Falling to Ash (Moth #1) by Karen Mahoney

Falling to Ash by Karen Mahoney
Published: 27th September 2012
By: Corgi Childrens
Source: Random House UK

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Falling to Ash was a book that I hadn't even heard of until I was offered a chance to request it. Of course, my love of vampires just wouldn't let me refuse and I just couldn't wait get started on it.

Marie, or Moth, as she now calls her vampire self was turned about a year ago when she was 18, but her maker, Theo, kept her hidden from the Family, for fear of repercussions to himself and Moth if they knew he had turned her without permission from them. The Family, are a vampire council who rule and police the vampires.

Theo, is the head vampire of Boston, a hot young looking vampire, who wooed and dated Marie before losing control one night and then turning her, rather than letting her die. He claims it was a lapse in judgement, but now, must face the consequences from the Family. Marie will be allowed to live if Theo can kill Thomas Murdoch, a notorious vampire hunter, and produce his head for the Family. Otherwise, Moth will be ended, taking a little bit of Theo's soul with her. He has one week.

Someone is killing teenagers who are connected to Moth in some way. The first guy, Rick, is a guy she went to college with. When Moth gets a visit from the police because the dead guy has her name and address on him, she senses something fishy and knows she needs to look into this herself. It appears to be a vampire attack so if she can get to the body, she may be able to pick up the scent of the vampire. If Theo gets wind of this she'll be in trouble.

She heads to the hospital, only to run into Jason Murdoch, son of Thomas, the vampire hunter. After a brief tussle, he decides to check things out with her. He can't let a vampire stroll freely around a hospital. They arrive at the morgue just in time to see Rick, sitting on a slab, chewing on an arm, the nurse dead at this feet. All of a sudden, Moth and Jace are on the same side.

I truly loved this book. Moth is a spectacular heroine, brave with a smart mouth but extremely caring when it comes to people she cares about. She's not happy about what she is but accepts that she has to get on with it. Despite Jace being a hunter, she can't help but find him attractive. He is definitely swoonworthy. While a romance doesn't actually take off between the two, the tension is there and when the two of them are together were probably my favourite times in the book.

Theo is Moth's maker, and therefore, she has to do what he says. While she complains about him a lot, I could feel a caring, compassionate relationship between them.

This is my first book to read by Karen Mahoney but I will definitely be looking into others. Falling to Ash is fast paced with sufficient action to keep you on the edge of your seat. I didn't want to put this book down. As yet there is no information on the second book but I really hope we're not going to be kept too long waiting.

Buy the book: Amazon/The Book Depository