From Blood and Ash by Jennifer L Armentrout

From Blood and Ash (Blood and Ash, #1)

by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Captivating and action-packed, From Blood and Ash is a sexy, addictive, and unexpected fantasy perfect for fans of Sarah J. Maas and Laura Thalassa.

A Maiden…

Chosen from birth to usher in a new era, Poppy’s life has never been her own. The life of the Maiden is solitary. Never to be touched. Never to be looked upon. Never to be spoken to. Never to experience pleasure. Waiting for the day of her Ascension, she would rather be with the guards, fighting back the evil that took her family, than preparing to be found worthy by the gods. But the choice has never been hers.

A Duty…

The entire kingdom’s future rests on Poppy’s shoulders, something she’s not even quite sure she wants for herself. Because a Maiden has a heart. And a soul. And longing. And when Hawke, a golden-eyed guard honor bound to ensure her Ascension, enters her life, destiny and duty become tangled with desire and need. He incites her anger, makes her question everything she believes in, and tempts her with the forbidden.

A Kingdom…

Forsaken by the gods and feared by mortals, a fallen kingdom is rising once more, determined to take back what they believe is theirs through violence and vengeance. And as the shadow of those cursed draws closer, the line between what is forbidden and what is right becomes blurred. Poppy is not only on the verge of losing her heart and being found unworthy by the gods, but also her life when every blood-soaked thread that holds her world together begins to unravel.

Reviewed by Leigha on

5 of 5 stars

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Poppy discovers a conspiracy of epic porptions when guardian Hawk enters her life in this un-put-a-downable adult fantasy romance.

I don’t always like Jennifer L. Armentrout’s books, but I like her. She is one of the few authors I follow on social media. I feel pretty up-to-date when it comes to her content. Even if I’m not excited about a book, I know it’s coming. But this book? This book came out of no where. I had no knowledge of it until *BAM* it was for sale. Granted, a lot has happened the last few weeks (hello, anyone alive out there?) so perhaps I was too distracted to realize she had a new series coming out. And, guys? It’s good, so so so sooooo good for my poor COVID-19 traumatized brain.

I liked Poppy. She wasn’t amazing like Kat from the Lux series, but she wasn’t boring like Josie from the Titan series. She fit somewhere comfortably in the middle – bad ass enough to enjoy her, gullible enough to be annoyed by her. But Hawke? Hawke was everything I love about Armentrout’s leading men. He was a wonderful antihero full of epic one-liners, tragic backstory, and alpha male. The two of them together were an explosion sizzling off the pages. I could probably read short stories of them bickering back and forth (which is saying something considering I’m not a fan of short stories.) There are several graphic love scenes – if you prefer her more chaste romances, look the other way.

The world-building and plot could use more work. Much like Jennifer Estep’s and Sarah J. Maas’ fantasy books, I find Armentrout’s world-building to be problematic. Too many factions without enough explaining. Granted, Poppy is suppose to be in the dark about the world so it makes some sense not to understand everything, but I needed more than a data dump at the end of the novel. Additionally, not enough happens at the beginning of the novel, while the end is one action-packed reveal after another. I hope the second in the series does a better job balancing between the romance, world-building, and action.

tl;dr Epic brain candy with a passionate romance to keep my mind occupied and my heart racing.

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 29 August, 2020: Finished reading
  • 29 August, 2020: Reviewed
  • Started reading
  • Finished reading
  • 29 August, 2020: Reviewed