At times, Rain of Ash felt absolutely comical and feels as though it is having difficulty deciding whether it is going to go angsty romance or all out ass kicking protagonist with a score to settle. On one hand, we Gwen the protagonist, with the typical tragic back story and requisite largely dead, or otherwise absent family and on the other, we have Timothy, the absolute cartoon antagonist who is as obvious as the nose on Pinocchio's face from his very first appearance in the story. There is also the issue that with all of her family recently dead, Gwen has time to think about a romance. A high stakes stakeout becomes the perfect opportunity to consider kissing one her love interests for the first time, even if she might be dead in a few hours.
A Rain of Ash offered no surprises and felt like an amalgamation of many other books I have read . The pacing is fine up and up until the last few chapters, Judd manage to avoid over wrought prose. Fortunately, Judd did restrict this to the character of Tabitha, which while annoying, still made it tolerable. Rain of Ash isn't an exciting read by any stretch of the imagination but it is passable and a comfortable way to pass away a rainy Sunday afternoon.
What Rain of Ash did have going for it however was it's inclusion. Judd managed to create a very diverse cast and each marginalized person had specific signifiers that were extremely identifiable and welcoming. Judd further managed to include two very strong female characters. All of this makes Rain of Ash an extreme rarity in this genre.
