Title: From Ashes
Author: Molly McAdams
Publisher: April 16th 2013 by William Morrow Paperbacks
Format: Kindle Edition, 416 pages
Source: Edelweiss

When Cassidy Jameson’s best friend Tyler took her to Texas with him when he left for college, she was expecting his cousin, their new roommate, to be a Stetson-wearing cowboy since his family owned a ranch; not this incredibly gorgeous guy with a husky Southern drawl that seemed to make the world stop whenever she looked at him. Because of her past, she’s only ever trusted two men in her life, Tyler and her dad whom passed away when she was six. But there’s something about Gage that draws her to him in a way she can’t explain, only problem? He’s always telling Tyler that he doesn’t want Cassidy living there and sees her as nothing more than his little sister.

Gage Carson was excited his cousin Tyler was coming to live with, and go to college with him. When he’d called to ask if he could bring his friend Cassi with him, Gage didn’t care. Gage had heard about this mysterious friend since they were kids and felt like he already knew her. Nothing would prepare him for watching her jump out of Ty’s Jeep though. Not only was Cassi the most beautiful girl he’d ever seen, but there was something about her that within seconds of meeting her, made Gage want to protect her, and make her his. Too bad Tyler made it a point to remind Gage on a daily basis that he was dating her and she was completely off limits.

For a year and a half, Gage and Cassidy dance around their feelings for each other as Tyler continues to keep them apart; until one day Tyler unknowingly pushes her right into Gage’s arms. With Tyler unable to keep lying to them, they finally start a relationship both have been craving since their first meeting. But when an accident and disaster sends her back to Tyler and California, will Cassidy be able to come face to face with the demons from her past to live a life she and Gage deserve; or will the fact that she once again ran to Tyler be the final push that ends Cassidy and Gage for good?

**Mild spoilers ahead**

I’m going to break the book down for all you potential readers. Here’s the entire first half of the book, summed up in 2 conversations:

Cassidy: “I really like Gage.”
Tyler: “He doesn’t like you at all.”
Cassidy: “Are you sure? He looks at me like he really likes me.”
Tyler: “Nope. He can barely stand you.”
Cassidy: “Oh. Okay. I could go talk to him myself, but I’ll just take your word for it.”

***

Gage: “I really like Cassidy.”
Tyler: “She doesn’t like you at all.”
Gage: “Really? She looks at me like she really digs me.”
Tyler: “Nope. She’s my girlfriend and we have sex all the time. By the way, she can’t stand you.”
Gage: “Oh. Okay. I could go talk to her myself, but I’ll trust you.”

Now imagine those 2 scenes taking place in different places and with different specifics, but always with the same underlying message. So now that you have the gist for the first half, here’s the second:

Cassidy: “Oh, something happened [Gage looked at me the wrong way, I overheard something, I misunderstood something, et al]. I’m going to run away from the situation now.”
Gage: “Oh no, she’s run away again. I’m so unhappy. I can’t live without her. She’s the one. I hope she comes back.”
Cassidy: “I’m over it. I love you.”
Gage: “Love you, too.”

And there. No need to read the book now. You’re welcome.

Just in case you want the specifics (party pooper), I’ll go ahead and do a real review now. So, I understand instant lust and instant like, but I don’t understand instant love. When you feel the pull of someone before you even know they’re in the room, when you feel like they’re the one before you’ve even met them, that seems a bit much to me. At any rate, it appears Cassidy and Gage are meant to be but Tyler is doing everything he can to prevent that (and being a real douche canoe about it, too). But that wouldn’t have mattered if either one of them had taken the time to talk to each other at all. But they didn’t. They kept talking all around what they should have been talking about. I think one or two times would be forgivable, but that went on for a year and a half! You would think any normal person would have had the chance to talk about their feelings at least once during that time.

But Cassidy was frail and afraid after having a completely shitty upbringing. Quite possibly the shittiest upbringing ever, in fact. Maybe because of it, she was on the tentative and naïve side. Luckily (for all the guys) she was a looker who could cook and loved all sports. Which leads to another absurdity – every single guy Cassidy met fell in love/lust with her. They wanted her or someone just like her, whether for a roll in the hay or a lifetime commitment. She must have been exuding some sort of pheromones because she couldn’t keep the guys away. There were at least 14 guys hitting on her, expressing their connection with her or telling Gage how amazingly lucky he was, throughout the book. We get it. Everyone liked her.

Gage was a lot like Travis from Beautiful Disaster, except with a little less violence. He wanted to own Cassidy (and even said those exact words, I believe), not just be with her. And even better, he didn’t want anyone flirting with her, touching her or even looking at her. Though he did have a temper on him, and did get in a fight or two, that wasn’t his dominant instinct. Tyler was the real villain of the book, and he played the part well. At first you thought he was the greatest guy ever, for always being there for her when they were growing up. And truly, she needed someone to be on her side (I’m not kidding about the shitty upbringing). But once they were living with Gage, he turned into a completely different person. And once the truth was out, Cassidy (and Gage) forgave him so easily, much easier than I would have.

The plot was entertaining, I enjoyed seeing Cassidy become a stronger person and learn to accept her past trauma and even move beyond it. The hardest thing for her was to actually accept that it had happened, admit it to herself and then learn to talk about it with those closest to her. For the longest time, she just talked about it like she was an observer, not the actual victim. It was impossible for her to move on without that acceptance. And even Gage and Tyler matured and learned some lessons in the end, so that was nice.

I understand that Molly McAdams’ previous book ended on an unhappy note, but you don’t have to be worried about that here. There’s a satisfying conclusion, though it almost seems tacked on, with parts that feel unnecessary. I like the cover, it gives a real sense of what the book is about. Overall, this was an entertaining book that had some good and some not so good qualities

If you like your heroes dominant and your heroines perfect on the outside while wanting to be rescued on the inside, From Ashes is your book.