Of Blood and Ashes (Of Cinder and Bone, #2)

by Kyoko M

[layawaydragon]

FYI: I’ve kept this review as spoiler free for the first book as possible. BUT you really should read this in order for full amazing effect. Check out my review for book one, Of Cinder and Bone here.

Of Blood and Ashes takes off right after book one. I really didn’t expect most of what happened, just like in Of Cinder and Bone. Especially that heart wrenching, oh so painfully good ending.

I was excited to read about Jack and Kamala being a couple and taking care of their dragons. I kinda got that, but not enough.

Of course, this book mostly takes place in the span of a single day not giving them much wiggle room.

The duo goes off to Japan again, Faye stays behind as support, there’s lots of action and drama. But it didn’t feel redundant at all. There’s more information about our surrounding cast, more therapy, we meet Kamala’s mom in a great scene, and new players to tangle the web further. It’s easy to keep track of them all though don’t worry.

If you’re worried about Aokigahara being used as a setting, don’t be. It’s not shown or disrespected. With them in therapy and the author’s notes, it’s very mental health friendly.

In Of Blood and Ashes, the forest is more about the atmospheric silence and paranormal vs. science giving it a haunting feeling. I wonder at this take, as it goes more for the urban legends like interfering with technology than what scientists say about the matter. Which, while we’re resurrecting dragons, the series does stick with choosing science over mystical in every other way.

I had a wild theory while reading, but it didn’t turn out that way. Oh well. Guess I’m just dragon crazy.

The single teeny tiny annoying thing were the reactions to a pregnant woman doing the heroic right thing while “in her state”. I wanted to smack them all, TBH! You don’t stop being a person when pregnant. And it’s so early on! It’s not like she was 8 months with a viable fetus. It doesn’t make you a bad mother and as a mother I was offended that her morality was being questioned. Fuck that guilt and the mom shaming, you go girl!

The romance…ah I love these people. I do kinda hate how the obvious ship is finally broached by a kidnapping hitman. The bastard. But he’s right on this score.

I have no idea what’s happening next but of fucking course I want to read it RIGHT NOW. And we will have happy times again. Even if it’s only in my head…