp of being adults fall in love. Of course, along the way they discover powers they never knew they had and a hidden world filled with devils and angels they never dreamed could exist. They have the power to stop the world from being enslaved. But who really are the good guys and the bad guys?

I liked that even though this is teenage first love with how all consuming and epic that is, the girls don’t forget their friendship with each other. They have every reason in the world to forget one another but they don’t and are willing to fight for that friendship.

One thing annoyed me a lot. Emma, one of the female leads, has a close relationship with her mother but it is obvious that her mother is hiding something. When Emma finally finds out the big secret she doesn’t confront her mother with it immediately. Yes, there are some interruptions. But she finally has the time and is going to do it but doesn’t. It just doesn’t make sense.

I also thought it went on for too long. Way too long. Maybe that is because I read the three books and novella as one but I don’t think so. There was action but at the same time things don’t really seem to advance for a very long time.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[FS Meurinne · Rating 4 out of 5]

This contains the whole trilogy and the novella. I love the books about Angels and Demons, and this one had me entertained for a while, it's a great pace, with lots of characters you will love, action to keep you rooted reading, and very well researched and written, definitely would recommend it to anyone that loves this trope and type of characters.




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[Hiela · Rating 3 out of 5]

***Thank you to Netgallery for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review***

Rating: 3/5 stars

Favorite Quote: "The chandelier". Emma pointed up at it, hoping to keep him from seeing her face catch fire.
"Yes, beautiful," he replied, his eyes never leaving hers.

Tropes:
-Good vs Evil
- Love Triangle
-plot twist
- 2 Povs (starting at book 2)

This contains the entire trilogy and novella. I was a bit taken back since I was not expecting it but, it was nice have the whole series in one place. This whole series has not one but, two badass females which was a pleasant surprise. This series falls under the epic fantasy and romance genre. I liked how the author took her own twist on the trope of good vs evil. After reading this series you can say that there is no clear distinction between the two.

The romance, world building, and plot twists made the series enjoyable. However, I can that this series was good but not my favorite. I felt at time the characters kept repeating the same mistakes throughout the series and after awhile it just felt repeatable and annoying. Also, it felt like certain actions in this series felt confusing and unclear due to a lack of explanation on what really happened or the reasoning behind the stated actions. I would recommend this book due to the enjoyment it did bring me but, would not be the series I would recommend.

[Tori · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rating: 3.5/5
I received this eARC from Netgalley for my honest review.


I want to start off by saying that I did not hate it, but I did not love it. I list the things that I did love and list what I did not.

I loved that I was able to read the whole series in one book. I admit that I sometimes really hate waiting for the next book in a series, so it was great to be able to jump to the next part of the series.

I really enjoyed that there was not just one female badass character but two.

I enjoyed the attention to details; the author really knew how to use her words to bring the world alive.

I did really enjoy the action, drama and of course the young romance.

I really loved the relationship between Adrianna and Tlahaz

What I did not like in the book:

I felt that at times the characters were on repeat with their words and actions too much.

I did not like how there were parts of the book that were not wrapped up, or how things would happen, and we did not get an explanation as to why.
I found it hard to connect with the MC Emma.

Overall, I did enjoy the book. I would recommend it, just would not be on the top of my recommended list.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookwyrm Books for allowing me the opportunity to read and review this book.

[Rae · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book took me quite a while to read, and for good reason. There were a few grammatical errors, some quotes in wrong places, but overall good. However, I had some issues with the plot and the pacing. The first book was a little slow, but not terribly so. Not something I enjoyed, but sometimes I just don’t like slow books. The second book was great, the lead up to the demon war and the spying for Asmodeus, trying to figure out how to save Levaroth, all of the details I loved. However, when we got to the demon war, it felt… rushed. All the demon princes dying so fast, and then everything stopping, falling into a “lull” of sorts that had me bored. The third book dragged until the very end, and I struggled to get through it. Then, the very end yet again felt like the final battle was being rushed through. There were titans that we had never met, and so much crazy stuff in the last 10 chapters, including Blaze being a dragon? What? It could have been so much better, but it just ended up being confusing. The story had so much potential. I’m glad I read it though, it was interesting

[Ina · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book took me a while to read. I didn’t really enjoy the writing style, but I easily overlooked that because the story was more interesting. I haven’t read a good vs. evil story like this.
The pacing is all over the place and there are so many scenes that are unnecessary. Sometimes the story just dragged. I think the author needs a better editor.
The first book took a while for me to get in. It was at times slow paced but not extremely. I liked the buildup of the story.
The second book was great but after the war it feel like it was a little too rushed.
The third book was sooo slow. It was way too long. I struggled to get through it.
The end battle was again rushed. I feel like this author just wanted to get over with the fight scenes. I really like fighting scenes, so maybe this a personal preference.
I didn’t like the characters. I couldn’t connect with them, and I didn’t care what happened to them. Maybe I am too old for the audience and someone younger might enjoy this better.
But I am really glad I read these books.

[Amy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ebook/Fantasy: This omnibus edition was my summer read, and it took a while. I want to thank Netgalley for a copy of the book.
If I remember correctly, it is three books. I really wanted a book that would enthrall me like City of Bones did. The beginning is pretty good with Emma. The second book, well if it wasn't an omnibus, I would have thought I'd picked up a different series at first. The third part is way out there. Adrianna was probably my favorite, but there wasn't any real substance or character building to any of the characters. I really felt the ending was like Frankenstein's Monster in pajamas in Young Frankenstein.
Granted, I am an adult reading a NA book so I get whining & bad decisions, but parts of this book were tedious (the 2nd book with all the dungeon visiting). My biggest peeve wasn't so much the 200 year old demons gawking at the teens (they are evil after all), but the author hooking them up. It's one thing to be attracted to the bad boy, but these men/demons were the girl's tormentors and needed to be killed.

[Lora - My_last_writes · Rating 3 out of 5]

This series got better with each book.

I really like the novella with Adriana and Tlahaz.
I like the multi pov through out the series.
I really enjoyed we got more of a variety in book 3 with all the different timelines it really made it more enjoyable.

Unfortunately the whole series was very predictable and I struggled to connect with Emma, the more the series continued, the more I disliked her.

You will find individual reviews for each book under their titles on goodreads.

Special thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for a free, electronic ARC of this novel received in exchange for an honest review

[Claire Semonin · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I requested to read this - I had no idea it was the omnibus of the entire series! Wow that was a lot of reading ! On the one hand I didnt need to wait for the next book but on the other, it was a lot to take in !!
I felt I am part of that world, the writing was superb, I love the world that was created - my only qualm is - why do the heroines need to be so young?
Brittany kept you engaged and by reading the omnibus, I really got to see the characters develop.
I absolutely did not guess what would happen to Blaze and the ending was pleasant I do feel a sense of loss now I have finished but definitely recommend!!

[Kindlelover 1220 · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my first foray into Christian fantasy. Emma and Adrianna are friends that have to deal with chaos that leads to the apocalypse. I like the Angels vs Demons concept. Emma is a spell caster that learns along the way how to use her newly discovered powers. She has someone that wants to use her for that power and another person who wants to protect her. The premise of the books, action sequences, and likable characters kept me interested. To be honest, it took me a while to get into the books. But, I would suggest, to stick with the stories, it gets entertaining.

Disclaimer: Thank you to NetGalley and Bookwyrm Books for a copy of this book, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Jennifer Rose · Rating 1 out of 5]

**I received a copy from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review**

I had to DNF this book. I am a glutton for my own punishment when it comes to always finishing a series or book just because I have this inept ability to say "this just needs to end."

I couldn't get into the story, I couldn't get into characters. I'm not quite sure where the Author was going with this but it wasn't it for me.

I feel that this book has the potential to really grab several readers but I was not one of them. I did have high hopes for the book but sadly it fell short.

[Destiny Bridwell · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a copy of this book for a fair and honest review. This is a set that includes a novella and the first three books in the series. It follows Emma and her best friend Adrianna. I have read a lot of books that pit angels against demons. I was not sure of this series when I started reading it. The pacing for the stories was good and moved it along well not to get stuck in the details. There were just even twists and turns to keep me turning the pages. I would have to look to see what else this author has and read more of their work.

[DeKota Crouser · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received a free ARC from netgalley and it was hard to kind of comprehend the story plot. It dragged on and seemed to kinda be all over the place. The characters seemed intriguing but not enough for me to continue reading through the entire 3 parts (which I think are 3 separate books?) Maybe to the right audience but it was just not something for me to read. I got about halfway through part one before I had to stop.

[Trish Strong · Rating 5 out of 5]

This contains a trilogy and a novella. An interesting take on the Angels versus Demons battle. Very fast-paced with lots of action. The explanation of the various entities involved at the end of the omnibus would have been better if placed at the start. It was very enjoyable, didn't end as I expected.

[Clara Lew · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF.

I received an ARC from NetGalley and I really struggled trying to get through this book. I wanted to like it, but the plot was confusing and the characters weren't engrossing enough. I found the pacing a bit off and the descriptions of characters/relationships were kinda creepy at times.

TLDR: Not my vibe, maybe more suited for younger readers?

[Steph Gottsacker · Rating 2 out of 5]

I could not get into this book. I tried. The age gaps, the dialogue, I tried and tried. The plot was confusing, the characters just were not likable, to me. I feel like this book has an audience, but that audience is not me. I almost never DNF a book, almost. This book is one of the rare exceptions.


Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Amber Humphries · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read the first book of the three books available. Honestly, this wasn't the type of character I enjoy reading about. There was a lot of morally gray conduct but without character development, you need to understand their choices. I have heard the next two books pick up but I am not invested enough to continue.

[Jessica Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. It was a very interesting read and I liked the way the writer has written the book. The characters were very engaging and it had a great storyline. I was gripped with this book and at times was unable to put it down!

[Marlou Klijn · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF at chapter 9 of book 1, 8% of total omnibus

I couldn't get into this book. It was too much like The Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare, only not written as well. I just couldn't keep reading it was so cringe.

This book was provided to me by Netgalley.

[Jade Borah · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was great to read . I like the story format . Overall an awesome read. From the middle , it got more interesting. I heard about this book from my fellow bookworm friend.
The author definitely did a fabulous job in this book . Maybe one day I shall reread this book.

[Brytni · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was different from your typical good vs evil story. I didn't like some of the characters but overall it was a good storyline. I loved the ending though.

[Shelley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Full Review Later

[Rebecca Milstead · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a ride!! I have to admit that I cried a few times. Got angry a few times as well! But every great story causes some type of emotion from the reader!!

[Laura · Rating 1 out of 5]

I thought this would be right up my street but unfortunately, I couldn't get into it. Such an unfortunate DNF