Empire of Ash

A Passionate Paranormal Romance with Young Adult Appeal (God of Secrets, Book 1)

By: L. R. W. Lee

Narrated by: Sarah Kisko

Length: 7 hrs and 55 mins

Publisher's Summary

Dangerous magic, a dark god, and ancient secrets.

Archaeologist Pellucid Rose discovers the find of the century when an earthquake hits her Mycenae, Greece dig. But before she can claim it, a dark, dangerous, and very sexy stranger steps from a swirl of shadows, claiming she’s loosed a sphinx on the world by translating an ancient secret on one of the scrolls.

What’s more, he insists Secret Magic requires her to go with him to capture the ferocious creature.

Against better judgment, Pell teams up with the hot stranger to discover a world of magic where the impossible is reality, crooked mortals hide corrupt secrets, and mysteries older than myth can kill you. That thought alone makes her heart race, but things get even worse when she discovers he’s hiding world-altering secrets, and only she has what it takes to stop him.

Empire of Ash is the first book in the enthralling God of Secrets paranormal romance series. If you like Sarah J. Maas and Laura Thalassa, you’ll adore USA Today best-selling author L. R. W. Lee’s vulnerable, intimate, and gritty tale of destined lovers, potent sorcery, and unique ancient myth retellings.

©2020 L. R. W. Lee (P)2020 L. R. W. Lee

Just when you think it's over

So many things happen in the book from the adventure to the mythological creatures to the God's to the many kept secrets and so much more. I was hooked from start to finish wanting to know everything Pal did and feeling like I learned so much. There was a lot of information in this book, too much for me to retain, that it still fascinated me as to how much I still didn't know but that I was curious to see how everything was connected. Archeology has always been a mystery to me and I wondered the stories behind it. this was an insight. Anyway, these two characters are amazing. Their first one is over so quick that you wonder how there is more to the story, but their adventures continue along with their banter, her growing desire, and his secrecy. It's worth the listen and leaves you wanting to know what adventures await in book 2.

This narrator was new to me but she was great. She gave each character their own personality and, when needed, an accent. you could tell who was talking and even new characters had their own uniqueness. I enjoyed her and look forward to her work in the future.

Captivating!

Pellucid Rose is a devoted archaeologist on a dig in Greece, when she finds what appears to be an ancient antiquity. She excitedly translates the hieroglyphics and unleashes a sphinx onto the world. Black smoke surrounds her and a very handsome, mysterious man appears. He is a calming influence on Pell and he begins to tell his story. First, he informs Pell that, since she is responsible for the sphinx's release into the world, she's the one who has to recapture it and take it back where it belongs. It's a dangerous mission and Pell comes to understand that there are more secrets than she could ever expect. She still doesn't know who he is and gives him names like Mr. Cocky Pants, Crazy Guy, but it's really Harpoc and he's the god of secrets. As they travel around the globe, recovering and replacing secrets, there's an attraction brewing between Harpoc and Pell that is sweet and still mysterious. I got a little annoyed with Pell's inner voice, especially when she whined or shouted over Pell. And I didn't like the addition of the messed up world and the corrupt politicians. It came up at the beginning and it was still a major point at the end. I want to be immersed in a fantasy, especially one that is woven this well. Pell and Harpoc are wonderfully fleshed out and have personalities that jump off the page. They're secretive and and amusing as they confront enemies who seek to destroy the god of secrets' power. 
Sarah Kisko does an excellent job with the narration. The voices are clear and dynamic as she brings each character to life! 

Absolutely Wonderful Listen/ Read!!

I have Never read or listened to this author before, got the book on Audible and listened to it there. Narrator was Excellent and brought the storyline to life. I found this Author's sense of humor so good, just a hoot!! The inner monologue Pell has throughout the book made me laugh more times then I can say. Pell the Main Character is quite a Character and she has the same deep streak of Curiositie as myself which just made me laugh all the more.
Highly recommended this Story and really want to listen to the 2nd book in this Series.

Great New Series

I love the snarky attitude that the narrator easily conveys through the use of her voice. Pal gets into various difficult situations throughout this book when her curiosity and intelligence get the better of her.

Great beginning

This is a new author and narrator to me. Love the character development and plot detail. Can't wait to see more work from them both.

Amazing!!!

Loved everything about this story. The concept of scrolls holding secrets that when read come to life was very clever. I love the banter between the two main characters. I still feel there is one secret about Pel that hopefully will come to light in book 2. Can’t wait to see if my hunch is right.

Who's the dark stranger?

I love archaeology, geography and history. Reading about a young female archaeologist was very interesting including the side bar discrimination she faces with a few colleagues. I want to listen to the rest of the series to see how Pell and the stranger flush things out between her discovery and their relationship. I did think there was a bit of a longer pause between chapters than I am used to, I kept thinking someone was calling me and interrupting the audiobook but it wouldn't prevent me from listening to the rest of the books.

Great start to a New Series

This book is about an archaeologist Pell who discovers a new find along with a few other additional unexpected things including a new character Harpoc after a tremor while on a dig. The finds lead her on some rather interesting adventures that will keep you riveted to the storyline wondering what both she and Harpoc are going to be doing next. The story has lots of intrigue along with providing some things to think about from an ethics and fairness perspective. This book does this in a great way without beating you over the head with it but does it in a way that just makes ne think about the issues - very well done. Loved the storyline and am looking forward to the next Book in this series.

wonderful story!

New to me Author, looking forward to more stories from this author loved the world and character building.

Interesting start to a series

Great start to an intriguing storyline. The story is fast paced and well constructed. The characters are interesting and you want to root for them. I look forward to more entries in this series.

Interesting

This story does have some action, as Pell must help Harpoc in fixing those she inadvertently released when reading their secrets aloud. Pell’s inner monologue offers some comedic moments and does feel like a separate person at times. A nice twist on some mythology. Sarah does an excellent job with the narrative and makes this book a pleasure to listen to.
🎧AudiobookObsessionReviewer

just brilliant

just simply brilliant
Archaeologist Pellucid Rose discovers the find of the century when an earthquake hits her Mycenae,

Really enjoyed this, definitely recommend

I finished this in an embarrassingly low number of listens. Loved it and can’t wait to listen to the next one! The fantasy genre can get a bit samey and and tropes get repeated and recycled a lot, but this was so different from what I’ve read before and it worked so well.

By the end I HAD to get the second book

It started off slowly and I originally thought that it might be aimed more at the young adult market but here I am, waaaaaay older than that and loving the story of Pell and Harpoc. L.R.W Lee has created a fantastic fantasy world, mixed with mythology from our own time. I kept finding myself looking for chores to do where I could just put my earbuds in and crack on with the story. Sarah has done a brilliant job with the narration. Can't wait for book 2.

Enjoyable listen

The narrator is perfect for the main character. The story line was really good too kept me wanting to listen on. Thank you for the free code in exchange for my review.

An interesting read

Empire of Ash: The author got me engaged throughout the story, and the narrator was equally good. I like the comic relief that comes with this while listening; I find myself chuckling at the character's thoughts. However, I find that as I get into the book, it became a drag as it was almost repetitive, but I kept going. All in all, I like how the author infused mythology and real life

Excellent performance & good story

I thoroughly enjoyed this story, narrated and performed so brilliantly by Sarah Kisko. Although I imagine the target audience to be young adult, even I enjoyed the adventures that unfolded for one young archaeologist.

There were aspects that did not appeal to me as an older reader, but don't let this put anyone off. Any young adult who likes fantasy stories would enjoy this title.

I did not see the ending coming, and now I look forward to listening to book 2.

Magical!!

Absolutely loved this book, not my usual genre but so happy I found it, intriguing, funny and wonderfully narrated by Sarah Kisko who brought the characters to life and left me wanting more by L.R.W Lee

Exhilarating

I really enjoyed listening to the first book in this series. It was wonderful. I loved Pellucid Rose. She is strong, quirky, and very relatable. The unique details and the narrator brought this book to life.

Enjoyable

This is the first book in a new series, I downloaded and read the ebook when it was first released but as I love to listen to my books whilst driving and walking I thought it might be nice to immerse myself in this world created by L.R.W. Lee. In this exciting tale, Pell an archaeologist uncovers secrets long hidden whilst on her dig at Mycenae. But not knowing what she has uncovered she accidentally unleashes a force she had no idea existed. She also meets a handsome stranger, who emerges from the shadows who says he wants to help her make things right but does he?

The plot-line is well thought out, flows well and contains lots of action, intrigue and adventure. The writing style is easy to follow making it so easy to become totally immersed in the storytelling and the world created by the author. The characters are well-drawn, likeable and easy to relate to. I loved listening to Pell’s inner monologues, she's a great character, I just loved her.

The narration of this book by Sarah Kisko was a joy to listen to, her inflexions were spot on, I loved the way she brought each of the characters to life.

I was given a copy of this audiobook as a gift and am voluntarily writing my review.