Reviewed by Annika

TITLE: Ascendent

SERIES: Executive Power #1

AUTHOR: Tal Bauer

PUBLISHER: Self Published

RELEASE DATE: August 23, 2018

LENGTH: 276 pages

BLURB:

Sasha Andreyev grew up on the wrong side of nowhere, dreaming of starlight as he strangled a secret. He fled, enlisting in the Russian Army, and worked his way up the ranks. Years later, after surviving a beating and being left for dead, he found a new life in Moscow, working with President Sergey Puchkov.

And then, he fell in love.

Desperate to avoid his runaway heart, crippled with a shame that infected his soul, and ravaged by demons haunting his memories, Sasha ran.

But he could never escape Sergey, or the gravitational pull of their love.

Nightmares trail behind his every step and weary ghosts live in the hollow chambers of his soul. He’s spent a lifetime brutally eviscerating the parts of himself he despises, and he’s an empty, shattered shell, struggling to be the man worthy of Sergey’s love.

The pieces of his soul he cut out are the very ones he needs in order to become the man he yearns to be. He’ll need to face himself, and his past, on a journey into the frozen heart of Russia, and into the midnight depths of the dead lands.

Only then can he ascend from the darkness, and be the man Sergey needs at his side.

REVIEW:

I’m a huge fan of the Executive Office series, so when I saw that Sergey and Sasha had finally gotten their story, and a series to boot, I did a happy dance. Or at least I tried to; I’m beyond horrible at dancing. Then I wanted to read it – right away.

To kick things off I should really say that I’m not sure that this book really reads like a standalone. It builds so heavily on the original series, the characters and the plot. It picks up right after Enemy Within ended. To the point where I wanted to go back to that book and re-read the last couple of chapters to get up to speed. Besides, if you don’t read the Executive Office Series, you’d miss out on Sasha and Sergey’s beginning, the first meet, the build-up but also some of the pain. The things that make you connect to the characters. You already have that going into this book. You know them, know parts of their story. You are already invested in them.

Russia is in shambles after Moroshkin’s coup and Sergey and a few of his loyal men are trying to rebuild, to undo the chaos that insurgents created. But the deeper they dig, the more horrors they uncover. There is great political unrest and uncertainty, and it’s a delicate balance act to keep it all from crumbling.

While this was important, the main focus of this book was Sasha’s recovery. Him and Sergey navigating their new relationship, and finding out what that relationship entails. All the while with Sasha struggling with the traumas of his past. I never knew that Sasha was in so much pain, or how deep his self-loathing and hatred really went. It’s on every page, in every word. It’s truly heart breaking. And not even the warmth of Sergey’s love might be enough to melt the ice in Sasha’s soul. He soon realises that the only way forward is by facing the past and going back to the beginning.
Halfway through the book, I was beginning to wonder what this book was about. Where was the suspense, the intrigue, the politics that we’ve come to associate with Tal Bauer’s books. Up to that point it read like an ordinary romance novel. A very well written one. But it was not what I was expecting. Don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing wrong with any of that. It’s just that ordinary is not something that I’ve come to expect from this author.

But I guess that’s the thing with expectations (and not reading the blurb before diving head first into a book), that’s all on me. And in the end I did enjoy this book immensely. I loved following Sasha’s recovery, self-discovery and acceptance. Finally letting go of the ghosts of the past, learning to love, not only Sergey but also himself.

Ascendent almost reads like and introduction, for the series to come. The main focus of the book was Sasha’s recovery in different stages, setting the scene for things to come. Hints, some subtle and some not so subtle of foes and threats to come. So while Sergey and Sasha are on solid ground, the story doesn’t end there, and I’m excited to see what else this series will bring.

RATING:

BUY LINK: 

Amazon