From Blood and Ash (Blood and Ash #1)

Sofia

Rating: really liked it
I present to you: a tale of questionable consent, bAd BoYs with amber eyes, and foreshadowing so terrible I predicted every plot twist.

Otherwise known as From Mud and Trash.


This book was so bad that I made a whole photo album for the screenshots of “excuse me?” moments. There are 122 photos in total. *faith in literature flies out the window*


From Blood and Ash follows the Maiden, a girl named Poppy who is fated to Ascend soon. She isn’t allowed to speak to or touch anyone but a select few. But a mysterious man named Hawke becomes her guard, and when attacks from supernatural creatures become more common, she is forced to trust him.


I’ve seen a lot of people compare this book to Sarah J. Maas’s works. I would like to argue that it doesn’t deserve to be compared to SJM. Unlike SJM’s books, FBAA has no discussions about mental health and trauma. Poppy and Hawke barely get to know each other. They have some bOnD because of a shared loss in their family, but that’s pretty much it. All they do is simmer in angst and “i’M nOt MeAnT tO bE WiTh YoU” and then have some forbidden make-out sessions.


Can Poppy get any more stupid? She’s the most idiotic MC I’ve ever had the pleasure of reading about. Besides that, she’s supposed to be sheltered. She’s not allowed to talk to anyone. But I never felt that in her character. She speaks in slang and swears. She seems to have adequate social skills. She’s not very surprised when she ventures out of the building she’s lived in for her entire life. It didn’t feel real to me. It felt like a cheap plot device used to cause cheesy angst and tension.


She really, really wants us to remember that she is the Maiden. I can’t count the number of times she said this to herself: “I am the Maiden. The Chosen.”

She giggles and shudders so much, I can’t even. She protests that she doesn’t want to Ascend, even though in the beginning it seems like a pretty good deal. She’s stubborn for no reason. Her only real personality trait is being good with weapons. That’s it. She only has agency and incentive when she’s holding her speshul dagger.

Need I mention that her full name is Penellaphe Balfour.
Who named this child?
This is abuse.

Poppy keeps insisting she’s not beautiful because she has scars and her eyes and mouth “seemed too large for [her] face.” Miss girl, have you seen your fanart? When I saw those scars, I thought they were a couple of strands of hair on my screen and tried to brush them away. And then I realized they were your scars. Why are you complaining about having big eyes?

Also, she has a token Black best friend named…
Tawny.
*muffled laughing turns to crying*


This book relies on the author telling us explicitly what we should like about Poppy in long monologues from Hawke. She’s kind, she’s considerate, she’s deadly, she’s intriguing, she’s violent, she’s selfless. Blah blah blah. Show me, don’t tell me.


Speaking of Hawke…
I’m disgusted with him. I’m really, really disgusted. I hate this man so much.

Dear people who swoon over Hawke:
Are you okay? No, really. Are you good? Please explain to me why you love him so much. Is it his aMbEr eyes with GoLdEn flecks? Is it his rAKiSh dark hair? Is it his tendency to ignore Poppy’s wishes and insist that she likes whatever he does to her?

I’m so tired. I’m tired of Hawke insisting Poppy likes it when he calls her Princess, even when she’s clearly stated that she doesn’t. I’m tired of Hawke sexualizing everything and turning important moments into cheap opportunities for him to say something dirty. I’m tired of Hawke refusing to get off Poppy when she asks him too. Poppy deserves better. I ship her with a therapy rock. They would be a great match.

"You really should move,” I told him.
“I’m quite comfortable where I am,” he added.
“Well, I’m not.”

“This is inappropriate.”
“Then why?”
“Why? Because I wanted to.”
I blinked once and then twice. “And what if I didn’t want to?”

He goes on to nickname her Princess, which is the stupidest nickname I’ve ever heard. It originated because he said that Poppy asking him to get off her was somehow too demanding and spoiled, so he called her Princess and refused to stop.

"After you, Princess.”
I turned, eyes narrowing as he stepped aside. “You need to stop calling me that.”
“But I like it.”
“But I don’t.”
“That’s a lie."

There was a scene where he didn’t make some sexual comment like he usually does and Poppy’s inner thoughts were screaming “hE’s So PoLiTe!!”
I mean, maybe she doesn’t have any standards because he’s literally the first man she’s ever really talked to, but still.

”You’re not being very nice, but at least you’re talking. That’s progress.”
“I’m not being mean,” I shot back. “I just don’t like to be called [Princess].”
“Uh huh.”

Also, he has amber eyes. dON’T FORGET.
I typed this review on a document, and I had an entire page of unnecessary golden eye descriptions. There were about twenty examples. But it didn’t fit in the review box, so enjoy this sample.

He was staring down at me with eyes so bright, they looked like the gods had polished the amber themselves and placed them there.

The hue of his eyes seemed to deepen to a striking amber color.

He chuckled in response, eyes reminding me of pools of warm honey.

When I still did nothing, his eyes shifted to a fierce, burning amber.

Those amber eyes turned luminous, filling with a golden fire.

His eyes...the honey hue churned, swirling with brighter, golden flecks.

JLA also doesn’t want you to forget how handsome he is. As Poppy reminds us literally every time Hawke walks into the room.
Every.
Single.
Time.

I threw the dagger directly at his annoying handsome face.

The sunlight almost seemed drawn to him, caressing his cheekbones and brow like a lover. His profile was flawless, the line of his jaw as chiseled as the statues that adorned the garden.

Inky blood dotted his broad, high cheekbones and the straight line of his jaw. His wide, expressive lips were parted as if he were only able to take the thinnest breath.

Why did he have to have such a...charming grin?

His face was so strikingly pieced together. From the wide set of his lips, the upward slant of his eyebrows, to the shadowy hollows under his high, broad cheekbones, he could’ve been the muse for the paintings that hung in the city’s Atheneum.

Hawke looked like I imagined one of the gods waiting in the Temple.

I got a little lost in that dimple in Hawke’s right cheek.

The romance is a wannabe Jurdan. It fails. It’s based entirely on Hawke’s interest in how “unexpected” Poppy is, plus the utter lack of consent that disturbs me.

”None of them intrigue me. You do.”

Where is the chemistry? It’s nonexistent. The only reason he’s attracted to her is because she’s so iNtRiGuiNg.

”You are utterly nothing like I expected.”

“You’re so damn unexpected.”

Yes, we get it.

I loved him. I was in love with him.

Really?
Are you kidding me?
You have hardly talked.
It’s been maybe a month. He has abused you and essentially forced himself on you.
*smiles through the tears*
The bar was so low.
I just love how Poppy is willing to give up her entire future for her first kiss.


At one point, there was a massacre happening, and Hawke and Poppy were doing their little romantic tension thing where he saved her and they were in a cOmProMiSiNg pOsiTiOn. It was awful.


I couldn’t even enjoy this book as a guilty pleasure, it was just that bad. The writing was terrible—some of the worst of any fantasy book I’ve read. Ellipses were abused terribly. Commas were added in random places that made no sense. The foreshadowing was especially horrific, but I’ll get to that in the spoilery section.

Spitting out a curse that Vikter would’ve turned red at, and Rylan would’ve...he would’ve smiled at if he were still here, I picked up speed and then dipped.

That terrible, terrible, terrible sentence is basically the quality of the rest of the writing in this book. When I reached this sentence, I had to drop my phone and have a very long talk with myself about what I was doing with my life.

Tonight was about living, about...not being up all night, unable to sleep, alone and feeling like...like I had no control, no...no idea of who I was other than what I was.

I...I don’t think...this writing is...is very good…

I was so incredibly...stupid.

Ah, finally. Some self-awareness.

”I...didn’t. I...failed you...as a man.”

I fAiLeD yOu aS A mAn

This guard had sacrificed himself. This unnamed, unknown man had chosen death over allowing the Craven to reach the other side of the Rise.

And then Poppy starts crying in the middle of the battle. Girl, that is literally his job. He’s a guard. That’s what he’s supposed to do.

It was so freaking irritating how correct he was.

NOT THE “FREAKING”-
Ma’am, this is not 2021.

The modern language annoyed me so much. “Okay,” “guy,” “weird,” “wow,” et cetera. What era is this supposed to be? Poppy talks like a middle-aged person pretending to be a teenager.

There were extremely long infodumps through conversation that felt juvenile and amateur and lazy. Maybe worldbuilding should be incorporated naturally, rather than forced on us all at once. Maybe there should be some depth to the culture. But no. Are you seriously telling me we got all those infodumps about things that don’t matter and JLA can’t even bother to explain what the Rite is?


The worldbuilding was very inconsistent. The culture was barely formed at all, and the landscape was basically not there. It was so uninspired and dull; just the bare minimum needed to call it fantasy. There were vampires and werewolves and an abusive romance, so it was basically Twilight on steroids. Except the vampires were called Craven or vamprys (don’t ask me the difference between the two because I don’t know), and the werewolves were called wolven. *unimpressed*


The magic system was vague, and not in a soft magic way. Some books can pull off vagueness. It just adds to the aesthetic. But not here. Some magical elements of the plot were strange. If the Ascended are taking so many children, then how is there still a workforce and a thriving population? Why isn’t anyone questioning them?



There’s only so much I can talk about without including spoilers. It only gets worse from here.


🚨SPOILERS AHEAD—BUT REALLY, DID ANYONE NOT GUESS THE PLOT TWIST?🚨



If one more YA love interest turns out to be a secret prince, I will give up young adult fantasy.
Oh, and Hawke is actually a 200-year-old crusty musty dusty prince who has the maturity of a teenage boy only just discovering that girls exist. Is this not creepy? This guy is a whole lot older than my grandpa, and he’s also the first man Poppy has really met. And he thinks this is somehow a good idea.

😃creep😃vibes😃


Anyway.
I predicted literally every plot twist. The foreshadowing was so heavy-handed and obvious. It followed the typical YA fantasy structure.

Girls meets brooding, mysterious boy with special eyes. Boy is, in fact, a speshul prince of a speshul kingdom. Boy is technically her enemy. Boy is actually immortal and super old. Girl is still a teenager but it’s okay. Boy and girl get married anyway. The end.

”What...what if he was actually here?” Loren gave a delicate shudder. “In the city now? What if that was how he gained access to Castle Teerman?” Her eyes lit up. “Befriended someone here or perhaps even poor Malessa.”

*slow clapping*

”You sound so many years older than what you appear.”

Put two and two together, Penellaphe.

”It was a long time ago, though.”
“A long time ago? When you were what? A child?” I asked, knowing that he couldn’t be more than a handful of years older than I was, despite the way he made it sound as if it were an eternity ago.

hmmMMMMMM

There was a scene where a character was found murdered with the cane he used to beat Poppy with. Hawke was one of the only ones who knew about this. Above his corpse was the Dark One’s motto written in blood. I wonder who the Dark One is. I wonder…

”You haven’t met enough people, then.”
“I have met too many.”

*scratches head* I wonder what this means.

It was so weird how he sometimes talked as if he’d lived dozens of years longer than I was sure he had.

Yes, so weird.

He kissed me, and my skin heated at his flavor, the taste of me and those strangely sharp teeth of his.

”Yeah, well, I can’t take it out on the Prince, now can I?’ Jericho said, and I frowned, having thought it had been Hawke who’d taken his hand.

Ha ha ha.
Poppy is not like other girls because she has fewer brain cells.



🚨spoilers have ended🚨




In conclusion, I absolutely ADORE this book! 😍
It’s probably my favorite book of ALL TIME! 💕
I TOTALLY didn’t lose faith in YA fantasy because of this! 😀




0.01 stars



Buddy read with Lucy, Erin, and Lia. We suffered 😃

marta the book slayer

Rating: really liked it
Greetings students. Welcome to Writing 101: How to write the worst novel ever written in 2020 (and still WIN a Goodreads award). This is my first time teaching this class but rest assured my qualifications include: understanding the proper use of ellipses and knowing ten different names that sound better than Penellaphe. Please take out your syllabus. As you will see our assigned and only reading for this class is this novel. It is expected that you have read this novel before attending my class in order to avoid spoilers. We will be delving into multiple topics during our lecture so please arrive to class prepared to discuss and take notes.

--

⭒0.000000000001/5⭒

Lesson 1: Setting
The best way to pick whichever country your story will take place in is to pick a random point on a globe. Did your finger land on Macedonia? Perfect! Simply change a couple letters and you've got your brand new country Masadonia. No need to delve in further than that and actually give a description of the country.

Lesson 2: Side Characters
If it wasn't evident yet this is very loosely a fantasy novel. How? Well you just need to create a list of fantasy characters, of course! Let's begin:
∙Ascended
∙Descenters
∙Craven
∙Atlantian
∙Vampry
∙Wolven
∙Maiden

It's really that easy! There's no need for you to further develop any characteristics for these fantasy creatures besides giving them a name. Also, make sure to make it extremely confusing what the differences are between the characters (but we will get into more of this when we get to our lesson on the plot).

As for some of the characters we hear a bit more about, you want to go on a random name generator online which should give you the following results:
∙Tawny
∙Lord Brandole Mazeen
∙Dorian Teerman
∙Queen Ileana
∙Queen Eloana
∙Prince Malik
Once again, without fail, the more random names you throw around the less questions people ask. Do not trouble yourself with describing any of these characters because this fantasy smut novel does not need it!

Lesson 3: Main Characters
Now that we are done and familiarized with all the boring stuff, let's focus on why everyone is here: Poppy and Hawke.

Poppy
Firstly, think of everything you love doing such as socializing with your friends, reading books, talking in public spaces. Next, make sure your character is absolutely forbidden from doing any of these things. Finally, have her do all of these things anyway.

It took less than twenty-four hours for me to, yet again, do something utterly reckless.

The whole novel could be summarized with the sentence above.

Don't forget to include poorly described magical powers, sniffled laughs/giggles/smiles (no really do this multiple times), and you have the main character!

∙A hysterical giggle climbed its way up my throat. He honestly had no idea who he stood next to. By the grace of the gods, I was able to stop that laugh.
∙I smiled. It was just a hint of a grin, one that probably wasn’t noticeable to anyone but the Duke, but he saw it. I knew he did. I was sure I’d pay for it later, but at that moment, I didn’t care.
∙Swallowing a snort, I lowered the bow, shifting it to one hand.
∙I was confident that my eyes were about to pop out of my face in response to the obvious insult. I bit down on my lip to stop myself from grinning.
∙I wanted to laugh. It was building in my throat, threatening to burst free, but I couldn’t let it.
∙“He’s dead,” I said. “He’s really dead.” A very inappropriate giggle welled up, and I clamped my mouth shut as I turned back to where the Duke was impaled.
∙The strangest urge to giggle hit me, but there wasn’t anything funny about what we were about to do.
∙A shocked laugh burst from me, loud enough that I saw the pacing guard stop. “Oh, gods, that was loud.”

The main character needs to be very relatable:

“Because you’ve been fidgeting like you have spiders in your gown since the beginning of this,” he answered. Spiders in my gown? If I had spiders in my gown, I wouldn’t be fidgeting. I’d be screaming and stripping down to nothing. I wouldn’t care at all who witnessed it.

Make it obvious to everyone just how (っ◔◡◔)っ ♥ special ♥ she is:

Could I change the order of things once I returned to the capital, before I Ascended? Did I have that kind of power? Surely I had more than the Ladies and Lords in Wait, as I was the Maiden.

I was privileged no matter what I suffered, but at least if I were out there, on the Rise, I could be doing something productive.

Gods, I was so… sheltered. Because in my limited experience, it had become…so much more to me. The wake-up call that it was only a few kisses was utterly brutal.

I’d never worn paint on my lips or eyes before. Obviously, it wasn’t allowed for me. Why? My skin was supposed to be as pure as my heart or something. I had no idea. Once, the Duchess had explained it to me, but I might’ve zoned out halfway through that conversation.

“Remember who you are, Penellaphe. You are not to mingle or socialize.” “I know,” I assured her.

Hawke
To write a love interest make sure he does the bare minimum in the beginning and that will really impress your main character. By bare minimum I mean the following quotes:

Even though he said at first that I shouldn’t be out there, he listened to my reasons, and the only thing he said was that I needed to wear better shoes.
"And I’ll say it again. I don’t care what you are.” Hawke’s hand slid off my back. A moment later, I felt his palm flatten against my cheek with unerring accuracy. “I care about who you are.”

When brainstorming how to describe your love interest head to the candle aisle at any store and pick two scents. Anytime this character is within a 5 mile radius of the main character make sure to mention the scent. In this case I can tell you that Hawke smells like pine and sage (sometimes soap).

Lesson 3: Plot
Remember when we brainstormed the list of fantasy characters back in lesson 2? You're going to put all of those character in a hat and randomly pick when to mention them in the story. Make sure to replace the names back in your hat and continue doing this. There you go! You have a plot. You should use this method for deciding between good characters and villains as well.

When it comes to the climax of the story (although I guess there was more than one), put your characters in a scary forrest and introduce a TERRIFYING creature that has never been mentioned before. In this case our author truly terrified us with a Ⴆαɾɾαƚ, a huge rat. Only devote one page to this fight, any more is unnecessary. “I can’t imagine rats that weigh nearly two hundred pounds being only a nuisance.”How the fuck could you say Remy is more than a nuisance?


I honestly think we spend too much time talking about the "fantasy" plot of the novel. We all know everyone is here for the 𝓻𝓸𝓶𝓪𝓷𝓬𝓮. I know what you all are thinking, consent and not stabbing someone, is the basics of a romance novel! WRONG We want none of that here. In fact let's make this a plot about a virgin, who is so sheltered from the world, she not only has one first kiss but TWO:

Hawke had been my first kiss, but if he kissed me now, this…this would be our real first kiss. He knew who I was now. He’d seen me unveiled. He knew. And I wanted this—wanted him.

To really spice things up, let's have the main character stab her partner (after he lied to her, killed people close to her, kidnapped her, took her virginity with very limited consent), before being so consumed with horniness they both fuck in the forrest. Did I mention that the reason they are SO horny is because of his blood?

You’re going to hate that you begged me to kiss you, to do more. But even without my blood in you, I know you’ve never stopped wanting me. But when I’m deep inside you again, and I will be, you won’t be able to blame the influence of blood or anything else.”

Also for fun throw in a plot twist in the very last part of your novel (after devoting 600 pages to complete bull shit) but make sure to make it so confusing using the hat method that no one will question it. Make the whole plot twist incredibly cringeworthy by inserting this:

"I prefer the name Casteel or Cas,” he replied then, his tone hard and distant. “If you don’t want to call me that, you can call me Prince Casteel Da’Neer, the second son of King Valyn Da’Neer, brother of Prince Malik Da’Neer.” I shuddered. “But do not call me the Dark One. That is not my name.”

Finally, to really drive the nail in the coffin about never asking consent, end the novel with the main character being kidnapped against her will to a far away country to be wed to a psychopath. Ah, 🍓☝ 𝓻Ｏ𝐦𝓪ｎ𝓒𝕖 ✊♤

Lesson 4: Writing Style
Despite this being a novel set in god knows what century (no, really, I don't know), you want to to pick one word to repeat over and over again. In this case our author chose the word: gods and used it 311 times.

Then, just use a fuck ton of dialogue. Example:

“Life,” he answered.
“I get it.”
“Do you? Really?” I didn’t think even Tawny got it.
“I do. Everyone around you can do basically whatever they want, but you’re shackled by archaic rules."

Finally, terrible descriptions such as these:

“But we won’t do that tonight. We can’t. Because if I get any part of me in you, every part of me would be in you, and I want to hear every sound you make when that happens.”

That's all.

Extra Credit
Please evaluate why you gave this novel 5 stars.

--

This novel has prompted me to create a new shelf titled 451 degrees fahrenheit dedicated to the books I would gladly set on fire.

ale ‧ ₊˚୨୧ ₊˚

Rating: really liked it
0.5 stars.

edit: goodreads, if you shadowban this review (my favorite review ever), i'll hunt you down. thanks.

IT'S FINALLY HERE, LADIES AND GENTLEMAN. THE REVIEW THAT YOU'VE BEEN WAITING FOR.
*insert dramatic music from an American comedy show*.

I just finished this book, drank 2 cups of coffee and finished to translate this from Spanish to English, lol. I'm not ok.

Notes:
1. If you're here to make any offensive and hateful comments about my review, I advise you not to even spend your time, because I doubt I'll be friendly when it comes to responding.

2. If you haven't read the book and don't want spoilers, I recommend you don't read any further. My review is full of spoilers and quotes from the book.

Have a seat, folks, this is going to be a long one. Bring your popcorn and get ready.

Hello, friends. Today I present to you a new section called: big hype, big lie (I just created a new shelf specifically for this book, and future disappointments).

Before I begin, I warn you that the reasons why this book was not to my liking (it falls short) will be wisely justified and that I forced myself to read and finish this book, to live this torture-filled odyssey, so that you won't come to tell me, "Obviously you didn't like it because you didn't finish it. It gets better later." when it sucks from the beginning.

First of all, no one knows how much I suffered reading and trying to dnf because I said to myself, "Ale, if you're going to give it 0.5 stars, at least finish it and give it the review it deserves." Besides, I'm not a fan of "it gets better later."

And, after a torturous read, rolling my eyes 293873486734 times at each chapter, and nearly vomiting from the cringe, here I am. Ready to do my review.

That said, let's start.
*dramatic music x2* *lights fading on and off to focus on your charismatic hostess who wears armor in case someone decides to shoot an arrow at her or run a sword through her*.

Friends, if you are still reading it is because you are as brave as I am in writing this. There are several points to discuss today and I will use quotes to show my motives. If you followed me through my updates, you will know what kind of martyrdom I lived through and that I carried a cross.

Penellaphe (we'll go later with the names, don't worry), Poppy, is The Maiden: the one who was chosen by the gods to... What? What else will she do, besides being self-pitying and boring? What is her purpose? How will she save her kingdom? Why was she, out of so many, chosen for this mysterious purpose that no one bothers to explain to us? We do not know. And all these questions are not even answered, because there is no need to saturate us with vital information that can serve us to have a better location in the new world to which we are introduced.

Even she doesn't know what this is for, and I quote:
"I can't socialize or make friends because my sole purpose is to serve the kingdom by going to the gods—something no one will even explain."

In any case, Poppy has spent her life isolated from others: she has no friends and should not socialize or engage in any activity because the gods will find her unworthy. Basically, Poppy should be stiff as a statue in her room because we don't want her to get dusty and make the gods angry, right?

The problem here is, for a lifelong shut-in and isolationist, Poppy doesn't act like one. She's a rebellious maiden who pretends to be fine and demure behind her veil, but sneaks around whenever and wherever she wants, and does whatever she wants because, why not? A mask solves everything. She's just another teenager. No pressure from her Ascension on her, or that the people who are supposed to take care of her will be in trouble if something happens to her. Does she care? No. Because she wants to live and coincidentally, by the work of fate and the gods themselves, she meets Hawke: the sexy guard, the playboy all the ladies talk about who is very young, skilled and more observant than any experienced guard. Poppy just wants to live, to have an adventure that doesn't remind her that her life is tied to a purpose unknown to her, as well as to us.

"What are you doing? whispered the reasonable, sane voice in my head.
Living, I whispered back.
And being incredibly stupid, the voice countered."

Hawke makes asshole kids out of the best guards, but that doesn't matter because he's handsome, fearless, interesting, and because his eyes are golden. They meet at the Red Pearl — a place where Poppy shouldn't be — by chance and the first thing he does is accost her because he mistakes her for another girl, and goes to kiss her. Does Poppy care about this behavior, when she hasn't kissed anyone, or when she's supposed to be there? No. She and her weird internal conversation of living the crazy life, even knowing it could go bad if she gets caught, beats any logical thought or functional neuron our heroine might have.

Poppy is Bella 2.0, "high fantasy" version, and she has the same personality as a rock or a shoe: none. Oh, wait. Even shoes and stones are more interesting than any character here. She can't see past her veil, can she? And Hawke calls her intelligent and intriguing, but our friend doesn't realize what Hawke is, though she does notice his characteristics, she lacks a few brain cells to tie the wires together.

Plot.
*sigh*

I didn't find any plot throughout the book. Or at least I didn't feel like there was one. I was too distracted asking myself questions that JLA should have answered early on to notice if there was one. What is Ascension? Where do the Ascended go, redundantly, once they've Ascended? Why do their eyes turn black? Why do they steal the second, third and fourth children? Why do they call the bad guy "The Dark One"? In Spanish, it's the same as calling the Darkling of the Grishaverse. (Spanish: El Oscuro). The Dark One is also: The Darkling *fakes surprise* In any case, I never knew if this was about Poppy's stupidity, the Craven's, the supposed Ascension. The Dark One, Hawke's eyes, or why Poppy ignores everything important.

This book was predictable to a fault. I was guessing several "plot twists" that were going to happen at a certain point. Most predictable of all? That Poppy and Hawke would be endgame. Why wouldn't I be surprised? Poppy was practically drooling at the sight of the guy. I already knew what was going to happen, who the Dark One would be and stuff like that irrelevant. In my updates you can see. I never feared for any character and there is no angst for me. Hawke is a jerk nothing more. As I said on my many updates, I spent 90% of the time laughing of how dull and cliché this book is, and the rest 10% of the time rolling my eyes of how dull and cliché this book is.

Writing.
Don't get me started on this. I've read bad stuff, I swear, but this is another level. What bothered and exasperated me the most is the excessive use of ellipsis: they are consistently and in every third sentence, if not three times in the same paragraph.
"Why did he have to have such a... charming grin?" He doesn't.
"How had he...?"
Better yet, I should make him. I knew how to scape a hold, but I... I didn't move."
I can go an on an on, the list is HUGE.

Also, the word stomach is repeated frequently and everything has to involve Poppy's stomach. Sweetie, is you ok?

The narration didn't appeal to me at all. It's supposed to be a high fantasy book with a medieval style, right? So why did I come across modern words?

Ok. Whatever. Basically.

The dialogue is terrible and in some of Poppy and Hawke's it seems like the flirting of 15 year old kids.

Names.
JLA googled "random fantasy name generators" and got some names from there, or took some real ones and changed some vowels in them. Penellaphe I read it as such —literally, and it's horrible—, not Penelope, as it should be; Poppy is a dog's name, sorry. Hawke is the most ridiculous name. Vikter and Malessa —I don't know if I meant it to sound like Melissa, but there's a word in Spanish "maleza" and that's exactly how I pronounced the name—. Rylan... I understand that JLA wanted to put "pretty" and fantastic names, but, are you serious?

Now, the place names.
Masadonia. Atlantia. Pompay.

Where was the originality that characterizes high fantasy? Am I asking too much? To me it sounded more like urban fantasy than high fantasy; and the description was so vague and poor. Although, I'm not asking for something Game of Thrones—like either.

Worldbuilding.
I was thrown headlong into a strange place that I don't have much information about; perhaps because they focused more on Poppy's internal and boring problems. As I said, the place names don't sound even remotely fantastic and I didn't even get a map.

Characters.
Poppy.
She has no personality. I didn't sympathize with her at all, and throughout the book I just wanted to yell at her to shut up. Her hand is always fixed on her magnificent dagger, even though she doesn't usually use it. JLA wanted to portray the loneliness and isolation of a character, the heroine, but Poppy doesn't act like one and failed Olympianly. Even she says she does nothing and only pities herself too much.

"I'd made it back to my room that morning without any issues and ended up remaining it the entire day, which wasn't exactly all that different from any other day."

Plus, she blames herself a lot for things that happen around her. Sweetie, things don't just happen because you exist. ✨You✨being✨the✨maiden✨ doesn't make you the queen of the universe. She's supposed to be secluded and isolated, but there you see her, training, in the midst of gossip - even though she knows there will be consequences - and fighting like an expert assassin.

She's missing a lot of brain cells and realization. Again, Bella 2.0 who is oblivious to the clues and events happening IN FRONT OF HER, or just ignores them because she's contemplating Hawke's asshole.

Everyone: Poppy, no.
Poppy: Poppy, yes.
*does something stupid for which she later commiserates and complains.

Hawke.
Gorgeous, handsome Hawke. The most handsome, golden-eyed guy. The most experienced guard in the whole castle (and I'm sure the whole world), the most observant, agile and young.

Hawke is annoying, irritating, predatory, a jerk, and thinks he's unattainable (THERE'S A PART WHERE POPPY THINKS HE IS, WHAT THE HELL?). Him trying to be overprotective - beyond being Poppy's guardian - is not cute. Did anyone else remind you of Edward Cullen?

I totally expected him to end up being Poppy's guard - I wouldn't be surprised if Hawke himself had killed Rylan. Because, it's ✨the✨fate✨ and the work and grace of the gods. Literally from the moment he showed up I was already getting the idea, since everyone knows Hawke Flynn and how awesome he is.

Apparently Poppy's beloved love interest doesn't understand that NO MEANS NO. Hawke, do you need me to explain what consent is and how it applies? Every time Poppy would say no to something, Hawke would disregard it and do it anyway. Dude, do you lack the brain cells to comprehend or does testosterone flood your brain? That you keep doing the things you're flat out forbidden to do isn't sexy. It's annoying.

Hawke being +200 years makes me want to puke. Can't some authors change the trope on something like that? Doesn't anyone get tired of seeing the same old +100 year old dude (Edward -sparkly body- Cullen, Rice Man, Rowan -white hair- Whitetorn, The Darkling, among many more) with the 17, 18, and 19 year old girl? Doesn't anyone else get uncomfortable with that? And, is that, the funniest thing is the fact that, despite the old man being over 100 years old, he's never really fallen in love and the girl comes to be his ✨true✨ love. It's iconic, funny, and ridiculous in a thousand ways. He's the special snowflake, the most special love interest and the most different guy ever. *palm face*

Hawke and Poppy are constantly repeating to each other that they are different from everyone else, but they are one of the rest.

His golden eyes and dimples made me sick throughout the ENTIRE BOOK, BECAUSE POPPY MENTIONS IT EVERY TIME SHE SEES DAMN HAWKE.

Wait a minute. Hawke compared Poppy's "sweet juices" to honeydew, I need to unsee this. I need to get that image out of my mind, thanks.

He tricked Poppy into falling in love with him and then kidnapped her, basically. I don't care if he really feels something or not. He lied to her. He romanced her and slept with her. Poppy trusted him and told him a lot about her life, and the bastard betrayed her?

Yeah. He's definitely a fucking asshole. No sympathy for him from me. And I'm not going to be convinced that he can redeem himself and be better - even though I already know what happens between him and Poppy in book two (and Poppy, let me tell you that you're an ass)- or that he has a better side. In few words, he's an old dude who manipulates a little girl.

Romance and +18 scenes.
I must admit I am NOT a fan of insta-love; it annoys me. Give me a slow burn and you've got me getting excited and squealing about everything. Here from the beginning I took it for granted that they are endgame and that one way or another they would end up together by ✨thing✨of✨destiny.

Their first scene together was supposed to get me excited and shipped them? I felt totally uncomfortable and disgusted... The guy literally sucked her gown, over her chest? I didn't feel a single spark of emotion and chemistry between them and every time I saw them together I rolled my eyes from boredom. Also, virus, my dear dude, aren't you aware of that?

I'm still debating whether this book is YA or NA. I see it as YA because the dialogue, thoughts and actions fall into the category. Poppy behaves like a 16 year old. And NA because of some supposedly +18 scenes. And yet, the "+18 scenes" were so boring, mediocre and, again - let this come as no surprise to you - I kept rolling my eyes.

Finally, we got to the best part.

The hype.
This book has an average rating of 4.39. I've seen 4 and 5 star reviews, so I thought it would be really good, and not a total flop. I'm struggling terribly to understand how this book won an award on Goodreads in the romance category. I tried so bad to understand why people actually rated this book 4/5 stars, why people say that Poppy is the great heroine (which she's not) or Hawke the amazing and handsome hero (which also, he's not, just a fucking dick who doesn't know what is consent), their romance (surprise! there's no romance) or the amazing plots (i predicted most of them, and they weren't interesting).
If you enjoyed it, cool. I admire you for that. And I admire myself for finish this torture, even if I suffered a lot... This shows that I'm a masochist, lol.

There is nothing romantic about this book; just cringe at its finest. Lies, lies, and oh, more lies.
Now that I'm done with my huge review, my rating for this book dropped to 0.01 stars.

Anyways, this book sucked and I will not pick up the second one or I will tear it up apart. Just like this one. I didn't like it and I feel really disappointed.

See ya next time. Thanks for read.

(Goodreads added more characters so, I edited my review because I've been wanting to do it for a while, thanks, GR, ily just for that)

Sapir Englard

Rating: really liked it
EDIT 12/11/020:

So Goodreads book choice award (is that what it's called?) has concluded and guess which book took first place in the romance category?

...Imma go ask Santa for a new book-shelving website.

*****

This review contains spoilers. Just saying.

Rating: 1.5 stars.

There should be a new adult fantasy genre called Maas Fantasy, after Sarah J Maas. That genre would be full of pretty people, non original world building, out-of-genre writing that can be either really bad or even worse, love interests that all they do is be horny assholes yet get a sway with because they’re hOT, and the use of the terms MALES and FEMALES.


I’ve read a lot of books by Jennifer L. Armentrout. I don’t think she’s a bad author - but her writing style and concepts belong more to the contemporary romance area. She writes good sex scenes, builds up just the right amount of sexual tension between the two main characters, and this is why I think her Wait For You series is the best, since it represents these elements down to the T.

However, I read fantasy and paranormal series from Armentrout, and even though I’m disappointed every time anew, I keep falling for it. I actually thought this book would be different from her Covenant and White Hot Kiss series. Especially since I had faith she learned from her SUPER OBVIOUS PLAGIARISM in Half-Blood, a matter that still makes me mad to this day, but I was willing to move past that. I completely was.

Then comes this book.

This book starts with an info-dump, a writing device that becomes worryingly more and more common nowadays within the fantasy writers. I have to admit, I skipped them all, because YAWN - I don’t want to read about your marvelous world on the first chapter without any suspense as to what’s going on. It’s so Urban Fantasy, and I’m OVER IT.

Next, after everything is shoved down my throat (although, as admitted above, I skipped it all, returning whenever there was quotation marks that indicated something happening) we have a disturbing scene in which we are supposed to believe that what’s-her-face is that sheltered Maiden written about in the book summary as she encounters the love interest, Hawke, whose behavior was COMPLETELY CREEPY AND DISTURBING. The banter was weak, POP-Tart was acting like an idiot, and it all read like a scene straight out from an urban fantasy book, only instead of a club we have some weird version of a love motel.

Moving on, I skipped a lot of the beginning. It was dull, the murder-mystery thing it had going on was boring, and I was not at all enthralled with either Pop-tart or her honey bunny in the making. I also hated that Tawny fell into the Mandatory POC trope since she had absolutely zero influence on the plot, and was there to fluff the feather of the BEAUTIFUL WHITE CHARACTER. I mean, COME THE FUCK ON. Can we NOT?

Also, there’s a recurring theme in Armentrout’s books: the villains are very BAD, and the good people are very GOOD. There’s no in between. No morally gray characters. No depths to her villains. Absolutely nothing. And it pisses me off, especially since the audience she aims for is no longer an idiot.

Now let’s talk about Pop-tart and Hawke, since they were supposedly the least shallow of the rest. Pop-tart was annoying, stupid, “sassy”, “mouthy”, ethereally beautiful with sCArS, and if that sounds familiar, it could be because: 1) It’s every main character in Armentrout’s books, and 2) It’s the YA/NA Quirky Protagonist Syndrome (QPS?) that can be seen in many book of this genre. The “mystery” of this book was so dumb, so predictable, every plot twist got a complete YAWN from me, and yet Pop-tart was such an imbecile, not getting any of it until she was told it all. And Hawke called her “smart”. Cue my facial question mark.

Which is, by the way, ANOTHER recurring theme in Armentrout’s book: STUPID HEROINES & PREDICTABLE PLOT POINTS. Her mysteries are always pushed into your face from page 1, and it’s all because of her overly-thick foreshadowing that people can tell them from miles away. The whole point of foreshadowing is to be SUBTLE, but I guess the readers are too stupid, right, Armentrout? Also, the fact the basic bitch heroines don’t get it is a cause for an endless migraine.

Next, Hawke. From a writer’s POV, I understand what Armentrout was going for when writing him; the sexy, hot, mysterious guy who then, supposedly, becomes morally gray, and wicked, and hot, and super good in bed, and, of course, immortal, and fights for the TRUE GOOD SIDE and so forth. What she ended up with was a horny asshole, and I’m talking about the last part of the book, after all, or most, at least, has been revealed to the dumb-fucker who is Pop-tart. After being betrayed, you would expect Pop-tart to be rational, but no, he’s HOT, and she’s IN LOVE with him, so LET’S SEX IT UP, BABY!

Ew. Ew. Ew. I found everything that happened in the last few chapters revolting, and not in the cute, sexy way Armentrout was aiming for, but in the call-the-police way.

Let’s go back to Pop-tart for a moment. For someone who’s supposedly been sheltered her ENTIRE LIFE, she surely doesn’t act like that. She’s supposed to, but she doesn’t, and that’s just lazy writing right there, but again, I really shouldn’t have expected anything from this book in the first place. Still, the sex scenes, while hot - because Armentrout is great at writing those - and the sex-times before that, Pop-tart acted as if she knew more than she should, which leads me to the point of that erotic novel she was reading - like, she’s sheltered and a virgin. WHY WOULD THERE BE A BOOK LIKE THIS WITHIN HER GRASP IN THE FIRST PLACE?! But again, high fantasy is not what it used to be, and consistency and good worldbuilding is a complete nonsense, am I right?

Anyway, Pop-tart and Hawke were completely annoying, and I don’t like them at all. I especially don’t like the ending, about Pop-tart being a hybrid because that’s just Armentrout ripping off her own work - Wicked ending, much? - and basically giving in to the whole Special Snowflake trope. Also, Hawke whisking her away to MARRY when she’s EIGHTEEN is fucking revolting.

Now let’s talk writing. This was not a high fantasy writing. While I don’t need a Game of Thrones type of writing, because that’s too heavy even for me, there’s something about setting the tone and air of the book, and when you write, “I totally got that” it reads as a millennial, not an eighteen-year-old sheltered girl in a fantasy land.

The usage of our-world words pissed me off. You can’t drink Champagne in your fantasy world - because Champagne is a place in France, and if your world has no France, then there will be no Champagne! Call it wine or something, but at least be accurate! It’s like using a Dijon mustard or eating burgers!

The terms Males and Females reared their fugly head in this book, too, which is a wink to SJM that I really didn’t appreciate, and also let me in to the fact Armentrout was probably reading SJM books, which is disturbing, and will probably try to rip off one of them because I still can’t forgive the Half-Blood plagiarism issue.

Other terms that struck me out as too modern: Earth, sweater, and many, many more.

Now let’s talk about the names. Masadonia? Atlantia? Can’t you be at least original and not rip off places of our REAL WORLD unless there’s a GOOD REASON for you to do that? Like, come the fuck on. Also Changing words in people’s names with E doesn’t make them fantasy: Vikter instead of Viktor, Malessa - Malissa, Teerman - Tearman. So just stop. Also, Penellaphe Balfour? Really? REALLY? In addition, there’s King Malec and Prince Malik, both of which translates directly into “King” which is stupid, and vamprys, which is a fancy way to write vampires, and Casteel, which is a type of Beer so I won’t even start.

Other rip-offs: Pop-tart’s magical ability is not original at all. It’s like Sascha Duncan from Psy/Changeling and the Dementors from HP made a baby, and tada! A NEW POWER WAS BORN! Not. Which leads me to the point of the vampire-ish creatures of this so-called world. I mean, COME THE FUCK ON. You have the option to create new races and you go with VAMPIRES? AGAIN? COME. ON.

One last thing: a nugget that made me giggle. Pop-tart said, “How had I not seen him for what he was? Could I be that foolish? Or was he simply that clever? Probably both.” Brah, you were stupid. That’s all there is to it.

I can go on forever, but this review is long enough. Anyway, if you enjoyed this book, and this type of nonsensical writing and worldbuilding and plot is your thing, good for you. For me, it’s just pissing on everything the high fantasy genre stands for, much like SJM in that way.

That’s my take on it. Hopefully, I won’t forget the content of this book by the time the next one comes, which will lead me to not read it, but I’m doubtful. Oh, well.

(P.S The half star is for the sex scenes because when something IS good, it deserves the credit).

jessica

Rating: really liked it
living in these crazy times, i was pretty certain nothing could surprise me anymore. but then JLA pulls a beyoncé and just drops this book out of nowhere, as if it were a gift delivered from the book gods themselves.

and this story is truly a gift that keeps on giving. there is a strong, fierce heroine and her swoon-worthy personal guard, which leads to some pretty smouldering romance. but love isnt the only emotion - this story is overflowing with bravery, suspense, loyalty, curiosity, vengeance, and friendship. the detailed world-building presents a new, unique view of old, familiar fantasy creatures. many plot points are predictable, but not in a way that is disappointing, but rather makes the reader feel clever for catching all of the hints and signs along the way. in essence, this story has everything.

there were some moments when i thought the ‘everything-ness’ of this story would be too much. the world-building is often given in info-dumps and i will be completely honest and say i still dont understand everything about the world, its history, and its people. but that definitely didnt stop me from loving the story or enjoying the wild ride.

this book has truly blessed my quarantine and i hope it does the same for yours.

↠ 4.5 stars

ELLIAS (elliasreads)

Rating: really liked it
The way I lost ALL MY FUCKING BRAIN CELLS READING THIS BOOK!!!.

The fact that this was over 600 pages, the fact that this book has an average rating of (at the time of this review, a 4.36, that fact that IM— excuse me while I go and vomit all the angst and cringe out of me.

....This book won the Gooodreads Choice Awards for the category of rOmAnCE??!!!!!!1!!!!!11111!! That was a c h o i c e .

SOMEONE EXPLAIN?!!!!?!!?!?!?!?!?!! I AM CONFUSION.

This was like reading a badly written fan fiction combined of all the most repetitive and annoying ass YA tropes we love to hate.

Also never trusting book twitter for a book recommendation ever again lmao.

Check out my full thoughts on hOneYdEW here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=67T8G...

1.5 STARS
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Regan

Rating: really liked it
This book got WILD lol

Hannah Azerang

Rating: really liked it
600+ pages of no plot, no vibes, a mc with no brain, thinly “veiled” racism, and way too many mentions of honeydew

She-who-must-not-be-named

Rating: really liked it
Edit : Goodreads choice awards- Best Romance- 2020
So well deserved!

Five addictive, mesmerizing, heart-rending, sexy, adrenaline-inducing stars right away!

Ever had the feeling of numbness, the feeling of having your heart break and then remade, and the feeling of intensity flooding your body cells? Yeah, that was me, during and after reading this book.

There is action and violence, passion and romance, friendship and betrayal. It is the tale about a world where anguish leaves no room for light, where the Ascended wield their power like a poison-tipped sword and a kingdom that is forsaken by the gods and feared by mortals.

Penallaphe a.k.a Poppy a.k.a Princess a.k.a the Maiden is never to be touched. She is forbidden to socialize, to celebrate her birthdays, go to picnics, to defend herself because she's the Maiden. She cannot live or experience anything she wants for herself without being reminded about her duty to the Gods. She doesn't have the privileges everyone around her has. But she does exactly the opposite of what she's expected to do and that makes her sassier than any female protagonist I've read about. She does what she deems fit, consequences be damned. And things escalate when she meets the very attractive Royal Guard, Hawke Flynn. (Cheers to my 100th-something book boyfriend)

She's strong, she's fierce, but that's not all. Poppy, despite enduring losses of people she loved dearly, walks with an air of confidence that makes you respect her amongst many other things. I loved the fact that she doesn't whine about her survivors' guilt and chooses to be better equipped and trained rather than be a liability in times of duress. Her emotional tolerance and her ability to take her shortcomings positively makes me want to hug her (I'm pretty sure I'd get stabbed even before I think about it 😂)


Hawke Flynn (view spoiler)[ Casteel Hawkethorne Da'Neer (hide spoiler)]

Of course I'm going to start with him. He is the character you will immediately love and adore. He's fast, observant, protective, and if I have to steal his word- intriguing. He is considerate and then demanding. Teasing and then cold as looming death. Violent beyond imagination but extremely tender and benign. He is the kind of boyfriend everybody hopes and deserves to have.

He can ignore discussions about the safety of his kingdom and other political issues just to make sure whether or not you've touched your breakfast.
He will kill anyone who says something even remotely bad about you.
He has infinite bae traits and he is made up of so many layers in terms of his character complex that you'd want to unearth him and explore him deftly.
Oh, and did I mention he has dimples?

Romance :

Electric and tantalizing, it is perfect for the fans of ACOTAR- a combination of sweet and steamy moments as Poppy embraces her sexuality. Hawke doesn't try to hide the fact that he's drawn to Poppy and flirts openly and they share an appealing banter.


Twists:
There are quite a few plot twists although the final twist is predictable. Trust me, it doesn't ruin the reading experience in any way.

Triggers : Mature content, violence, sex, strong language

World building and narration


The initial few pages will feel slow, and the story doesn't progress much. Despite a lot of complaints in this aspect, I thought it was necessary to build the world which is a bit complicated with all the new terms and to show its brutality, the gifts of the Maiden, and the mystical creatures that threaten the Kingdom.
The narration was engrossing and portrays really well Poppy's insecurities and the feeling of being locked and suffocated for years together.

As I said, the story will feel dragged in the beginning but you have to trust me on this. Do. Not. Let. Go. Not if you want to miss out on some amazing content. A story full of court intrigue, politics, lies, infiltrations and unique creatures, From Blood Amd Ash is an alluring tale in all its guises and will be worth every second of your time, imploring you to pick up the second book straight away!

Meanwhile, *adds all of JLA's books to my tbr*

Val ⚓️ Shameless Handmaiden ⚓️

Rating: really liked it
3 Kinda Bummed Stars

Okay...so, a couple things before we get started.

1) I'm not in a reviewing mood, but wanted to get something down before I completely forget and then lose all interest. So, I apologize beforehand for the lack of quality I'm sure is about to follow...

2) Don't throw figurative tomatoes at me for not loving this more. I'm not in the mood for that shit either. And I promise any responses to said tomatoes will not be...diplomatic.

But anyway, this book...

I feel like Jennifer L. Armentrout (JLA) saw the success of Twilight, A Court of Thorns and Roses, Throne of Glass, and Shadow and Bone and said...



Because this book felt like a mashup of all of those series. Especially ACoTAR...for real though.

I would go into the the reasons why, but that would be super spoiler-y. And because LAZY.

But I digress.

Another thing....holy boredom, Batman. The first 67%+ of this thing was so tedious. SO tedious. It's not so much that I hated it or anything, but more just, well...



I feel like JLA could have achieved exactly what she achieved in the first 67% with about half the page count.

Things finally started to pick up around 75% and I was happy as a clam by a solid 80% - which is the only reason I rated this thing above 2 stars, actually.

Did I already have Hawke's identity and background figured out way before then? Yes.
Was I seriously over the banter between Hawke and Poppy? Yes.
Was I excited they finally stopped bumbling about like kindergartners and got busy? HELL yes.

In the end, I think my overall disappoint in this thing was two-pronged:

1) The hype.
So much, SO much hype. And I fell victim to it, for sure. Perhaps if I had waited, I might have loved this more (I still liked it, people). Or perhaps not.

2) The predictability.
I had a feeling where this was going from practically the beginning. I had a feeling who the Ascended were...who Hawke was...what the sitch was...very early on. And I was right. And I feel like that undercut any and all urgency with this book for me. In fact, it took me forever to finish this and I had no problem putting it down.

That said, even though literally nothing about the ending came as a surprise, I still loved the hell out of it and it sorta, kinda, almost made up for the endless tedium of the first 67% of the book. Thus my 3 stars and my intent to continue the series.

In short, I found the vast majority of this book to be fairly unexciting; however the final 25% or so made up for it some. I think the hype here was righteous and I can definitely see why most people loved this thing. I think I simply had too high expectations and it definitely affected my reading experience.

To be clear: This is not a negative tear-down review by any means. I just expected to 5-star the shit out of this since everyone told me I would...so this is more of a "meh, I liked it well enough" review tinged with disappoint over what could have been, I suppose.

But anyway. While I didn't love this book, I still liked it. And I will definitely read book two soon.

Arini ~ Miss Casually Reading

Rating: really liked it


🎧 2nd Read, Nov. 2021 — 4 Stars
📚 1st Read, April 2020 — 3.5 Stars

I hope this author never stops writing about all manner of supernatural beings cause I’ve always had a craving for paranormal romances and she never disappoints. Even on the occasion when my rating might suggest otherwise.

Coming out with a fresh from the oven NA high fantasy series, JLA surprises us with this alluring and action packed tale of fallen kingdoms on the rise, cursed bloodthirsty creatures, reluctant maidens, and steamy forbidden love affairs.

Things you will love in this book:

Swoonworthy hero
Hawke is the perfect combination of cocky, charming, and dangerous. He’s protective of Poppy but never oversteps her boundaries (much). Apparently his favorite word is intriguing. Oh and he has dimples, which of course, Poppy loves to drool over.

Kick ass heroine
Despite having lived a sheltered life, Poppy is socially adept and skilled in combat. Being a maiden means she has little to no experience in relationships. JLA made a good use of this trope by allowing her to explore and embrace her sexuality.

Smoldering romance
If there is one thing you can always count on in JLA books is that the romance always takes your breath away and the steam has you fanning yourself. The chemistry is electric and the banter is top notch. I lapped it all up like a starving beast.

Interesting storyline
This book has a little bit of everything—vengeance and betrayal, friendship, suspense and mystery. The climax and (non cliffhanger but surprising) ending are so adrenaline pumping and eye popping. It’s the best part aside from the romance obviously.

Things that might hinder your enjoyment:

Slow pacing
Unfortunately, this book is very slow that I felt like I was never going to finish it. My interest kept fluctuating. There’ll be something exciting happening once, then it’s followed by Poppy’s long and self reflective inner monologue or excessive text book like infos on the world building. It maintains this pattern for most of ⅔ of the book.

The last 30% of the book was truly what I lived for. It delivers all the twists and turns you’ve been waiting for. Sadly, it held no shocking effect for me because they’re fairly predictable. I think the issue with JLA books is that she drags on slow and tedious build up only to make up for it in the last ⅓ of the book.

Non immersive world building
I guess what I meant to say is, it needs to be just a bit more convincing? I have no problem with the history, lore, and beliefs system. What I think needs some touch up is the groundwork for the setting or geography of this new epic fantasy world.

I imagine creating a map would be really helpful. Also, instead of dumping it all out on us like the book is giving out a history lesson, I’d appreciate if the development of the world building can be more...engaging? So that we won’t be too overwhelmed and confused.

“Fear and bravery are often one and the same. It either makes you a warrior or a coward. The only difference is the person it resides inside.”

Overall, this is not at all a bad first book. I’m intrigued but still have yet to feel impressed. I do think that the author’s effort in venturing out into the high fantasy subgenre is rather successful. She managed to breathe new life into old concepts and make this series unique and entirely her own.

chan ☆

Rating: really liked it
i went from thinking i had doo doo brains at the beginning of this convoluted mess to being

galaxy brained from 50%-the end of this

make of that what you will.

__________________________

finally trying fantasy romance

Nenia ✨ I yeet my books back and forth ✨ Campbell

Rating: really liked it

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DNF @ 13%



I'm honestly flummoxed by the ratings of this book. How can DAMSEL, one of the best YA fantasies I've read recently, have a 3.4 rating on Goodreads, and this self-indulgent vampire AU version of ACoTaR has a 4.4? Like... I literally have no words. This is why I have trust issues, you guys. You have led me astray from the path of light.



FROM BLOOD AND ASH was all over my feed and even though I haven't been impressed with Armentrout's previous works (all of her heroines are basically the same person with different hair), I am a sucker for vampires and court intrigue, and so I thought to myself, "You know, maybe this could be awesome." Famous last words, I know. You'd think I'd learn my lesson by now, and stop reading books just because "all my friends are doing it," and yet here we are. I've been impressed by authors before, whose works I didn't like in the beginning and then they did a total 360, like they missed the freeway off-ramp to the Town of Awesome by complete accident and all it took was a U-turn.



But no. this was... bad. It's one of those "historical" fantasy worlds, but the heroine talks like it's modern day whatever. The love interest is a smirky smarmosaur who immediately starts calling the heroine "princess." She's a virgin because "reasons," which... okay. The whole beginning of the book is just a slew of info-dumping and I can already tell I'm going to despise the heroine. And the hero. And probably everyone else in this book.



1 star

Melanie

Rating: really liked it

"From this moment until the last moment, I am yours."

At the end of 2020, I kept seeing this book all over book social media and it was being loved by such a vast range of bookish friends. And then it was the goodreads choice awards 2020 best romance winner! Up until this point, I had never really read anything by Jennifer L. Armentrout, but my curiosity was so very peaked! Then once I entered 2021, I still felt like I could not escape the hype of this series! Finally, I read a few reviews by friends and found out that this was a fantasy series,, with a paranormal romance, and that information, in addition to it feeling like higher powers were at work to get me to read this, made me finally give it a try. And one I read that first chapter I knew I couldn’t put this down.

From Blood and Ash introduces us to Poppy, who is a chosen maiden for the gods. She is not meant to be touched, to be looked at, or to experience anything that is not considered god-like. She is quickly approaching her nineteenth birthday and soon she will leave to the capitol and have her Ascension, where she will prove that she is worthy of the gods and will help protect her entire kingdom from a curse carried by those who are unworthy of the gods. Yet, there is another kingdom living in hiding, who will do anything to make sure Poppy isn’t able to make her Ascension and change anything. (I am trying to be kind of vague here, because I truly did not know before going in, or expect in my wildest dreams, the paranormal aspects of this book, and I believe it did heighten my reading experience!)

But Poppy has so many secrets, including her own kind of powers that are manifesting stronger and stronger to help read and sooth people’s emotions. And there is also the secret of what happened to Poppy’s family, that left her and her brother the only ones alive to carry out the will of the gods, while Poppy is also forced to carry so many scars, both physical and emotional, from that night.. And there are secrets in the palace where she is currently living with the Duke and Duchess and a lot of abuse going on behind closed doors that are only meant to protect her. But the weight of grief and expectations are getting too heavy for Poppy to bear, so at the start of this first book she decides to sneak away from the palace for one night where she can maybe experience things without being expected to be a pure vessel for only the god’s consumption. And when Poppy ends up at a tavern, and in a private room, with Hawke, a very young but very skilled guard, she gets a taste of what she has been missing and what she may want for herself, unapologetically.

"You're a perfectly normal girl. What is expected of you is what's bad"

I do think grief and abuse are a constant theme in this story, and we get to see how those two words can present themselves in so many different ways. Different fear tactics are constantly in play, both in this kingdom and in Poppy’s life, to keep people in check and to keep them abiding to a corrupt system. Serving evil can easily be masked by saying it is serving the gods. Ultimately, this is a swoon-worthy and angst-inducing paranormal romance story, but there are a few layers here that I hope people are looking and listening very closely to while reading!

"You deserve so much more than what awaits you"

This book has really good discussions about what it means to be a young person discovering your wants and needs, while also slowly growing into the person you want to be and how hard that can be to separate from expectations already placed on you. This book is very sex positive, and consent is always at the forefront. I am also just going to type this with my full chest and then pretend I didn’t but, for me and my body and my personal experiences, I thought that the building of orgasms (and just some body reactions in general) in this book were very realistic and very well done. But anyways, I loved seeing Poppy reclaim so many things, and this romance is the first one in what felt like years that I am trying completely head of heels in love with and rooting for. But, please allow me this one small mini drag for those of you who have read this book:



Overall, this book truly blew me and my expectations away and it was very much the perfect book for the perfect time in my reading life. I laughed, I smiled, I swooned, I cried, I gasped, this book truly made me feel so much and it was just an amazing journey throughout. I feel like the twists were very well done and laid, I feel like the romance was filled with yearning and angst on every page, and I was constantly left wanting more and more. And the last line of this book? Yeah, I will be picking up A Kingdom of Flesh and Fire immediately. This was a joy to read from cover to cover.

Content and Trigger Warnings: death, gore, talk of loss of a child, talk of kidnapping, talk of death of children, mention of loss of a child in past, loss of a loved one, mention of suicide, assault, physical abuse, blood depictions, mention of rape, anxiety depictions, self-harm to get blood, and general war themes.

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Buddy read with Maëlys! ❤

Laura Thalassa

Rating: really liked it
This book is officially my new obsession! I need you all to read it too so that we can all gush about it! Seriously, I haven't felt this way about a book since Holly Black's Folk of the Air series, and I'm having trouble concentrating on writing because I can't get this book and the characters out of my head! Putting this baby on my "Favorites" shelf! <3