4.5 Stars 
 The Beautiful Ashes is a smashing debut into the new adult romance genre from veteran paranormal romance author, Jeaniene Frost, that you won't want to miss! 
 Frost's flawless writing style transports readers into a captivating world of demons and angels, where the fate of the world balances on one young woman's shoulders... 
 Ivy is searching for her missing sister, the last person she has left after the recent death of her parents. But in her search she discovers a terrifying truth, the visions she has been seeing since she was a child are real, and her sister is trapped in their nightmarish grip. The only person who can help Ivy rescue her sister is Adrian, a beautiful stranger who tells her not to trust him. But Ivy can't help the pull she feels towards him and the more time they spend together the stronger it is. Adrian is destined to betray Ivy though and he is keeping more then one secret from her. On the hunt for a holy relic, jumping through demon realms and barely escaping with the skin on their backs, will Adrian's secrets be Ivy's downfall or can she learn to survive in this new, dangerous world where everyone wants her dead without him? 
 The Beautiful Ashes is completely different from Frost's Night Huntress series and spin-offs, yet little character nuances topped off with her first-rate writing reminded me of beloved past characters - something I did not mind one bit. With an original and compelling plot despite the good versus evil scenario, I was fully immersed in the story from beginning to end. One thing that was classic Frost was the 'throw so much shite at the heroine to see how much she can take and find out if she breaks' edge. Does that sound like anyone else? LOL Ivy never had a hope for a little respite the entire story. It was action packed and kept me on my toes guessing what was going to happen next, what secrets Adrian was keeping, and who Ivy could really trust. Each of the characters were intriguing and complex and I went through -lived- all of Ivy's emotions; all the rushes, the anger, the fury, the heart-break. She is very young and naive in this new world that has been opened up to her, but she is also not a quitter and definitely has the right amount of spunk in her to get her through this nightmare that is now her life. 
 The story was well-paced as well, but the romance was slow to build and walked the line of Y.A. and N.A. in the sense of any passion between Ivy and Adrian never became too steamy. Though there was plenty of sexual tension and build-up between the two, it was less then I was hoping for coming from Frost and the reason that my rating for The Beautiful Ashes didn't top a full five wine glasses. Adrian made a great anti-hero though. Is he good? Is he bad? Or is he just so good at being bad? So many questions and not all of them were answered by the end of the book! Frost is an addicting read, no matter which of her stories you pick up and I am anxiously awaiting the next! 
 Now, when is book two?