Buddy Read of Ash and Echoes

[Maiko-chan [|]]

Starting a buddy read of Ash and Echoes with Tenae here so others may feel free to hop in and join us.

[Maiko-chan [|]]

Info dump intro?

[Maiko-chan [|]]

I'm holding out hope that there's more showing than telling as the story continues.

I legit am going to dive into this without reminding myself of what the synopsis is so idk what MC's social status is. Is that (potentially nephew to the king) a factor into why he's getting away with insubordination? Or is the king just so unliked that it legit wouldn't matter if MC was related to the king or not? Or maybe it's just because he's the MC so he gets a pass.

(Ik I said I was gonna start this after dinner but now I have a ginormous urge to watch anime -specifically Black Clover- so I'll start this after anime maybe)

[Maiko-chan [|]]

LOL hard to tell is the best, tho it could be that they're horrified at both. These ppl have no sense of fun.

[Maiko-chan [|]]

My word this author likes their long sentences. I keep getting lost in them; there's way too many details thrown into each descriptive sentence.

[Maiko-chan [|]]

"The king smelled of sweat despite the chill, horses, dogs, and ale." (2%)

wtf does that even mean? The king smelled of sweat despite the chill and despite the following, or he smelled of sweat despite the chill and also smelled of the following ? Like I have no idea what this is trying to say. Does the king smell of these other things, or is it being noted that he doesn't and should smell of these things since they're typically overpowering but his own stench eclipses all other smells?

[Maiko-chan [|]]

I couldn't get into the start but I'm getting into this now and quite liking it.

[Maiko-chan [|]]

XD from your most recent status update it seems you've gotten into it now too.

[Maiko-chan [|]]

lol well when you put it that way

I'll do my best to do that too but if I fall behind it won't be for long. I definitely want to get to the point where Yarrow and Duncan get together now.

[Maiko-chan [|]]

I always cringe when I do it by accident because I know saying it the way everyone does just isn't accurate for the intended meaning.

To be fair tho Yarrow really does care. An awful lot. He's kindof like a tiny hissing/spitting cat? And Duncan is gonna pet him.

[Maiko-chan [|]]

IT BEGINS!

srsly tho wtf? I guess that's a break from the norm of saying the dick just twitched but maaan that's so aggressive. Is Duncan aggressively aroused? Wants to pet Yarrow real bad.

[Maiko-chan [|]]

I'm liking this book but jesusfuck. Yarrow's telling Duncan things don't feel right and just because they're not on the road this time Duncan thinks Yarrow is paranoid. Sure, it's Duncan's own men Yarrow overheard and not complete strangers beholden to their host's orders, but a conversation between soldiers hidden away from where others might overhear that involves them saying "All of them?...All" does sound foreboding. And doesn't Duncan not know all of the men in their procession? It doesn't matter that they're somewhere with a gracious host who provided them with a feast and warm places to sleep; people want to kill the prince before he marries and everyone protecting him is in near-constant danger. It's really not ok for Duncan to be letting his guard down even a little.

[Maiko-chan [|]]

When Yarrow's lips squashed against his (13%)

eeeww that sounds like a nasty kiss. That description makes me think of squished food, that's not sexy!

[Maiko-chan [|]]

19% in starts the first sexscene btw. And it's good and all I guess, but my god

...plowing Yarrow's damp fringe out of his face

Who plows someone's bangs after sex!? What does that even mean???

[Maiko-chan [|]]

lol Yarrow's totally fine. On that front anyway. Battle stuff happens a bit before, but mostly emotional trauma. I think the author was trying to make the bit romantic, like the stereotypical boy brushing a girl's hair behind her ear kind of thing. Only the wording completely fails. Any plowing going on should've been happening during the sex scene and elsewhere.

[Maiko-chan [|]]

Ikkkk I didn't want to spoil it for you so I didn't say anything, but I'm kind of in love with how things are being revealed in this story. Thank you for deciding we should read it now, I'm enjoying it a lot.

and no worries. I'll probably be making slow progress from this point on as I will need to give priority to school work.

[Maiko-chan [|]]

Really? I'm not bothered by them unless they're excessively overused and don't fit so I haven't noticed if the epithets here are used too much. But then I'm also a little resistant to Sasha's name here; every time I see it I just think of Shasta from The Chronicles of Narnia.

[Maiko-chan [|]]

29% we get the beginnings of Duncan & Sasha's budding feelings toward each other, so the 3some is starting to come together.

(view spoiler)[Also while they don't really know anything due to not having enough information, they're starting to see Yarrow's inner companion. But I think it'll be a while yet before they learn the truth. (hide spoiler)]