Blog Tour + Review: When Ashes Fall by Marni Mann

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When Ashes Fall, an all-new standalone contemporary romance from best-selling author Marni Mann.

It’s been said that you can’t love two men at the same time.
You can’t split your heart, soul, and body in half.
But I’m here to tell you, you can.
Dylan Cole is like ice, sharp and unpredictable, the thunder inside a tumultuous storm.
Smith Reid is warmth, soft and gentle, perfect like a sunny day.
Both are mine.
But I can have only one.
There are two sides to this tale.
I'm here to tell you mine.
If you think this story is about a cheater, you couldn’t be more wrong.

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Download your copy today!
Apple Books: https://goo.gl/Bq4rkX

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Excerpt:

Alix and I were standing outside Quincy Market, holding our to-go boxes of chocolate cake, opened, with several forkfuls missing from each piece. I’d asked about her shift, which had started at midnight, and she was telling me about one of the calls she had been on. It involved an elderly couple, married for sixty-seven years. The husband had fallen down a short flight of stairs. Alix believed he had fractured his hip.
She stared at the cake as she spoke. And I gazed at her, checking out the way she speared off another bite. How she stuck the fork between her lips.
How the utensil came out of her mouth clean.
It was incredibly sexy.
So was she.
She didn’t even have to try. It came natural to her.
As natural as her looks.
A beauty that went so deep, she didn’t need makeup to enhance it.
She didn’t wear much of it anyway. There wasn’t anything on her lips, no color on her lids, just thick lashes and some pink on her cheeks.
She had no idea how gorgeous she was.
If I told her, I was sure she wouldn’t believe me.
Alix’s confidence came when she talked about her job.
I could tell how much she loved it by the passion in her voice, by the way she described how she’d helped the old man.
What she did was something I hadn’t been able to visualize at first. Now that I’d spent more time with her, it was all I could see.
Damn it, I wanted to touch her.
I’d kept my hands off of her while she was eating the gyro and fries.
But I didn’t want to wait any longer.
Once she swallowed the mouthful, I said, “Alix …”
I needed her eyes on me to see the way she would look at me, how she would respond to the sound of my voice.
That would determine if I could reach for her right now or if I’d have to wait.
Her stare slowly lifted and landed on mine.
Shyness was peeking through her expression.
Still, every sign was there—the desire in her glare, the increased breathing, the way her tongue was swiping across her lips. It wasn’t frosting she was licking off because there wasn’t any there.
I dropped the small box of cake on the ground. She didn’t watch it fall, but when she heard the sound, I saw the hunger in her grow.
I took a step.
He did, too, in the opposite direction at the same time she dropped her cake.
She said nothing as I continued to move toward her, backing her up to the side of the building until her body was pressed against it.
As I stood inches away, I lifted my hands to the top of her head where they pushed into the brick. “You can stop me.”

Her voice was soft, not weak, as she looked up at me and said, “I’m not sure I can.”


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**ARC provided in exchange for an honest review**

When I started this book I was confused at first, because I couldn't figure out what was going on. Which was good, because I like unpredictable books that keep me guessing. This book has short chapters that go back and forth from present time to flashbacks, which I sometimes like and sometimes end up hating in books. However, it was nicely done in When Ashes Fall, and because of the length of the chapters I didn't mind it that much. But this also had a bit of a downside to it. I was kind of being pulled back and forth the whole time, and I didn't know how to feel about certain characters. In addition the overall length of the book didn't give me enough time to fully connect to and with the characters, because it felt like two stories being fit into one. And it just wasn't long enough, because when I started to feel something, I was already at the end of the book. I really wish the book was longer, I don't think either of the main characters had enough time to grow and heal in this book. They just started to making steps towards the right direction just before the book ended.

"But we always hope for sunny days. Those are the easiest, the safest, the ones with the least amount of concerns."

When Ashes Fall is a beautiful contemporary romance about two broken characters of which one is not living but trying to survive each day. I loved Marni's writing style and the set-up, and I didn't want the story to be over. I enjoyed the chemistry and how the characters met for the first time. It was fast-paced and easy to read, and sometimes I wanted the story to slow down a bit. I have read and enjoyed Marni's Dark Romances, so it was nice to read one outside of the genre I am used to from her. This is an emotional book and will make you shed some tears, so make sure to keep some tissues close by. However, I was expecting it to be a huge tear-jerker after reading some reviews, but it didn't hit me as hard as I thought it would. The cover is gorgeous and fits the story. It was pretty original and it kept me intrigued until the end. I am looking forward to Marni writing more emotional books. I recommend this book to all the romance readers.

About Marni:

Best-selling Author Marni Mann knew she was going to be a writer since middle school. While other girls her age were daydreaming about teenage pop stars, Mann was fantasizing about penning her first novel. She crafts sexy, titillating stories that weave together her love of darkness, mystery, passion, and human emotion. A New Englander at heart, she now lives in Sarasota, Florida with her husband and their two dogs who subsequently have been characters in her books. When she’s not nose deep in her laptop working on her next novel, she’s scouring for chocolate, sipping wine, traveling to new locations, and devouring fabulous books.

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