Bury The Ashes, Book Thirteen of The Fragile Line series by Sarah Dawson Powell

 Thought-Provoking, Comprehensive, Emotive

Genre: Contemporary Fiction/Romance/Sexual content

‘Bury The Ashes’, Book Thirteen of The Fragile Line by Sarah Dawson Powell- author

It had been over ten years since the commencement of the ongoing shenanigans that had unwittingly thrown five people into a tenuous, co-dependent, narcissistic, volatile, and yet dangerously passionate bond, from which, they all knew that there was only one way of ever leaving. The tenuous foundations on which the connections had been formed were so weak, so vulnerable, so callously uncared for, that the collapse of even one link could and often had, lead to a seismic shift in their dynamic, triggering changes, some of which were beyond their control, or so it had so frequently seemed. The latest and possibly the most de-structuring event ever to befall their fragile framework, had been the removal of a central force, affecting each of the others very differently, but at the same time providing a space for positive change and the formation of a more constructive set of behaviours. However, this lull in proceedings was never promised as a permanent position, and when the announcement of their impending reintroduction to civilization reaches the individual who is perhaps the most susceptible to this surely perilous plot twist, a craving for a taste of the dark times that had been a large part of their lives not that long ago, leads to a revealing of truths and an intervention that would change the course of their futures forever…..

It has taken me around eighteen months to read all thirteen books pertaining to Sarah Dawson-Powell’s The Fragile Line series. I remember feeling intimidated by it before I had even starting on my journey with the complicated, chaotic and at times (quite often) vexing characters. The first few (I think) novels, the stories of which purely existed around Sadie and Jenny, I really enjoyed. In books that followed along with an ever growing cast list, I began to wonder what I had got myself into and if I had the staying power to make it through to the bitter end. There have been times when I have had to step away such is the manic pace of these people’s lives, but there have also been times where the novels just didn’t feel long enough and Sarah undoubtedly left the reader on the edge of their seats. I was playing catch up so was lucky that most of the books were there for me to read when I wanted. When I got to the point where I had to wait for Sarah, I never had to wait long for my next fix. I was disappointed when the author announced originally number eleven would be the last book, but thrilled when she revealed that she would be writing a further two.

I did however, wonder about the repercussions, both times, of ending on an uneven number and it remained to see whether thirteen would be lucky for this group of fragile faux friends.

Sarah’s writing has taken me on a roller coaster of emotions, wincing or taking a breather at the less pleasant facets to the narrative and I can honestly say that I have never changed my mind about whether I liked or was completely reviled by literary characters so much, and there was ample opportunity to do so! Jenny, Sadie, Ryan, Trevor and Corey have become part of my life since the beginning of last year. The girls/ladies, Jenny and Sadie have definitely been the main players throughout as Sarah obviously intended. Their indecision, thoughtlessness, and reckless behaviour has triggered such frustration in me, but also their weakness, vulnerability and lack of self-worth has also seen me shouting at them and shedding a tear. The boys/men are all quite different. Ryan has been very quick to take advantage of Sadie’s lack of self-worth, she really has had the furthest to fall and many a time, has. Sarah has very cleverly interwoven some lighter moments in with the more darker areas of Sadie’s story using her ‘dizzy blonde’ persona to lift the mood when it’s required. In this book, the indignant concern she shows for the inclusion of her ‘conjugal rights’ in such an inappropriate environment, is so typically her. With Jenny, although Ryan has always been aware of her low self esteem, he also has known there was only so far he could push her. Corey, I think is extremely vulnerable and is basically a nice guy, but seemed to struggle with the concept of taking control of a situation sensibly versus exhibiting behaviour like Ryan’s, especially where Sadie is concerned. He and Jenny always seemed on a more level playing field but he knew which buttons to press there also. Trevor being the most sensible, removes himself from the melting pot of madness the first chance he gets. He’s always been aware of his susceptibility to lose sight of the way he should behave around Sadie and I’m not sure that he ever really gets to grips with that, but at the same time lets his life progress to better things that don’t revolve around the others. Even with the integral role that he has had for sometime with the group dynamic, I still see Dave as an outsider. He is level headed and kind but definitely has a number of quirks that made me sceptical about him. In this last book, it was lovely to see the reintroduction of Lucy Renier (Corey’s mum) and Debbie Montgomery (Sadie’s mum), plus Ryan’s sister’s, Brooke being level headed and civil versus the showdown between Laura and Lindsey, gave me a chuckle. Lindsey is feisty and Laura has a smart mouth on her. I was very touched by what Corey did for Ashley amongst all his angst and anger. Eric is someone I have never been sure of. Like the main group of characters, I have changed my mind on several occasions about him, and even during this book. He is hiding a secret, but you’ll have to read the bonus chapter to find out what. I did!

Sarah has ended this series giving us a few different twists throughout the last few chapters and making the ‘the offspring’ a feature, as she has really done throughout this last instalment, perhaps more than before. It is a wonder that they have been able to keep track of their complicated parentage and family connections all within such a small group of people – I had to write it down!

I would like to congratulate Sarah Dawson Powell on a fabulous literary series, my first one of any real length. It’s doubtful that I will ever have either the money to buy all thirteen books, or have the room to accommodate them, but I have them downloaded to look back on, which I will undoubtedly do whenever I get withdrawal symptoms from all the ‘Trauma, Drama and Bad Decisions’. My only remaining question is….why does Jenny need six ranges and a double oven??