From Ashes

From Ashes is Book 3 in K.M. Neuhold’s Heathens Ink series. This is the first audio of the series that I’ve listened to, but I’ve read the entire series. The narrator of this book is Kenneth Obi, and it’s my understanding that the first two books are narrated by someone different. I think reading this series in the appropriate order will give the most enjoyment to the characters and world created by the author. There are some storylines from previous books, and there are characters and couples continuing.

In Book 3, Adam, the owner of Heathens Ink, is on a quest of trying to save others to make up for the loss of his brother. He makes friends with a stranger in a chat app and can’t resist the offer of help when the other person is struggling. He develops a friendship with Phoenix and when Phoenix disappears from the app, Adam thinks the worst. Phoenix, for his part, is struggling. He has a drug addiction, is working as a prostitute to support his habit and lives with an abusive boyfriend. He sees the hope in what Adam’s offering but he won’t take charity. Then, everything comes to a head and Phoenix has to survive the hardest thing he’s ever experienced. From the ashes, Phoenix (Nox) emerges and begins his new life near Heathens Ink. The attraction between Nox and Adam is felt and seen by everyone around them.

I love this series and this book, so I was excited to listen to the audio. Unfortunately, I really struggled with listening to the narrator. The narrator was unable to give individual voices to characters, and the voices used were not consistent throughout the narration for the characters. You really need to focus on who is speaking based on the dialogue to keep up with the story, which is difficult to do in audiobooks. And the narration of the texts/chats between the two characters were really difficult to “get” in this audio. I knew from my reading that it was texts, but with the audio it just seemed misplaced.

I highly recommend you read this series as it’s terrific. I think the characters and the world the author creates is one I’d love to hang out in. Though there are difficult, sad, real-life difficulties the characters are overcoming, I don’t feel that the story weighs on you. The author does a great job of keeping it from being too overwhelming.

Overall: 4 stars
Performance: 3 stars
Story: 5 stars

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Absolutely phenomenal

This book absolutely 100% stole my heart. I was instantly in love with Knox and Adam. They both have the sweetest, kindest hearts and souls. This was also my first book by this author. I will tell you that after listening to this audio book, I will either be reading or listening to every book K. M. Neuhold writes! She is now on my must read list.

We meet Knox in the most unimaginable state. He has withstood so many hardships at such a young age that noone should have to go through. He is so vulnerable but meeting Adam on an app gives him hope. He just has to go through hell to get to him.

Adam lost his younger brother to a drug overdose, and now feels such guilt over the secret he's been hiding his whole life, being bisexual! He feels that maybe if he had told him that he wouldn't have felt so alone. This leaves him feeling the need to help anyone that reminds him of his brother. When he meets Knox online, he immediately is drawn to him, but when Knox suddenly disappears he feels hopeless and like he let someone else down. He believes Knox is dead.

When Knox shows up at Heathens Ink, Adam has no idea who he is but will not turn away a soul in need. He soon finds out that this is his Knox and the rest is history. This book is so good that you can't get enough. The past never goes away though and it may just bring everything they have crashing down on them.

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3 people found this helpful

Enjoyed the audio

I don't re-read books and to me, listening to audio is like re-reading...or so I thought. That is not the case. Listening to the narrator, in this case, brought an entirely new perspective to this story. I have read the entire Heathens Ink series and am now working my way through the audio.

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Awesom

Narrator has a great smooth voice. Did awesome with the different characters and giving everyone there own tone and sound.

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amazing

i love this narrator so much.. he does an amazing job with the characters.. i can tell the differences between characters and emotions.. it is all together wonderful.. and this story is perfection of course.. i love this author.

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Sooooo good!

I love everything about this book and I absolutely can appreciate the way Mr.Obi narrated it. I really enjoyed it!

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3 people found this helpful

Super emotional

Another amazing book in the Heathens Ink world. it was an emotional journey for Nox and Adam to finally get together. I loved every minute of it. Narrative was perfect and spot on.

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They found love

They found love in an unexpected way! Sad but beautiful! Kenneth Obi did amazing with this one!

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A sweet story

Overall: 4 Stars
Narrator: 3.5 Stars
Story: 4 Stars
Length: 6 hours, 7 minutes

I'm broadening my horizons on these audiobooks so I'm still new to many of these narrators. I have yet to hear anything by Kenneth Obi and I think that he did an overall good job delivering the story. He did a good job differentiating the characters and it was easy to follow along. There were times where it just came off as a little flat and I would've liked a little bit more emotion but I think that coincides with the story itself as the story lacked the emotional depth I was expecting considering the background story of the MC's. But overall, good job on the narrating.

This was a good story and I really liked the characters. Adam and Nox were really good together. However, I was a little disappointed that it wasn't a tad more on the emotion side. We don't get much details of the backgrounds either which I would have liked to learn more about. I think the angst/drama part of Adam and Nox's journey were glossed over and just focused on the building of the relationship and the sexual chemistry between the two. I'll never really complain about that part because I'm all about the chemistry and the build up, however, I just would've liked to get to know the characters in more depth.

Overall, this was a good read and I would really like to read and/or listen to the other books in this series. The author has really made these characters very intriguing and keeps you wanting more. I may go back and read this on ebook just to see if I can get a more feel and connection to the story and characters itself as I just didn't get that through the audiobook.

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as good as the ebook

The story is always full stars, because if I wouldn't like the story as ebook, I wouldn't listen to the audiobook.

The performance from the narrator is also very important for me. I can't listen to a lot, because my English as a non-native-speaker isn't so perfect to follow a whole story over hours, when the narrator speaks too fast or too sloppy. Normally I have to SEE the person, who is talking to me in English. Kenneth Obi is one of the 2 narrators (so far), I can listen without break and have no problems to follow.

PLEASE READ MY RATING SYSTEM!!!

To my ratings:


5* - very very good
it's like an A+

4* - very good and will be often re-listening
it's like an A

3* - it's more then a one-time-listening, but not more then twice a year.
it's like a B

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