This book introduces a world with red rain falling for years that is filled with infected humans and animals and only the strong survive. When Phoenix finds a fearless and reckless Aubrey killing everything in his path, he wants to possess him and keep the feral man at his side. But Aubrey won't let Phoenix know the truth behind his scars easily.
From the blurb:
Aubrey
The infected didn’t break me. They didn’t capture me for experiments and use me like an object. Humanity made me into the monster I am.
I’m reckless because it makes me feel alive, careless because I’m addicted to pain. And I’m dangerous because I’ve got nothing left to live for.
Nothing, until I meet a raider who seems to see right through me… who demands I do the one thing I said I’d never do again.
Let him in.
Phoenix
My mother left me to die on streets flooded with crimson rain. From the time I was born, all I’ve known is betrayal.
Now all I know is my pack. We take what we want when we want. We survive and we thrive because we know humans are as bad as the infected, and in this world, you eat or get eaten.
When I find a man who seems like he’s got a death wish… I know he’s mine. His reluctance makes me crave him. His defiance makes me burn like the fire in his eyes.
I’ve never wanted anything the way I want him. I need to know if his blood runs as red as the rain.
Ash on the Tongue is a Dual POV MM dystopian dark romance, and part of the 1nf3ction multi-author series. It features a man broken by the world around him and a raider who thrives on his chaos. Expect dark situations, high heat, and two men willing to burn down the world to keep what’s theirs.
SNik's review:
Part of a multi-author series (Mayhem Manuscripts Season One: 1nf3ction), but can be read as a standalone. Dystopian. Found family. Dual POV. Heed content warnings.
It’s been years of the world living with the infection that turns people feral and zombie-like, and Aubrey has survived imprisonment, experimentation, abuse and SA, and after losing someone very close to him he first sought to be good, but now welcomes the possibility of death. When Phoenix finds Aubrey he immediately wants to possess the fearless man with secrets and as many physical and mental scars as Phoenix carries.
This was an intense and well written story, with a good world build and gritty characters trying to survive in a world full of danger. In this setting, Aubrey and Phoenix’s attraction makes sense in that it is based in lust, greed, and the appeal of strength and survival instincts. We do get backgrounds for both characters, and there is plenty of action and spicy times between Aubrey and Phoenix. Overall, an entertaining read filled with strong emotions and two men that choose each other to live and fight nest to in a dark and dangerous world.
Angel's review:
Okay, first I'll start by saying when this series got announced I was SO excited. I love when dystopian/apocalypse books are written well and have romance, so my hopes were really high for this series. Lee, you did a FANTASTIC job with Aubrey and Phoenix kicking off this new series.
Aubrey and Phoenix are both two young men who have grown up surrounded by destruction and monsters... Some of those monsters weren't even those infected, they were just awful human beings. Both of them have been through so much hurt and anguish and have gotten used to pushing all of that pain down and ignoring it. But once these two find each other they realize that they can't keep doing that, they can't keep running from their past, and from their pain... In a way they did destroy each other, they destroyed each other's masks of the people they portrayed to be, but once those masks were gone they helped each other build themselves into someone new. Someone who doesn't have to hide anymore, and that was what their brutal romance highlighted so well.
We didn't get to see too many interactions with the side characters but what we did get I liked. Well, not Cutter, he deserves what he got but the rest of them were cool! I'm very curious about Zero...
I have to say I'm not sure how I feel about Phoenix and his crew eating people... I do get they were doing what they can to survive, and that most of the people they kill3d deserved it.. so I can let my mild disgust go? (To clarify, I'm not disgusted by the writing just the fact of cann@b!lism in general.. ) And I wasn't the only one turned off by their eating habits, Aubrey was adamantly against eating what the rest of them were having. (Rightfully so.)
Anyways, Phoenix and Aubrey's bloody romance was an excellent way to kick off the Infected series, and I am so eager to keep on reading. What a brilliant idea to release a zombie series during the month of Halloween. Perfect way to get in the spooky spirit!!
Ash on the Tongue is currently available as an e-book and can be read as part of your Kindle Unlimited Subscription
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