Witches of Ash & Ruin by E. Latimer Book Tour
Synopsis
"Seventeen-year-old Dayna Walsh is struggling to cope with her somatic OCD; the aftermath of being outed as bisexual in her conservative Irish town; and the return of her long-absent mother, who barely seems like a parent. But all that really matters to her is ascending and finally, finally becoming a full witch—plans that are complicated when another coven, rumored to have a sordid history with black magic, arrives in town with premonitions of death. Dayna immediately finds herself at odds with the bewitchingly frustrating Meiner King, the granddaughter of their coven leader.
And then a witch turns up murdered at a local sacred site, along with the blood symbol of the Butcher of Manchester—an infamous serial killer whose trail has long gone cold. The killer's motives are enmeshed in a complex web of witches and gods, and Dayna and Meiner soon find themselves at the center of it all. If they don't stop the Butcher, one of them will be next."
My Thoughts
Welcome to my tour stop for Witches of Ash & Ruin by E. Latimer thanks to Pride Book Tours. This book was fantastic and I enjoyed every minute of the unfolding mystery of this one! There are witches, ancient evils, and a murder mystery all wrapped up in this epic book. And if that isn't enough there's also a really great slow burn romance happening as well. Meiner is such a prickly, angry character at the beginning so seeing her grow and learn about herself as well as slowly falling for Dayna was fantastic to watch.
There was a lot happening in this book and I could not put it down. Between trying to figure out what the murder is up to, there's also a mystery surrounding Meiner's grandmother and her shady past. There's also something super shady going on with Dayna's family as well and all of it kept me turning pages to figure out what twist was coming next.
I don't know if it's part of a series or not, but it sure felt like this was the beginning of more. And I really hope there is more because I need to know what happens to these characters after the book ends.
I most definitely recommend this one if you want a good witch story with a good helping of mystery elements thrown in. Thank you to Pride Book Tours and to Little, Brown Boks for Young Readers for the paperback copy of Witches of Ash & Ruin. All opinions are honest and my own.
Genre: lgbtqia+, ya, fantasy
Representation: bi MC, MC with OCD, BIPOC
Content Warnings: descriptions of a panic attack, violence, death, mentions of cannibalism, gore, outing without consent, religious bigotry, abuse