Will Rise from Ashes

By: Jean M. Grant

Narrated by: Caroline Hewitt, Andrew Perkins

Length: 10 hrs and 32 mins

Publisher's summary

Living is more than mere survival...

Young widow AJ Sinclair has persevered through much heartache. Has she met her match when the Yellowstone supervolcano erupts, leaving her separated from her youngest son and her brother?

Tens of thousands are dead or missing in a swath of massive destruction. She and her nine-year-old autistic son Will embark on a risky road trip from Maine to the epicenter to find her family. She can't lose another loved one.

Along the way, they meet Reid Gregory, who travels his own road to perdition looking for his sister. Drawn together by AJ's fear of driving and Reid's military and local expertise, their journey to Colorado is fraught with the chaotic aftermath of the eruption.

AJ's anxiety and faith in humanity are put to the test as she heals her past, accepts her family's present, and embraces uncertainty as Will and Reid show her a world she had almost forgotten.

©2019 Jean M. Grant (P)2020 Jean M. Grant

A great character-driven story

As a story of women's fiction, Will Rise from Ashes is an enjoyable read. As an audiobook, it is one that is easy to follow even when my attention wasn't fully focused on the book - I could browse and post on social media and format blog posts easily while listening.

The narrators did a good job, though Andrew Perkins doesn't sound like a 9-year-old child. He sounds more like a teenager, though that may be more of a result of the writing than the voice. It did give me a little trouble remembering how old Will was supposed to be (I kept thinking he was 11 years old). I think it was a good idea to have two narrators as neither provides much differentiation to characters within their respective chapters. They do provide subtle differences in the characters' voices so it wasn't difficult to know who was talking.

Unique and Compelling Story

You can feel the author's heart and soul in "Will Rise from Ashes." From the detailed, post-apocalyptic world brought on by a volcanic eruption, to the unconditional love a mother feels for her children, the story rings true.


The characters themselves are expertly developed. AJ's strength in the face of endless trials challenging her and her children, Reid's compassion, and Will's optimism and curiosity are implemented so masterfully that you never question why they charge into a disaster zone to rescue AJ's youngest son.


I highly recommend "Will Rise from Ashes" to anyone looking for a compelling, unique read with emotion and depth.

Both narrators delivered a quality performance which made listening a pleasure.

I was captivated by this unique story.

A natural disaster. A family separated. A mother's love.
AJ is a mother divided. When she allows herself to be separated from one son, how can she leave another behind to go find him? She can't. so despite her own fears, sorrow, and anxiety, she and Will, her autistic son load up tha car and go looking the youngest.
During this cross country trek, they meet both the best and worst in a society falling apart.
A well developed and unique story captivated me.
I loved the two sided narration between AJ an Will.

Good Listen

I enjoyed this audio book. The story is well written and the narrator did a good job. The story flows well and tells the story of natural disaster and the steps a mother takes to retrieve her child on the other side of the country. The poor woman has many obstacles to over come and a special needs child to haul around the country. There are of course the people who try to take advantage of a bad situation but they are handled by local law enforcement. She is a widow and meets a man who is able to help her with her issues and maybe she can love again. The separate and he follows to make sure she is okay and saves her from a man and woman who want to steal her vehicle and supplies. It is a great story and performance.

I received a free copy of this audio book from Story Origin for an honest review.

Great premise and characters!

I loved the premise of this book! I could see myself as the woman, going through the National catastrophe while also caring for an autistic child! Great book and I also enjoyed the male and female narrators as well as some steam in the story!

Very Disappointed

I received a free copy of this book & am very disappointed. The story might be good but I could not stand all the swearing coming from the mother's mouth even after she says she knows she needs to stop. So I only got through the first 3 chapters. Skipping to the end only confirmed by assumption- the swearing had not stopped. I loved the voices of the narrators but that is all I liked about this book. Now I need to find out how to delete it from my library.

Not really what I was looking for

After reading a couple of Ms. Grant's historical romances I decided to try this more contemporary romance novel. I don't generally read romances but I really liked the earlier ones I had tried. This one didn't grab me the same way, though. I must confess that it bored me and I never cared about the characters or the plot of this one. Sorry, Jean.

I received a free copy of this audiobook in exchange for my honest opinion.

Volcano!

During the pandemic, many readers and tv/movie viewers have avoided anything heavy or dangerous-sounding, preferring pure escapism. Not me. I’ve spent the last year immersed in apocalyptic and disaster entertainment and am still wallowing in such things. Of course, it helps that I already had an obsessive love of this kind of stuff and I’m always looking for more so, when this opportunity came along, I couldn’t sign up fast enough.

As it turns out, this is a blend of disaster fiction, family issues and a potential love story and Ms. Grant does it all very well. I’ve never been in AJ’s shoes but I connected with her almost immediately and I truly understood her determination to get to her younger son and her brother who may or may not have been caught by the eruption in Yellowstone.

Side note—this is not the massive eruption we know will happen someday so don’t get your knickers in a twist at how “easy” this blast and AJ’s, Will’s and Reid’s journeys seem to be; this is more a story of coping and recovery.

And Will, my goodness, what a nifty little kid, autistic difficulties and all. He and Reid, a fellow traveler in search of the sister he needs badly to find, are perfect companions on the road in many ways. What the trio will find when the trip ends might be heartbreak, horror, maybe even redemption and, for me, the journey was very satisfying if not quite the awful event I was hoping for.

The story is told by AJ with occasional commentary by Will and the two narrators, Caroline Hewitt and Andrew V. Perkins do a fine job. I would gladly listen to one or both again.

Just as intriguing in audio as it is to read!

I'll admit, I read this book already and loved it. So, what better way keep myself occupied while folding laundry or pulling weeds than to listen to the audio version? Loved the audio nearly as much as I loved reading the actual story.

Will Rise from Ashes is a lovely tribute to motherhood, parenting a special needs child, and finding oneself anew. It's a story about how to move into the future by learning to embrace the past. I adored everything about this book. (Particularly the scenes written from Will's point-of-view! <3 ) 5 stars for sure. Grant's women's fiction is even better than her historical romance. I'm a convert!

Engaging listen

It takes awhile to get into this book, but the narrators are well cast for each POV and are easy to listen to. Andrew Perkins is particularly charming as Will. The characters are interesting and the story line is compelling. You want to keep listening to find out what happens, both between the characters and to see if the main character gets to her other son.
Some of the chapter beginnings are a bit difficult to "catch up" with and the writer assumes you'll get it. And you do, but sometimes I've wondered if I accidentally fast forwarded.