Sociopath. Killer. Deviant.
Monster, devoid of morals, incapable of human emotion. The villain known as Spark has been called this and more, and as a super-powered aberrant has masterminded countless crimes to build his father’s inhuman empire. Yet to professor Sean Archer, this fearsome creature is only Tobias Rutherford–antisocial graduate researcher, quiet underachiever, and a fascinating puzzle Sean is determined to solve.
But one kiss leads to an entanglement that challenges everything Tobias knows about himself, aberrants, and his own capacity to love. When his father orders him to assassinate a senator, one misstep unravels a knot of political intrigue that places the fate of humans and aberrants alike in Tobias’s hands. As danger mounts and bodies pile higher, will Tobias succumb to his dark nature and sacrifice Sean–or will he defy his father and rise from the ashes to become a hero in a world of villains?
Previously released under the Ever After imprint. New material and now novel length!
"Everyone! This is an amazing story. A true must read!" - author, Kira Decker
"Fans of this author will notice that this book is a bit of a different writing style than we have seen in other works. That isn't a bad thing! I was grabbed right away by the back story and then had to sit down and read this one straight through." - Suzi from Obsessive Reading Disorder
"From the Ashes is a fantastical tale, but the beauty of this novel lies in that feeling of familiarity, whether in a character or the story itself. And maybe, by the end, it'll give you something to really think about. From the Ashes receives five-plus stars. ♥" - Jen Valencia, Amazon review
4.5
A man that feels nothing and one that feels too much…
Tobias Rutherford just seems like a normal graduate researcher. He’s unassuming, antisocial and draws no attention. Which works in his favour, because who he is really would scare the ever living hell out of those that surround him. He is... ...more
Smart.
That's the first word that comes to mind when I think of this book. The writing style is both emotive and evocative qualities that I found very satisfying. Sanders puts sentences together in clever and beautiful ways that put you in this world immediately.
I give him pieces of myself, as if......more
I love a book that has me perched on the edge of my seat, and Xen Sanders hits the ground running with From the Ashes , bringing us a paranormal M/M story, told from the protagonists POV, with diverse characters and filled with the unpredictable, action, passion, intimacy and emotion.
Tobias Ruth... ...more
Really liked this one, a very welcome freebie from the author [whose other work I am now stalking...😉] but a story for which I would've gladly shelled out money....had I known about it. 😊 I love all things X-Men and Superhero, and the anti-hero in this one, Tobias aka Spark, is a very complex ch... ...more
First of all, I really liked this book. Before I get into it though, let me say it is a rerelease from a book titled, From the Ashes by Adrien-Luc Sanders released in 2012.
The blurb completely drew me into this one:
Sociopath. Killer. Deviant.
Monster, devoid of morals, incapable of human emotion.... ...more
Torn between "I liked it" "I really liked it", let it be the latter.
Again...i went in the book without reading the blurb, so i didn't know what was this exactly about, until i read "latex suit" and "powers" i realized this was a book about superheroes, like X-Men with the fight over races, etc.... ...more
Loved it. Writing so beautiful it reads like poetry. Just stunning! ...more
4.25 STARS. I received this ARC from NETGALLEY, I went into this story not knowing anything other than enjoying the Xen Sanders last book. Great addicting read, I was so caught up, wonderfully done & look forward to more. ...more
Another fantastic antihero by Xen Sanders/Cole McCade. If you like superheroes, and particularly complex, broody supervillains who are struggling to find love and humanity within themselves, look no further. Tobias offers a fascinating look into the mind of a so-called monster, and Sean is the pe... ...more
This felt pretty epic. It also touched all the feels! Omg, I mean, it was like reading an X-man movie with all the fighting and heroics. But it was also very vulnerable. Although, the author drove the point across one too many times, that as an aberrant,
Tobias felt like he couldn’t have feelings... ...more
Wow! Paranormal mm romance with an anti-hero I couldn't love more!
This story is such an unusual read and I enjoyed it so much. It's Xen Sanders' second book, and in a way there are some similarities with Shatterproof which I also loved.
We have Tobias, a dark and broody antihero, supervillan who h... ...more
“From the Ashes” is the second mutant/genetically enhanced individual trope that I read this year and I was very impressed with how the author delves into the gray areas rather than sticking to the black and white. This book is dark and quite intense especially when one of the MCs is actually the... ...more
This is my second Xen Sanders book and since I loved Shatterproof , I was raring to go when I saw this.
This story/book? It. Was . Intense.
It's set in a world where we have a subset of people with genes that differentiates them from plain humans. These people are called Aberrants and they have gr... ...more
Well, I always love a good redemption story. Gorgeously written, as always. More fun than I expected. At first I thought that was because I recently read C. B. Lee's "Not Your Villian" and "Not Your Sidekick" and those kept coming to mind as I read this. But there was also something over the top... ...more
Dammit. I did a massive review and he whole thing disappeared while I went to get ready for work 🤬🤬🤬🤯 Will attempt to write it up again later 😐 ...more
Fans of this author will notice that this book is a bit of a different writing style than we have seen in other works. That isn't a bad thing! I was grabbed right away by the back story and then had to sit down and read this one straight through.
What the big nerd in me enjoyed about the story li... ...more
So good. So *good*. Another all-time favorite, this one. Have to write a better review later, for now there is so much incoherent LOVE I have for this story and the characters.
And the one phrase that stays with me, always. "Don't say it if you don't mean it." PREACH. ...more
Hmm, how to explain how I felt about this book . . .
Well, first off, I really loved that it had a person of color (Thai) as the main character. There isn't enough diversity in the genre, and I'm always really happy when non-white characters are given some page time. Second, I like that being Thai... ...more
Whoa. This book was way more than I expected it to be. It was deep and made me stop and think several times. I love Tobias and Sean, and I cannot wait to see what happens next. No doubt it will be amazing.
Full review up on The Novel Approach shortly. ...more
Palpable emotion and complex characters
I picked From the Ashes up on a whim and am so very glad I did. It intrigued me from the first page and never loosened its grip. Every emotion was palpable and the story told so vibrantly, I couldn’t help but be lost in it. An urban fantasy romance with cros... ...more
This is a very intense and engrossing book. Tobias's conflict and tension are very convincingly written. I had some trepidation based on the blurb, but this isn't a book about gratuitous violence. Instead, while there are some pretty brutal fight scenes and references to significant past death an... ...more
Where do I even begin with a book like this? When I first received the book for review, I was excited by the premise. I mean, who doesn’t like superhero/supervillain stories? And one told from the eyes of the villain? I thought I was in for a wonderful treat. Dark, sure, but a fun read. I was not... ...more
This book turned out to be so much better and so much more then I thought it would be. I am truly glad that I took the time to read this book.
If I had to describe this book in just a few words, I would describe this book as good versus evil.
What do you do when you are taught all your life that y... ...more
I've enjoyed other books written by Xen under the name Cole McCade (Autumn, His Cocky Valet) and this one sounded a little different and exactly what I was looking for.
I don't want to say too much because of spoilers but this was an interesting look at nature vs nurture and the power to choose on... ...more
I decided to give this book a chance because I liked the blurb, though comic-type characters are not my cup of tea.
I was very impressed with the story itself and I really liked this author's writing style with a beautiful word-flow which kept my attention all the way through.
I've read it a coupl... ...more