Rating: 4/5
Genre: YA, dystopian fantasy
Length: 334 pages
Published: 5th October 2023
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/194228639-feast-of-ashes
Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Feast-Ashes-1-Victoria-Williamson/dp/1911107879/
Today I am excited to be on the book tour for Feast of Ashes by Victoria Williamson. Thank you to Dave at The Write Reads and Neem Tree Press for having me!
The Earth’s ecosystems have collapsed and only ashes remain. Is one girl’s courage enough to keep hope alive in the wastelands?
It’s the year 2123, and sixteen-year-old Adina has just accidentally killed fourteen thousand seven hundred and fifty-six people.
Raised in the eco-bubble of Eden Five, Adina has always believed that the Amonston Corporation’s giant greenhouse would keep her safe forever. But when her own careless mistake leads to an explosion that incinerates Eden Five, she and a small group of survivors must brave the barren wastelands outside the ruined Dome to reach the Sanctuary before their biofilters give out and their DNA threatens to mutate in the toxic air.
They soon discover that the outside isn’t as deserted as they were made to believe, and the truth is unearthed on their dangerous expedition. As time runs out, Adina must tackle her guilty conscience and find the courage to get everyone to safety. Will she make it alive, or will the Nomalies get to her first?
Set a century in the future, after an environmental disaster has caused Africa to be inhabitable, this young adult sci-fi / fantasy dystopian novel focuses on Adina who believes she has caused the deaths of 14,756 people, by not completing the maintenance tasks she was given. What follows is the fight for survival of Adina, our 16 year old FMC, as well as her six other companions; including an old man and his dog, her two sisters, her best friend, and her crush, as they make their way across the wastelands in an attempt to reach sanctuary.
This book reminded me of the 2010s dystopian novels, like The Maze Runner and Gone series. It was a lot darker than I expected, but this really added to the tension and suspense the characters, and by extension the reader, felt as you followed their adventure.
Adina is a character I couldn’t help but hate in the beginning, but this was an original concept as in most books I have read, they are designed so that you like and therefore root for the main character. Adina is an incredibly complex character and because of this, feels all too real. Someone who you can enjoy reading about, but experience anger, shock and annoyance at too. But through this decision, the author allows us to see Adina grow over the course of the book, from a spiteful and self-involved main character, to a character who will do anything for those she loves.
There was a lot of foreshadowing, especially at the ends of chapters, which kept me invested and meant that I just couldn’t put the book down! A little foreshadowing sentence would be dropped at the end of a chapter, kind of like a mini cliffhanger, which meant I just couldn’t stop turning the pages! I had to read it in one sitting and find out how it was all going to end!
The ending was completely unexpected – definitely one I didn’t anticipate – and I cannot wait to continue reading this series. This first book in the Feast of Ashes trilogy is a great book one and sets up the series brilliantly, wrapping up most of the first book but still leaving you with unanswered questions. I will definitely be continuing this series!
Huge thanks to @thewritereads and the publisher Neem Tree Press for the gifted copy and goodies.
Victoria Williamson is an award-winning author who grew up in Scotland surrounded by hills, books, and an historical farm estate which inspired many of her early adventure stories and spooky tales. After studying Physics at the University of Glasgow, she set out on her own real-life adventures, which included teaching maths and science in Cameroon, training teachers in Malawi, teaching English in China and working with children with additional support needs in the UK. Victoria currently works part time writing KS2 books for the education company Twinkl and spends the rest of her time writing novels, and visiting schools, libraries and literary festivals to give author talks and run creative writing workshops.
Victoria’s previous novels include The Fox Girl and the White Gazelle, The Boy with the Butterfly Mind, Hag Storm, and War of the Wind. She has won the Bolton Children’s Fiction Award 2020/2021, The YA-aldi Glasgow Secondary School Libraries Book Award 2023, and has been shortlisted for the Week Junior Book Awards 2023, The Leeds Book Awards 2023, the Red Book Award 2023, the James Reckitt Hull Book Awards 2021, The Trinity School Book Awards 2021, and longlisted for the ABA South Coast Book Awards 2023, the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize 2020, and the Branford Boase Award 2019.
Her latest novel, The Pawnshop of Stolen Dreams, is a middle grade fantasy inspired by classic folklore. Twenty percent of the author royalties for this book are donated to CharChar Literacy, an organisation working to improve children’s literacy levels in Malawi.
You can find out more about Victoria’s books, school visits and free resources for schools on her website: www.strangelymagical.com
The Pen Not The Sword 