From Sand and Ash

#1 of 2016 MY TOP READ OF 2016 FROM SAND AND ASH BY THE BRILLIANT AMY HARMON $3.99 +$1.99 for the Audible It has taken me almost a month to write this review...for the simple fact- something as simple as a review can not do this book justice. Because this is my top read of 2016 i'm gonna give it a try, this will be long but hopefully it will make one person purchase and read this story. Many readers are put off by the fact this book takes place in the past and or is a time period piece. I implore you , do not let this hold you back!! Yes many of us are romance readers however if you enjoyed Outlander, The Bronze Horseman, The Thorn Birds, The Nightingale, you will enjoy this book. For those of you who have not read any of the above books I ask you...Has Amy Harmon EVER let you down? From Sand and Ash is an epic life story. A love story of epic proportions. Sometimes love can't dissuade war but love can be found in the depths of it. Eva is a strong girl who grows to be a strong young woman. She and her family befriend Angelo regardless of their religious differences but this too can sometimes have limits. Choices are made during an era when time and feelings can be taken for granted. Despite their religious differences Eva is confident and brave facing her growing feelings for Angelo. She doesn't run from them or push them aside until the decision seems to have been made for her. She finds herself surrounded by devastation, despair, and unbelievable circumstances. Circumstances she can no longer be sheltered from. Angelo, a young man, comes from a Catholic family and though society may feel his options in life are limited (you'll understand when you read the book) Angelo didn't seem to feel limited or restricted. It was part of him but I never once felt he was in need or felt sorry for him. The author does a good job at conveying his abilities and "manliness". He becomes a protector for many. Even though Angelo acknowledges his love for Eva he chooses to join the Catholic church out of his devotion and love of God and family. This is the love he recognizes and knows. Throughout the story readers feel the friendship and or romantic feelings these two yearn for whether together or apart. A relationship which buds during our immaturity in our youth and angst develops into the true meaning. The conflict of devotion and to whom to be devoted is questioned in different relationships throughout the story. Peril surrounds Eva, Angelo, and Italians during this time. Regardless of what I thought I knew from the atrocities of WWII I was not aware of the horrific devastation in Italy during this time. I can not imagine the toll some of the scenes took on the author, my heart literally shattered in many parts of this story. The author writes a well balanced story and it doesn't feel like a history lesson. Throughout the story I asked myself, 'could I do that?' 'would I be that brave?'. This poignant beautiful story is a reminder; we are humanity, we all are part of the same story. Romance, friendship, duty, integrity, grace, bravery, forbidden love, religion, history, sacrifice are all elements found in From Sand and Ash. Once the last page is turned the reader will be overwhelmed, more feelings than one word or thought can describe. The writing is poignant, poetic, layered, and beautiful. Will the beauty of acceptance and love prevail? The beautiful way in which the author crafts her words surrounding the religious aspects of this book alone is brilliant. I know I am a better person and reader for having read this book. A relationship between a reader and an author is a gentle unique one. One that is filled with trust, as books to readers and their reading time is so very precious. To find an author where each book surpasses the last, their craft continues to develop beyond what readers can hope for in a book, and their talent is so diverse no topic is out of reach is quite simply a gift. Amy Harmon is my Boo, my BAE , our relationship , though one sided, is a strong one. I will never read another blurb , teaser, reviews for her future works. They will be one clicked and devoured without question.

“Life is like a long note; it persists without variance, without wavering. There is no cessation in sound or pause in tempo. It continues on, and we must master it or it will master us.” . Wow, what a gripping story! No matter how many times I read about World War II and the atrocities of the Holocaust, I can never really quite fathom how humans can treat other humans so despicably. . This story is about Eva and Angelo. Eva is an Italian Jew and Angelo is a Roman Catholic who eventually becomes a priest. Even though their love is forbidden, it persists from their childhood and strengthens during the war. From Sand and Ash takes place in Florence and Rome and gives a look into how the war played out in Italy. I especially like reading this PoV as I gravitate toward anything with an Italian setting and about the Italian people. I appreciated this perspective very much. . I enjoyed Eva and Angelo's chemistry. I found the individual characters and their romance to be very compelling and I was cheering for them from beginning to end. I also enjoyed the many themes in this book, but especially humanization and a delve into how and why humans can treat each other in the manner they did during the war and the Holocaust. Additionally, the writing is beautiful. Amy Harmon has so many beautiful and thought-provoking lines in this book! . If you enjoy historical fiction, romance, and lyrical writing, read this book right now! :)

From Sand and Ash is a harrowing story of love and faith shrouded in death and despair. Amy Harmon brings together the best and the worst of humanity on these pages, paving this journey with violence and bravery, horror and love. It's a ruthless barrage of emotions, this story, a relentless war between life and death, between good and evil, illustrated exquisitely by an author whose writing prowess knows no bounds. I was torn between eagerly unearthing the twists and turns that would surely come with each turn of the page, and dreading what was to come, dreading this book ending at all. The story of Eva Rosselli and Angelo Bianco is as enchanting as it is chilling. The love they share is forbidden, both by duty and by law. But their attraction, the absolute truth of their lifelong love is a beautiful, palpable thing that consumes the reader despite the horrific circumstances in which that love exists. I've read many books of the true accounts of holocaust survivors, seen the movies and documentaries, taken classes concentrating on this area of study. But never before have I been made to fall in love with an individual, with a couple, with a family, before I took such a horrific journey with them. To feel as though you know their strength, to get to know their life up until the moment it is stolen away, to know their helplessness in the face of something so unjust and so terrifying, it changes the way you look at the world, to see such atrocities through their eyes. This may be a fictionalized account inspired by true events, but you won't convince my heart Eva and Angelo aren't real. This story weaves it's way under your skin and into your soul so you feel every step of their journey, of their fight, of this miracle. It's both beautiful and tortuous what Amy Harmon does here, but it's so right. It's so important. We don't truly know fear and loss and hopelessness until we take this journey ourselves. Opening this book, turning these pages, moving along with Eva and Angelo is taking the journey ourselves. This is absolutely a story of survival and love. But, more, From Sand and Ash is a poignant reminder of where we all come from, that no matter where we live or who we pray to or what we believe in, we all come from the same place. We are all made of the same things. We all seek joy, we all look to find purpose. We all love and play and pray and laugh and hope, and we all just want to be understood. Above all else, we just want to be understood. That message screamed at me on every page, in every word. Our world would be such a beautiful, peaceful, harmonious one if we sought to understand each other instead of judging each other for the ways we are different, for the God we pray to, for where each of our trees first took root. The Law of Moses taught me that we should be celebrating our differences instead of being afraid to point them out, to label them. From Sand and Ash takes that sentiment and drives it home in a way that simply can't be ignored. It's a brutal demonstration of what comes when we stop trying to understand each other, when we stop trying to relate, when we take what makes us different and use it as a means to divide us, to hurt each other, to push each other away. We need this message. We need this book. We need this reminder that when we refuse to learn from the past, we are doomed to repeat it. I'm asked often what book has changed my life. I can't say I've ever had a clear answer. I've read books I've loved, I've read books that have made me see things in ways I never have before, I've read books I'll never forget. But From Sand and Ash is a life changing book. This book will change the way you go forward by forcing you to go back. It'll change your heart, it'll change your mind, it'll make you seek to understand rather than condemn. It'll make you choose to see the good where there seems to be only darkness. It'll remind you that we're all the same where it matters, that we've all come from the same place regardless of where we're going. It'll inspire you to be better. It'll demand you pay closer attention to the opportunities to do something important. It will humble you, empower you, it'll strengthen your awareness of your world, your history, your place in it. You can't read this book and not come away changed. From Sand and Ash is a rich work of art, a stunning masterpiece that has moved me, altered me, captivated me. It'll take your breath away, it'll break your heart in ways it's never been broken before, it'll leave you speechless. I was overcome with so much emotion while reading this brutally beautiful story. I was painfully terrified. I was both angered and uplifted, both defeated and empowered, broken yet healed. These characters, this fictionalized truth swathed in Harmon's unparalleled storytelling and her breathtaking writing style make for an epic story of bravery, love, resilience and loss that is both haunting and heartwarming all at once. As long as I live, I will carry this story with me.

I rarely reread books, but not because I don't want to, but because my TBR list is km-long and I have not enough time 🤷🏻‍♀️ But I bought my favorite book in Polish and I couldn't resist reading this book again. Yes, this is the third time I read this it 🤷🏻‍♀️ After the first time I read "From Sand and Ash" it took me days to get out of my emotional melancholy and start another book. I loved this book so much, that I talked about it to everyone and everywhere 🤭 My friends were so desperate that they read it, just so I stop talking about it 😂 And you know what, they loved it almost as much as I did 😍 Amy Harmon has the amazing gift of drawing people into the story and the protagonists lives. You feel like you know them and you are living, crying and laughing with them. From Sand and Ash is a story that takes place in World War II and the events in the war are of course terrible and hard to take or even understand, for us now. But it's the story behind the story that's makes this book even more heartbreaking and so damn emotional. A forbidden love story, between two people who have sacrificed everything for other people, from whom War has taken everything, who didn't believe that in the end they could been together and still fought with everything that they had for others lives. I recommend this book to all of you, who is not afraid to have an ugly cry for at least 50% of this book and other half mental breakdowns 🤭. Sorry, I can't help myself. I love this book so much ❤ So please read this book and enjoy! I loved every second of it (and cried not only the first time I read it) ❣

One of the best books I have ever read

Amo i romanzi di Amy Harmon. Le storie che racconta, i personaggi che descrive, le emozioni che trasmette e che suscita, a prescindere dalle ere, circostanze o luoghi raccontati. Questo romanzo è stato difficile. Ho dovuto spesso fermarmi,asciugarmi gli occhi, ricompormi e ricominciare a leggere. Sono italiana. Queste sono le storie dei “miei nonni” quelle mia dimenticate ma di rado raccontate, perché troppo dolorose, troppo vivide e presenti in un futuro che sembra voler sempre voltare le spalle alla storia. Una lettura meravigliosa, che racconta di un’Italia in uno dei suoi momenti peggiori senza togliere la bellezza ai posti, alle persone e alle atmosfere. Bellissimo.

In world war II 90% Italian Jew survived, but 90% European Jew killed. That is the fact and that is tree in which story moved from branch to branch. In the darkness of war love bloom, love generally always bloom beautifully when darkness become too deep to see. In the desperation of Vatican, sadness of christian world thousand of priest ready to give their life to help Jew. It is so painful that German forget that Christ was also Jew, but many priest never forget that. May be Angelo grow up with Eva as brother and sister, may be Angelo became priest, but love could't stop by building a thousand feet wall around you. May be they did't want to see their love, their attraction, but love is always showed more and that was why we wanted to see less. Story was excellent with lots of real life reference, but just one thing I had disappointed. I don't like happy ending, I always enjoy tragic end, but I believe that was my problem. In hopelessness of killing, destroying and devastation END should be happy, at least some people should find their loved one, should create a dream world out of darkness, should love till aged.

Loved it!! Go get it you won't regret it one tiny bit! Amy Harmon did an excellent work!! My heart feels broken hut so full at the same time!