From Goodreads: "Angels sharpening their blades. A mortal world plagued by demons. And one young woman torn between them. As an orphan in Midri, Sanaa wants only one thing: Freedom outside the walls of Vice District. When she’s caught by the dreaded poachers and sold at auction, she’ll do anything to escape her fate. Anything. Rynk has battled his way to the top of the angel hierarchy, but he longs for his fated mate. Instead, the Council sends him to Midri to recover a lost token of the Celestials—the sacred relic he lost as a child. Rynk must seize this one chance for redemption if he ever hopes of finding her—his Beloved. In the demon-infested world of Midri, Rynk stumbles across a young woman on death’s door. With a single touch, three things become crystal clear to the blind warrior: 1. She is his Beloved. 2. She’s human. 3. She rejects their fated bond.With demons closing in, Sanaa and Rynk are running out of time. If they don’t overcome the bruises of their pasts, thousands will die. Because it’s not just their hearts at risk— Sanaa’s entire world will be destroyed if the two can’t find a way to accomplish the impossible. Before the angels burn Midri to ash.

Thank you so much to Raye Wagner for providing me with an e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review! All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I feel like I've waited an eternity to read another one of Raye Wagner's books again! This was a wonderful return to the incredible worlds that she creates and I didn't realize just how much I had missed reading her work until I started reading this book. I knew as soon as I picked it up that I would fall for everything that this book had to offer and I was absolutely correct.

I had so much fun with this story! At 478 pages it certainly wasn’t anything to sneeze at. This was a book that I took my time with in a sense, despite devouring it every time I picked it up. I wanted to really lose myself in the world and the story and it was so easy to do that with such an engaging plot! I wanted to know everything about the demons and angels and Lilith and betrayal and love and all of the things that were packed into the story. I was worried I would be overwhelmed at times, but it was laid out in a way that gave you information about the world and what was happening slowly so that you could take the time to really digest what was happening. Angel stories can usually be hit or miss for me but this one was a grand slam home run touchdown insert more sportsball phrases here! I loved the lore and how the different angels came to be and I really felt like I was learning as Sanaa was learning. I could honestly read an entire series about this world; I feel like there was so much packed into here that I want more of! Raye Wagner is a master at weaving together a memorable story and this is absolutely unforgettable in every way.

Sanaa is incredibly wary of everything at first, especially with the whole Beloved business that she wants nothing to do with. It takes her a long time to truly trust that Rynk doesn’t have ulterior motives because she’s been hurt before, and you can see that in the way that she carries herself and how she acts. You can tell that she wants to trust him and embrace her new life, but she’s so unsure of everything. Watching her come into her own and learn about her powers and where she comes from was such a wonderful journey to go on. I felt like I was growing with her as she started to open herself up more and it was such a great experience to see her transformation from the start of the book to the end! 

I think that Raye Wagner handled the topic of Sanaa’s trauma very well in Angels of Ashes and Ivory. She showed that it’s not as simple as waking up one day and everything is suddenly better, but rather it’s a long and difficult journey learning to heal and moving forward with your life. I also genuinely appreciated that there was no “love fixes everything” trope because even though this is a fantasy story, that’s not how it happens. I actually found it quite funny that Rynk really thought that Sanaa finding out she was his Beloved would fix everything and that she would instantly fall in love with him only for him to get rejected throughout most of the book. I love when tropes get turned on their heads like that!

The relationship between Sanaa and Rynk was incredibly refreshing to read. I haven’t read a slow-burn romance in a long time, let alone one where a character had to overcome immense trauma. It was sad seeing all of the ways that Sanaa would basically punish herself because she felt like she didn’t deserve love or basic human (or I guess angel?) kindness due to what she had gone through. Rynk also had an incredible transformation, starting off as a frustrated and seemingly entitled character to actually taking the time to care for Sanaa in the ways that she needed and finally becoming a wonderful partner to the strong woman that Sanaa eventually becomes. The two of them are such amazing characters and I knew that I would adore them as soon as I started reading. I was definitely not disappointed!

"What was a body anyway? Nothing more than a shell for the soul. A body meant nothing as long as her soul was her own. Her soul. Her heart. Her mind. If no one controlled those, then what did it matter who bought her body? It didn’t matter a bit.”

“Things admitted in the dark of night were not always easy to say in the light of day.”

“Before this goes any further, Blue, you need time for your heart and mind and body to be in agreement. What I want will wait for what you need.”

I can always count on Raye Wagner to have quotes sprinkled throughout her books that hit me straight in the heart and this book was no different. I’m convinced that she’s a magical being that somehow always manages to write stories that speak to different parts of my life. I always seem to read her books at a time when I need the messages that they give the most and this time is no different  I’ve been struggling to return to my “normal”  life and find myself after beating cancer and seeing Sanaa being able to slowly but surely rebuild herself after her trauma has given me hope that, despite how different our traumas are, I can also rebuild myself and start again. It brings me joy to find positive messages like this in the books that I read, so thank you Raye for giving me this gift, however indirectly it may be.

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Angels of Ashes and Ivory is an incredible story about learning to love, healing from trauma, and becoming the person you were meant to be. After several years of being absent from writing, Raye Wagner has come back stronger than ever and shown that she is still the queen of fantasy. With an exciting and engaging plot that will keep you turning the pages, characters that will break your heart and mend it back together, and writing that will speak to your soul, Angels of Ashes and Ivory is a powerful story that is sure to stick with you long after you finish reading!