
I’ve been a huge fan of author T.M Goeglein’sCold Fury series since I read the very first book a couple years back. Needless to say I was hooked. The protagonist, the setting, the badassery of it all—you can’t even begin to understand how sad I am that the series is coming to its end. Sarah Jane is a main character who I cheered on to the very end and while I’m crossing my fingers for a spin-off series (or to get a chance to read something else of Goeglein’s work) who knows that could happen after Cold Fury. Any readers dedicated to the series will be very happy to hear that Embers & Ash lives up to the hype created around it and won’t leave any of us disappointed.
In Embers & Ash, Sarah Jane is pursuing Ultimate Power and avoiding the Russian Mob. When her search for Ultimate Power leads her to an unexpected discovery it suddenly seems like everything is at stake. Her crazy ex-babysitter is on her trail and balancing being a part of the Outfit and maintaining mundane appearances is all beginning to reveal that nothing may ever be what it seems. As Sarah Jane uses her cold fury to the best of her abilities she finally finds the real face behind the Russian Mob and is a step closer to being reunited with her family. However the reunion might be anything from happy. The price of gaining back everything SJ’s lost might be Ultimate Power and possibly even her own life.
Right from the opening chapter we know that Embers & Ash isn’t messing around. It sets a fast pace and refuses to ever once let up. There’s twists at every corner, unexpected revelations and more fight scenes the novels before it. Everything about Embers & Ash is badass and action-packed. Friends become enemies, real baddies’ true natures are revealed and it’s made crystal clear that nothing will ever be the same.
We see a lot of changes in Sarah Jane’s character. Compared to the girl she was at the beginning of the series it’s obvious that she isn’t that girl anymore and can never revert back to her past-self. That version of her is gone and replaced by a member of the Chicago Outfit who isn’t afraid to take a life if it’s in the name of saving her own and that of her family’s. Bottom-line: Sarah Jane’s character kicks some major butt in Embers & Ash. Look forward to that (seriously, she’s just fighting left and right in this book).
Plot-wise I was very surprised by what occurs in the novel. There were so many unexpected plot twists and so many dark scenes that gave the novel a very noir feel. This isn’t the somewhat optimistic novel that we got in Cold Fury and it isn’t the same mystery we got in Flicker & Burn. Instead in Embers & Ash we get a novel that is pessimistic bad always has you cheering for a happy ending. I couldn’t put it down and savored every last minute spent with Sarah Jane Rispoli.
Any readers who haven’t checked out the Cold Fury trilogy yet need to get on it. This is a series that is definitely one that will keep readers hooked from the first novel and never let go. The plot, the world-building, the lore and the entire cast of characters all just make Cold Fury an unforgettable experience.
I would recommend Embers & Ash to any readers who have been keeping up with the series (duh). Any new readers who want a strong female main character and some mafia badassery thrown into the main story need to read the Cold Furyseries. Readers who want a series with major character development should also give it a read. All in all I’m so glad I got to read all of Sarah Jane’s story and don’t know how I’ll let her go. Embers & Ash is the ending that she—and the series—deserved.