When Ash Falls
The London Fairy Tales Series #4
Rachel Van Dyken
Genre: Regency Romance, Fairytale Retelling
Release Date: November 17, 2104

#1 New York Times Bestselling Author Rachel Van Dyken returns to regency romance with the last and final installment in The London Fairy Tales series…A regency retelling of Snow White and The Seven Dwarves.

Ashton Wolfsbane, Earl of Gyles, has taken a vow of celibacy after blaming himself for his sister in laws death. After a failed suicide attempt, he’s dedicated his life to bring justice to the weak making it his personal vendetta to be the death dealer to the wicked, also known as The Grimm Reaper. He denies himself lusts of the flesh and is known throughout London because of his ability to kill effortlessly and without emotion, that is until he meets Princess Sofia, a woman hell bent on making him forget all his reasons for denying himself the one thing he’s always craved—love.

After rescuing the fair damsel, he thinks his job finished, that is until he discovers he’s to be the Princess’s escort throughout London until she’s safely married. It wouldn’t be such a hardship, except the Princess has made him an offer he can’t refuse. Show her passion, real passion.

Four weeks of giving into the desire he’s suppressed for so long–four weeks of bliss and then they’ll go their separate ways. But things aren’t always what they seem, and when rescuing a damsel, or making a deal with her, one must always be prepared for the consequences.

Seven Royal Guard, a Beast, a kingdom in chaos, and a girl as pure as the driven snow…Will they find their Happily Ever After?

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Well folks, it finally happened. I read my first regency romance. I have always been hesitant for some reason but I am so glad that I took the proverbial leap of faith. Anything by Rachel Van Dyken has been something to rave about, in my opinion, and it was the perfect author and book to break into a new genre for me. I will confess that I went and one clicked the rest of the London Fairy Tales series when I finished.

When Ash Falls is a regency retelling of the fairytale Snow White and the Seven Dwarves. When we meet Ash for the first time, we see that his heart has been broken and his life has spiraled out of hope due to the loss of the one person he loved above all else. Years after this tragedy, he is trying to put it all behind him and has become a well-known assassin and guard, focusing solely on his task as penance for what happened that fateful day. It is because of his renown that he is summoned to locate and escort the Russian princess, Sofia, safely to her cousin in London. Sofia is running from her evil step-mother and ex-fiancé in Russia,who  both her plan to destroy her. She is escorted by the most ridiculous but sweet and well-meaning group of men, who have pledged life to protect her at all costs. When Ash finds the princess and her guard, he is taken back by Sophia’s snark, beauty and wit, a formidable woman that has the power to break the strong assassin. After arriving to London, Ash is tasked with protecting Sophia until she finds a titled husband; someone to marry that will offer the protection she needs from her past and allow her to step into her role as ruler in the future. Yet despite her fate, their attraction cannot be denied and they grow close. Sophia is able to break down Ash’s thick and scarred walls, allowing for a growing attraction between the two lost souls. Sophia longs to find love and passion yet with the time constraints and fear for her life, she will be forced to find someone convenient and titled to marry. It is this predicament and her fear that hatches a plan in her mind, to experience a few weeks of passion with Ash that will hopefully be enough to last her for the rest of her lives. But where there is a burning passion, there is also a flame that will burn away everything else until the only thing that can exist is the two lovers wanting more than they believe they can ever have.

This was a great story with a fun story line. The factor that pushed it over the top was the incredibly written characters, something Rachel Van Dyken excels at. Ash is such a moody man, granted he has endured loss and pain, but his self-imposed punishment is his choice alone. He has a dark streak in his soul and he refuses to allow his heart and body to heal, planning for his life’s destruction to be his penance for the past. At times it was aggravating to see his self-imposed anguish, yet when we truly understand who Ash is, it seems to make sense. He is a man of conviction and passion. When he allows his heart to feel again, whether or not he planned it that way, he becomes a fierce protector, wanting to give Sophia everything she desires and deny himself to protect her at all costs. Sophia was a feisty and naïve princess, yet she had learned of the world’s cruelty in such horrible ways. She is a fighter, both for her country, her life, and those she loves. All she desired was to give love and be loved in return. Her beauty and passion is the key to unlocking Ash’s self-imposed prison and bring life to his dead heart again.

The secondary characters bring a healthy dose of humor in a sad situation. Peirce and Hunter are forever goading Ash, hoping to bring a burst of life into his eyes. Their antics made me laugh and roll my eyes. The Royal Guard that accompanied Sophia from Russia is hilarious. The depiction of the dwarves from the old fairy caused me to laugh out loud. I loved their adoration of Sophia and their personalities always made for many funny moments in the story!

The passion and tension between Sophia and Ash is powerful and beautifully written. Their emotions are well developed, causing the reader to hope for their love to win, but understanding the challenges that they will face. Watching Sophia fight for what she wants is wonderful. Seeing Ash’s heart beat again for love was moving and sweet. It was a beautifully explored affair that allowed for hope and love to overcome every obstacle. I was smiling like an idiot when they flirted and could not wait for them to finally be together!

If you are looking for a regency romance to keep you warm this winter, then look no further. The passion between Ash and Sophia is fire! The humor keeps you smiling and the story will warm your heart! Rachel Van Dyken never ceases to amaze me! Don’t miss this book.

PROLOGUE

Ash didn’t want to remember her this way. Her beautiful face, so often lit with a breathtaking smile, was now cold and dead.
The first time he’d seen her, he had thought she was an angel, and he’d said that very thing under his breath when she had made her debut that season…
“Beautiful,” he murmured as Lucy took a turn about the room, gaining introductions to all the available gentlemen who came her way. Taking an earth-shattering breath, the kind that every man took when he was about to approach a beautiful woman, he made his way over to her.
Music faded into the background with each step. All Ash was aware of was the clicking of his boot against the floor as he progressed toward the beauty. One dance… if only she would give him one dance, he would secure her hand forever. He knew it in his heart, in his soul. She was meant to be his.
Heart beating out of his chest, he could barely contain his excitement as she lifted her eyes and met his gaze. Blue eyes twinkled in his direction, and then she lifted her hand in a wave. A wave? Something was wrong. Ash paused and then glanced self-consciously over his shoulder. There was no one but him, and then he gazed back at her. She crooked her finger, beckoning him forward.
Completely under her spell, he couldn’t deny her any more than he could cease from taking his next breath. Finally, he stood before her, at least a foot taller than she.
“Where have you been, you rogue?” She swatted him on the arm and gave him a coy laugh. “I have been looking everywhere for you!”
“For me?” Ash questioned. “Are you certain we have met?”
“Must you always joke at such serious times?” The girl laughed again, and he was caught at the sight of her dimples as they danced along her cheeks. Carefree. She appeared so carefree, so perfect, un-weighted by the things of this world, by the responsibility and darkness, by disappointment. He tilted his head and then reached out to touch her — perhaps she truly was a dream. And then a voice broke out into the pounding in his ears.
“Ah, sweetheart, you’ve met my brother.” Hunter stepped beside the girl and wrapped his arm around her.
Ash stepped back, his heart sinking down to his feet. She hadn’t been looking for him at all, but his older brother, his twin, the duke. It was such a sad joke, a sad existence really. Would he ever be first in anything?
Months had progressed into a year as he’d watched his brother and Lucy fall into such a deep love all he had been able to do was be happy for them and try to spend as much time away as possible. After all, it was not done to want your brother’s wife, to want to care for her and protect her. It was fate’s final, cruel trick to allow Ash to feel something for another and then have that person ripped away by his brother. Though he loved his brother more than his own life, it seemed Ash was always left with nothing while his brother was given everything.
His name fit.
For he was the ash after the fire of Hunter burned out.
He was nothing but soot, darkness, and sand. One day, his ashes would trickle away into the wind, never to be remembered and never mourned, but forgotten.
“Ash! Do you hear me! I love you! I love you!” Hunter yelled at his brother as he shook his shoulders, and then his eyes widened with desperation as slapped him across the face.
Ash stared at the blood staining his hands. He tried to wipe it off. Tried but failed as it continued to drip down his wrists into his jacket. “I’m so sorry,” he kept repeating over and over again, but it did not matter.
The carriage had come too fast. Lucy had thought Ash was Hunter and had run to him right into the street.
The fault was his.
He knew it, Hunter knew it, and Lucy, beautiful Lucy, his brother’s innocent wife was dead, and it was all because he had lied about who he was, tried to be better than just the second son.
He backed away, slowly at first, and then he ran.
His feet ached, his stomach heaved, and finally he stopped in the middle of the street, hoping, praying that someone or something would hit him. Death, it seemed, was his only option; it was his wish, his choice. For how could he live with himself after what he had done?
Hunter had loved Lucy, but so had Ash. She was his everything, his only relative other than Hunter, and although he had wanted her for himself, he had pushed those emotions so far beneath the surface of his heart that he hadn’t understood how far the love had run until now, until it was too late.
On legs like lead, he walked until he reached the tombstone of his parents. Both taken from him too soon. What would they think of him now? He was the disappointment in the family, the second son by minutes. And now he was a murderer.
Disgusted with himself, he sat down on the cold grass, leaned his head against the stone, and cursed. His brother — his only living relative — and he had ruined his life and ruined his parents’ memory in the process. All he had ever wanted as a boy was to please his father, yet all he’d received was disapproval. One time — just one time — he wanted to make someone proud, make himself proud.
But it was impossible.
He looked down at bloodstained hands.
His future stared right back at him.
Flee! He needed to flee, to get away. No, not just get away. He needed to die. A life for a life. So he set about doing exactly that. It was not fair that he was able to live, to survive, when the one woman who had done nothing but brought happiness to everyone she’d met, lay dead in the street.
“Lucy,” he whispered as salty tears ran down his cheeks and across his lips. “I’m so sorry… but I will see you soon. I will see you soon.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out the pistol. With shaking hands he lifted it to his chin and pulled the trigger.

Rachel Van Dyken is the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today Bestselling author of regency and contemporary romances. When she’s not writing you can find her drinking coffee at Starbucks and plotting her next book while watching The Bachelor.

She keeps her home in Idaho with her Husband and their snoring Boxer, Sir Winston Churchill. She loves to hear from readers! You can follow her writing journey at www.rachelvandykenauthor.com

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