You can’t put the past behind you when a vengeful spirit is hell-bent on destroying your future. The final book in Jenny Han and Siobhan Vivian’s Burn For Burn trilogy, called Ashes to Ashes, had great expectations to meet after two glorious predecessors (both of which ended with intense cliff-hangers that left the reader slack-jawed and hungry for more). Given how utterly addictive Burn For Burn and Fire With Fire turned out to be, this finale was supposed to dazzle readers with a glitzy, glorious bang. Except it came and went with a pathetic whimper.

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Ashes to Ashes is bloated and confused as it meanders along like an endless summer day near a hornet’s nest. It feels aimless and slow, and takes a small eternity (and hundreds of pages) to get to anything worthwhile. There is no hint of the magic that made the rest of the Burn For Burn trilogy such a guilty pleasure. Contrastingly, the other two books flew past like an exhilarating roller-coaster of on-point emotion and deft writing. Still, at the very least, it provides closure, and at the end of the day, that’s worth something— 2 stars to be exact. If this was the start or middle of something, I’d be inclined to rate generously in the hopes that the next book would fix the mistakes. Ashes to Ashes burned the world of Jar Island, its places and its people, to the ground, and there’s nothing left worth salvaging. If you want to try and make sense of this final novel (or buy a book that is going places), click here!

Want to buy the entire trilogy in a nice box set and save yourself some money? We’ve got you covered! Mostly, this series is worth every last penny.