**I received this book free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review**

It's been awhile since I have read a supernatural/horror fantasy that kept me hooked from the first few pages. 

House of Ash has two POVs. One is from Curtis, who is in the present, and the other is from Mila, who is in the past. Both characters are dealing with horrific events in their lives, that they soon find out are connected. 

Curtis is living in a crumbling house with his younger sister and his father. His father has had serious violent episodes for many years, and Curtis is struggling to keep him from destroying himself and his family. To make matters worse, Curtis has been having weird headaches which result in him hearing voices since he was young. He is wondering if he is going "crazy" like his father. 

In the past, Mila is moving to her new home in Canada where her mother will marry a recently wealthy man named Andrew Deemus. Along for the ride is her younger sister, Wynn. As soon as they  arrive at Gravenhearst, Mila can tell that something is very, very wrong. She will do whatever it takes to save her family, before it's too late, because the Deemus women have been disappearing for hundreds of years, and nobody seems to know why. 

I really enjoyed reading things through both POVs. It really added to the creepiness factor of everything that was going on. It did start off really slow, but as soon as the story kicked off, I was hooked! Although I did enjoy Mila's more, because she was dealing with the supernatural aspect of the story as it was happening. 

There are a lot of "F" bombs throughout the book, from Curtis. He is seventeen and his emotions are all over the place because of the issues with his father. 

Trigger Warning: Suicide. There are passages with attempted suicide in the book, so be mindful of that if you want to read this one. 

Throughout the book there were some illustrations, but I do not think they really added anything to the story. 

Ending wise, I do feel like everything wrapped up a little too nicely, as I was expecting more conflict. But I am hoping that there is a sequel, because too much was left unsaid!

I wasn't expecting much when I started reading this book, mainly because I have never heard of the author or book but the premise sounded very interesting. It gave me a Dawn Kurtagich kind of vibe, so I figured if anything it would be enjoyable. I was pleasantly surprised that the book had me hooked basically at the very beginning.

This book is told in two POV's Mila back in the 1890's and Curtis from present day. I wasn't sure how the two POV's will be connected or if they will in any way, but I really liked how the author utilized them. I personally liked Milas' part of the story a whole lot more, mainly because that was the part that most of the supernatural stuff was happening. Curtis' POV was more him trying not to let people think he was beginning to have a mental illness like his father. The way that the author started to weave their two stories together though was very interesting and made the story more enjoyable.

The authors writing style reminded me a little bit of Dawn Kurtagich's style, especially when the story centered around Mila and the supernatural. It was a little bit gothic in the sense that the author made the setting seem super dark and creepy when the story was being centered around Gravenhearst. The author also included illustrations at the end of some chapters. They weren't needed but they helped add a little extra to what you were currently reading. Especially when it dealt with anything about Mila and Gravenhearst.

Character wise the only ones that stood out were Mila and Curtis. The supporting characters, while they played a big role in helping the plot advance, didn't seem to be as fleshed out as the two main ones. Some of the characters seemed to just be placed in the scene for convenience than an actual purpose. Overall, it didn't bother me too much because I liked the plot and how quickly it was advancing. 

I enjoyed this book overall, but I wish that it had a stronger ending. It seemed as if the big climax happened and then everything was kind of loosely tied up in the end. My biggest question is what is going to happen to Curtis and his sister now? I have some other questions, but I don't want to say anything because that would spoil some major parts of the book.

This book had me hook, line, and sinker. There was a perfect balance of historical fiction, modern life, and unexplainable magic. The characters were raw, their emotions tangible to the reader as we followed them through their trials and tribulations.

The juxtaposition of Curtis and Mila didn't feel forced, as across time period relations can sometimes be. They saw something in each other that they had never before seen in another person. Was it love? Nope. Deep, unending loneliness, and a lack of hope. But they had hope for each other. Now that I've written that sentence it sounds really contrite. Can you just believe me when I say this book should be read? Yes? Great. I'm glad we've had this chat. 

House of Ash exceeded my expectations and I can't wait to purchase a copy for my collection.

My sincere apologies, but I won't be able to review House of Ash. There's no MOBI format provided, and reading large chunks of text on a computer screen gives me severe headaches. Thank you for approving me, and I'm sorry.

unable to review as I cannot send to kindle ...disappointing