Review: STRUGGLING TO GET OUT OF THE ASHES
Rating: 2 out of 5
Date: 09 8, 2013
There is no sense reading Ms. Wards` novels and complaining about the editing.  Be prepared for over one hundred spelling, grammar, and punctuation errors per book.  You should also be a fan of the  dominant alpha male and young, virginal (almost too stupid to live heroine).  These are issues that some readers can overcome if the plot and characters are enjoyable.Kara is a young adult who lost her parents at an early age.  Her only brother, Eric, has been killed in action overseas.  During the funeral, she is so busy wondering why people wear black that she DROPS THE AMERICAN FLAG given to her during the ceremony.  What????  She doesn`t even notice this until it is retrieved by our hero.  Hasn`t that happened at a lot of military funerals you`ve seen?Luckily, Kara fell out of a tree when she was young.  She was rescued by Nathan (the alpha). Keep this incident in mind since it is mentioned MANY, MANY times throughout the novel.  In fact, it appears to have been the highlight of Kara`s life.  Along with a situation when Kara was 17 and Nathan steps in to save her from a 22 year old, there appear to be no other significant interactions between these two before he proposes and  they end up living together.  In fact, the two have only held each other twice in their lives.  Very odd.  Even more strange is that fact that Nathan, who is a dozen years older, seems to have been lurking anonymously in the background as Kara was growing up while managing to date movie stars and European noblewomen.  This is not an unusual situation for alpha males in Ms. Wards` stories."Although Kara was dirt poor, she was stunningly beautiful and surprisingly sweet."  What the heck??  Poor people can`t be pretty or nice?  This is a surprise?There is absolutely no explanation why these two fall in love.  "She was hopelessly in love with him even after all these years."  EVEN AFTER WHAT?  Falling out of the tree?Here are Kara thoughts:  "What could she possibly offer him?  Would he expect sex?  Children?"  Ha!  When Kara asks Nathan if they will be intimate, he sweeps her off her feet by responding, "I suppose."  GAWK!Nathan:  "I don`t have time to court a woman or worry if I can trust her."  "Hell, you might be like this for the rest of your life, and I`ll worry about you the whole time."  Wouldn`t THAT sweep you off your feet?  "Would if help if I told you I was attracted to you?"  Ya, THINK?!!"It might have been a brief kiss on the cheek, but he presented it in a more meaningful way."  HOW??Worst of all.  "You had me so excited, I didn`t use protection-- and there`s no point in asking you if you were on the pill."  The 34 year old is blaming the virgin???Nathan`s relationship with his step-mother and the ending knock this story right out of believability park.