When everyone tells you that you’re meant for bigger things, at what point do you start believing them? When life calls on Adam Miller, he must decide if he can rise to the occasion.
Adam Miller doesn’t have an exciting life. But then, he’s never wanted one. He’s happy to play his small part in the world. He’s a cog in the machine, sure, but an important one that keeps the machine running. He’s happy to remain in the background, a mid-level employee with a cramped cubicle and an amiable friend to those in his pack. But his habit of not making waves also means that he must keep an integral part of himself hidden from those he calls family.
Despite being shrouded in secrecy, Adam’s love life takes a distinct turn for the better when he meets Joshua Wetmore. Like the rest of Adam’s life, his romance with Josh appears to be quietly progressing right on schedule. Their sweet courtship is born just as Adam’s pack asks him to step forward into the demanding leadership role of Alpha. Adam struggles to prioritize his developing relationship with Josh, while still keeping their connection private. The spotlight on him is bright, and his secret might be the spark that ignites the tinder of discontent within his pack.
As Adam’s doubts about whether he’s truly meant for the Alpha role haunt him, his pack’s safety is threatened by impending turf war. And his seemingly easy going new boyfriend brings his own set of dangerous complications. As the stakes get higher and higher, Adam must find the courage to rise to the occasion. With his pack, with Josh and with himself.
Rise from the Ashes, by Noah Harris
Rating: 3.25 out of 5
What can you do with a book where you just don’t connect with the characters? That’s the biggest problem I had with Rise from the Ashes.
Starting with Adam: we get a very clear picture of Adam’s life as a corporate drone. Shuffle papers, stay in the middle of things with his head down. I find his sudden transition to pack alpha a bit difficult to imagine since up until that point he had seemed a man of limited aspirations. Once established in the role he starts to chafe at the daily grind, but it just doesn’t seem an intuitive personality change to me.
Josh, on the other hand, is set up as the romantic foil and…well, not a whole lot else. The point that he is a gentle soul is made again and again. A couple of personality traits are made repeated to reinforce his nurturing role, but I just never get a feel for his history and who he is as a person. Instead he becomes a plot point and not much else.
The world-building here is minimal, though for the purposes of the story that is not much of a negative since the main focus is on the interactions of the pack. It is current America with an entire society of werewolves and faeries existing in parallel to ours, but in secret. Not much is made of this secrecy, though. The story itself is rather predictable. This isn’t bad if the story is well told. This is a competent rendering.
One last note: I find it quite strange that the title and book cover appear to have very little to do with the story itself. Perhaps this was a marketing decision, but I’m mystified at the choices.