My rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Goodreads rating: 4.26 with 3,120 ratings (as of 6/17/2021)

After escaping her kidnappers and destroying the black market where she was held captive, all Nita wants is to find a way to live her life without looking over her shoulder. But with a video of her ability to self-heal all over the dark web, Nita knows she’s still a prime target on the black market.

There’s only one way to keep herself safe. Nita must make herself so feared that no one would ever dare come after her again. And the best way to start building her reputation? Take her revenge on the person who sold Nita to her kidnappers. But doing that is harder than Nita thought it would be, even with Kovit by her side. Now caught in a game of kill or be killed, Nita will do whatever it takes to win. …Synopsis from Goodreads

200 Word Review

I was provided with a complimentary copy of this book so I could give an honest review. The opinions are entirely my own, and any quotes are taken from the ARC and may be different in the final published copy.

Only Ashes Remain by Rebecca Schaeffer is the second novel in her Market of Monsters series. To give a fair review, I read the first book, Not Even Bones. I will review the first book, but this review concerns only Only Ashes Remain.

After Nita escaped and destroyed the black market, she just wants to be left alone. When a video of her abilities appears on the dark web, she knows she must go on the offensive. With the help of Kovit, Nita starts to take revenge on the person who sold her to her kidnappers. With everyone searching for her, Nita needs to do whatever it takes to stay alive and free.

Even though I enjoyed the first book, I discovered I needed a break before reading the second. Once I did begin reading this, I found I enjoyed this more than the first book. This book could be read as a stand-alone novel, but reading the first book would enhance this one.

This story is darker than the first, but it is a fun read since the writing makes you feel for all of the characters, including Kovit.

A third novel, When Villains Rise, was published in 2020.

This review was published on Philomathinphila.com, Smashbomb, Goodreads, Facebook, Twitter, Amazon, and Barnes and Noble on 6/8/21. When available, the review will be published on Scribd.com and, using Overdrive, will be rated in 9 libraries.

Genre: Teens & YA, Fantasy
Print Length: 432 pages
ISBN: 9781328863553
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Children’s Book Group
Publication Date: September 3, 2019

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