Book Review - White Wolf And The Ash Princess by Tammy Lash

   The lovely author Tammy Lash sent me a copy of her book, White Wolf And The Ash Princess, as a surprise (and it + the note that came with it made my day, let me tell you), and I devoured it in less than 48 hours. Which might have damaged my NaNoWriMo wordcount a bit, but I'm not having any regrets :D.  

   4 Stars

   I'd never heard of White Wolf And The Ash Princess before Kendra E. Ardnek's Indie E-Con, but I was terribly intrigued by it right when I saw the gorgeous cover :D. I'm so glad I got a chance to read it, because it was quite a treat! I couldn't put it down ;).

 - From The Back Cover - 

Who am I? Eighteen year old Izzy's limited world begins to feel cramped after she completes her self-appointed book dare. After reading two-hundred and fifty books, a thought that had been once tucked away as tightly as the books on her library shelves becomes too irresistible to ignore...Who am I? Memory loss prohibits Izzy from remembering her life before age seven when she was injured in a fire. Fifteen year old Jonathan Gudwyne and his head housekeeper rescued her and took Izzy in as their own, but who did she belong to before Jonathan took her in? Crippling panic keeps Izzy from wandering beyond the stables but Tubs, the Gudwyne's thirteen-year old stable boy, encourages Izzy to go beyond the property's rock wall into a world that promises possible answers. A scorched castle in the woods and its mysterious cellar reveal secrets that push Izzy beyond her discomfort to embark in a journey to the New World with her young friend. Here, she finds love and a home in the most of unexpected of places.

   - The main character. White Wolf And The Ash Princess is told in first person, so obviously it would be important for me to like the main character. And I most certainly did! Izzy wasn't one of those 'I can't do anything for myself and my world is ending so someone save me' protagonists, but neither was she 'I'm strong no one touch me'. She was perfectly balanced and so realistic. I loved her so much, and I was able to connect with her really well. <3   

   - The emotion. Tammy Lash did an great job with writing realistic emotions and reactions to different scenarios, I was impressed. It wasn't perfect by any means, but there's only one place where I could really point at it and say 'I didn't like that bit - it should have been different emotionally'. Literally only one place. It was better than some far-more-hyped books I've read. 

   - The wording. The wording in this book is a little different, and it was throwing me off at first - but after a little while, I realized that it actually enhanced the book, and I liked it more. It read a little awkwardly at times, and I would have to re-read a bit, but mostly I just enjoyed it.

   - The draw that this book had. I don't know how else to explain it. Normally I'll read a book, and then put it down for a bit to get some chores/school/life done, and return to it as soon as possible. But it was different with White Wolf And The Ash Princess - I couldn't quite thinking about it once I put it down! So I'd scuttle back to it as quickly as I could, which meant that this book (which is fairly large) was a quick read for me. I don't know what drew me back to it so much, but I'm pretty sure it had to do with the fact that the main character is epicness.    


   I could go on to wordbuilding, (which was fantastic) characters, (they were all ah-mazing), the beautiful cover (just look at it!) the beautiful themes (this book has it all) - but then we'll be here all day ;).   

   - There were a few inconsistencies. (for lack of a better word) Sometimes it was a typo - though I only found a few of those in the whole big book - or an inconsistency such as saying that a character was standing by a door, when the last time you saw him he was next to a chair, and they never said he moved. It only happened a few times, but it was enough to throw me off when it did happen *shrugs*.

   - It didn't end quite like I would have liked it to. The ending was great, I'll definitely say that, but I'm more picky than a three-year-old when it comes to book endings. There's not much I would have changed, but I thought it should be mentioned. It kind of left with me a 'but ... but the story isn't done yet!' feeling - though, I think it would have been like that even if it had been a 100% perfect ending, just because I wanted more so badly :D.     

   So, not wanting to end on a sour note - this was such a good book, and I was able to relate to the main character, even if she wasn't that much like me. I loved her to bits, and I loved the book just about as much. White Wolf And The Ash Princess was in a genre I don't read to much (it wasn't speculative fiction, haha), but I'm very happy to have it on my bookshelf so that I can return to it whenever I'd like. I would recommend it for 13+, and all you lovers of a good story ;).

~ Savannah Grace 

   Have you read this book yet? (hint: you should!) Do you like books written in first person point of view?