Bel Reviews: Karen Mahoney's - "Falling To Ash"

I’ve been waiting for this book since the very first review I did for Burn Bright back in July 2010.

If you don’t feel like flipping all the way back through the reviews, I’ll link you here…

Anyway, I was really intrigued by Karen’s story The Spirit Jar in that anthology. And was a little snippy there wasn’t a full length book out there about Moth. She was a character I wanted to get to know better and by golly the wait was worth it.

I obtained my copy from Book Depository simply because the cover art was better on the UK release than it was on the Australian release. The girl who represents Moth may be a little off from the description Karen gives us, but the way her hair is mixed in at the ends with images of moths in flight, as well as the gold filigree with moth accents just straight out did it for me.

Moth (Marie O’Niel) has been a vampire for a little over a year. She’s had her life turned around and flipped on its end by the actions of Theo, her maker. Giving up almost everything of her human life has taken its toll on both the relationship she has with Theo and the O’Niel family, but things were starting to get back to something almost like ‘normal’.

Two detectives turning up on her doorstep to enquire about the mauling of one of Moth’s classmates, strips away the façade of normalcy, and it’s up to Moth to save not only her own life, but also the lives of the people she loves most in this crazy-mixed-up world.

I could rave about this book all day and write pages of fan girl squee worthy highlights. However I’ll try to keep it to the strongest positives.

Characterisation is beautifully transcribed; I can almost hear each character as I’m reading, even the smallest part resonates with a unique tone. I am pleased to say Moth is well up there with the kick ass girls of 2012.

The tension is built up quickly and released in short bursts throughout the novel. The big fight scene has only one minor flaw and it isn’t really enough to yank you out of the flow of great choreography.

For the relationship fanatics out there, we also have an unlikely pairing and it will most likely unfold in future books.

My only regret is the story is so swiftly paced that it was over in less than 48 hours. I even deliberately stopped before the big fight scene so I could savour every last chapter. I just hope Karen will be able to give Moth more page time in future. She really is a beautifully crafted hero. I must have more Moth!

Paperback, 341 pages

Published September 27th 2012 by Corgi Childrens (first published January 1st 2012)

ISBN 0552565261 (ISBN13: 9780552565264)