Ashes of the Sun by A. Meredith Walters → Review

Ashes of the Sun by A. Meredith Walters
Find the Author: Website, Blog, Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads, Amazon, Instagram
Series: The Gathering of the Sun #1
Published by Indie
on June 23, 2018
Pages: 253
Genres: Romance, Contemporary
Review Copy Provided By: Author


Goodreads
AMZ US
This post may contain affiliate links you can use to purchase the book. If you buy the book using that link, I may receive a small commission from the sale.

I was raised to believe in things you can't see.

It is the foundation of everything. I am taught to accept the unacceptable. To embrace the terrifying.

To give everything to my family.
To my church.
To my god.

Because I have a purpose. I have been trained for my calling for as long as I can remember. As an acolyte for the Gathering of the Sun, I am taught that my life isn't my own. I worship. I serve. And when the time comes, I will greet my fate with open arms and a sin free heart.

People call us a cult.

We are judged. We are ridiculed and reviled. Pastor Carter tells me they will be lost when the end comes. So we hide ourselves away from their sick and dangerous world. And my soul is safe because I follow the path.

I am the perfect disciple. I am confident in my devotion.

Until doubt arrives wearing the face of a boy I never expected to love.

Bastian doesn't follow the path. His destiny is his own. He paints me a picture of a beautiful world. His words contradict everything I have been told.

He invites me to live when I have been prepared to die.
He gives me something new to believe in.

Love becomes the ultimate crisis of faith and now I am torn between two futures.
One that saves my soul.
And one that saves my heart.

I was provided a review copy; this did not influence my opinion of the book.

❝Maybe you’ll figure out that not everything you think is true really is,❞ I said with an air of superiority I didn’t quite feel.
❝And maybe one day you’ll figure out that lying to yourself is almost worse than lying to someone else,❞ he murmured.

I cannot tell you how much I LOVED this book! It’s a beautiful, heart-wrenching story about love and faith. About friendship and trust. It’s gut-wrenching, intense, and healing.

When Bastian’s brother, David returns from the military, he’s different. He’s depressed and often volatile, and carries an enormous amount of guilt. When he happens upon a video of a preacher from the Gathering of the Sun church, David believes he’s found the answer to true peace and an end to his misery. He decides to leave his family to join the congregation. Bastian refuses to let his brother leave without doing everything he can to talk him out of joining the Gathering of the Sun people. When the two finally reach the entry gates, Bastian realizes his only hope of reaching his brother is to walk through those iron bars alongside him.

It doesn’t take long for Bastian to realize something isn’t quite right with the teaching and practices of this church, which only causes him more worry where his brother is concerned. The only light in his day is the acolyte, Sara. She’s beautiful, smart and funny. But she’s also loyal to a fault. Bastian makes her see things in a different way and he’s making her feel things she thought she’d locked away. As tension builds and the two grow closer, Sara realizes that while this has been the life she’s been groomed for, it may not be the life she wants.

I am completely captivated by this story! The angst! Oh, my heart! It started kind of slowly but when things got going, GAH! The suspense of the arc in the plot nearly killed me. Between the buildup and the angst, I thought my heart would explode! ‘Ashes of the Sun’ is the first in The Gathering of the Sun Series. I can’t wait to find out how this story ends with Tears of the Storm’!

Related Posts