Reviewed by Annika

TITLE: Admiring Ash

SERIES: Love Letters #1

AUTHOR: Anyta Sunday

PUBLISHER: Self Published

RELEASE DATE: July 31, 2018

LENGTH: 176 Pages

BLURB:

A is for Ash Heartford.
Adorable, strong, and independent.
Abandoned by his parents and attached to only one person—his little sister.
Attracted to River, the sultry man who saunters onto his doorstep with startling news.
Always yearning for more River, yet afraid to let him in.

Should he play it safe, or claim his legacy and risk losing his heart?

A is for Admiring Ash.

REVIEW:

It is interesting going into a book totally blind, not knowing the general premise – or even the name of the main characters… well knowing the name of one main character as that is in the title. But that’s all I knew going into this book. It was interesting for sure not having any clue whatsoever what to expect.

Ash Heartford knows what it’s like to have to count every penny, to go without a meal so that his sister can eat. To work 16 hour days seven days a week just to make ends barely meet. So when out of the blue he gets a letter written by his deceased grandfather and one he never knew about, gifting him with a bookstore he doesn’t know what to make of it. Or the man delivering the letter.

River was born into privilege and has never wanted for anything. When he was 12 years old he met Lester, the man who’d become his best friend and granddad, not by blood but in every other sense of the word. Years later when Lester passes, he asks River to gift his legacy, his beloved bookstore to one Ash Heartford and also befriend the young man.

Overall this novella was very sweet. I also think that this book would’ve worked better as a full length novel. There was much to explore, all of it good, but nothing never really got the time it needed to really shine. It all felt too rushed in the end. I mean dealing properly with issues like sexuality, finding out about relatives you never knew about, money issues, new friendships at the same time as raising a teenager and working 16 hour days is a bit much. Add in a relationship and a legacy on that and introducing a new town and some of the inhabitants and you have a bit of a hot pot that doesn’t quite work. I think that a narrower scope of the plot would have been beneficial and engaged the reader a bit more.

The writing did feel a bit clunky at times, with many short paragraphs to fit as much information into the story as possible. It didn’t really allow you to fully sink into the story and become a part of it. I can only imagine the difficulties writing novellas that don’t feel like they are rushed or lack in development. It’s also a bit awkward at times, but that works because the characters are awkward – anything but smooth at times I’d say 😉

This series shows a lot of promise and it will be fun to see more of this town and characters. Lucky for me, I have the next book and can jump straight in.

RATING:

BUY LINK: 

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