What a wild ride from start to finish. I absolutely love the writing style and characters in this book.
First off, before I go any further, I want to say that this book has two stories in one. Yet Wayland has written it in a way that it never feels like two separate stories. Both the past when Angela's brother Donny is alive and well and the present where Angela is in the forest with her brother's ashes intertwine extremely well. I will say, however, that while each story is compelling as a read on its own, if you were to separate them and make them into two books, it wouldn't work. Not only would each story be too short, if you tried to pad it out, but the story would also lose its impactfulness and quality storytelling.
Ashes by Iona Wayland
I do think it would be cool to expand on the world where Wyatt lives, though. Like, can you see the forest and The Mount from afar? When Angela was on The Mount, could she see anything else besides the forest? I also want to know more about why Wyatt is stuck in the forest yet alive in the "real world". I believe it was explained a bit at the end but I think it wasn't clear, at least to me. I'm not the best at picking stuff up sometimes.
That being said, I loved this book from start to finish. From the characters to the world-building. I loved each story (Donny being alive to Angela with his ashes in the forest). Wayland chose the perfect way to write about grief and trauma and executed it wonderfully. I also praise Wayland for writing the trigger warnings in the book. Great for anyone who needs them.
All in all, this was a great and quick read with all the feels. If you want a good read, I highly recommend checking this one out.