Ashes of Life by Erica Lucke Dean and Laura M. Kolar

Published April 28, 2015 by Red Adept Publishing, LLC

Married for just three months, Alex Barrett is stunned when her husband, David, dies in a tragic accident. And the absolute last thing the pregnant young widow wants is to take on responsibility for his teenage daughter, Maddie. Reeling from loss, Alex struggles to deal with her grief and her troubled stepdaughter, but one question haunts her: why was David with his ex-wife when he died?

All Maddie Barrett wanted was for her parents to get back together, but an icy road took that dream away. Afterward, Maddie is riddled with guilt that she can’t share with anyone. Feeling angry and alone, she lays all the blame on Alex.

Alex and Maddie must find a way to move past their pain—shared, yet separate. Thrown together in an untenable arrangement, they fight through a frozen landscape of sorrow and redemption while redefining love, forgiveness, and family.

My Thoughts….

I cannot imagine not recommending this book.   It intrigued me, made me sad, and had me cheering for the characters from the very beginning.   I felt for these characters, I needed them to find themselves and then find each other.    While this is a love story, there is so much more to it than that.    Ashes of Life start as a sad story.   A wife, Alex,  loses her husband while he is in a car with his ex-wife.    This wife is also pregnant and left to care for her dead husband’s wild teenage daughter, Maddie.     It may sound like a lot going on but Erica Lucke Dean and Laura M. Kolar tied it all together expertly and perfectly.   I felt like it was an honest story told from a widow’s point of view and a daughter who loses both parents leaving her alone in the world.  

When I pick up a book I find myself checking out the cover first.    This is a beautiful cover.   It grabbed me and made me want to check out what was on the pages inside.     It didn’t take long to figure out who the gorgeous dancer on the cover was depicting.  I love when I get a peek into the authors mind, seeing what they perceive the characters to look like.    

While I have been fortunate enough to not lose my parents, I cannot imagine at sixteen losing them both in such a tragic accident.    I have two teenage daughters and they rely on me and their dad (my husband) so much that for them to lose us would shatter their world.    Maddie is left alone.   No other stable family to raise her other than a step-mother that she never bonded with.   I was so thankful for her friends.    I could understand how she stumbled in her life yet her friends always seemed to have her back and guide her back onto the right path.     I did feel bad for Alex but Maddie was the one that truly tugged at my heart.  

Erica Lucke Dean and Laura M. Kolar wrote a great book.    I have a feeling that this is one that will stay with me, tug at my heart each time I think of it, and one that I cannot wait to share with my friends.  

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Ashes-Life-Erica-Lucke-Dean-ebook/dp/B00V5GATCW/

Barnes & Noble:  http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/ashes-of-life-erica-lucke-dean/1121813220?ean=2940151383349

Kobo: https://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/ashes-of-life

Apple: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/id989784706

Google: https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Erica_Lucke_Dean_Ashes_of_Life?id=jEesCAAAQBAJ

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/24700476-ashes-of-life

Author page on RAP:  http://redadeptpublishing.com/#!/Dean-Erica-Lucke/c/12029070/offset=0&sort=normal

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