Book Review + Author Interview: Atoning for Ashes

Atoning for Ashes
by Kaitlin Covel
Deep River Books LLC, 2019
320 pages

Always the responsible sister, Josie Chadwick will do whatever is necessary to protect her family, including marrying a veritable stranger. Giving up her dream of marrying for love is no easy ask, and Josie must depend on her faith and the support of a few dear friends to navigate the intense and confusing emotions she feels for her new husband.

Hurt by more than one woman in his life, Charles Radcliffe isn’t too keen on marrying Josie, even if he can see the sense in joining their families’ estates. But despite his best efforts to hold her at a distance, he finds her faithfulness and devotion hard to ignore. As his heart begins to soften he must examine the things he believes about God and his family and decide where his love and loyalty lie, especially as an old mystery leads them both into danger and threatens their future.

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Thanks to the author for sending me a copy to review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I always like to read debut novels. There’s something about reading an author’s first work that is so exciting, especially when it turns out to be a riveting read like Atoning for Ashes. I liked the way Kaitlin Covel presented Josie and Charles’s stories in parallel so that the reader could understand why each was feeling and reacting the way they were to each other. There is a lot of nuance to their relationship. Both bring baggage from their pasts that add to the challenge of coming into the marriage through obligation to their families instead of from any sort of affection.

Like Regency romances? Check out The Painter’s Daughter, too!

Woven through all of the emotions of this Regency romance is an intriguing mystery, one that I wasn’t able to solve by myself. She did a great job dropping clues along the way and I really enjoyed the mash-up of romance and danger that culminated in a surprising and satisfying resolution. The setting was perfect, with creepy English manor houses and sprawling grounds to provide variety in the scenes and support the mysterious elements of the story.

Overall I very much enjoyed this book and I can’t wait to read more from Kaitlin Covel in the future. How do I know she will write more books? Well, Kaitlin graciously agreed to an author interview, and one of the questions involved her future plans 🙂

Author Interview with Kaitlin Covel:

Have you always wanted to write novels?
Yes, I have for as long as I can remember! I didn’t visit the library once as a child without envisioning my book on the shelf!

What was the initial inspiration for this story?
There are so many elements that served as inspiration for this story. I wanted to write a story that I would personally enjoy reading. I keep a mental list of all the factors in a story that I enjoyed the most, and you will see many of these factors in Atoning for Ashes. I don’t dare to name them all for fear of spoiling the story for you! 

Which character is your favorite? Which was the hardest to write?
My favorite character is my heroine, Josie. The hardest character to write was my hero, Charles, because he is walking paradox! I’m very fond of my secondary character, Esther MacAllister, as well. 

Atoning for Ashes is your debut novel. What advice do you have for other aspiring writers trying to get their book out into the world? 
Believe in your God-given ability and talent as a writer! If you know writing is your calling, don’t let any obstacle hold you back whether it is time, money, confidence, resources, or something else! Feed the spark of inspiration burning deep inside and find a way to make your dream a reality. Take writing classes, join a critique group, write multiple short stories and novels, never stop reading, get a membership to ACFW, ask lots of questions, and believe in the power of your pen to tell a story no one else can tell!

Do you have plans for more books in the future?
I do! My mind plots stories faster than I can write them. Currently, I have 3 series in my head, and my WIP (work in progress) is the beginning of a trilogy. Before writing Atoning for Ashes, I completed multiple short stories and three novels. Practice certainly does make perfect as a writer! 

Thank you, Kaitlin, for taking some time to answer questions. I can’t wait to see more books like Atoning for Ashes in the future!