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Up From the Ashes
The Second Civil War is over. America is rebuilding. But a powerful mafia has possession of a drug that could change the world as we know it…
Gideon Hochberg and West Johnston must stop Thomas Flannery before he unleashes Black Out, a powerful drug capable of destroying civilization. But Flannery is a phantom, and every time they get close to finding him, he vanishes again.
Meanwhile, in Springtown, acts of terrorism rise. While the hunt for Flannery continues, the search begins for who is behind the attacks on the town. But as the attacks become murders, it’s evident that whoever is targeting Springtown is truly after Hochberg, Johnston, and their allies.
The enemy will stop at nothing to win… But the crew has an unexpected ally in Flannery’s ranks that could help them turn the tides.
This series picks up where the bestselling and award-nominated The Infidel Books dropped off. After you binge The Infidel Books, this book is the next stop!
Gideon Hochberg and West Johnston must stop Thomas Flannery before he unleashes Black Out, a powerful drug capable of destroying civilization. But Flannery is a phantom, and every time they get close to finding him, he vanishes again.
Meanwhile, in Springtown, acts of terrorism rise. While the hunt for Flannery continues, the search begins for who is behind the attacks on the town. But as the attacks become murders, it’s evident that whoever is targeting Springtown is truly after Hochberg, Johnston, and their allies.
The enemy will stop at nothing to win… But the crew has an unexpected ally in Flannery’s ranks that could help them turn the tides.
This series picks up where the bestselling and award-nominated The Infidel Books dropped off. After you binge The Infidel Books, this book is the next stop!
Unknown Binding
First published September 8, 2023
About the author
Angela R. Watts
58 books235 followersANGELA R. WATTS is the bestselling and award-nominated author of The Infidel Books and the Remnant Trilogy. She’s been writing stories since she was little, and has over 28 works published. She also writes articles for a few magazines and publishers. When she’s not writing, Angela is a freelance editor, blogger, anime-lover, and artist. She lives in Tennessee with her family and many pets. Angela loves connecting with readers, and you can follow her on social media to stay up-to-date with releases, or contact her through her website. angelarwatts.com
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
June 9, 2026
I have so many mixed feelings and thoughts on this book it’s not even funny.
On the one hand I’m happy to see this cast of characters moving on and rebuilding what they have, but on the other it seems like none of the growth from the first series has stuck with some of them and they’ve regressed in their arcs and even in some cases doubled down on those struggles to an annoying degree.
And I don’t know if it’s because I haven’t read a gritty book in a hot minute or not, but the violence seemed dialed up to eleven on the most extreme scale possible in a way that just distracted me from what it was highlighting on a disturbing level, making the results and actions of that violence almost meaningless due to just how MUCH it’s described, if that makes any sense. And while there’s always been harsh language in Angela’s books, here the amount of f-bombs in the last half/third of the book was so glaringly distracting and unnecessary, constantly keeping me from the intense things happening around it as those words (if you can even call them that) did nothing to show the characters’ extreme emotions outside of them not being able to watch their tongues like they did in the first series. These things did nothing to enhance the plot or characters but instead distracted from them and even in several cases annoyed the heck out of me.
Also I could be wrong, but I’m pretty sure Jack Savage’s name isn’t ever Jake which is all he’s called in this book and it drove me nuts, especially since due to moving I can’t look up his name in The Infidels Books to double check, so now I’m just gonna be miffed until I have access to those books again and can look it up, lol.
It ends on a cliffhanger though I did look up the first few chapters of the next book to make sure everyone was okay, but I’m honestly not sure if I’ll continue the series or not. I’m curious to know what happens and how it will all ultimately end, but the distracting violence, unnecessary inclusion of f-bombs, and regressing character arcs has me hesitant to give them a chance. Maybe I’ll reread The Infidels Books (once I have access to them again) first and see if I still like them before I decide, but ultimately I’m disappointed and conflicted while also glad to see these characters once more. I guess we’ll see, but I’m not very hopeful at this point in time; Angela’s books just may not be for me anymore and that makes me sad.
‼️Content‼️
Language: damn it; damn; bastard; hell; “got some balls”; hellish; ass; dumbass; gee; asshole; what the hell; go to hell; dammit; God (1); sh*tty (1); mind-f*** hell (1); pissed; bitch; hellscape; f-bombs (7); sh*t (18)
Violence: fighting with weapons (not to very detailed); injuries and blood (not to semi detailed); people are trapped in a burning building and some die (not shown or detailed); “blood and brains oozing”
Sexual: men had “women on beds” some of which were drugged (nothing shown or detailed); a kiss (not detailed)
Alcohol/Drugs: hallucinogenic drugs; drug usage; adults drink beer; characters smoke; a character’s injected with a hallucinogenic drug
Other: mentions of human trafficking and victims of it; death and grief; explosions and arson
On the one hand I’m happy to see this cast of characters moving on and rebuilding what they have, but on the other it seems like none of the growth from the first series has stuck with some of them and they’ve regressed in their arcs and even in some cases doubled down on those struggles to an annoying degree.
And I don’t know if it’s because I haven’t read a gritty book in a hot minute or not, but the violence seemed dialed up to eleven on the most extreme scale possible in a way that just distracted me from what it was highlighting on a disturbing level, making the results and actions of that violence almost meaningless due to just how MUCH it’s described, if that makes any sense. And while there’s always been harsh language in Angela’s books, here the amount of f-bombs in the last half/third of the book was so glaringly distracting and unnecessary, constantly keeping me from the intense things happening around it as those words (if you can even call them that) did nothing to show the characters’ extreme emotions outside of them not being able to watch their tongues like they did in the first series. These things did nothing to enhance the plot or characters but instead distracted from them and even in several cases annoyed the heck out of me.
Also I could be wrong, but I’m pretty sure Jack Savage’s name isn’t ever Jake which is all he’s called in this book and it drove me nuts, especially since due to moving I can’t look up his name in The Infidels Books to double check, so now I’m just gonna be miffed until I have access to those books again and can look it up, lol.
It ends on a cliffhanger though I did look up the first few chapters of the next book to make sure everyone was okay, but I’m honestly not sure if I’ll continue the series or not. I’m curious to know what happens and how it will all ultimately end, but the distracting violence, unnecessary inclusion of f-bombs, and regressing character arcs has me hesitant to give them a chance. Maybe I’ll reread The Infidels Books (once I have access to them again) first and see if I still like them before I decide, but ultimately I’m disappointed and conflicted while also glad to see these characters once more. I guess we’ll see, but I’m not very hopeful at this point in time; Angela’s books just may not be for me anymore and that makes me sad.
‼️Content‼️
Language: damn it; damn; bastard; hell; “got some balls”; hellish; ass; dumbass; gee; asshole; what the hell; go to hell; dammit; God (1); sh*tty (1); mind-f*** hell (1); pissed; bitch; hellscape; f-bombs (7); sh*t (18)
Violence: fighting with weapons (not to very detailed); injuries and blood (not to semi detailed); people are trapped in a burning building and some die (not shown or detailed); “blood and brains oozing”
Sexual: men had “women on beds” some of which were drugged (nothing shown or detailed); a kiss (not detailed)
Alcohol/Drugs: hallucinogenic drugs; drug usage; adults drink beer; characters smoke; a character’s injected with a hallucinogenic drug
Other: mentions of human trafficking and victims of it; death and grief; explosions and arson
March 27, 2024
Sadly, this wasn't really what I was hoping for in a sequel series to the Infidel Books. The story felt pretty rushed, as well as a little repetitive, and the writing had quite a few errors (the ebook version did, at least). There was also more strong language than I expected.
I did enjoy getting to see more of the characters (although one of my favorites was strangely absent most of the time 😢), so I'll probably continue just to see what happens to them. Who knows? Maybe the next one will be more to my liking.
I did enjoy getting to see more of the characters (although one of my favorites was strangely absent most of the time 😢), so I'll probably continue just to see what happens to them. Who knows? Maybe the next one will be more to my liking.
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And things get worse! <3
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews