Review: Falling to Ash by Karen Mahoney (Moth #1)

Falling to Ash (Moth #1)
Karen Mahoney
Published: Sept. 27, 2012 (Random House Children’s U.K.)
Purchase at: Book Depository

Reviewed by: Chelsea

Rating (out of 5): 4.5 stars

Funny and engaging with a dusting of darkness, Falling to Ash is a fresh vampire tale—and that pleases me so very much. It’s my favorite Karen Mahoney book thus far. (Read reviews of The Iron Witch and The Wood Queen.)

Moth (neé Marie O’Neal) has spent the last several months in a kind of vampire lock-down situation. She’s not your typical newly turned vamp. Her maker broke the rules in creating Moth (not in an Ethan/Merit way, but in a lost control way), and so she’s had to keep under the radar until they’re ready to introduce her to the vampire Family at large. She finally has better control over herself and her need to feed. She won’t tap a vein if she doesn’t have to and tries to ration out the bagged blood as best she can. But waiting around for her maker to give the all clear is, well, not enough.

When Moth’s friends from her human days start dying, the police to come to her. She doesn’t know why they think she’d be involved, she dropped out of college and now avoids humans except her sister. Still, she has to know who did this. That means investigating. What she finds exposes a much bigger problem that could turn her life upside down and maybe change the vampire hierarchy, too.

Complicating her issues is the son of a famed vampire hunter. He’s on the trail, too, and the two must work together to try and stop more kids from being murdered. Expect serious sizzle between these two, even though neither wants to admit it. Also: Jace is hot. So, you know, selling point.

The plot throws some nice curve balls at the reader and Moth’s geek-girl nature makes me want to hang out with her. Sexual tension, humor and big fight scenes make me give Falling to Ash a big thumbs up.

Sexual content: Kissing, references to sex

Note: Right now, Falling to Ash is available in the U.K., Australia and New Zealand. This means you won’t see it in U.S. book stores, but I highly recommend ordering it from Book Depository. They ship for free and you get the pretty U.K. cover.