Warrior Maddek and Queen Yvenne join together for vengeance in this incredibly triggering fantasy romance.
Have you been longing to read Khal Drogo and Daenerys Targaryen fan fiction? Then I have a book for you! I started reading A Heart of Blood and Ashes after seeing a glowing review from a blogger I follow. While I can appreciate the main characters slowly evolving enemies-to-lovers relationship, their violent and abusive beginning triggered me. I was withdrawn, insecure, and easily startled with my family, co-workers, and friends as I read it. My husband realized before me that the book was triggering these feelings.
Don’t get me wrong – it’s a well-thought out fantasy novel with intriguing politics. Maddek and Yvenne undergo huge transformations of character without losing their sense of selves. But I’m rarely, if ever, interested in a relationship where violence is part of the equation. When Maddek casually grabbed Yvenne’s tongue from her mouth and threatened to rip it out after they had an intimate moment, I should have bowed out. The violence is addressed and their relationship evolves into something very sweet, but the damage was done.
It held my attention, that’s for sure, but at what cost to myself and the others in my life? A market exists for this type of romance, but it’s not for me. I’ll be vetting my reads a little more carefully in the future.
tl;dr The antagonistic and violent relationship between the two main characters kept me from enjoying this interesting fantasy.