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One Vote, Two Votes, I Vote, You Vote | Bonnie Worth, Katherine Ross

Thank you for another great discussion yesterday in #CampLitsy25! Just two more voting rounds to go before we pack our bags and wrap things up at Camp. Please vote for your favorite August read below!

In a few days we‘ll get back to you to vote for this year‘s winner!

BarbaraBB @Addison_Reads @Amiable @AmyG @BarbaraJean @Bkclubcare @BooksandCoffee4me @Bookbuyingaddict @BookNAround @Bookwormjillk @Butterfinger 14h

BarbaraBB @BookwormAHN @Cariashley @Caroline2 @Catlass007 @CatGusMax @CarolynM @CBee @CatMS @ChaoticMissAdventures @Chelsea.Poole @Christine 14h

BarbaraBB @CogsOfEncouragement @Cseydel @Cuilin @Dabbe @Daisey @Debinhawaii @Deblovestoread @DGRachel @ErikasMindfulshelf @Flaneurette @fredthemoose 14h

See All 46 Comments

BarbaraBB @Gatheringbooks @Gissy @Graciouswarriorprincess @Hooked_on_books @ImperfectCJ @JamieArc @Jas16 @Jenniferw88 14h

BarbaraBB @JenP @Jenreadsalot @Jess @Jhod @JulesG @julieclair @Karisa @Kitta @Kristy-K @Kspenmoll @kwmg40 @Larkken @Laughterhp @LeeRHarry @Leniverse @Lesliereadsalot @maggie4483 (edited) 14h

BarbaraBB @Mcctrish @maich @MeganAnn @Merelybookish @Meshell1313 @Monalyisha @Oryx @peaKnit @Prairiegirl_reading @PuddleJumper @quietjenn 14h

BarbaraBB @Read4Life @RaeLovesToRead @Reggie @rockpools @Roary47 @Ruthiella @Sace @Sapphire @Sarahbarnes @Soubhiville @Skygoddess1 @Suet624 @Susanita @Texreader @sblbooks 14h

BarbaraBB @TheBookHippie @Thekidupstairs @TheBookDream @Triplem80 @TrishB @Vonnie862 @Well-ReadNeck @willaful @youneverarrived @yourfavouritemixtape @zukeeyah 14h

jenniferw88 Surprisingly, I'm voting for Tilt, as I think it'll stay with me longer than KoA.

13h

GatheringBooks Thank you for hosting this August! You were fabulous! I vote for

13h

DGRachel I really thought my vote would be different when Camp first started, but it‘s got to be Tilt for me!

13h

TEArificbooks Tilt 12h

TrishB Tilt for me. Thanks @BarbaraBB 12h

Bookwormjillk I‘m voting Tilt. Thanks! 12h

Oryx Tilt please 12h

Lesliereadsalot Definitely Tilt! 12h

Suet624 Tilt for me as well. Like others, I‘m surprised by my vote. 12h

BarbaraBB My vote is for King of Ashes. I liked Tilt (and much more so after our discussion) but this story grabbed me and didn‘t let go until the final page

12h

Leniverse King of Ashes 11h

Megabooks No question because it‘s going to be in my top books of the year - Tilt! 11h

squirrelbrain It‘s a difficult choice but I‘m going to go for Tilt. 11h

mcctrish Tilt 11h

ErikasMindfulShelf Tilt 11h

JamieArc Tilt. I thought I was going to be one of a few voting for it. Seems not. 10h

Suet624 @BarbaraBB I was feeling the same way for a bit but Tilt won. (edited) 10h

CBee I haven‘t finished King of Ashes 🤦‍♀️ I do know that based on what I‘ve read so far, I‘d still pick Tilt (it‘s really stuck with me). 10h

BkClubCare 🗳️ Tilt!

10h

JenReadsAlot Going with

10h

ChaoticMissAdventures I am so sad I didn't enjoy Cosby's book more ... I vote for Tilt 10h

Jas16

ImperfectCJ This is a tough decision for me, but I'm going with Tilt as I've continued to think about the story more than I expected.

Ruthiella I wasn‘t a huge fan of either. I‘ll pick

peaKnit King of Ashes for me. 🔥 9h

AmyG King of Ashes 8h

vonnie862 Tilt 8h

Jess

Hooked_on_books I liked both these books, but where Tilt is good, KoA is a freaking masterpiece, so it‘s Cosby for me.

Deblovestoread For me it‘s

BookwormAHN King of Ashes 7h

Texreader King of Ashes 7h

rockpools I‘m won‘t be voting this time, as I really haven‘t given King of Ashes a chance yet (not enough to know if it‘s the book or me right now). I was surprised by how much I liked Tilt though. 7h

Prairiegirl_reading Tilt 6h

DebinHawaii While I did really like KOA, the Portland/OR setting of Tilt really closed the deal for this former resident. I‘m still thinking about this book.

Maggie4483 Definitely

56m

cariashley I vote for Tilt! Both were disturbing and unsettling in different ways but Tilt moved me more. King of Ashes was entertaining but felt shallower to me. I know I didn‘t participate in the discussions the past few weeks but I just read through them and loved the commentary! 56m

BarbaraJean I don‘t know if I should vote since I skipped King of Ashes, but the fact that I skipped it is kind of a vote in itself 😂 So:

40m

49 likes46 comments

King of Ashes | S. A. Cosby

#CampLitsy25 Question 1

Our final discussion. Summer has flown by and so has Camp. We hope you‘ll stick around for choosing this year‘s winner in the coming days before packing your bags and return to autumn and reality!

We‘ll tag everyone once. Please scroll down to find questions 2 and 3!

BarbaraBB @Addison_Reads @Amiable @AmyG @BarbaraJean @Bkclubcare @BooksandCoffee4me @Bookbuyingaddict @BookNAround @Bookwormjillk @Butterfinger 2d

BarbaraBB @BookwormAHN @Cariashley @Caroline2 @Catlass007 @CatGusMax @CarolynM @CBee @CatMS @ChaoticMissAdventures @Chelsea.Poole @Christine 2d

BarbaraBB @CogsOfEncouragement @Cseydel @Cuilin @Dabbe @Daisey @DebinHawaii @Deblovestoread @DGRachel @ErikasMindfulshelf @Flaneurette @fredthemoose 2d

See All 45 Comments

BarbaraBB @Gatheringbooks @Gissy @Graciouswarriorprincess @Hooked_on_books @ImperfectCJ @JamieArc @Jas16 @Jenniferw88 2d

BarbaraBB @JenP @Jenreadsalot @Jess @Jhod @JoyBlue @JulesG @julieclair @Karisa @Kitta @Kristy-K @Kspenmoll @kwmg40 @Larkken @Laughterhp @LeeRHarry @Leniverse @Lesliereadsalot @maggie4483 (edited) 2d

BarbaraBB @Mcctrish @maich @MeganAnn @Merelybookish @Meshell1313 @Monalyisha @Oryx @peaKnit @Prairiegirl_reading @PuddleJumper @quietjenn (edited) 2d

BarbaraBB @Read4Life @RaeLovesToRead @Reggie @rockpools @Roary47 @Ruthiella @Sace @Sapphire @Sarahbarnes @Soubhiville @Skygoddess1 @Suet624 @Susanita @Texreader @sblbooks 2d

BarbaraBB @TheBookHippie @Thekidupstairs @TheBookDream @Triplem80 @TrishB @Vonnie862 @Well-ReadNeck @willaful @youneverarrived @yourfavouritemixtape @zukeeyah 2d

TrishB Think I‘m turning into a terrible person! I didn‘t feel sympathy or discomfort….just general annoyance. Every decision they made just made the situations worse… 2d

Reggie At one point I thought Roman was just gonna kill Dante just to keep him from making more mistakes. But then you find out what happened with their mom. 2d

DGRachel I‘m with @TrishB on this one. I never felt sympathy, just annoyance for those two. My heart broke for Neveah, but I also wanted to shake her. 2d

squirrelbrain Yes, I agree @DGRachel - I thought Nevaeh was rather pathetic. 2d

squirrelbrain They did bring it all on themselves didn‘t they? @TrishB Although I had more sympathy for their actions once we found out about their Mum, @Reggie 2d

TrishB @squirrelbrain @Reggie you‘d have thought that may mean they would put more thought in to the decisions they were making! 2d

fredthemoose I‘ll be honest, I got to the scene where they brought Dante‘s friends to the crematorium and now I‘m sort of scared to finish the book. That was a lot and I‘m sure there‘s a lot more where that came from. 🫣 (I‘m not worried about spoilers—i‘m interested in everyone else‘s takes.) 1d

Chelsea.Poole I can understand the frustrations with the characters‘ decisions. Especially Dante and Roman. But at the end of the day everyone is just lost. Their mother disappearing at such a young age must have really messed with their foundation and they have to cope with her loss—two of them dealing with the guilt of causing her death. Can you imagine what that would do to a child? Plus keeping the secret. I bet I‘d make some questionable decisions too. 1d

Lesliereadsalot I know I‘m alone in this, but I felt absolutely nothing toward any of these characters. From the opening pages I felt like Roman was as contrived a character as you can get. Of course Dante was who he was and ended up as I thought he would. The mom story was slightly interesting, but that was it for me. 1d

Amiable I‘ve loved everything Cosby has written, but I struggled a bit with this book. Cosby is a master at creating characters who aren‘t saints, but you root for them despite their faults and failures. But in this one I couldn‘t bring myself to root for anyone, even after finding out the secret about their mother. They were all just a bit too far over the line into unlikable territory for me to care about them. (edited) 1d

Suet624 I think it's safe to say I felt discomfort all the way through with both Roman and Dante. I really wanted to feel some kind of connection with either of them but neither of the characters had anything I could really hold on to as far as a redeeming feature. 1d

GatheringBooks @Suet624 agree about the lack of redemptive features. And I still maintain that Cosby did his female characters wrong - it‘s a very male / macho book. That being said, I was glued reading and remained riveted thruout. (edited) 1d

Suet624 @GatheringBooks Now that I think about it, does Cosby have any female characters in his other books that stand out? I can't remember any. And, yes, I was glued to the story despite everything. 1d

Bookwormjillk @Lesliereadsalot you‘re not alone. I loved all of Cosby‘s other books but didn‘t really get into this one. Not sure if it was my mood, or wanting something less stressful after Tilt, or maybe because I did audio instead of print, but I didn‘t connect. 1d

Lesliereadsalot @Bookwormjillk @amiable We‘re a party of three! 🎉🥂🥳 (edited) 1d

AmyG I agree with @Chelsea.Poole about them being lost. The 3 were so traumatized. I felt sympathy for them in that they lost their mother and their father was pretty much emotionally absent. They were all a very very verynhot mess. With that said, who knows what I would have done if in shoes, having lived their life? People do crazy things. Was this over the top crazy? It just worked for me. 1d

mcctrish I honestly wanted to kill Dante myself, until we found out what happened to the mom. Then I thought no one does therapy ? How? They were all fucked 1d

BarbaraBB @GatheringBooks I totally agree on the machismo. And yet I loved it. There is one female who stood out to me. Jae, T&T‘s sister @Suet624 (edited) 1d

BarbaraBB @mcctrish I was about to say the same in reaction to @Reggie ‘s post. That he couldn‘t understand why his girlfriend must stay out of town drove me craazzzy! But indeed, after their mother‘s death they were both traumatized. You‘ve pointed it out well @Chelsea.Poole (edited) 1d

BarbaraBB @fredthemoose That was the most horrible scene of the book I think 😱. I get that you couldn‘t read on. 1d

Megabooks @reggie @mcctrish I kind of thought Roman would kill Dante, too. But I feel the same way as you, Trish. It became a lot clearer (motivation wise) when we knew what happened to their mom. 1d

Megabooks @GatheringBooks agree. The female characters were poorly rendered and one-dimensional! 1d

ImperfectCJ Once we find out what happened to their mom, I felt sympathy for Dante. He ended up seeming like one of the only "good" characters in the story. Neveah, I felt some sympathy for, but her doormat-itude was a little tough for me. And the young kid in T&T's group...I can't remember his name (I'm horrible at remembering character names), but I felt sympathy for him, too. 1d

Hooked_on_books I‘m with @Chelsea.Poole and @AmyG on this one. I felt a lot of sympathy for them both. From the start they‘re clearly both lost—Roman ran away entirely and Dante ran into drugs. Neveah is the only responsible one. And then they end up in an impossible situation that really doesn‘t have any good potential decisions. It very effectively made me feel dread. 1d

Texreader @AmyG I‘m with you. It worked for me too 1d

Texreader @BarbaraBB I liked Jae 1d

squirrelbrain Love that portmanteau! @ImperfectCJ I‘m going to use that in the future. 1d

squirrelbrain @GatheringBooks @Suet624 - I can‘t recall that Cosby writes female characters at all…. 🤔 1d

Kitta So weird I see I‘m tagged but I didn‘t get a notification! 1d

Kitta @BarbaraBB I liked Jae a lot too, and I feel in the minority here maybe but I really loved this book. I related to both Roman (fixing other peoples problems) and Dante (falling into addiction after trauma). I have lost a lot of friends to addiction and understand how you can lose sight of how what you‘re doing affects others - though I did want to kick him at points. I‘m not as cold as Roman though. I enjoyed reading the violence but damn. 1d

Jas16 I felt sympathy for them while wanting to throttle them at the same time. They were both very lost and struggling and ultimately not very good people but I still ended up caring about them. 1d

fredthemoose @BarbaraBB Thank you! I was expecting more where that came from and just didn‘t want worse things rattling around in my head.😬 1d

vonnie862 @TrishB I'm with you. I was most annoyed with them two. The only discomfort I felt was the description of the people screaming in the ovens. That was too much for me. 1d

DebinHawaii So, while I‘ve had Razorblade Tears on my TBR for ages, this is my first Crosby book & while I liked it well enough for the action & it kept me in a constant state of dread over what fresh hell Dante was going to bring about through his actions, none of the characters were well drawn, especially the women. I did feel some sympathy for all of the siblings but they also felt wooden to me & as several have said, I just couldn‘t connect with them. 1d

fredthemoose @vonnie862 I put it down after that and haven‘t been back to it. That was too much for me, too! 1d

fredthemoose @DebinHawaii I‘ve really like all of the Cosby books I‘ve read before this—I‘m not done with this one, but it feels the weakest to me in terms of character development. I thought Blacktop Wasteland was really good. Also Razorblade Tears. And All the Sinners Bleed! (edited) 1d

BarbaraBB @Kitta I liked Jae and Roman too. To me he felt like a victim of the circumstances. He really wanted a way out for his family. And I am with you in that minority, I really loved the book! (edited) 14h

40 likes45 comments

King of Ashes | S. A. Cosby

#CampLitsy25 Question 2

That was quite the plot twist towards the end of the book, or wasn‘t it? Let‘s talk!

TrishB I guessed the twist half way through and thought the way they left Neveah live in despair all that time was the truly despicable part of the plot. Go Neveah! 2d

squirrelbrain You‘re cleverer than me @TrishB - I didn‘t see that coming! 2d

DGRachel I don‘t know that I‘d call any of it really a twist. I didn‘t know what was going to happen but it didn‘t surprise me when any of it did. It all just felt inevitable. If the boys had just told Neveah what actually happened before the end, she could have been such an ally and maybe Dante wouldn‘t have been such a mess and the whole mess could‘ve been avoided. 2d

See All 27 Comments

DGRachel As for their father - I had a little more respect for him. He felt more like a father and less like a man who only cared about his business. I can‘t imagine living 15 years under a cloud of suspicion of murdering your spouse. 2d

Chelsea.Poole I think this reveal was done well. It didn‘t come across as obvious to me throughout but when it came out it made total sense. I agree with @DGRachel that I felt more sympathetic towards their father after learning what happened. 1d

Suet624 I agree with everyone. I didn't guess the twist but I wasn't surprised by it. I feel very badly for both Neveah and her father. Both of them suffered at the hands of Dante and Roman. 1d

GatheringBooks I am with @Suet624 and @Chelsea.Poole - there was this growing sense of dread at the pit of my stomach, and yes, it also made total sense that it happened the way it did - and partially explains why people turned out the way they did. However, we still make our own choices despite the hand we‘re dealt with. Cosby could have made Neveah much more wily, clever and pragmatic, rather than a doormat & a victim of her circumstance and ignorance. 1d

AmyG I didn‘t see this coming either. Good twist. It explained Dante and Roman‘s pain and I, too, felt a bit more respect for the father. As for Neveah…ah, the first born only daughter…she seemed like she carried the weight if the world on her shoulders. I felt that is common for alot of women. Cosby could have written a better woman, better people…..but again, people are who they are…like them or not. 1d

mcctrish The dad totally changed in my eyes too @DGRachel but trying to protect his baby girl only alienated her from them all and wrecked her just as badly. I wonder how differently the dad would have done things IG he could go back ? 1d

BarbaraBB I had no idea of what was about to happen but to me it all made sense once it did 1d

Leniverse I almost shouted, "This is what happens when you don't share information!" Not just Neveah's action but Roman's futile one as well. 1d

ImperfectCJ After the truth about their mother was revealed, I kind of stopped liking any of them, except maybe Dante. 1d

Megabooks I was suspicious of the twist, but I try not to think too hard about it when I'm reading mystery/thrillers and concentrate on how the author reveals it. I enjoy seeing how they structure it, and Cosby didn't disappoint. I was a bit surprised about Nevaeh giving her dad the blood thinner. I hated that Cosby never seemed to give her any peace yet I didn't feel I understood her by the end either. 1d

Hooked_on_books I felt respect for the father that he lived under suspicion rather than allow his kids to be under suspicion, but it doesn‘t change the fact that he emotionally neglected his kids their entire lives. There is a way to build a business but also be present at home. Women have to deal with this every minute of our lives. So I‘m not nearly as ready to just let him off the hook for his neglect. 1d

DGRachel @Leniverse I wanted to strangle Roman after Neveah killed their father. I know the only one technically responsible for her actions are hers, but she never would have even considered doing it if anyone had shared the truth with her. They had so many opportunities just during the course of the book to come clean. 1d

Kitta @TrishB I guessed it too, though I thought Dante had caused some sort of accident not Roman 🤷🏻‍♀️ so I was kinda wrong. I did have more respect or something for the father after finding out how he dealt with it and thinking about the suspicion he was under. He was so absent, at least he stepped up in that regard. 1d

Jas16 I never really thought their father had done it but was surprised when the truth was revealed. I hated what Neveah did. Comparing her actions to Roman‘s and my reactions to them both… They both thought they had justification but but they both turned into what they were fighting against. 1d

jenniferw88 Just before the reveal, I thought it was going to be one of the kids. BUT I'm going to be in the minority here, but I 100% understand where Neaveh is coming from re going into care homes and think she's probably done the right thing for her Dad (if not for the right reason!) 1d

vonnie862 I had a feeling that there was more to what happened to the mother. My feelings towards the dad were always neutral. However, I felt for Neaveh. 1d

DebinHawaii Like @Kitta I guessed wrong & thought it was Dante that accidentally did it. I never thought the father killed her. But okay, I‘m still confused about the cookie jar. The father must have put her ashes in there but it seemed like they were all avoiding the jar. Did he put her ashes in there wanting them to find them or thought they would never open it again? This is pretty macabre of me but I keep thinking “thank God no one opened a pack of ⬇️ 1d

DebinHawaii … Oreos & dumped them in there!” 😱🤢😳 1d

Kitta @DebinHawaii oh my gosh!! 🤣 I assumed it was because it was avoided and no one would ever look in there. I can‘t imagine if someone did. 24h

BarbaraBB @DebinHawaii That cookie jar indeed! How comes that no ever opened that before?! 14h

BarbaraBB @jenniferw88 That might very well be possible, that she did it out of compassion somehow 14h

BarbaraBB @Hooked_on_books Agree!! I was wondering the whole time why he couldn‘t raise his kids and run a business. He‘s not the only single parent 14h

BarbaraBB @Megabooks I couldn‘t relate to Neveah either, she felt a bit unreal to me. I didn‘t understand the choices she made throughout the book. 14h

jenniferw88 @BarbaraBB I think Neaveh did it because she truly believed her Dad killed her Mum, but if I'd been in her position (without everything else going on), I'd have done it out of compassion. 13h

35 likes27 comments

King of Ashes | S. A. Cosby

#CampLitsy25 Question 3

To conclude, let‘s discuss Roman, the “King of Ashes”. How do you feel about him?